Embedded Files
Cultural Anthropology
AANT 108
Spring 2020
(3 credits)
Lectures: Tuesday & Thursday 11:45am-1:05 pm / Campus Center Auditorium
Instructor: Nadia Marin-Guadarrama, PhD
Anthropology Department
Office: Arts & Sciences 119
E-mail: nmarin-guadarrama@albany.edu
Phone: (518) 442-4717
Webpages: https://sites.google.com/site/lapaginadenadiamaringuadarrama/
https://albany.academia.edu/NadiaMar%C3%ADnGuadarrama
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:00-11:00 am or by appointment.
Teaching Assistants:
Sarah Appelhans
Email: sappelhans@albany.edu
Office: Arts & Sciences 112
Discussion sections:
· Group Number 1028: Mondays 9:20 am-10:15 am, Catskill B059
· Group Number 1027: Mondays 11:30 am – 12:25 pm AS B015
Office Hours:
· Thursdays 2:00-4:00 pm
Kaori Otera Chen
Email: kchen3@albany.edu
Office: Arts & Sciences 205
Discussion sections:
· Group number 1030: Fridays 9:20 am - 10:15 am, BB 133.
· Group number 6398: Fridays 11:30 am - 12:25 pm, HU 108
Office Hours:
· Tuesdays 1:15-2:15 pm
· Fridays 10:20-11:20 am
· Thursdays & Fridays after class by appointment.
Marie Peterson
Email: mapeterson@albany.edu
Office: Arts & Sciences 205
Discussion sections:
· Group Number 1029: Wednesdays 09:20 am-10:15 am Catskill B059
· Group Number 6399: Wednesdays 11:30 am-12:25 pm AS 015
Office Hours:
· Tuesdays 3:00-4:00 pm
· Wednesdays 12:30-1:30 pm
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This three-credit course fulfills the Social Science General Education Requirement and offers a broad introduction to cultural anthropology, one of the four fields of American anthropology. Cultural anthropology offers a way of understanding the diversity of human societies and cultures as well as the commonalities of human experience. It provides us with tools for making sense of the experiences of people whose lives are different from our own, and to learn to understand, appreciate and respect cultural difference and diversity. At the same time, cultural anthropology allows us to see what’s familiar to us in a new perspective, by questioning our “common-sense” understandings about our own culture and the world around us.
This course introduces some of the key concepts that have concerned anthropologists in contexts within and outside of the US. It provides an overview of history, methods, major figures of the discipline and areas of study. Readings, lectures, films, on-line materials and discussions are designed to increase student knowledge of the viewpoints, interests and concerns of cultural anthropology, as well as issues of social and cultural change. Our goal is to see anthropology not only as a discipline, but as a way of seeing, being in, and understanding the world.
Cultural anthropology has both academic and applied dimensions, and we will also explore what cultural anthropologists do, asking how anthropologists come to understand the precepts and assumptions by which different societies are organized. What are the concerns and viewpoints of cultural anthropologists? What are some of the debates that emerge around ethics and scientific practice?
COURSE OBJECTIVES
After completing this course, students should:
1. Situate the sub-field of cultural anthropology within the broader discipline of anthropology.
2. Know theories, methods, and areas of inquiry of cultural anthropology through cross-cultural analysis.
3. Know the research methods used in cultural anthropology.
4. Understand how culture is adaptive and changes over time.
5. Be inspired to understand the diversity of cultures in their communities and in the global world.
REQUIRED TEXTS AND OTHER MATERIALS
There are two books required for this course. There are a few copies available on three-hour reserve in the library. But you can also buy them at the UAlbany campus bookstore, at www.norton.org or any other bookstore. Just make sure you buy the 2th editionfor the Essentials of Cultural Anthropology.
· Guest, Kenneth. 2018. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age. SECOND EDITION.
§ InQuizitive is a tool included in your book that you can use it to study. I encourage you to use it just for the joy of learning. They are part of the activities included in your textbook Essentials of Cultural Anthropology if you buy it new whether electronic from Norton or printed from your campus bookstore or any other bookstore. You need to learn how to use the InQuizitive following the instructions in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvy32ld8MrI
· Guest, Kenneth. 2018. Cultural Anthropology: A Reader for a Global Age. First Edition. W.W. Norton 1 & Company.
§ This is the book in which you will find the readings for your discussion sections.
Suggested Book
Through the semester, we will use two chapters of this book as required readings. The chapters will be in your Blackboard, but I encourage you to use the rest of the book as an extra-reading for every week.
· Brown, Nina, Laura Tubelle de González, and Thomas McIlwraith Eds. 2017. Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology. American Anthropological Association.
