In this course, students will discover the ingredients that make up culture. By setting up a cultural framework in the first quarter, students will learn the particulars present in all societies such as a creation theory/history, government, religion, family, economy, form of communication, etc. In the next three quarters, participants will look at three specific world regions to see these particulars in action as well as to examine the rich histories of these areas. The regions covered will include: Japan, Africa and the Middle East. In the process of gaining new cultural and historical knowledge, students will further develop and hone valuable reading, writing, and verbal skills. The ultimate goal of the course is to compel young adults to look beyond their particular cultures while gaining valuable skills for their later high school years.
Angelino, Elvio,
ed. Anthropology 02/03
Rampolla, Mary Lynn A Pocket Guide to Writing in History
Rochman, Hazel, ed, Somehow Tenderness Survives
Regional Studies Series:
Japan
Africa
The Middle
East and North Africa
Other readings will be given as handouts and/or posted on the department’s web page
1) The quarter grade will be based on the following assessments:
a) tests/major writing assignments – 60%
b) reading quizzes, homeworks, in class short written assignments – 20%
c) class contribution (this includes quality and quantity of discussion participation, but also enthusiasm, contributions to the bulletin board, web sites you have consulted, etc.; therefore, even shy kids can excel in this area) – 15%
d) notebook organization and completeness – 5%
2) Become the proud owner of a ring binder type notebook, to be used exclusively for this class (this type allows you to take things in and out – all handouts will be hole-punched for your convenience). Put in and keep in: all reading notes, dated class notes, handouts, and returned work, arranged chronologically. This will help you see where we are going and where we have been. You may use your reading notes for all pop reading quizzes (but not the readings themselves). Spend 5-10 minutes after each class filling in your notes, so that they will make sense to you come exam time. Even if we have a movie or fun project, write a sentence or two describing what we did and what you learned from it. Your notebooks will be collected and graded once per quarter.
3) All essays completed at home may be rewritten with no risk (i.e., you can’t get a lower grade). However, you must submit the original along with the rewrite within one week.
4) Keep up with the reading daily, and make up missed work FAST. If you are absent, don’t assume that we cancelled class, overcome with sadness that you weren’t there. Assignments will be given in class as well as posted on my website; if you are unclear about a given assignment, please call me at home (until a reasonable hour) or consult a competent, trusted classmate.
5) Extra help is willingly and cheerfully given, but works best by appointment. I can often be found in my office, directly across from the main office downstairs.
6) While I am not against extra credit per se, realize that you can’t go from a D+ to a B- by extra credit work. Best to get the real stuff right first. However, if, at the end of the quarter, your grade is on the cusp (89.2 for example), those intangibles like EC and class contribution may make the difference.
7) Think a lot, and suspend judgment whenever possible. This stuff is provocative, complex, and new to all. Respect for the views of classmates is essential.
8) If you do your best on a reading or a given assignment, but still don’t “get” it, speak up in the beginning of class. If you are silent, I will assume that everything is crystal clear. Then I get to quiz you (nyuck, nyuck).
9) I will attempt to spare you boring and/or unimportant homework. Do your best on what is assigned, ALONE, unless instructed otherwise. Consult the department’s Guidelines Regarding Academic Integrity for further clarification of these issues.
10) Enjoy. This probably isn’t as bad as it looks…
We’ll be spending the first quarter learning the tools of the trade – gathering the skills necessary to look at other cultures, to find out what they have in common, to see that they make sense. Here’s the rough outline of where we will be going –
Topic #1: What is Culture?
Shakespeare in the Bush (AE 9)
Culture, A Concept (X)
The White Man Will Eat You (X)
The F Word (X)
Summer Reading Essay, Norm Observation Project
Sane, Insane (X)
Body Ritual (AE 31)
IQ Experiment (X)
Adolescent Bigotry (X)
The X’s (X)
Name Game, Pictures at an Exhibition, Social Distance Scale, The Nature of Prejudice (film), Prejudice Essay, The Mysteries
Topic #3: Cultural Components
Related Activities
Guess-a-Culture, Intercultural Action
Topic #4: Economic Patterns
Readings
Eating Christmas (AE 4)
Too Many Bananas (AE 12)
Underground Potlatch (AE 39)
Related Activities
Silent Auction, Why Work, Mrs. Shapazian Case Study
Topic #5: Political Patterns
Readings
Waiting as a Power Game (X)
Life Without Chiefs (AE 39)
The Secrets of Haiti’s Living Dead (AE 30)
Related Activities
Political System Self-Survey, Political Systems Field Project, Dead Birds (film)
Topic #6: Religious Patterns
Readings
Riddle of the Pig (X)
Baseball Magic (AE 32)
Rituals of Death (X)
Topic #7: Family, Social, and Gender Patterns
Readings
When Brothers Share a Wife (AE 14)
Who Needs Love? (AE 21)
I Can’t Even Open My Mouth (AE 8)
Death Without Weeping (AE 16)
Blood in their Veins (X)
When Fat is a Matter of Beauty (AE 26)
Related Activities
Family Dinner Project, Genogram Project, The Baka (film)
Topic #8: Communication Patterns
Readings
Language, Appearance, and Reality (AE 6)
Why Don’t You Say What You Mean? (AE 7)
The World’s Language (X)
Topic #9: Patterns of Change
Readings
Problem Drinking (X)
From Warfare to Structural Steel (X)
Mystique of the Masai (AE 11)
Related Activities
Planning Change, The Whale Rider (film, maybe)
Topic #10: Putting it all Together
Related Activity
Netsilik Film Study Project