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Anthropology 120

Fall 2004

 

 

 

Section 7

Code: 1139

TR 9:30-10:45 am

MM-200

 

 

 

 

Instructor:  Eugene E. Ruyle

 

Office: FO5-231

Tel: (562) 985-5364

Email: eruyle@csulb.edu

 

Office Hours: 
TR 12:30-1:30 pm  and
by appointment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

 

"Nature of culture; a comparative and historical approach to the religion, social organization, subsistence patterns and other aspects of the great variety of cultures around the world; the meanings of human nature, cultural universals and cultural differences."

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Anthropology is a diverse field, and different anthropologists employ different theoretical approaches in teaching their introductory courses.  This section of Anthropology 120 will adopt a critical, materialist (i.e., Marxist) approach to introduce students to the essentials of Cultural Anthropology.  The textbook materials and lectures are designed to accomplish the following objectives:

The major objective of the course is to introduce students to the basic concepts and data of Cultural Anthropology as one of the disciplines of social science.  Our textbook, Mirror for Humanity,  by Conrad Kottak, does an excellent job of this and a substantial portion of our class time will be devoted to material covered by the Kottak text.  In addition, we will spend some class time viewing material from the Faces of Culture  video series.

A second objective is to expose students to the richness and variety of human life in the past and contemporary worlds.  While the Kottak textbook covers the traditional anthropological material well, additional material has been selected to give more insight into contemporary life styles.

Finally, the course is designed to expose students to critical perspectives on the problems confronting our species.  Here, the Kottak textbook, like nearly every other introductory Anthropology textbook, is woefully inadequate.  Additional material will be presented in the study materials and lectures to cover such topics as class, gender, and racial inequality in the modern world, and the threats of war and eco-catastrophe.

TEXTBOOKS:

Mirror for Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, by Conrad Phillip Kottak.  New  York: McGraw-Hill Inc. Second Edition.  3rd ed, 2003.

Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America, by Theodore Kroeber. Berkeley: University of California Press.  2002 (reprint, orig. 1961).

Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village, by William Hinton.  Berkeley: University of California Press.  1997 (reprint, orig. 1966).

Additional Required Material

Anthropology 120: Readings and Study Materials, Fall 2003. selected by Eugene E. Ruyle.   Xeroxed material available at the Bookstore.

 


 

 

other Recommended BOOKS AVAILABLE IN THE BOOKSTORE

 

Anthropology and Contemporary Human Problems. By John H. Bodley .  Paperback 4th edition (October 2000)  Mayfield Publishing Company.

Democracy for the Few, by Michael Parenti.  New York: St. MartinÕs Press.  7th Edition. 2001. 

Who Rules America, by G. William  Domhoff. Englewood Clifs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Fourth Edition, 2002.

Marx for Beginners, by Rius. New York: Pantheon. 1976.

 

 

 

COURSE REGISTRATION

In order to be properly registered for this course you must 1. register for the course through appropriate University procedures, and 2. turn in a completed Course Contract to the instructor.

There is no Beachboard component to this course, but a limited amount of course materials may be found on the instructor's web page: < http://www.csulb.edu /~eruyle/

 

CONTACTING THE INSTRUCTOR

The best way to contact me is by talking to me after class. Other methods of contracting me include, in order of reliability: 1. calling my office at 562 985-5364 and leaving a message on my Voice Mail, or 2. e-mail  me at:  eruyle@csulb.edu. Be sure to begin your Subject heading with ANTH 120. Otherwise I may miss your eamil Please do not call the Department Secretary, as she will only leave me a note which I may not receive for a few days.

As indicated above, my Office Hours are on Tuesdays & Thursdays  from  12:30-1:30 pm. I am available at other times by appointment only.

I plan to be at the Peter Carr Peace Center Peace Table near the Bookstore every Wednesday during the noon hour.

You can access my web page at: < http://www.csulb.edu /~eruyle/ >, where there is a limited amount of course material.

 

TURNING IN WORK

Please note that all work must be turned in at the beginning of class on the date due. Worked turned in by other methods may not reach me and may be considered late. Work will not be accepted by email or fax.

 


 

REQUIRED WORK

 

1.   Class Attendance & Participation:  Regular class attendance is a course requirement. In addition to the videos, important material that is not covered in the textbook and readings will be presented in lecture, and there may also be changes in the course syllabus which will be announced in lecture. Students will be responsible for all changes to the course requirements that may be announced in class.