Other required reading (available also through Blackboard)
· Brettell, Caroline B. and Patricia A. DeBerjeois, 1999. “Anthropology and the Study of Immigrant Women.” In Seeking Common Ground: Multidisciplinary Studies of Immigrant Women in the United States, edited by Donna Gabbacia, 41-64. Wesport: Praeger Publishers.
· Geertz, Clifford. 1973. Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight.” In The Interpretation of Cultures, 412-453. New York: Basic Books.
· Gregg, Melissa. 2008. “The Normalisation of Flexible Female Labour in the Information Economy.” Feminist Media Studies 8(3): 285-299.
Supplementary Resources
· American Anthropological Association
· The Society for Cultural Anthropology
· American Ethnological Society
Films:
There are two films that we will see during class. You will need to write a 250-word essay and submit it through Blackboard the same day of the film, no later than 11:59 pm.
CLASS POLICIES
· Be on time. Do not distract your classmates, your teaching assistant (TA) and your instructor. Important announcements and decisions are made during different moments of the lectures/discussion sessions.
· Be prepared: All readings are required and due on the day established on the syllabus.
· Classroom Behavior:
· Respect for one another is a MUST in this course. Students should respect their classmates, teaching assistants, and instructor at all times.
· You should be respectful of other people’s opinions and be prepared to back up your own opinions with factual evidence and reasoned argument.
· Attendance: Attendance, whether during lectures or during your discussion section, is taken every class at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. Students should attend class and arrive on time. If you are not able to attend class due to illness, please give your TA and your instructor a copy of your doctor letter to justify your absence.
· Attendance during lectures: If you miss seven (7) lectures, you will not have a grade for this course. Your instructor will take attendance with Kahoot questions at any moment of the class and that is the only moment in which students can use their cell phones during class. Other than that, the use of cell phone is prohibited.
· Attendance during discussion sections: If you miss five (5) discussion sections, you will not have a grade for this course. Your TA will take attendance every discussion section at any moment.
· The Campus Center Auditorium is a beautiful place to take classes. Although it has more than 300 seats, students MUST seat right in front of the part of the auditorium to have your attendance counted.
· Policy about the use of technology:
· You can use your laptop or tablet to take notes or to have your reading ready to use, but not for other activities.
· EarPods, headphones, or any devise you can wear in your ears that may distract yourself from the lecture are prohibited.
· You can use your cell phone only to answer the Kahoot question during lectures. Before or after that, your cell phone should be turned off.
· This class runs from 11:45 am until 1:05 pm. You are expected to arrive on time and to remain until the end of class. Repeated late arrivals and/or early departures will become absences.
· Cheating and Plagiarism in any form is not tolerated and will result in zero credit for the exam, assignment in question, or the entire class. Students are expected to follow the academic standards of integrity. https://www.albany.edu/undergraduateeducation/academic_integrity.php
Plagiarism is when you present another person’s ideas, research or writings as your own. Some examples are:
· Copying another person’s actual words without the use of quotation marks and footnotes attributing the words to their source
· Presenting another person’s ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging the source
· Using information that is not common knowledge without acknowledging the source
· Failing to acknowledge collaborators on homework or laboratory assignments
· Trading papers with another student
Internet plagiarism includes submitting downloaded term papers or other parts of term papers, paraphrasing or copying information from the internet without citing the sources, and “cutting and pasting” from various sources without proper citations.
We will have an important visit this semester from our dear subject librarian Priscilla Seaman who will explain more about this topic. If you still want to know more about what constitutes plagiarism, you are welcome to contact librarian Seaman, your TA, or your instructor, and/or look at the examples in: http://www.albany.edu/eas/104/plagiary.htm and take the tutorial: http://library.albany.edu/usered/plagiarism/index.html .
SOURCES FOR STUDENTS
Reasonable accommodations will be provided for students with documented physical, sensory, systemic, cognitive, learning and psychiatric disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring accommodation in this class, please notify the Disability Resource Center to recommend appropriate accommodations.
§ If you have any questions, please:
· Email the DRC at DRC@albany.edu
· Call them: (518) 442-5490
· Or stop by the DRC office: Campus Center 130
o OFFICE OF EQUITY AND COMPLIANCE
Sexual and inequality miscounducts at UAlbany? The Office of Equity and Compliance (OEC) is your resource to know about, report and find support for any forms of discrimination, harassment, and sexual violence.
o OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
At the Office of Diversity and Inclusion you can learn more about the culture of equal opportunity and respect for all students, faculty and staff that UAlbany wants to have.
o COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES
If you need psychological support, remember that you can find it at UAlbany. The office of Counseling and Psychological Services offers confidential psychological assessment, counseling and referrals. Do not hesitate to ask for their help. Visit the webpage, get familiar with the services it provides.
