Profr. Ben Feinberg
J-304, ext. 3709
| Office Hours: | , MW 2:30-3:30 |
| or as arranged |
| Course Description and Goals | Requirements and Grading |
| Books | Handouts |
| Schedule of Reading Assignments | |
| Links | Classroom Protocol and Participation Guidelines |
Cultural anthropology is that aspect of the study of human beings that deals with culture, a mysterious concept that eludes any simple definition. This class will introduce students to the study of culture through the work of anthropologists working with diverse groups all over the world, in books, articles, and movies. It hopes to provide you with an appreciation for the diversity of the human experience and the arbitrariness of taken-for-granted beliefs, customs, and practices, and also to relate culture to other concepts such as power, gender, ritual, ecology, identity, language, discourse, religion, and resistance. There is no textbook; students will learn the basic concepts of anthropology through immersion into specific cases from all around the world. We will wade especially deeply into two ethnographic cases: that of the BaMbuti people of Central Africa and of crack dealers in East Harlem, New York.
Lecturing will be the main instructional strategy used for this class. However, films, discussions, and in-class writing experiments will supplement this strategy. Be prepared to ask and answer questions.
This course is required for the Sociology and Anthropology major, and also fulfills the Social Science area requirement.
This course will cover a lot of material, so attendance is mandatory and students should take good notes. After the first absence, students will lose points from their participation grade for missing class. Much of the material is presented in lectures and does not appear in any of the readings, as there is no standard textbook, so it will be very difficult to make up for lost time. If you have to miss a class, be sure to talk to me and get notes from somebody else. There will be several in-class assignments, or take home assignments that will be announced in class, so you better find out what is going on if you can't come. If you have problems recording or retaining information from the lectures, feel free to ask questions in class or in my office. There is a relatively heavy reading load for an introductory class, so try not to fall behind. Note that some weeks have heavier loads than others, and schedule your time appropriately.
There will be three exams with multiple choice/short answer/short essay formats. Students must turn in two short papers in the first term of the class. These papers include a "literature review" paper based on use of the library and online databases (NOT from just "surfing the web" and a critical analysis of a personal experience using a particular anthropological theory. There will also be a short (2-3 question) quiz given orally every day on the reading. This quiz will be administered at precisely 1 PM, and questions will not be repeated for the benefit of students who arrive late. Students will also be required to turn in a short summary of one of the readings. Tests will cover ALL the material covered in class, including readings, lectures, movies, and ideas raised in discussions. Papers turned in late will lose points, and will not be accepted after the last day of class. A longer ethnographic paper will also be due during the final week of class; a rough draft will be due two weeks earlier. A separate page describes this ethnographic research assignment. Note: The final exam will be given on the final day of class. There are NO EXCEPTIONS.
Note on Writing Assignments: Every assignment will be typed. Every assignment will be stapled (or it will be returned). Computers are our friends, but like all good friends, they have complex and demanding needs. They eat, mangle, forget, and abandon us at our neediest hour. Plan on this happening, and work appropriately. Computer excuses aren't acceptable in the real world, and you won't get any sympathy from your professors, either. Build time into your schedule for disasters. Your disk will go bad on occasion. You still have a deadline.Note on missed assignments: You should never miss a test, except under very unusual circumstances (i.e. you are very ill). If one of these unusual circumstances occurs, you still are responsible for contacting the professor BEFORE the class period to request an alternate arrangement. You cannot make up a test that you do not show up for.Students are also required to attend at least one of the senior thesis sessions of presentations by senior sociology and anthropology majors. These sessions are from 4-5:30 during weeks 14 and 15 of the semester in Jensen Lecture Hall. Students who attend more than one session may receive extra credit.
Grades are determined as follows:
| participation/attendance | 10 |
| daily quizzes | 10 |
| writing assignment #1 (annotated bibliography) | 4 |
| midterm I | 15 |
| writing assignment #2 (rites of passage) | 7 |
| midterm II | 15 |
| writing assignment #3 (Taussig summary) | 2 |
| ethnographic paper | 22 |
| final exam | 15 |
| 100 |
What do grades mean? Grading is an unfortunately necessary but inherently imperfect aspect of our academic culture. For more information or insights into this subject go to grading philosophy.
Special Needs: If any student has specific, diagnosed, individual learning needs that will require special arrangements such as more time to complete assignments or tests, using someone else's notes, taping class sessions or lectures, or typing rather than handwriting in-class tests or exams, please discuss those needs with me as soon as possible, preferably during the first week of the term. Documentation of your learning disability must also be on file with Deborah Braden (ext 3899). Requirements for disability documentation can be found on the Warren Wilson website under "accommodations." If you feel that you may have an undiagnosed disability, please contact Deborah Braden (dbraden@warren-wilson.edu. I encourage students to develop ways of coping with special learning needs, but these requests for special consideration can not be addressed when they are received on the day of a test, on the day an assignment is due, or late in the semester. We can respond more easily if you consult with me at the beginning of the of the semester.
Academic Dishonesty: I expect everybody to write their own papers and do their own work. Anybody who cheats will fail that particular assignment and may, depending on the severity of the offense, fail the class. However, I do not discourage you from getting together to study, exchange ideas, or talk about your papers. Sometimes there is a fine line between the fruitful use of and influence by the ideas of others (whether friends or written sources) and plagiarism, and this line may be defined differently for people with different backgrounds. After all, all of our ideas come from somewhere external to our tiny little brains. If you think that you may be approaching that line and are unsure how to proceed, come see me or ask for clarification in class. Plagiarism includes, for example: word for word copying of the works of others, OR summarizing or using others' work without properly citing it. For this class, do not use any web-based materials for your written assignments.
There are three books required for this class. All three are available at the bookstore. In addition, some readings are on reserve at the library. The three required texts are:
Turnbull, Colin M.
1961. The Forest People. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Spradley, James, and David W. McCurdy
2006 Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology (12th edition). New York: Longman.
Bourgois, Philippe.
2003 In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio, 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.