2.   Book Reports:  There will be four Book Reports during the semester.  The Book Reports will involve answering a series of objective questions and writing a brief essay on the reading.  Instructions for the Book Reports are included at the back of the Study Materials.  Book Reports must be on the appropriate forms and turned in during the class period when due; points will be taken off for Book Reports that are late or not properly formatted.  The Book Reports will count approximately one fifth of your grade.

3.   Examinations:  There will be three midterms, given at the end of 4th, 10th and 15th weeks, as well as a Final Examination  These exams will be based upon material in the textbook, videos, and lectures, and will be made up of objective (T/F, multiple choice, and matching) questions.  Students should bring a SCANTRON FORM 882 to each exam.  The lowest of your four exam scores will be dropped.  Make-ups will be given only under unusual circumstances.  The exams, taken collectively, will total about three fifths of your grade.

         Please note that the Final Exam is essentially optional, since your lowest exam score is dropped.

4.   Extra Credit:  Extra credit is not normally available in this course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXAMINATION POLICY

Students must show up promptly for the exams and bring a SCANTRON Form 882. Exams will last one hour unless otherwise announced. Seating will be assigned by the instructor. Late arrivals may not be admitted to the exam. Under no circumstances will a student be permitted to begin the exam after any other student has already completed the exam and left the exam room. All books and notes must be put away within a backpack or binder. All cell phones and other electronic equipment must be turned off. No talking or other communication will be permitted during the exam for any reason. Students who violate these procedures may be asked to leave the exam and no makeup will be given. Student who are caught cheating on the exam will flunk the course and be reported to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

 


GRADES:

Your grade will be based your scores on the midterms and final which will be graded according to the following scale (this may be modified according to class performance, if appropriate):

 

                                              Exams                       Bk Rpts                 Total

    Total Possible           100x3 = 300                               25x4=100                           500

                  Lowest A                    90x3 = 270                               24x4 =  95                           455

                  Lowest B                    80x3 = 240                               23x4 =  90                           410

                  Lowest C                    70x3 = 210                               18x4 =  70                           350

                  Lowest D                    60x3 = 180                               15x4 =  60                           300

 Note that while your midterm and final exams are graded according to a standard 90-80-70-60 percentage scale, your Book Reports are graded according to a different scale since they are open-book, take home exercises. For this reason, you need to earn more than 90% of the total possible points for an ÒAÓ, and more than 80% for a ÒBÓ.

 

 

 

 

       

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF CLASS WORK

 

Note: Much of the video material is available in the Media Resources Center
in the Library under the call number, if listed.

 

Part One:

The Nature of Anthropological Science

 

 

Week 1—Readings: Kottak, Ch. 1

Tue, Aug 31 - Course Introduction

Thur, Sep 2 -Video: The Nature of Anthropology [VC-pers copy  #1], Lecture: Anthropology, Culture, & Science

 

 

 

Week 2—Readings: Kottak, Ch. 2, Xerox: Sheffield, Heise, UNESCO, Feder, Lenski

Tue, Sep 7- Lecture: Anthropology, Culture, & Science

Thur, Sep 9-Video: California Indians, Lecture: Puvungna and the Gabrielino/Tongva Indians

Book Report One [Ishi in Two Worlds] due Thursday, Sep 9

 

 

 

Week 3—Readings: Kottak, Ch. 3, Xerox: Ruyle

Tue, Sep 14 - Video: The Iroquois (personal copy); Lecture: Anthropology, Culture, & Science

Thur, Sep 16 – Outcastism in Japan (changed from original syllabus)

Book Report Two [Iroquois] due Thursday, Sep 16

 

 

 

Week 4—Readings: Review for Midterm, Kottak, Chs. 1-3, Xerox: All First Midterm Readings

Tue, Sep 21 - Lecture: Anthropology, Culture, & Science

Thur, Sep 23: First Midterm (covers all  lectures and video material to date, as well as Chapters 1-3 of the Kottak textbook and the xeroxed readings by Feder, Lenski, and Ruyle)


 

Part Two: The Varieties of Human Institutions

 

 

