Anthropology 140-01

Introduction to Anthropology/Fall 2003

 
Professor: Dr. W.R. Perry Time: MWF, 10-10:50 am
Office: 110A DiLoreto Hall Place: FD 001
V-mail: 832-2613 Office hours: MW 2:30-
E-mail: perryw@ccsu.edu 4:30, F 2:30-3:30 pm & by appointment

The Course

This course is intended to provide an overview of the development of modern anthropology and its subfields. The course will introduce some fundamental theories and concepts in the field of anthropology. It will examine methods and present examples of anthropological research in a variety of societies and contexts. A major aim of this course is to provide students with a broader historical understanding of the worlds’ people cross-culturally. To accomplish this goal the emphasis will be on exploring the dynamic power relations and the historical cultural connections comprising the modern global political economy.

The class format will take the form of lecture and discussions and will include slides, films and videos.

This course fulfills the General Education requirement for Study Area III Behavioral Sciences as well as the Writing and First Year Experience requirements.

Requirements

Required Texts

Schultz, E A. and R.H. Lavenda
2000 Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition.(3rd Ed.) Mayfield Publishing Company
(Hereafter S&L)
Feder, Kenneth L.
1999 Lessons From the Past: an Introductory Reader in Archaeology. Mayfield Publishing Company
(Hereafter Feder)

I suggest that you look at bestbookbuys.com to see if any of the books are available. They seem to have the best prices around. The one drawback is that delivery time is anywhere from five (5) days to two weeks!

In addition to the required texts, supplemental readings will be assigned. Copies of required supplemental readings will be placed on reserve in the library under my name and this course number. There will also be a limited number of the required readings available in the anthropology department office FD 110. Students must read the articles IN THE ROOM ONLY!! If you want to copy it you must leave your student I.D. card with the department secretary. You are required to read the assigned materials for each week PRIOR to class. To insure that this is done there may be at least, one in class UNANNOUNCED QUIZ that will count!. Quizzes will be short essay questions based on assigned readings and class discussions.

Attendance

Regular and prompt attendance is required and will constitute 10% of your grade. This will be monitored by the signing of an attendance sheet every class session. More than five (5) unexcused absences will result in a significant reduction in your grade and more than ten (10) will mean FAILURE!!

Class Participation

Active participation in class discussions is highly desired and will enhance your grade. Class participation will constitute 10% of your grade. Participation includes sharing relevant articles with the class that you read elsewhere.

Examinations

There will be a mid-term and a final examination each will be worth approximately 40% of your grade. These exams will consists of multiple choice questions drawn from lectures, readings, media and class discussions. There will be NO MAKE-UPS unless the professor is informed in advance of an unavoidable reason for missing the exam.

Finally, there may be other opportunities to get extra-credit for attending lectures, conferences and the like. In this case you are required to write a 2-3 page paper describing the particular activity, naming names and affiliations, and how it was relevant for our course.

If you need course adaptations and accommodations because you are differently abled, or if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

COURSE OUTLINE: TOPICS AND READINGS

DATE TOPIC READINGS
1/22 & 24 The basic concepts and subfields of anthropology. S&L Chapt.1
Culture, science and multi-disciplinary research.
Video: "Anthropology at CCSU."
1/27-31 Sociocultural anthropology: Culture& the human condition. S&L Chapt.10
Holism, ethnocentrism, human agency and history. No Author 99
Shell 01
2/3-7 Anthropological linguistics S&L Chapt. 13
Ebonics: Language & power Rickford 97
2/10 & 12 Humans as primates. S&L Chapt.4
Video: "Ms. Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees." Smuts 87
Dating techniques
2/19 & 21 Archaeological anthropology. S&L Chapt
Video:"Secrets of the Little Bighorn" Scott &Connor
&/or "In Search of Fort St. Joseph". 99 (In Feder)
2/24-28 The dialectics of field research. S&L Chapt.11
Knowledge production in anthropology. Perry 98
3/3-7 The Evolution of Evolution. S&L Chapt.2
Darwin, Wallace and Mendel. Shute 01
Natural selection and heredity.
3/10-14 Hominid & early human evolution. S&L Chapt.5
Australopiths to Homo ergaster/erectus. Lemonick 02
Stone tool & Fossil display. Rowlett et al. 99;
Sheets 99 (In Feder)
M3/17

MID-TERM EXAM

3/19 & 21 The evolution of the genus Homo S&L Chapt.6
Foraging societies in human history. Bower 00
3/24-28

