| Moore Hall | 1001 Knauss 3502 |
| Phone: 387-0409 | M/W 8-8:50 a.m. |
| email: bilinda DOT straight AT wmich DOT edu | |
| web page: http://homepages.wmich.edu/~bstraigh |
Peoples of the World
Anthropology is a discipline about the study of humanity in all its diversity. Humans are the most adaptable animals on the planet, and throughout human history, they have adapted to their diverse and changing environments in creative and sometimes surprising ways. Probably the most important way that humans have adapted is through the learned patterns, practices, and full range of behaviors that comprise culture. Anthropology takes a broad, holistic perspective to study the whole of what it means to be human: history, biology, society, and culture. This course focuses on the sub-field of anthropology concerned with the study of contemporary cultures and cultures in historical context. In this course, you will be exposed to a variety of cultures throughout the world, in order to ask questions like: What do humans have in common with each other? In what ways do we differ? What is gender? Marriage? How do various aspects of society--for example, religious belief, marriage, gender, and economy inter-relate? What do these aspects of society mean to us? As we examine these and other questions, we will also examine questions that have particular relevance for us in contemporary global society.
Course Readings
The following required books are available for purchase at the WMU Bookstore:Richard H. Robbins 1997. Cultural Anthropology: A Problem-Based Approach. Fifth Edition. Itaska, IL: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.
Jonina Einarsottir. 2004. Tired of Weeping: Mother Love, Child Death, and Poverty in Guinea-Bissau. Second Edition. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Janet Hoskins 1998. Biographical Objects: How Things Tell the Stories of People’s Lives. New York: Routledge.
Serena Nanda 1999. Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company.
Articles on reserve in e-reserves have the course password of ‘culture’.
About the Course
This course emphasizes learning and your active participation in the learning process. To meet that goal, and the related goals of stimulating critical thinking and appreciation for human diversity, the class integrates readings, films, lectures, active discussions, and a variety of activities.Readings, lectures, recitation discussions and activities, and films will be thematically related. However, the relationship will not be one characterized by lectures duplicating or exhaustively explaining readings. Lectures and discussions are instead, meant to complement the readings, to enhance your learning experience. Questions are welcome at any time, in recitation section or in lecture, but at no time will the instructors: (1) Summarize what you should have read; (2) Use an excessive amount of valuable learning time to review for quizzes.
You must be prepared for every class. If you come to class unprepared, it will be noticeable, particularly when activities require your active participation. For your own benefit as well as everyone else’s, attendance will be taken (see grading, below) at all recitations sections.
e-learning
This course takes active advantage of elearning. You will access the syllabus through elearning, find links related to Bilinda Straight’s website, and other materials related to the course.Grading
| Recitation Section 35% | Weekly Quizzes 35% |
| Power Point Project 30% | |
| [Recitation grade = 20% attendance; 15% mini-exercises and participation] |
Your presence and participation are essential to the quality of the experience for others as well as yourself. Your attendance grade will be based on the number of days you are absent from recitation section, calculated as points missed on a one-hundred percent scale. NO QUIZZES OR RECITATION WORK CAN BE MADE UP. NO FINAL PROJECT MAKE-UP PERMITTED.
Quizzes:
Weekly quizzes of three questions each will test attendance at lectures and that you have read the lectures and assignments. There are no exams. Each recitation section will begin with a quiz.Power Point Project:
You must make a 5-minute, power point presentation (10-15 slides) on a topic relevant to the course. Examples would include marriage, sexuality, health, material culture, food security, belief, colonialism, etc. Whichever topic you choose, you must narrow it to a specific country (e.g., Ethiopia, Japan, etc.,) and/or cultural group (e.g., Hausa, Pume, etc.). You must do library research, provide a works cited page with your power point, and turn in a copy of your works cited page to your TA. DO NOT USE WEBSITES FOR YOUR RESEARCH. USE COURSE MATERIALS AND THREE ADDITIONAL SCHOLARLY BOOKS OR ARTICLES. Due Date will vary – Sign Up Sheets will be distributed in recitation section.Grading Key
All quantitative semester grades are multiplied by the percentage of the spread they represent. Your semester grade is then calculated as per the key below. Using this key and instructions, you can keep track of your own grade as the semester progresses, but always feel free to ask instructors for assistance in calculating it.
