SIUE

 

Dallas L. Browne                                                                                  Office: Peck 0227,   Tel.: 650-2138

Introduction to Anthropology 111                                                   Time: 11:00 - 12:15 A.M../T,R

Section 002                                                                                            Office Hours 9:00- 10:00 A.M.

Classroom  PH  0405                                                                            Web Site  http://www.siue.edu/~dbrowne

 

Introduction to Anthropology: SPRING 2004

 

Course Objectives:  

                The purpose of this course is to fulfill the university's general education goals by helping students to learn the processes anthropologists use to gain knowledge.  They will become familiar with the philosophy that guides anthropological research, and will understand the relationship of anthropology to other major traditions of society.  In the process, they will become acquainted with the broad cultural foundation of human societies.  Students will learn about communication abilities that we share with other animals and the distinctive skills that set us apart from other living creatures.  They will briefly study the role of religion, economics, politics and kinship in culture.

 

                Each student is expected to READ ALL ASSIGNED MATERIAL, whether it is COVERED IN CLASS or NOT.  You must TAKE GOOD NOTES on ALL READINGS and LECTURES, as well as REVIEW these once each week in preparation for classroom discussions and examinations.   Knowledge of basic terms, concepts, theories, vocabulary and important personalities is required.

 

Course Requirements:

 1. Vigorous class participation.  This will count as ten percent of your course grade.  Prepare well.

 

2. Study groups.  To be explained in class.  Three persons per group. 

 

3. Quizzes:  Can be taken weekly on line through WebCT!

 

4.Controversial essay.  Imagine that you work for the SIUE Anthropology Department. Your job is to help students your age and rank who attend school at the KwaZulu University in Durban South Africa.  These students belong to the Zulu tribe.  English is their third language.  Up-to-date books are rare, yet Zulu youth hunger for accurate information and they are eager to improve their English.  They have heard a great anthropological monograph by Shostok titled  NISA! Kung Woman.  Imagine the Department of Anthropology at SIUE has hired you as a teaching assistant for their distant learning experiment. Your job is to study this monograph and write an interesting, informative, exciting, and if possible humorous review of this book.   Remember that English is not the mother tongue of your students, so keep your language clear, simple, unambiguous, and easy to understand. Your review should try to make your Zulu students excited by and interested in anthropological issues. The Kung Bushmen live nearby, so they might be stimulated to visit them and learn more if you write well. Legal racism known as apartheid has just recently ended, but racial discrimination in schools and jobs lingers on and many young Zulu despair.  You can help to keep their minds active until their tragic circumstances improve or they can find jobs and hope.  Give them the help that you would want if you were in their shoes. Write a three-page review of this book.

Please purchase a clean folder and print or type your full name, the course title and the course number on a separate title page.   In your review raise interesting questions, such as “Why did the Kung have such difficulty finding water?” “How do the !Kung explain death and disaster?,” “How are elders perceived in !Kung society?,” What is the medicinal trance dance and who can participate?,” “How do !Kung settle disputes which arise among them? List several examples from the book,” “Discuss the issue of ‘lovers’ in !Kung society.,” “Describe the raltionship between the sedentary Herero and the nomadic !Kung.,” “What natural signs did the Kung look for to identify sources of water?,” “How did the Kung traditionally cure illness?” “Did the Kung use natural herbs, roots, etc. to cure illness?”  “How did the Kung know which natural substances were poisonous?”  “What role did women play in their culture and how were women treated?” “How does hunting and gathering influence their culture and identity?” “How is their culture changing and why?” “What is the !Kung philosophy about children? Give at leat two examples from the book,” “If a !Kung ‘stinged’ you, what does this mean?  Give an example from the book,”  “What is a name relationship? How does one get a !Kung name and what is its significance?,” Discuss trial marriages and how they often tend to end or play out among the !Kung,”  “When is a !Kung girl considered a woman or adult? How do the !Kung describe the ideal way a woman should pass through this event?,” “What does it mean to ‘ruin’ a pregnancy?  Describe several ways that are mentioned in the book,” Use five KEY WORDS correctly (identified by bold type in the Scupin & Decorse textbook) from the reading, such as egalitarianism, achepalous society (leaderless), shaman, subsistence economy, animism, etc.  Your argument should contain five to seven major points that support your thesis with evidence.  Use examples and or quotations three lines or longer from the Nisa book to illustrate each point, where possible.  After demonstrating that you understand what you read, then write a page that shows that you can use this information by relating it to what you are learning in at least one other class, through reading, or from personal experience.  At the very end of your review you can offer your opinion and state whether you liked or disliked the book and whether you agreed or disagreed with the author and explain why, so that your Zulu students will understand why you hold your views. Focus on one central concept, such as the role of women to organize your ideas around.  You should have at least one quotation per page from the Nisa book.

