Theories of Culture Anth 280.01 – Spring 2004
Lecture MWF: 11-11:50 Steiner 107	Instructor Monty Roper 204 Goodnow Hall Office phone: 269-3017 e-mail: roperjm@grinnell.edu
Office Hours: M/W 2-4, T/TH 10-12 (excluding convo dates). During office hours, you are welcome to stop by without an appointment. You are also welcome to stop by during non-office hours, though I will often be occupied and unable to meet. I will, however, be happy to schedule appointments during non-office hours.
Accommodations for students with disabilities: Any student eligible for and needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a documented disability is requested to speak with the professor no later Feb 16. You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Associate Dean and Director of Academic Advising, Joyce Stern, located in the lower level of the Forum (x3702).
Course Description and Goals This course provides a survey of major Western theories and theorists in the history of social anthropology. Beginning in antiquity, we will examine how anthropological ideas about human society, social relations and, in particular, culture have evolved over time. While the breadth of the material is considerable, it is certainly not exhaustive (despite what your sentiments may be around mid-semester). There are many persons and theories that we will simply not have time to explore. Our focus will be primarily on twentieth century theories, particularly those developed prior to the last decade. Additional coverage of recent theory and issues in anthropology is found in the department's 300-level courses. A basic goal of the course is to come to recognize and understand a number of central theoretical schools of thought (such as historical particularism, functionalism, cultural ecology, structuralism, postmodernism, etc.), some of the main proponents of these, and how such approaches have informed ethnographic inquiry. The course is also intended to elucidate a number of key themes and debates that have recurred over the history of social theorizing. These include questions on the nature of culture, the integration of culture or society, and the role of the individual, as well as the tensions between materialism/idealism, historical/ahistorical approaches; culture/society, emic/etic, particularism/comparativism, and psychological/sociological emphasis. The goal of the course is not to attempt to judge what theories are “true”. Knowledge is always tentative and partial in any case, and theories are simply ways to try to expand and order knowledge. As such, they can be more or less useful, and we will be asking in what ways particular theories are useful for helping us to see or understand something about society and culture. When we encounter differences of opinion about the usefulness of particular theories, we will ask why such differences of opinion exist. In particular, by taking a chronological approach, we will examine how ideas develop and unfold out of the matrix of pre-existing ideas and the social context of the time. The focus of the course is quite intentional for the department. We found in the past that students in upper-level seminars experienced difficulty contextualizing, and therefore in comprehending, current approaches in anthropology because they did not understand how current approaches developed, what they were reacting against, and what they were carrying over from the past. At the request of students, we developed this course in the history of anthropology to better prepare them for developing an overall grasp of the discipline.

Required Texts R. Jon McGee, Richard L. Warms.  Anthropological Theory: An Introductory History Jerry D. Moore, Visions of Culture (1997) Paul Erickson, A History of Anthropological Theory (1999) Reserved Readings will be available in the anthropology student project room (304 Goodnow). I will make as many of these as possible (legal) available through the library’s e-reserve system.
A Note on the Readings and Class Preparation It is imperative that you keep up on the readings for this course and plan your schedule so that you have enough time to do a thorough reading. The most difficult readings will be the original essays (primarily from McGee and Warms). A good way to read these is to read them first very quickly to get a general idea of the material, and then read them more carefully, making sure that you understand the main argument, and thinking about how this responds to or relates to other ideas that we have read and discussed. I strongly recommend that you take notes on what you see as the key points or ideas from the readings. These will serve in both discussion and in preparation for the exams. The Moore book can be read more quickly and will help to set the context for the original essays. It will also provide a set of ideas concerning relations to other theorists and strengths and weaknesses that you might want to consider.
Course Requirements 1. Examinations (55%): There will be 3 in-class 1-hour examinations and an optional final (15%, 20%, and 20% respectively). 2. Paper 1 (10%): Essay critiquing one of the original writings using the writing/theory of another. 3. Final Paper (10%): Theoretical review for a research proposal. 4. Leading Class Discussion (10% total): Each student will be required to serve on a panel and lead two class discussions. 5. Participation (15%): Learning is best done as an interactive process. In this course it is essential that you keep up with the reading and come to class prepared to answer questions, ask questions, and engage in discussion of materials with the class. Each class will include a mixture of lecture and discussion. The best way to participate is to come to class prepared. Having simply read the materials is rarely sufficient. You should make notes as you read and, when you are done, make a list of questions that occur to you, connections that strike you from other readings, etc. 6. Attendance: Attendance is required and I will take roll. Any exam or in-class activity that is missed because of an unexcused absence will receive a zero. An excused absence is given only through prior permission of the instructor, in the case of illness, or for personal/family emergencies. Appropriate notices must be provided by the health center or academic affairs. Students will loose one percent of their final grade for each unexcused absence.
