INSTRUCTOR:
Dr. James J. Sheehy
Office Phone (University Park) 865-1142
E-mail: jjs1@email.psu.edu
ALTOONA OFFICE:
109 Birch Complex
10:30 AM to 1:30 PM Tuesday and Thursday
Voice Phone 949-5300, ext 6094
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Cultural Anthropology 9th ed. by William Haviland (CA)
Human Adaptive Strategies by Daniel G. Bates (DB)
SUPPLEMENTARY TEXTS (Purchase any one of the following)
- The Origins of Language: Tracing the Evolution of the Mother Tongue by Merritt Ruhlen
- The Zuni Man-Woman by Will Roscoe
- Feasting with mine Enemy by Abraham Rosman and Paula G. Rubel
- Pueblo Indians of North America by Edward P. Dozier
- Home of Dancing Sivan by Paul Younger
- Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Politics, and culture in the Kingdom of
Dahomey by Edna G. Bay.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is a broad overview of the field of Cultural Anthropology. Cultural Anthropology is the comparative study of human behavior and social organization of societies all over the world. The course will utilize ethnographic descriptions to study the variation in human cultural systems including language, kinship, economics, politics, religion and social change. An evolutionary perspective will be followed, emphasizing the different cultural and ecological adaptations human beings have made as individuals and as members of social units. Through lectures, course readings, films, and discussion we will try to make some sense of the range of cultural variation seen among human populations.
COURSE OUTLINE:
Looking at the course as a whole, and using the syllabus as a guide, you can see that the course material is divided into several sections organized along the following lines: anthropology and the concept of culture, language, human development, subsistence strategies, economics, gender and marriage, social groupings, politics, religion, arts, and cultural change.
READING AND LECTURES:
Reading assignments are outlined in the syllabus presented below. All assignments are from the required texts. Lectures generally follow the text chapters; however, there will be additional materials presented in lecture that do not appear in the text. Students are responsible for the lecture materials as well as the readings. Thus, it is advisable that students read the assigned material prior to coming to class.
In the past, students have asked how to best study for the course. The best answer is that, in the long run, it would be advisable to read the assignment several times. A technique for better reading comprehension is to pre-read the assignment. For example, first page through the assigned chapter, noting the subdivisions of the chapter. Second, go back and study the diagrams, tables, and figures that are found in the chapter. Frequently much of the most important information is summarized in these diagrams, tables, and figures. Third, then go back to the beginning of the chapter and read the first sentence of each paragraph. A good author will freqeuntly6 provide a good bit of information in the very first sentence in order to attract the attention of the reader. Finally, go back and read the entire chapter. If you know how the chapter is divided, are familiar with the illustrations referenced in the text, you will have a better comprehension when you ultimately read the entire chapter.
You should also be aware of the procedures for ordering books via LIAS from the main campus at University Park. Everyone should visit the library during the first week of campus and become familiar with the use of LIAS. If you have any questions about LIAS ask the librarians, they are there to help you!
WEB PAGE AND THE WORLDWIDE WEB:
There will be a web page for this course. I will announce the address (URL) in class. The World Wide Web provides a rich source of information on a variety of topics related to Cultural Anthropology. The internet can be a very important study aide, especially given the fact that the library on the Altoona campus is not very large and has a narrow selection of books on anthropology.
EXAMS AND GRADING:
There will be three exams during the semester. The third exam is the final exam and will be held during the final exam period at the end of the semester. Each exam is worth 100 points. Thus, three exams count toward a total of 300 points. Additionally, students also are required to write a book report, which will be worth 100 points. I will hand out further information about the book report in the first few weeks of the course. The total number of points that you can accumulate for the course is 400.
Students frequently ask me at the end of the course "what can I do to improve my grade?" The response is simple and will be "nothing". The point is that the time to improve your grade is while you are taking the course. If there are concepts or aspects of the lectures or readings that you don't understand, then use the class or office hours to clarify what you don't understand before you take the exam. If you miss a lecture and cannot get the lecture notes from a fellow student, see me during my office hours and we can go over the material. My office is in 109 Birch complex, I will be there most of the morning and until class starts at 2:00 PM. If you have any questions at all, please take advantage of the office hours and come by and ask questions.