Week 5—Readings: Kottak, Chapter Five: Adaptive Strategies and Economic Systems

Tue, Sep 28 - Lecture: Human Institutions, Video: Patterns of Subsistence: H&Gs and Pastoralists [VC-6188 v.1 #4]

Thur, Sep 30 - Video: Patterns of Subsistence: The Food Producers [VC-6188 v.1  #5] Lecture: Labor and Language

 

 

Week 6—Readings: Kottak, Chapter Four: Language

Tue, Oct 5 - Video: Economic Anthropology [VC-6188 v.3  #15]; Lecture: Labor and Language

Thur, Oct 7 - Video: Language and Communication [VC-6188 v.1  #6]; Lecture: Labor and Language

 

Week 7—Readings: Kottak, Chapter Seven: The Political systems of Bands and Tribes, AND Kottak, Chapter Eight: Chiefdoms and States

Tue, Oct 12 - Video: Marriage and the Family [VC-pers copy  #9] Lecture: Kinship, Marriage, and Modes of Reproduction

Thur, Oct 14 - Video: Kinship and Descent, Part I [VC-6188 v.2  #11] Lecture: Kinship, Marriage, and Modes of Reproduction

 

 

 

Week 8—Readings: Kottak, Chapter Six: Kinship, Descent, and Marriage

Tue, Oct 19 - Video: Age, Common Interest, and Stratification [VC-6188 v.3  #13]; Lecture: Modes of Exploitation and Class Struggle

Thur, Oct 21 - Video: Political Organization [VC-6188 v.4  #17]; Lecture: Modes of Exploitation and Class Struggle

 

Week 9—Readings: Kottak, Chapter Nine: Gender   AND Kottak, Chapter 10: Religion

Tue, Oct 26 - Video: Religion and Magic [VC-6188 v.4  #19]; Lecture: Religion

Thur, Oct 28 - Video: Culture and Personality [VC-6188 v.2  #7]; Lecture: Social Construction of Personality

 

 

 

Week 10—Readings: Review for Midterm,  Kottak, Chapters 4-10

Tue, Nov 2 - Video: The Arts [VC-6188 v.5  #21]

Thur, Nov 4 -    Second Midterm (covers all lecture and video material since the first midterm, as well as Chapters 5-10 of the Kottak textbook. There are no additional xeroxed readings for the second midterm.)

 

 

 

 

 


Part Three:
Evolution and Revolution in Human History

 

 

Week 11—Readings: Xeroxed, Lenski, ÒTypes and Varieties of Societies,Ó AND Kottak, Chapter 11: The World system, Industrialism, and Stratification

Tue, Nov 9 - Video: A Flickering Light in the Darkness [VC-5782 v.1],
Lecture: Prehistoric Revolutions

Thur, Nov 11 - Video: At Dawn, Overcoming All Difficulties [VC-5782 v.2];
Lecture: Prehistoric Revolutions

 

 

Week 12—Readings: Kottak, Chapter 12: Cultural Exchange, Creativity, and Survival

Tue, Nov 16 - Video: A Bright Future, For Some [VC-5782 v.3];
Lecture: Evolution and Revolution in the Modern World

Book Report Three [Fanshen, Part One] due Tuesday, Nov 16

Thur, Nov 18 - Video: Triumphant Symphony [VC-5782 v.5] ;
Lecture: Evolution and Revolution in the Modern World;

 

 

Week 13—Readings: Kottak, Chapter 13: Development and Innovation

Tue, Nov 23 - Video: Makeshift Solutions [VC-5782 v.6];
Lecture: Evolution and Revolution in the Modern World

Thur, Nov 25 -  THANKSGIVING -- NO CLASS

 

 

Week 14—Readings: Xeroxed: Einstein, ÒWhy Socialism?, AND Durning, ÒEnough is Enough.Ó, AND Kottak, Chapter 14: Applied Anthropology

Tue, Nov 30 - Video: The Coming of Darkness [VC-5782 v.7];
Lecture: Evolution and Revolution in the Modern World

Book Report Four [Fanshen, Part Two] due Tuesday, Nov 30

Thur, Dec 2 - Video: Controlling Interest [Film-1579];
Lecture: Evolution and Revolution in the Modern World

 

 

Week 15—Readings: Review: Kottak, Chs. 11-14, Xerox: 3rd Midterm

Tue, Dec 7 - Video: Seattle & the WTO [VC- pers copy};
Lecture: The Future as Anthropology

Thur, Dec 9 -  Third Midterm (covers all lecture and video material since the second midterm, as well as Chapters 11-14 of the Kottak textbook and the xeroxed readings for the Third Midterm.