AND…
We want you to do well in this course! If there is any personal, medical, or academic concern that you feel is affecting your performance, please come and talk to me or to one of the teaching assistants. We cannot guarantee that we will always make accommodations, but it is best to talk to us about your concerns before you miss a deadline or run into a problem.
GRADING POLICIES
Grades will be assigned on the basis of performance on:
Item
Value
Date
Mini Essay 1: Professor Walter Little’s Talk
2
January 30
Mini Essay 2: Librarian Priscilla Seaman’s First Talk
2
February 13
Fieldnote
10
February 22
Mini Essay 3: Marie Peterson’s Talk
2
March 5
Midterm Exam
12
March 10
Interview Transcript
10
March 13
Mini Essay 4: Librarian Priscilla Seaman’s Second Talk
2
March 26
Mini Essay 5: India’s Daughter (Film)
2
April 2
Mini Essay 6: Sarah Appelhans’ Talk
2
April 9
Mini Essay 7: Doctors of Two Worlds (Film)
2
April 16
Mini Essay 8: Kaori Otera Chen’s Talk
2
April 23
Research Essay
16
April 25
Mini Essay 9: Professor Oscar Rivera Garcia’s Talk
2
May 5
Final Exam
14
May 13
Discussion Section Presentations
10
Different days
Reading Quizzes
10
Different days
Total
100
Letter grades are assigned to point ranges at the end of the semester.
GRADED ASSIGNMENTS
· Exams: The midterm and the final exams will be online via Blackboard. These will be multiple-choice and open questions. It is expected that no make-up exams will have to be given. However, if an unusual circumstance arises which requires you to miss an exam, you are required to let me and your teaching assistant know of the situation as soon as possible, and to provide a written and verifiable excuse. Make up exams will be in an essay form.
· Written Assignments: You are required to complete one fieldnote, one interview, one essay, and nine (9) 250-word mini-essays for each of the talks and film we will have during the semester. They should be submitted on time via Blackboard as a Word document. Please follow the instructions provided specifically for each writing assignment. Papers turned in late but within 24 hours of the due date/time will be penalized and will only be able to have up to half of the points. After that, NO WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED without specific permission from the instructor. For all assignments, add page numbers. Font: Times New Roman, size 12. One-inch page margins, 1.5 spaced. They have to be carefully proofread and checked for grammar and spelling.
· Nine (9) Mini Essays responding to a question about the two films and the talks given by Walter Little, Priscilla Seaman, Kaori Otera Chen, Sarah Appelhans, Marie Peterson, and Oscar Rivera Garcia. Essays should be 250 words in length. At the top of the page, write your name, the name and number of the course, the professor’s name, the teaching assistant name, and the assignment title.
· Three (3) Research Assignments:
1. Fieldnote: This is written based on the fieldwork practice you will do on February 20. This will be the first paper you will deliver to your TA via Blackboard. You will write a 3 pages fieldnote based on the observation you will do in a specific setting. You can choose to observe a sports team, a social club, a religious organization, a migrant family, your dorm floor (NOT just your room), etc. Ask your TA or your instructor about the options you have to do your fieldwork. You can find examples of fieldnotes in your Blackboard. Do not forget the deadline to deliver the interview is February 22 before 11:59 pm.
2. Interview Transcript: You have to interview one of the persons you met during your fieldwork. The interview should last at least 20 minutes. Make a stenographic version of the interview, which means, you will transcribe the interview. You can find some examples of interviews in your Blackboard. Do not forget the deadline to deliver the interview is March 13 before 11:59 pm.
3. Research Essay: You have to submit your 3 pages Research Essay via Blackboard on April 25 before 11:59 pm. You will use your fieldnote, your interview and at least one article related to your fieldwork, as well as any useful text we read through the semester.
· For the Research Essay due on April 25: Students MUST follow the 17th edition of the Author-Date Chicago Manual of Style for citations and bibliography. This is the style the American Anthropological Association uses for publications. Here are two links that you can use when writing your essay:
§ https://www-chicagomanualofstyle-org.libproxy.albany.edu/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html
§ https://www.americananthro.org/StayInformed/Content.aspx?ItemNumber=2044&navItemNumber=693
Proper citation of all material is a must. We will have a special short visit for two of our lectures in which Librarian Seaman will be explaining important topics related to plagiarism, resources we have in our library as well as important topics related to the writing of your essay.
