Course Description

ANTH 2301 Cultural Anthropology - Social Science OR Multi-Cultural Core

ANTH 2351 is an introduction and survey of cultural and social anthropology. Anthropology is intellectually and personally rewarding because it opens the world to students interested in contact with other people and cultures. In the contemporary period, anthropology is well suited to interpret the diversity of cultures around us, both in and beyond the borders of the United States. Anthropologists study all aspects of human culture, near and far, in the past, as well as in the present. Anthropologists investigate the similarities and differences in people, their societies, languages and cultures. They study human strategies for survival and how people give meaning, form and organization to their lives as they adapt to various environments and conditions. In this course students will enhance their knowledge of key elements of their own cultural identities and learn about the discipline of anthropology, its descriptions and understanding of human culture with film, text, interactive exercises, and critical analysis of contemporary cultural trends and issues with a focus on the global context of anthropological study. This course transfers as 3 hours of credit to most other colleges and universities.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites.

Course Goals (includes competencies, incorporation of SCANS, etc.)

The emphasis in this course is on, not only understanding anthropological concepts intellectually, but in being able to identify and analyze the "cultural component" of personal and social situations. At the conclusion of this course you will:

• be able to discuss culture as the central concept of anthropology and a major influence shaping human behavior using a comparative & holistic perspective.
• be able to assess the importance of culture in effective communication and consider why sometimes, intercultural communication is problematic.
• develop skills in describing and assessing culture in a variety of settings, including its representation in film and written ethnography.
• apply a "global perspective" in understanding the transformations & discontinuities in human culture from prehistoric origins to our contemporary and global society.
• be able to detect ethnocentrism and consider how to counteract its limitations.
• expand your intellectual competencies including reading, writing, speaking, listening, critical thinking and computer literacy as specified in the HCCS Core Curriculum guidelines.

CORE COMPETENCIES
Reading -- Text, Supplemental Reading
Writing -- Written Exercises & Project
Listening - Interviews and observation exercises, Lectures, in and out of class viewing of videos, Class Exercises and Discussions
Critical Thinking -- Written project, class participation exercises, presentations, exams
Computer Literacy -- Internet Assignment
Speaking -- Interviews and observation exercise, class participation, presentations

Instructor Information

This course will be taught by a qualified anthropology instructor. Please read the specific course syllabus for the instructor information.

Textbook Information

The TEXTS for this course is selected by college:

Culture Counts by Serena Nanda & Richard Warms (1st edition, 2010)

Supplementary articles.

Ethnography (a book) selected from a list of HCC or other library collections.

Lab Requirements (if any)

No lab requirements

Students with Disabilities

Students who are in need of special accommodations related to a condition or disability should contact ADA Counselor at each college to obtain the proper documentation. Special accommodations will be provided to those students who show proper documentation.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism, cheating and other forms of academic dishonesty are prohibited by the HCCS policy and the rules of this class. A student found guilty of the first offense will receive a grade of "F" for that particular assignment. For the second offense, the student will receive a grade of "F" for the course.

Attendance and Withdrawal Policies

Class attendance is required for the successful completion of the course. Following HCCS policy, a student with unexplained absences in excess of 6 class hours may be dropped from a class.

If you wish to withdraw, it is recommended that you submit the withdrawal form in the registration office,. If you have ceased attending classes, some instructors may drop you from the class roll at the end of the semester, and you will receive a grade of W, even if you have not filed the official withdrawal form. However, other instructors may give a grade of F instead. Please read the syllabus for your class carefully about the attendance and withdrawal policies.

If you are on the installment plan, please remember to make payments according to schedule. Otherwise, you will be dropped from the class roll.

Course Requirements and Grading Policy

Different instructors may use different projects, assignments, and activities in their classes. Instructors are encouraged to use a variety of methods to assess students' learning. There may be objective tests and other course assignments. The course assignments may include reading assignments, writing assignments, and various activities (attending guest lectures, internet assignments, class presentation, group projects, etc.) that are designed to develop students' critical thinking and problem solving skills. Please consult your instructor's course syllabus.

Instructors may use a variety of assessment methods in grading, including tests with objective (multiple-choice, true-false, filling-in-blanks, etc.) and written questions, projects, and group discussion of assigned articles, etc. A writing assignment is required in each anthropology class. The final exam is comprehensive..

The final course grade will be calculated according to the following formula %age weight given to regular tests, the final exam, lab assignments, and any other component of the program indicated by the individual instructor.

The final score resulting from the sum of the above components will be converted into letter grades according to the following scale.

A = 90 and up B = 80 - 89 C = 70 -79 D = 60 -69 F = 59 and below

Make-up policy

Different instructors may have different make-up policies.

Some instructors may allow make-up exams. Other instructors may not allow make-up tests, but give students the option to drop one test grade.

Course Content

A general introduction to the discipline, its particular methods, theories, concepts, and terms will be presented in this course. Topics include approaches to the study of culture, with emphasis on the biocultural model that distinguishes anthropology as a social science. Important contributors to the field, topics including language, art, gender, marriage, family, and kinship, religion and art, social organization and processes as viewed in economic, political and religious institutions are studied in text and ethnographic film.

Course Calendar with Due Dates for Assignments and Testing

Please consult with your instructor's course syllabus concerning course calendar.

Other Student Information (clubs, tutoring, web resources, etc.)

