| Anthropology 11: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology |
Professor John B. Wolford
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Ref. No. 10330 (Anthro 011) 3 credits Winter semester, 2002 University of Missouri—St. Louis
Class room: Benton Hall 102 Class time: TR 12:30 - 1:45 p.m. Wolford's web page: http://www.umsl.edu/~wolfordj |
Office Hours: TR 2:15 - 3:30 p.m.; and by appointment on TR Anthro Dept. Clark Hall 516
JBW Phone: 516-6474 (TR) 746-4560 (MWF) 516-6020 (dept.) |
Just like you do.
The basic idea here is for you to get an idea of who you share this planet with and how we all fit together. I think that the best way we fit together is by trying to get into the heads of other people: seeing the world the way they see it. That's the starting point. After that, it's up to you to figure out what other people make of their world, and then it is up to you to figure out why. Since all of these steps are important in everyday life in figuring out people, the world, reality, you will find you already have this basic capability. The trick is to apply it to a field of study, a discipline. The process takes discipline, which is why any field of study is called a discipline.
This course is a survey, so we will not go into great depth into any of the particular topics; in fact, we will not even cover all of the topics that cultural anthropology covers. We will, however, cover many of them, and these will be enough to expose you to the breadth and flavor of the field. After this course, you should be prepared to take other courses in cultural anthropology that will elaborate on more particular arenas of interest.
Even if you never take another course in anthropology, this course should prepare you for coping all the better in the increasingly globally-oriented world of ours. As communication, transportation, and population all grow, people from all over the world are coming into closer and closer contact with one another—without really knowing who each other is. The need to know increases daily. Adding the knowledge from this course to your intellectual repertoire, you will be better prepared than most.
Thus, this course will develop your awareness of culture
and society by comprehending people's everyday expressions of societal
norms and values. By enhancing your understanding of humanity through variable
human expressions, this course will provide you a resource to draw upon
in comprehending and appreciating the differences and similarities between
people in a multicultural, multisocietal world.
| Library Catalog | Author | Title |
| In the TJL stacks; and on Reserve | William Haviland | Cultural Anthropology, 10th ed. (WH) |
| Reserve | Barre Toelken | "Folklore and Cultural Worldview" |
| Reserve | Richard Handler and Jocelyn Linnekin | "Tradition, Genuine or Spurious?" |
| Library Catalog | Author | Title |
| Reserve | Americo Paredes | "Folk Medicine and the intercultural jest" |
| Reserve | Jose Limón | "Folklore, social conflict, and the US-Mexican border" |
If you have any questions concerning how to access your mygateway account, go to http://www.umsl.edu/~dialup/student_dialup.html.
If you find you are having difficulty with your computer, with the internet, with the university's dial-up services--essentially with anything having to do with your computer and UM-St. Louis--call the university's Campus Computing helpdesk at 516-6034; or email them at helpdesk@umsl.edu.
As a backup to the university's mygateway system,
I will also be maintaining most if not all of my material on our Anthro
11 course web page: http://www.umsl.edu/~wolfordj/courses/a11ws02,
which you can access from any web browser or internet provider.
Do not rely on just one of the resources available to you as a student. Take advantage of all of them.
As a supplemental aid, for those of you who prefer not to use the computer, I will place all handouts, lecture notes, versions of the syllabus, and all other materials on on Reserve at the main library (the Thomas Jefferson Library). I strongly urge all, however, to use the computer system—for one thing, all material you print out is free from the computer, whereas any material you check out and copy at the library will cost you.
I want to emphasize that you will have available to you many resources in this class—the texts, the lectures, the lecture notes, outlines of lectures, definition sheets, personal help from me during my office hours, each other. I encourage everyone to rely on as many of these resources as possible, because none of them alone will be sufficient for you to obtain an advanced grade. The bottom line, however, is that only through hard work and persistent studying will anyone do well in this class.
I will be giving four tests throughout the semester, each worth 22.5% of your grade. The tests will fall on Feb. 07, March 07, April 11 & May 02. The tests will be primarily multiple choice but may involve some short essay response as well. Each test will cover only the classes and reading material covered since the previous test. There will be no comprehensive final. But note well: I do expect all students to retain essential understanding of all of the concepts from one section to the next, because each section ideally builds upon the concepts from preceding ones. Thus, it is possible that I will include concepts or material from a preceding section on a later test, particularly if I feel the majority of students have not absorbed the information successfully.