· Discussion Section Assignments:
· Discussion Section Presentations: Teaching assistants will organize the students from their discussion sections to present the readings assigned for that week. Students will present one of the assigned readings for the discussion sections that are in Kenneth Guest’s book Cultural Anthropology: A Reader for a Global Age. Students have to prepare a 10-minute presentation narrating the content of the assigned reading using Keynote, Prezi or PowerPoint. This is the rubric to evaluate the presentation:
Items to grade
Value
Students include main concepts from the lecture in their presentation
2
Students speak loudly so everybody can hear them
2
Students do not read the slides
2
Students describe the content of every subtitle in the reading
2
Quality of the PowerPoint presentation
2
Total
10
· Ten Short Reading Quizzes: Short reading quizzes will be given at any time during your discussion sections. Each one is one point of your final grade. You may not take them if you arrive late. While your TA may decide to give more than ten quizzes, only ten will be counted toward your grade. There is NO OPPORTUNITY to make up a reading quiz. If you miss discussion, you miss the grade.
CLASS TOPICS, READINGS AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE*
*This schedule is subject to change. Announcements will be made in class, via Blackboard, e-mail, and/or in the discussion sections. Students are responsible for being aware of these changes.
PART 1: ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Week One Introduction
Week One Introduction
January 23 Introduction to the class
No discussion sections this week
Week Two Anthropology in a Global Age
Week Two Anthropology in a Global Age
January 28 Readings:
· Chapter 1. Guest, Kenneth (2018) Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
January 30 Professor Walter Little: A Life Dedicated to Ethnography
Mini-Essay 1 Due January 30 at 11:59 pm via Dropbox.
Readings:
Sarah Appelhans’ discussion sections will not meet on Monday January 27.
Readings for discussion session:
· Same as the readings for Walter Little’s talk.
Week Three Culture
Week Three Culture
February 4 Readings:
· Chapter 2: Culture. Guest, Kenneth (2018) Essentials of Cultural Anthropology:
February 6 Reading:
· Geertz, Clifford. 1973. Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight.” In The Interpretation of Cultures, 412-453. New York: Basic Books.
Readings for your discussion section:
· Horace. Miner. Body Ritual among the Nacirema.
· Lila Abu-Lughod. Do MuslimWomen Really Need Saving?
Week Three Language
Week Three Language
February 11 Readings:
· Chapter 4. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
February 13 Organization of Lecture:
Mini-Essay 2 Due February 13 at 11:59 pm via Dropbox.
1. Guest lecturer: Librarian Priscilla Seaman presents a general overview of the Libraries/Resources, and specially the anthropology resources we have at our main library
2. After the guest lecture we will discuss the documentary “Why save a Language: the Montana Experience, Stories from Big Sky County.”
Readings:
Readings for your discussion section:
· Laura Ahearn. Literacy, Power, and Agency: Love Letters and Development in Nepal.
· Laura Bohannan. Shakespeare in the Bush.
Week Four Fieldwork and Ethnography
February 18 Readings:
· Chapter 3. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology.
February 20 Exercise: Fieldwork (no class, time for you to go to fieldwork)
Fieldnote Due February 22 before 11:59 pm via Blackboard. You can find examples of fieldnotes in your Blackboard.
Readings for your discussion section:
· Barbara Myerhoff. From Number of Our Days.
· Sienna Craig. Portrait of a Himalayan Healer.
PART 2: UNMASKING THE SYSTEMS OF POWER
Week Five Race and Racism
Week Five Race and Racism
February 25 Readings:
· REQUIRED READING: Race and Ethnicity. Justin D. García, Perspectives. ·
SUGGESTED READING: Chapter 5. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
F
ebruary 27 Readings: ·
Yarimar Bonilla and Jonathan Rosa, #Ferguson: Digital Protest, Hashtag Ethnography, and the Racial Politics of Social Media in the United States. (from your Cultural Anthropology: A Reader for a Global Age.)
R
eadings for your discussion section: ·
Keisha-Khan Perry. “If We Didn’t Have Water”: Black Women’s Struggle for Urban Land Rights in Brazil. ·
Karen Brodkin. Sacks. How Did Jews Become White Folks?
W
eek Six Ethnicity and Nationalism
M
arch 3 Readings: ·
Chapter 6. Ethnicity and Nationalism. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
M
arch 5 Guest Lecturer: Marie Peterson M
ini-Essay 3 Due March 5 at 11:59 pm via Dropbox
R
eadings: ·
R
eadings for your discussion section: ·
Audra Simpson. From Mohawk Interruptus. ·
Paul Farmer. “Landmine Boys” and Stupid Deaths.