COURSE SCHEDULE (Subject to modification as necessary)
Date	Topic	Readings MW: McGee and Warms EM: Erickson and Murphy RR: Reserved reading ER: E-reserved reading
Section I: Overview of Theoretical Paradigms
Mon 1/19	Course overview
1/21	The point of theory and some major divides.	Prefaces and Introductions
1/23	Early History	EM Chpt 1
Mon 1/26	Early 20^th Century	EM Chpt 2
1/28 1/30	Later 20^th Century and beyond…	EM Chpt 3
Mon 2/2	Wrap up	In class exercise
Section II: Historical Foundations of Anthropological Theory
2/4, 2/6	19^th Century Evolutionism · Spencer and Tylor · Morgan	MW: Spencer, Tylor, and Morgan Moore: Tylor and Morgan
Mon 2/9	Marx: Dialectical Materialism and the foundations of political economy	MW: K. Marx and F. Engels Supplementary RR: K. Marx and F. Engels, “Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848) and Alienated Labor (1844)” In Roberts and Hite.
2/11	Durkheim: Foundations of Sociology and European Anthropology	MW and Moore: Émile Durkheim
Section III: Cultural Theory in the Early 20^th Century
	A. Historical Particularism
2/13	Franz Boas	MW and Moore
Mon 2/16	Alfred Kroeber	MW and Moore
2/18	Exam 1
	B. Functionalism
2/20	· Bronislaw Malinowski (functionalism)	MW and Moore
Mon 2/23	· A.R. Radcliffe Brown (structural functionalism)	MW and Moore
2/25	· Evans Pritchard	MW and Moore
	C. Culture and Personality
2/27	· Ruth Benedict	MW and Moore
Mon 3/1	· Margaret Mead	MW and Moore
Section IV: Anthropology Diversifies. Theory at Mid Century
	A. Neo-evolutionism and Cultural Ecology
3/3	· Leslie White	MW and Moore
3/5	· Julian Steward	MW and Moore
	B. Neo-materialism and Ecological Anthropology
Mon 3/8	· Marvin Harris	MW and Moore
3/10	· Roy Rappaport and Benjamin Orlove	MW: Rappaport RR: Benjamin S. Orlove, “Ecological Anthropology”
	C. Structuralism
3/12	· Claude Lévi-Strauss	MW and Moore
Spring Break – Relax, Have Fun Or, Make the World a Better Place through Alt Break!
Mon 3/29	· Sherry Ortner	MW
3/31	Exam 2
	D. Ethnoscience and Cognitive Anthropology
4/2	· Eward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf	Moore: Edward Sapir RR: Benjamin Lee Whorf (in Bohannan and Glazier)
Mon 4/5	· Stephen Tyler and Harold Conklin	MW
Section V: More Recent Trends
	A. Symbolic and Interpretive Anthropology
4/7	· Victor Turner	MW and Moore
4/9	· Mary Douglas	MW and Moore
Mon 4/12	· Clifford Geertz	MW and Moore
	B. Sociobiology (Biosocial Studies)
4/14	· Edward O. Wilson and Jerome H. Barkow	MW
4/16	· Biology and Culture cont.	RR: (tentative) Lee Blonder, “Human Neuropsychology and the Concept of Culture”
	C. Political Economy and Historical Approaches
Mon 4/19	Eric Wolf · June Nash · Immanuel Wallerstein	· RR: June Nash, “Ethnographic Aspects of the World Capitalist System” · RR: Immanuel Wallerstein, “The Rise and Future Demise of the World Capitalist System” · RR: E. Wolf, Introduction to “Europe and the People without History”
4/21	RR: Schmink and Wood	RR: The Political Ecology of Amazonia Burton, Schoepfle and Miller, “Commentary: Natural Resource Anthropology”.
	D. Feminist Approaches
4/23	Eleanor Leacock	MW and Moore
Mon 4/26	Ann Stoler	MW
4/28	Exam 3
	E. Postmodernism and its Critics
4/30	Renato Rosaldo and James Fernandez	MW (Rosaldo) and Moore (Fernandez)
Mon 5/3	Vincent Crapanzo	MW
5/5	Roy d’Andrade	MW, Moore Postscript
5/7	Wrap Up
Final Exam