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Anthropology 102: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
 

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INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Fall 2003 Dr. Jean S. Aigner

       
 
Course Reading and Homework Assignments by Week
 
Reading must be completed during the week (there is a quiz each Thursday) and assignments are due Tuesday of the following week. Sixty percent (60%) of your grade is based upon this written work since it implies you understand, apply and communicate the lecture and text materials that deal with each topic.*
Week 1 Read Chapters 1-2, summaries Chapters 3-4; go to the site http://www.aaanet.org and write a single paragraph describing one of the areas of interest recognized by the American Anthropological Association.
Week 2 Read Chapters 5-6. Using reliable information from the Net, write 1-2 pages on aspects of culture in Greenland, rural Malaysia or Tibet (China) that will be most relevant to your making an adjustment to a two-year work assignment there.
Week 3 Read Chapter 7. Use http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/academic/cult-sci/anthro/lost_tribes/hg_ag/index.html. Write at least a paragraph on what can you learn from this web site that supplements information in Chapter 7.
Week 4 Read Chapter 8. Use http://anthropology.wadsworth.com/ferraro_4e/ and enter the InfoTrac College Edition. Do a subject search on potlatch or Kula ring and write up to a page that supplements the information in Chapter 8.
Week 5 Read Chapters 9-11. For your own family, draw a kinship diagram that spans at least two generations and write out in sentence form what kinship system it is (and why), who are your consanguineal, affinal, and (if any) fictive kin, how you behave differently among categories of your kin, and what rules of descent characterize your kin group.
Week 6 Read Chapter 12. http://anthropology.wadsworth.com/ferraro_4e/ and enter the InfoTrac College Edition and find Michael Harkin’s article on the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka). Write a page on the characteristics of a good chief.
Week 7 Read Chapter 13. Do a subject search for a site called “United for a Fair Economy.” Read the overview for “Shifting Fortunes: The Perils of the Growing American Wealth Gap” and write a one page summary on the growing wealth gap.
Week 8 Read Chapter 14. Do a subject search for cargo cults and write a page describing the general features of cargo cults that a family member can understand (e.g., skip the anthropological jargon).
Week 9 Read Chapter 15. Use Yahoo to find “Arts and Humanities” and then “Cultures and Groups.” Select a country and browse through various sites to learn about a) artistic tradition, b) what art forms are most prominent, and c) how art links to other aspects of culture. Now, write a 1.5-2 page paper on the art.
Week 10 Read Chapters 16. Do a subject search for the organization Cultural Survival. When on the home page, write a page that explains a) the purpose of Cultural Survival, b) kinds of projects it sponsors, and c) themes for up-coming issues of its journal Cultural Survival Quarterly.
* Note

This is a college class and college-level writing is required. Clarity and proper use of language, grammar, etc. are important. If you are a weak writer or have little experience, visit the Writing Center for assistance. Also, start now with the Writing Center or Learning Resource Center prep programs for Graduate Writing Test.

Be sure to post your written work to the correct week in the communications area of WebCT (Week 1 under Week 1, etc).

 

 

       
 
 

© 2003 by Jean S. Aigner
jsaigner@csupomona.edu
These are official class materials of Anthropology 102, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, as taught at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, by Jean S. Aigner. They are subject to change without notice to anyone but students currently enrolled in the class.