 

 

FINAL EXAMination

 

Tuesday, December  14 -- 8:00-9:00 am

 

The Final Exam will be similar in format to the three midterms and will be weighted the same as each of the midterms. As indicated earlier, the Final Exam is essentially optional, since the lowest of your four exam scores is dropped.

 

Grades will be posted within hours of the Final Examination. Students are strongly urged to consult these ASAP to confirm their grades before they are submitted to the Office of Enrollment Services. I will hold special office hours during Finals Week for students who wish to discuss their performance in the course.

 

Grade reports will be mailed by the Office of Enrollment Services approximately three weeks after the end of the Final Exam period. Students wishing earlier written notification may leave a  stamped, self-addressed grade report postcard with me at the Final Exam.


              

 

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY

It is your responsibility as a student to attend class regularly and to arrive on time and remain for the entire class period. Irregular class attendance, including arriving late and leaving early, may lower your grade.

It is your responsibility as a student to familiarize yourself with course requirements, to complete your written assignments promptly and neatly, to keep  xerox copies of all written work turned in, to ensure that your grades are properly recorded, and to keep your graded work until the final grades have been assigned. Updated grade sheets will be posted after each midterm. Students must inform the instructor of any inaccuracies within three class meetings after posting.

It is also your responsibility to maintain a classroom decorum that is conducive to learning. You are encouraged to ask questions and to participate, as appropriate, in class discussions. Private conversations with your classmates, however, is distracting to the class and unfair to other students. Students who carry on such private conversations or engage in other rude and distracting behavior may be asked to leave the classroom.

Students have a responsibility to maintain a classroom environment free from sexual harassment and/or discriminatory behavior or harassment toward individuals or groups on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnic group identification, age, marital status, religion, sexual preference, or disability/handicap.

I do not tolerate cheating in any of my courses. You are urged to review the CSULB Catalog on cheating, plagiarism, and discipline, and are reminded that allowing a classmate to copy your work may subject you to sanctions. In addition to any action taken by the instructor, all cases of suspected cheating in this course will be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs.

 

 

 

High administrator from the Office of Judicial Affairs cutting heart from student who cheated on an exam. Students who plagiarize may experience similar difficulties.

 


 

              

 

 

WITHDRAWAL POLICY

 

Please keep in mind that you are held responsible for completion of every course in which you register or for withdrawing during the first two weeks of classes from courses that you do not intend to complete.  The deadline to withdraw without permission of the Instructor is Monday, September 13, 2004.  Withdrawals from Tuesday, September 14, 2004 through Friday, November 19, 2004 are permissible only with the signatures of the Instructor and the Chairperson of the Department of Anthropology (located in FO3-305) on the appropriate form.  The Department permits withdrawals during this period only for serious and compelling reasons, such as illness or a change in work schedule, which have to be documented.  Students in this category must turn in documentation along with their withdrawal request. During the final three weeks of instruction (from Monday, November 22, 2004 through Friday December 10, 2004), withdrawals are not permitted except in cases such as accidents or serious illness, where the circumstances causing the withdrawal are clearly beyond the studentÕs control.  Withdrawals during this period require documentation, the signatures of the Instructor, Chairperson, and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (located in MHB-2nd floor), and they are rarely granted.

 

 

 

FALL 2004 CALENDAR:

 

Monday September 6 – Labor Day CAMPUS CLOSED

Monday August 30 - Instruction begins

Monday September 13 - Deadline to Withdraw or Drop without ÒWÓ grade

Monday September 20 – Deadline to Add a class, file for CR/NC or Audit grade options

Friday November 19 – Deadline to drop a class without DeanÕs signature

Thursday November 25 and Friday November 26 – Thanksgiving – CAMPUS CLOSED

Friday December 10 – Last day of instruction and last day to drop class with DeanÕs signature.

Monday December 13 thru Saturday December 18 – FINAL EXAMS

Thursday December 23 – Last day of semester

 

Note: above dates are believed to be correct. Check your Schedule of Classes for confirmation

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

Have a Great Semester!