Anthropology Clubs and Activities are sponsored at some of the individual colleges. Check with your instructor for regular updates.

Ethnographies Available in HCCS system library or a TexShare library.
Abu-Lughod Writing Women's Worlds: Bedouin Stories Call#HQ1793.A68 1993 STAFFORD
Beals, Alan Gopalpur, a south Indian village Call# HN690.G66.B4 1980 CENTRAL
Behar, Ruth Translated Woman: crossing the border with Esperanza's Story
Call # HQ1465.M63 B44 1993 STAFFORD
Benedict, Ruth The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
Call # DS821.B46 1989 WEST LOOP
Chagnon, Napoleon Yanomamo Call# F2520.1.Y3.C49 1992 STAFFORD
Chance, Norman The Eskimo of North Alaska Call# E99.E7.C5 STAFFORD
Dyk, Walter Left Handed, Son of Old Man Hat: a Navajo autobiography
Call # E99.N3 L545 19996 STAFFORD
Ekvall, Robert Fields on the Hoof, nexus of Tibetan nomadic pastoralism
Call# DS786.E4 1968 STAFFORD
Fadiman, Anne The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down STAFFORD
Fernea, Elizabeth Warnock Guests of the Sheik: an ethnography of an
Iraqi Village Call # HQ1735.Z9.N344 1989 CENTRAL
Gmelch, Sharon NAN: The Life of an Irish Travelling Woman
CT 868.D68.G54 1991 WEST LOOP
Harper, Kenn Give Me My Father?s Body: the life of Minik, the New York Eskimo.
E99.E7.W376 2000 STAFFORD
Hart, C.W.M. The Tiwi of North Australia Call# DU125.T5 H37 1988 STAFFORD
Hellman, Judith Adler Mexican Lives STAFFORD
Keiser, R. Lincoln The Vice Lords: warriors of the streets
Call# F548.9.N4 K44 1979 STAFFORD
Klima, George The Barabaig: East African cattle-herders Call # DT443.K55 CENTRAL
Kuper, Hilda The Swazi: a South African Kingdom
Call# DT971.42.K87 1986 STAFFORD
Lee, Richard B. The Dobe Ju/'hoansi (African tribe - !Kung/San)
Call # DT1058.K86L44 1993 EASTSIDE
Lewis, Oscar The Children of Sanchez STAFFORD
Marshall, Mac Weekend Warriors: alcohol in a Micronesian culture
Call # GN671.C3 M37 1979 STAFFORD
Mead, Margaret Coming of Age in Samoa Call # DU813.M4 1973 STAFFORD
Moffatt, Michael Coming of Age in New Jersey LD 4756.M62 1989 WEST LOOP
Myerhoff, Barbara Peyote Hunt: The Sacred Journey of the Huichol Indians
F1221.H9.M6 1976 CENTRAL
Pavitt, Nigel. Samburu. DT 433.545.S26.P3 1991 STAFFORD
Peletz, Michael A Share of the Harvest (Malyas of Rembau)
Call # GN635.M4.P45 1988 STAFFORD
Rajkowski, Pamela. Linden Girl: a Story of outlawed lives. (Australian aborigines)
Call # GN667.W5 A437 1995 STAFFORD
Renaud, Michelle Lewis Women at the Crossroads: a prostitute community's reponse to
AIDS in Urban Senegal. Call # RA644.A25 R46 1997 STAFFORD
Rosendahl, Mona Inside the Revolution: everyday life in socialist Cuba
CALL# HX160.P35.R67 1997 CENTRAL
Sacks, Oliver W. Seeing Voices: a journey into the land of the deaf.
CALL # HV2370.S23 1989 CENTRAL

Saitoti, Tepilit The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior Call # DT433.54.M33.S25 1988 STAFFORD

Shield, Renee Rose Uneasy Endings: daily life in an American Nursing Home
CALL# RA997.S53 1988 CENTRAL
Shostak, Marjorie. Nisa, the life and words of a !Kung Woman.
Call # DT797.N57 S53 1983 STAFFORD
Sillitoe, Paul An Introduction to the anthropology of Melanesia: culture and tradition
Call # GN668.S55 1998 STAFFORD
Smith-Hefner, Nancy Joan. Khmer American: identity and moral education in a diasporic
community. Call # F73.9.K45 S65 1999 STAFFORD
Stack, Carol All Our Kin (African Americans move from South to North)
Call # E185.86.S697 1997 STAFFORD
Stack, Carol Call to Home: African Americans reclaim the rural South.
Call # E185.86.S6974 1996 STAFFORD
Sullivan, Mercer L. "Getting Paid": Youth Crime and Work in the Inner City
Call # HV9106.N6.S85 1989 EASTSIDE

Turnbull, Colin The Forest People (Mbuti in Zaire) Call #DT650.B36.T87 1987 CENTRAL
Turnbull, Colin The Mountain People (the Ik in Africa) Call #DT429.T87 NORTHWEST Ward, Martha. Nest in the Wind: adventures in anthropology on a tropical island.
GN 699.W37. 1989 STAFFORD
Weiner, Annette The Trobrianders of Papua New Guinea

Call # GN671.N5 W43 1988 STAFFORD
Vogt, Evon The Zinacantecos of Mexico: a modern Maya way of life.
F1221.T9.V6 1990 EASTSIDE