SPRING RECESS

S&L Chapt.8
4/2 & 4 Sedentism, food productionand the transformation of the Diamond 99
productive forces. (In Feder)
4/7-11 The emergence of institutionalized social inequality: class and S&L Chapt.9
state formation. Patterson 94a-f
4/14 & 16 The historical context of Western social science. S&L Chapt.
Capitalist expansion and non-Western people. 12, Wolf 82 a&b
4/21-25 The modern global political economy. S&L Chapt. 23
A global historical understanding of humans: towards the Gordon 91
liberation of humanity.
4/28 - 5/1 Dimensions of diversity and inequality. S&L Chapt. 22
Class, race, gender, ethnicity, racism and "whiteness". Epperson 97
5/5 & 7 Applying Anthropology.
New York’s African Burial Ground.
Video: "The African Burial Ground", part 3 &/or "Slave Island"
May 14 at 8-10am

FINAL-EXAM

ARTICLES

Bower, Bruce
      2000                "Raising trust: some forager groups may nurture a
                               sharing sense in their offspring." Science News, Vol 158:8-9, July.
                          
Diamond, Jared
     1999                 "The worst mistake in the history of the human race."
                                Lessons From The Past: an Introductory Reader in Archaeology.
                               CA. Mayfield Publishing. Pgs 20-24.
Epperson, Terrence W.
    1997                    "Whiteness in early Virginia." Race Traitor 7:9-20.
Gordon, Edmund T.
    1991                   "Anthropology and liberation." In Faye Harrison(ed.)
                                 Decolonizing Anthropology. American Anthropological
                                Association, Washington, D. C., Pgs. 149-167.
Lemonick, Michael and Andrea Dorfman
    2002                    "Father of us all?". Time Magazine. Vol. 160 (4):40-47.
No Author                "The anthropologist of dressing rooms." New York
    1999                     Times. May:2.
*Patterson, Thomas C.
    1994a                   Chapter 7, "Social divisions of labor, class structures, and state
                                 formation." In The Theory and Practice of Archaeology: A
                                  Workbook (2nd ed.)Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Pgs 69-72.
    1994b                   Chapter 8 "State formation: conquest abroad, repression
                                 at home." In The Theory and Practice of Archaeology: A
                                  Workbook (2nd ed.)Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Pgs 83-86.
    1994c                   Chapter 9, "Frontier societies: state formation and uneven
                                 development." In The Theory and Practice of Archaeology: A
                                  Workbook (2nd ed.)Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Pgs 95-98.
    1994d                   Chapter 10, "State formation and the reorganization of production and
                                  Practice of Archaeology: A Workbook (2nd ed.)Prentice Hall, New
                                 Jersey. Pgs 107-110.
    1994e                   Chapter 11, "The social construction of gender, ethnicity and race."
                                 In The Theory and Practice of Archaeology: A Workbook (2nd
                                  ed.)Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Pgs 119-123.
    1994f                    Chapter 12, "Class struggle and resistance." In The Theory and
                                  Practice of Archaeology: A Workbook (2nd ed.)Prentice Hall,
                                  New Jersey. Pgs 129-132.
Perry, Warren R.
    1998        "Dimensions of Power in Swaziland Research: Coercion, Reflexivity
                                 and Resistance". In Transforming Anthropology. 7(1):2-14.
Perry, Warren R., and Michael L. Blakey                                         
    1999                      "Archaeology as Community Service: the African Burial Ground
                                  Project in New York City." Lessons From The Past: an
                                   Introductory Reader in Archaeology. CA. Mayfield Publishing.
                                   Pgs 45-51.
Rickford, John R.
    1997                      "Suite for ebony and phonics." Discover Magazine. Pp82-87.
Rowlett, Ralph, Michael G. Davis and Robert B. Graber
    1999                       "Friendly Fire." Discovering Archaeology 1(5):82-89.
Schell, Ellen Ruppel
    2001                       "New World syndrome". The Atlantic Monthly. 287(6):50- 53.
Scott, Douglas D. and Melissa A. Connor
    1999                       "Post-Mortem at the Little Bighorn." In Lessons From The Past:
                                    an Introductory Reader in Archaeology. CA. Mayfield Publishing.
                                   Pgs 123-129.
Sheets, Payton D.
    1999                       "Dawn of a new stone age in eye surgery". In Lessons From The
                                     Past: an Introductory Reader in Archaeology. CA. Mayfield
                                    Publishing. Pgs 104-106.
Shute, Nancy
    2001                        "Where we come from". U.S. News and World Report.
                                     130(4):34-41.
Smuts, Barbara
 1987                         "What are friends for?". Natural History 2:36-44.
Wolf, Eric
   1982a                        Chapter 6, "The fur trade". In Europe and the People Without
                                      History. Pgs. 158-194
   1982b                        Chapter 7, "The slave trade". In Europe and the People Without
                                      History. Pgs. 195-231

*PLEASE NOTE THAT FOR ALL THE PATTERSON CHAPTERS YOU ONLY READ THE ASSIGNED PAGES NOT THE DATA AND PROBLEMS, JUST THE TEXT!!!