An introduction to anthropology with a primary focus on cultural diversity of the human experience. The course surveys four subfields of Anthropology including sociobiology, anthropological linguistics, cultural anthropology, and applied anthropology. Major themes addressed throughout the course include cultural relativity, ethnocentrism, cultural change, the conflict between “foreign” anthropologist and “native” peoples, the role of anthropology in modern society, and anthropology as a “personal lens” of change. Students will complete a two part “field study”, become familiar with The HRAF (human relations area file - a major electronic data base in Anthropology), and learn potential applications of becoming an anthropologist. There are no prerequisites. Strongly recommended completion of MATH 094/M AP 117 or a higher placement and completion of ENGL 098 or a higher placement.
Quarters Offered
Fall,
Winter,
Spring
Course Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:
- Students will describe, apply and critique a basic history of anthropology, major anthropological paradigms, and anthropological methodology with a concentration on cultural anthropology.
- Students will have firsthand research experience using the ethnographic methodology of participant-observation, note taking, interviewing, and photography/video.
- Students will describe, apply and critique anthropological modes of thought to personal experience and to important contemporary issues.
- Students will describe, apply and critique key concepts in anthropology including a) cultural relativity, b) linguistic relativity, c) family, d) persona/social identity, e) personality, f) nature/nurture influences, g) religion, h) political structure, i) economics and subsistence strategies, j) globalization and mass media, and k) cultural difference/similarity.
- Students will develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the complexities of cultural difference that will be useful to them in any field of study, as well as their future careers and personal lives.
- Students will use and improve their basic academic skills, including note-taking, participation in group discussion, public presentation of their ideas and research, and especially their abilities to write clearly and to think critically.
Institutional Outcomes
IO1 Communication: Students will be able to communicate clearly and effectively.
IO3 Human Relations/Workplace Skills: Students will be able to demonstrate teamwork, ethics, appropriate safety awareness and/or workplace specific skills.
IO3 Human Relations/Workplace Skills: Students will be able to demonstrate teamwork, ethics, appropriate safety awareness and/or workplace specific skills.
Course Content Outline
- What is Anthropology and why should I care?
- Culture Counts
- Doing Cultural Anthropology
- Communication
- Making a Living
- Economics
- Marriage, Family and Kinship
- Sex and Gender
- Political Organization
- Stratification: Class, race, Ethnicity, and Caste
- Religion
- Power, Conquest and a World System
- Globalization and change
- Anthropology makes a Difference
Department Guidelines
PO4 Students will be able to recognize or articulate personal/interpersonal aspects of, or connections between, diverse cultural, social, or political contexts, and PO5 Students will be able to solve problems by gathering, interpreting, combining and/or applying information from multiple sources, should be assessed.