I will accept no extra credit work for this class.
*to provide a syllabus to each student, as well as any syllabus revision
*to keep a record of students' attendance and participation
*to assign reading, writing, and evaluative tasks for all students
*to grade all assignments promptly, fairly, and consistently
*to ensure that all readings are available to all students
*to run (or delegate the running of) classroom activities
*to establish and maintain specific and regular office hours
*to counsel all students in any class-related topics,
materials, or activities
*to participate in any classroom discussion
*to attend all classes
*to keep all scheduled meetings with the professor
*to complete all assignments on time
*to make appointments with the professor when necessary
I will take attendance formally and systematically to keep a record of when exactly you are present. If your name is not on the sign-in form, even if you attend class, I will not consider you present.
Attending class for the sign-in but leaving early without apprising me beforehand does count as an absence.
If you are going to be late, or if you anticipate an absence, be sure to notify me for my okay.
Tests will reflect in very large part classroom discussions and lectures, so that not only your attendance but your alertness to detail will be important in obtaining a good grade.
Further, I require one short private session with each student in my office at the beginning of the semester. This counts as part of your attendance grade.
For the tests, the grading is straightforward: 98-100 A+; 93-97 A; 90-92 A-; 88-89 B+; 83-87 B; 80-82 B-; 78-79 C+; 73-77 C; 70-72 C-; 68-69 D+; 63-67 D; 60-62 D-; 0-59 F.
I will assess all grades on two criteria: quality of work and completeness of work. Naturally, I expect all work to be completed. Beyond this basic expectation, I expect all work to reflect not only your ready familiarity with the material covered, but also an integration of cultural concepts with the data read. Thus, for instance, if a student were to attend all the classes and take all the tests on time, yet demonstrate a poor understanding of the assigned readings and/or an inability to relate the cultural concepts to the readings, then he or she would have satisfied the "completeness of work" requirement yet fail to satisfy the more essential "quality of work" requirement, and thus receive, at the very best, a "C" for the class. I will construct the tests in a way that will assess how successfully you integrate the readings and lectures.
| Test 1 (Chapters 1, 2, 16; Toelken; Handler & Linnekin) | 22.5% | 90 points |
| Test 2 (Chapters 14, 4, 5) | 22.5% | 90 points |
| Test 3 (Chapters 6, 7, 12 ) | 22.5% | 90 points |
| Test 4 (Chapters 9, 11, 13; possibly Limón and Paredes) | 22.5% | 90 points |
| Class Participation/Attendance | 10% | 40 points |
| TOTAL | 100% | 400 points |
In truly exceptional and rare cases (hospitalized illness, for example) I will grant a make-up test. Just a few examples of circumstances that do not qualify: oversleeping, losing track of the time, having to do something for another class, not getting enough sleep the night before, having to go to a social function. I will judge each case individually.
If you think you qualify to take a make-up test, you must contact me personally BEFORE THE ORIGINAL TEST IS TO BE GIVEN and convince me that you would be physically unable to take the test at the regularly scheduled time.
If I do give a make-up test, it will consist of essay questions, and possibly some multiple choice. For most students, make-up tests are more difficult than regularly scheduled tests, because most students do not take essay tests well.
No make-up tests will be given after May 02, 2001.
For the Weekly assignments and readings, click here.
| Tuesday, class work begins 8:00 a.m. | Monday | January 14 |
| Monday, Dr. Martin Luther King holiday | Monday | January 21 |
| Spring recess begins 5:00 p.m. | Saturday | March 23 |
| Class work resumes | Monday | April 01 |
| Classes end at 11:00 p.m. | Monday | May 06 |
| Intensive study day* | Tuesday | May 07 |
| Final examinations begin | Wednesday | May 08 |
| Second semester closes, end of day | Thursday | May 16 |
| Annual commencement | Saturday | May 18 |
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*Intensive study days - no classes held, no exams. |
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