W
W
eek Seven Midterm Exam / Kinship Family and Marriage
eek Seven Midterm Exam / Kinship Family and Marriage
I
nterview Transcript Due March 13 at 11:59 pm via Blackboard.
M
arch 10 Online Midterm Exam M
arch 12 Reading: ·
Chapter 9. Kinship Family and Marriage. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
R
eadings for your discussion section: ·
Donna Haraway. From Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. ·
Melvyn Goldstein. When Brothers Share a Wife.
W
eek Eight Spring Break, March 14-20.
eek Eight Spring Break, March 14-20.
M
arch 17 No Class
M
arch19 No Class
W
eek Nine Class and Inequality
eek Nine Class and Inequality
M
arch 24 Reading: ·
Chapter 9. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
M
arch 26 Guest Lecturer: Librarian Priscilla Seaman speaks about plagiarism and citations. M
ini-Essay 4 Due March 26 at 11:59 pm via Dropbox.
R
eadings for your discussion section: ·
Karen Hansen. Helping or Hindering? Controversies around the International Second-Hand Clothing Trade. ·
Philippe Bourgois. From Jíbaro to Crack Dealer: Confronting the Restructuring of Capitalism in El Barrio.
W
W
eek Ten Gender and Sexuality
eek Ten Gender and Sexuality
M
arch 31 Readings: ·
REQUIRED READING: Gender and Sexuality. Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology (in Blackboard). ·
SUGGESTED READINGS: Chapter 5 and 6. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
A
pril 2 Film in class: India’s Daughter
M
ini-Essay 5 Due April 2 at 11:59 pm via Dropbox.
R
eadings for your discussion section: ·
Emily Martin. The Egg and the Sperm. ·
Bobby Benedicto. from Under Bright Lights: Gay Manila and the Global Scene. P
ART 3: CHANGE IN THE MODERN WORLD
W
eek Twelve The Global Economy A
eek Twelve The Global Economy A
pril 6th: Last day for undergraduate students to drop semester length course ("W" assigned)
A
pril 7 Reading: ·
Chapter 11. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
A
pril 9 Guest Lecturer Sarah Appelhans: “Flexible Labor in the Integrated Circuit”. M
ini-Essay 6 Due April 9 at 11:59pm via Dropbox
R
eadings: ·
Brettell, Caroline B. & DeBerjeois, Patricia A. 1999. Anthropology and the Study of Immigrant Women. In Seeking Common Ground: Multidisciplinary Studies of Immigrant Women in the United States. Donna R. Gabbacia, Ed. Pp. 41-64. ·
Gregg, Melissa. 2008. The Normalisation of Flexible Female Labour in the Information Economy. Feminist Media Studies, 8(3):285-299.
R
eadings for your discussion section: ·
Julie Y. Chu. The Attraction of Numbers: Accounting for Ritual Expenditures in Fuzhou, China. ·
Carolyn Nordstrom. From Shadows of War.
W
eek Thirteen Health, Illness and the Body M
ini-Essay 7 Due April 14 at 11:59pm via Dropbox
A
pril 14 Film in class: Doctors of Two Worlds
No readings for this film.
A
pril 16 Reading: ·
Chapter 14. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
R
eadings for your discussion section: ·
Michele Friedner. From Valuing Deaf Worlds in Urban India. ·
Dréderic Le Marcis and Todd Lethata. Life and Times of Magda A.
W
eek Fourteen Art and Anthropology
eek Fourteen Art and Anthropology
A
pril 21 Reading: ·
Chapter 15. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
A
pril 23 Guest Lecturer Kaori Otera Chen. “Weaving Art in Upstate New York: An Anthropological Perspective”. M
ini-Essay 8 Due April 23 at 11:59 pm via Blackboard.
R
eadings: TBA
W
eek Fifteen Religion
R
esearch Essay Due April 25 no later than 11:59 pm via Blackboard.
A
pril 28 Reading: ·
Chapter 13. Guest, Kenneth. Essentials of Cultural Anthropology
A
pril 30 Reading: ·
S
arah Appelhans’ discussion sections will meet on Monday April 27 to discuss readings from week 14 and on May 4 for activities for week 15. D
iscussion Section activities for week 15: TBA
W
eek Sixteen: Children M
ay 6th.: Last day of classes.
M
ay 5 Guest Lecturer: Professor Oscar Rivera García. “Migrant children crossing the border” M
ini-Essay 9 Due on May 5 at 11:59pm via Dropbox
R
eadings: TBA
W
eek Seventeen: Final Exam
M
ay 13 Online Final Exam
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse