ANTH 104-03: Introduction to Anthropology
Fall 2004
Instructor Dr. Brigittine French Class
Meetings
Office: 306 Goodnow M/W/F
Office Hours:
*and by appointment
E-mail: frenchb@grinnell.edu
Phone:
269-4816
Description
This
course is an introduction to anthropology--the study of the human condition in
all its past and present forms. We will approach the study of the human
condition from perspectives offered by anthropology's four sub-fields:
biological anthropology, archeology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic
anthropology. We will begin the course
by considering such questions as: Where did humans come from? In what ways did they
evolve? What is unique about humans as a
species? Next, we will consider the
development of human culture in the past as an innovative adaptation. We will then move to discuss how human
cultures are changing in the present, and how we, as cultural beings, deal with
and think about differences and similarities between social groups. We will conclude the course by examining how
humans make, use, and transform culture through and with language. Through
lectures, films, readings, and class discussions, students will become familiar
with key theories, research, themes, and concepts prominent in anthropological
thought. Emphasis will be placed on
critical thinking and analytical writing.
Texts
1) Abu-Lughod,
Lila. 1993. Writing Women’s Worlds:
Bedouin Stories.
2) Angeloni, Elvio ed. 2004. Annual
Editions: Anthropology
2004/2005, 27th Edition.
5)
6) Kottak, Conrad. 1998. Assault
on
5) Tattersall, Ian and Jeffrey H. Schwartz. 2000. Extinct
Humans.
6) Warren, Kay.
1998. Indigenous Movements and
Their Critics.
7) Reserve readings. Two copies of the readings will be in the
anthropology reading room on the 3rd floor of Goodnow Hall. The building is open M-F from
Requirements
1) Exams:
There will be three exams consisting primarily of short answer and essay
questions designed to address course materials covered in lectures, readings,
videos, and class discussions.
2)
Papers: There will be two short
(4-5 page) typed papers. No late papers
will be accepted without prior approval.
3) Attendance and Participation: Attendance
and participation are essential to a successful class both individually and
collectively. Be attentive and
engaged. Question your ideas and those
of class members including the professor.
Grading
Exam
One 20% (40 pts.)
Exam
Two 20% (40 pts.)
Exam
Three 20% (40 pts.)
Paper
One 15% (30
pts.)
Paper
Two 15% (30 pts.)
Discussion/Collaborative
Exercises 10% (20 pts.)
Students with Disabilities:
Anyone who has a disability that may require
some modification of seating, testing, or other class requirements should
inform me so that appropriate arrangements may be made. Please see me after class or during my office
hours.
INTRODUCTION: HUMANS, HOLISM, AND
ANTHROPOLOGICAL ENDEAVORS
Questions:
What is anthropology? What do
anthropologists do?
F, Aug 27 Course
introduction
M,
Aug 30 Print
and read www.aaanet.org/anthbroc.htm
TOPIC ONE: HUMAN ORIGINS, HUMAN ANCESTORS
Questions:
How does adaptation relate to evolution?
How can studying primates inform knowledge of human evolution? Who were
australopithecines? What does their
diversity tell us about the process of human evolution?
W,
Sept 1 Tattersall and Schwartz Chapter 1
“The Path to Human Evolution” and Chapter 2 “Evolution Today”
F,
Sept 3 Jurmain et.
al Chapter 5 “An Overview of the Living Primates,” and
Chapter 6 “Primate Behavior” (Reserve readings)
M,
Sept 6 Kemp and Smith “Signals,
Signs, and Words: From Animal Communication to Language” (Reserve
readings)
W, Sept 8 Film:
Monkey in the Mirror
F, Sept10 Tattersall
and Schwartz Chapter
3 “Early Bipeds: African Origins”
M, Sept 13 Tattersall
and Schwartz Chapter
4 “Mysterious Homo habilis”
W, Sept 15 Tattersall
and Schwartz Chapter
5 “The Emergence of the Modern Body”
TOPIC TWO: THE "NATURE" AND
"CULTURE" OF EARLY AND PREHISTORIC HUMANS
Questions:
What transformations in the Homo
lineage led to modern humans? How, when, and under what conditions did modern Homo sapiens evolve? How is culture an adaptation? What can we learn about culture from the
study of material remains?