Since I am commuting from State College, it is difficult to schedule make-up exams. Therefore, I stress that each student should be sure to take each exam. I will give a make-up exam only for compelling documented medical or legitimate religious events. If one knows ahead of time that he or she will not be able to take an exam on the scheduled date, then you must inform me before the scheduled exam in order to set up a time for the make-up. For those students who fail to take an exam, and have not arranged a make-up before hand, they will receive no points for that exam.
GRADING:
As noted above in the section on exams, each student can accumulate a total of 400 points. The final grade for the class will be based on the percentage of 400 point obtained. For example, A=360-400; B=320-359; C=280-319; D=240-279; and F less than 240. Depending on the distribution of total points after the final exam, I might decide to use a curve in which I will take the highest grade in the course and base the percent breakdown on that grade. I also will make adjustments for dramatic improvements in a student's performance.
EXTRA CREDIT:
Students wishing to add 50 extra-credit points to their test totals may do so by writing a second book review. The purpose of the second book review is to provide an opportunity for a student to pursue a particular theme or topic he or she finds interesting. Students choosing to do the book review should hand-in a 3x5 index card with your name and the name of the book you wish to review. The extra credit book review will be due on the last day of class
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
"Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, unauthorized prior possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students." (Policies and Rules for Students, Section 49-20.)
CONSEQUENCES OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
The penalty for academic dishonesty in less serious cases consists of a failing grade for the work or test where this misconduct occurred. This decision is made by the instructor and could result in a failing grade for the course. In more serious cases of academic dishonesty, the penalties are more severe (including automatic failure for the course, probation, suspension, or expulsion from the University), and formal due process procedures are available for the students and faculty involved. Section 49-20 of the Policies and Rules for Students provides the details on these procedures.
| CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY CLASS SCHEDULE |
| Date |
Topic |
Readings |
Internet
Resources |
| 12 Jan T |
Introduction to Anthropology |
|
Links |
| 14 Jan Th |
Approaches to Cultural Anthropology |
CA1-2; DB1 |
Links |
| 19 Jan T |
Adaptation and Evolution |
CA3; DB2 |
Links |
| 21 Jan Th |
Language and Communication |
CA4 |
Links |
| 26 Jan T |
Language and Communication |
CA4 |
| 28 Jan Th |
Language Change |
CA4 |
Links |
| 2 Feb T |
Socialization and personality |
CA5 |
Links |
| 4 Feb Th |
Gender and sexuality |
CA8 |
Links |
| 9 Feb T |
Marriage and Family |
CA8-9 |
Links |
| 11 Feb Th |
EXAM I |
| 16 Feb T |
Kinship and Descent |
CA10 |
Links |
| 18 Feb Th |
Non-kin forms of association |
CA11 |
Links |
| 23 Feb T |
Ecology & Subsistence |
CA6; DB2 |
Links |
| 25 Feb Th |
Hunter-gatherer societies |
CA6; DB3 |
Links |
| 2 Mar T |
Foragers and Fishers |
CA6; DB3 |
Links |
| 4 Mar Th |
Pastoralism |
CA6; DB5 |
Links |
| 9 Mar T |
Spring Break |
| 11 Mar Th |
Spring Break |
| 16 Mar T |
Subsistence Agriculture |
CA6; DB4 |
Links |
| 18 Mar Th |
Intensive Agriculture |
CA6; DB6 |
Links |
| 23 Mar T |
EXAM II |
| 25 Mar Th |
Economic Anthropology |
CA7 |
Links |
| 30 Mar T |
Economic Anthropology |
CA7 |
| 1 Apr Th |
Economic Anthropology |
CA7 |
| 6 Apr T |
Political organization |
CA 12; DB 2 |
Links |
| 8 Apr Th |
Political Anthropology |
CA 12 |
Links |
| 13 Apr T |
Political Anthropology |
CA 12 |
| 15 Apr Th |
Anthropology of Religion |
CA 13 |
Links |
| 20 Apr T |
Anthropology of Religion |
CA 13 |
| 22 Apr Th |
Anthropology of Religion |
CA13 |
| 27 Apr T |
Anthropology and the Arts |
CA14 |
Links |
| 29 Apr Th |
Culture change |
CA15-16; DB7 |
Links |
| Final Exam |
Date will be announced in Class |