Grade Scale for Final Grades |
| 97-100 | A+ |
| 94-96 | A |
| 87-93 | BA |
| 84-86 | B |
| 77-83 | CB |
| 74-76 | C |
| 67-73 | DC |
| 60-66 | D |
| below 60 | E |
Course Schedule
Week 1: Wednesday, September 9
Introduction to course plan and requirements. Presentation on Who Wants to Hire an Anthropologist?First Recitation Section Meetings September 9-11
Introduction to TA and each other in Section. Brief discussion of Robbins
Reading: Robbins (Cultural Anthropology), Chapter One (pp. 1-36)
Week 2: Beginning Monday, September 14
Mon: Reading/Study DayWed Lecture: Anthropologists, Fieldwork, and the View from the Field
Reading: Tired of Weeping, Introduction and Chapter One (pp. 3-59).
Week 3: Beginning Monday, September 21
Mon Film: Unnatural causes: is inequality making us sick? AND The Business of HungerWed Lecture: The Costs of Progress, Hunger
Reading: Robbins (Cultural Anthropology), Chapter Two (pp. 39-80).
Week 4: Beginning Monday, September 28
Mon: Reading/Study DayWed Lecture: Hunger, Poverty, Child Death
Reading: Tired of Weeping, Chapters Two, Three, and Four (pp. 60-137)
Week 5: Beginning Monday, October 5
Mon Film: Placebo, Mind Over Medicine?Wed Lecture: Religion and Metaphor
Reading: Robbins (Cultural Anthropology), half of Chapter Four (pp. 123-139) AND Tired of Weeping, Chapter Five (pp. 138-163)
Week 6: Beginning Monday, October 12
Mon: Reading/Study DayWed Lecture: Religion and Social Change
Reading: Robbins (Cultural Anthropology), part of Chapter Four (pp. 152-157) AND Biographical Objects part of “Introduction” (bottom of p. 9-24) and all of Chapter Two, “The Betel Bag” (pp. 25-57)
Week 7: Beginning Monday, October 19
Mon Film: Dadi’s FamilyWed Lecture: Marriage, Family, and Kinship
Readings: Read Robbins (Cultural Anthropology) Chapter Five (pp. 167-202)
Week 8: Beginning Monday, October 26
Mon: Reading/Study DayWed Lecture: Introduction to Maasai and Samburu
Readings: Samburu Encyclopedia Article (in course reserves: follow link in e-learning) AND Biographical Objects Chapter Three (pp. 59-81).
Week 9: Beginning Monday, November 2
Mon Film: BBC/Diverse Films Maasai SegmentWed Lecture: Samburu/Maasai continued; Discussion of Material Culture
Readings: Biographical Objects, Chapter Five (pp. 115-136).
Week 10: Beginning Monday, November 9
Mon: Reading/Study DayWed Lecture: Gender, Sexuality, and the Construction of Men and Women, with 13 minute Film in Lecture (XXXY)
Readings: Fausto-Sterling’s Sexing the Body excerpt (in course reserves: follow link in e-learning), AND Neither Man Nor Woman (pp. xvii-xxi; 1-23).
Week 11: Beginning Monday, November 16
Mon Film: Paradise BentWed Lecture: Transgender, Beyond Sex and Gender
Readings: Neither Man Nor Woman (pp. 24-82).
Week 12: Beginning Monday, November 23
Mon: Reading/Study DayWed Lecture: Economy, Society, Inequality
Readings: Robbins (Cultural Anthropology) part of Chapter Six (pp. 221-229) and all of Chapter Seven (243-285).
Recitation Section: NO RECITATION SECTION (THANKSGIVING)
Week 13: Beginning Monday, November 30
Mon Film: Violence: An American TraditionLecture: Culture, Conflict, and Violence
Readings: Robbins (Cultural Anthropology) Chapter Eight (pp. 288-326).
Week 14: Beginning Monday, December 7
Mon: Reading/Study DayLecture: Conflict Continued; Samburu Case Study
Readings: Straight’s Chapter on Samburu in Violence (in course e-reserves: follow link in e-learning).