F,
Sept 17 Tattersall and Schwartz,
Chapter 6 “Homo ergaster and Homo erectus: The Great Diaspora”
PAPER ONE “THE
UNIQUENESS OF HUMAN LANGUAGE” DUE IN CLASS
M, Sept 20 Tattersall
and Schwartz, Chapter 7 Neanderthals and Human Extinctions
Kamp, Chapter 4 “Charred Beams and
Magnetic Particles: Dating the Site”
W, Sept 22
Tattersall and Schwartz, Chapter 7 “And Then There Was One”
FOSSIL
IDENTIFICATION EXERCISE
F, Sept 24 Kamp,
Preface and Chapters 1-3
Annual
Editions #5 "
M, Sept 27 Kamp,
Chapters 5-7
W, Sept 29 Film:
Other People’s Garbage
F, Oct 1 YOUR
PEOPLE’S GARBAGE EXERCISE
M, Oct 4 Kamp,
Chapters 8-10
W, Oct 6 EXAM
ONE
TOPIC THREE: CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC
RELATIVISM: THINKING THROUGH "CULTURE," STRUGGLING WITH SAMENESS AND
DIFFERENCE
Questions: What is “culture?" Who/What is "primitive"? Who/What is "modern"? How do we interpret and construct cultural
"sameness" and "difference"?
F,
Oct 8 Annual Editions #31
"Body Rituals of the Nacerima" and Annual Editions # 10
"Shakespeare in the Bush"
M, Oct 11 Film: Cannibal Tours
W, Oct 13 Sapir, “The Unconscious Patterning of
Behavior in Society” (reserve readings)
Bing, “Penguins Don’t
Fly and Women Don’t Count” (reserve readings)
F, Oct 15 Abu-Lughod, “Introduction”
TOPIC FOUR: TRANSFORMATIONS IN SOCIOECONOMIC
SYSTEMS AND CULTURAL PRACTICES
Questions:
Who/What is developed? What are
the consequences of "development" and "modernization"?
M,
Oct 25 Annual Editions #3
"Eating Christmas in Kalahari," #14 “Too Many Bananas, Not Enough
Pineapples, and No Watermelon at All”
W, Oct 27 Film: N!ai
Annual Editions # 35
“The Price of Progress”
F, Oct 29 Kottak, Part One “A Story of Change”
M, Nov 1 Kottak, Part Two “
W, Nov 3 Kottak, Part Three “Assault on
F,
Nov 5 Kottak, Part Four “Reality”
(to page 206.)
M, Nov 8 EXAM TWO
TOPIC FIVE: SOCIAL REPRODUCTION: KINSHIP, THE
FAMILY, AND SOCIAL ORDER
Questions: How is the institution of family shaped by
the dominant social order? What is the
role of gender in maintaining family?
What is the role of gender in maintaining political and economic
systems?
W,
Nov 10 Annual Editions #17 “When
Brothers Share a Wife” and
#18 “The Visit”
F, Nov 12 Annual Editions #24 “A World Full of Women”
Abu-Lughod,
“Patrilineality”
M, Nov 15 Abu-Lughod, “Polygyny”
W, Nov 17 Abu-Lughod, “Reproduction”
F, Nov 19 Film: A Small Happiness
M, Nov 22 Abu-Lughod, “Patrilateral Parallel-Cousin
Marriage”
TOPIC SIX: LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND STRUGGLES FOR (SELF)-REPRESENTATION
Questions: How do language and language
practices shape and reflect social identities?
How and why do language and culture become sites of social struggle
within political movements?
W, Nov 24 Film: American Tongues
PAPER TWO: ANTHROPOLOGICAL
CHALLENGES TO TYPIFICATION DUE IN CLASS.
M,
Nov 29 Cutler, “Yorkville Crossing:
White Teens, Hip Hop, and African American English” (Reserve readings)
Print and read “American
Anthropological Association Statement on Race”
www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm
W,
Dec 1
F,
Dec 3 Film: Discovering Dominga
M,
Dec 6 Warren, Chapter Four: “Civil
War Enemies Without and Within” and Chapter Six: “Interrogating Official History”
W,
Dec 8 Warren, Chapter Three “In
Dialogue: Maya Skeptics and One Anthropologist”
F,
Dec 10 Course synthesis
M,
Dec 13 EXAM #3 at