This assignment is worth 30% of your total grade.  You should begin reading Nisa! Kung Woman , have read half the book by January 15, and complete reading the book by February 24, 2004 A FIRST DRAFT is due in class for peer review on April 4, 2004.  The FINAL PAPER is DUE APRIL 15, 2004 in class.

 

5. Examinations.  There will be three examinations.   The first exam is February 19, 2004.  The second exam is March 30, 2004.  Your final examination begins at 10:00 A.M. on Monday May 4, 2004.  Prepare early and review often.

 

6. Quizzes. May be given at any time.  One class period advance notice is customary.  

 

7.  Grading.  A letter grade "C" indicates acceptable performance; a grade of "B" indicates excellent

                      performance; and an "A" is reserved for outstanding performance that demonstrates

                      originality and an ability to apply what has been learned in this course to daily life or to

                      other courses. 

               

       8.  Summary of Grade:

 

a. Class participation.........…..............................................................10%

                    

                b. Controversial book review essay......................................................30%

                    Due dates:  01/15,  02/24 - 09/01,  04/01, 04/15

                c.  Examinations:

                                1. First exam  02/19...............................................................20%

                                2. Second exam 3/30..................................…......................20%

                                3. Final exam  5/04.......................................…...................20%

                TOTAL                                                                                                                                                  100%

                #####Unless otherwise indicated, all in-class examinations will be multiple-choice.  All make-up       exams will be long answer essay examinations.  The questions will be selected from the questions              which follow each reading assignment.

 

       9. Text used:  All students are expected to have their own copies of the following text, which are

                         available from the SIUE textbook rental center.

                a. Raymond Scupin & Christopher Decorse.  Anthropology: A Global Perspective.

                b. Cronk and Bryant. Through The Looking Glass.  2nd Edition.

                c. Shostak.  Nisa! Kung Woman.

 

       These books are available at the SIUE Textbook Rental Center and the SIUE library Reserve Desk.

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

DATE                     ASSIGNMENT                     TOPICS

 

T 01/13                   Scupin  pp. 2-19                    Introduction to course and Orientation.

                                Cronk and Byrant. pp. 1-6 Everyman

1.What is anthropology?  How do you describe the four major sub disciplines within anthropology?  What do anthropologists in each sub-area do? 

2.Be able to discuss participant observation, holism, cultural relativity, and ethnocentrism.

 

R 01/15                   Scupin  pp. 47-57  Evolution: Theory vs. hypothesis

                                                                                Are we closer to Angels or Apes?

                                1. Which scholars and theories paved the way for Charles Darwin's theory of  evolution?

                                2. How would you explain Darwin's theory of evolution?

                                3.  How would you describe Gregor Mendel's genetic experiments and his particulate theory of heredity?

4. Why does Melvin Konner believe that people of every race, religion, and culture have    far more that unites them than separates them?  What is his evidence?

BEGIN READING THE BOOK NISA AND TAKING NOTES ON IT.

               

T  01/20                  Scupin. pp. 58-71  The Mechanisms of Evolution: Natural Selection & Mutation

FILM: Evolution in Process       06 M 030

Questions:            1. Discuss the forces responsible for biological diversity among primates.

                                2. Discuss the role of mutation and natural selection in evolution.

                                3. Discuss the role of random genetic drift, recombination and gene flow in evolution.

 

R  01/22                 Scupin. pp. 72-80  Primate Relatives? FIRST QUIZZ

                                                                                Are monkeys our uncles?

 

                Scupin  pp. 80-98  Primate Evolution

                                1. List and explain the four major anthropological applications of primatology.

                                2. Explain what differentiates primates from other types of mammals.

                                3. Discuss the statement: "Primate evolution was directed toward an ultimate primate - the human."  Include in your discussion some mention of primate characteristics and the                                       evolutionary trends of primates.

4. Explain what you think might have been the evolutionary process that led to the growth of the human brain.  Keep in mind that archaeological evidence that hominid brain growth did not precede bipedalism, tool use or a home base and sharing.

 

T  01/27                  FILM:  Jane Goodall: A Life in the Wild -  The Chimpanzees       # 145

 

R  01/29                  Cronk & Bryant. Pp. 53-67  Primate Behavior Patterns

1. Explain the significance of Smuts' conclusion in the article "What Are Friends For?" which reads, "Maybe it is time to pay more attention to what men must do, in order to obtain women's cooperation?"  Do power and dominance play any role in sex? Explain.

2. Why does Barry Bogin claim that the stereotype that the Tutsi tribe of Rwanda are the “world’s tallest people” is a myth? What causes the short stature of Pygmies, genetics or their environment? What did Ralph Garruto’s team discover caused Parkinson’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease among the native Chamorro people of Guam?  What is the relationship between high calcium diets and brain damage due to aluminum poisoning, paralysis, and death?

3.  Explain why Cronk believes that our bodies are adapted to a Stone Age conditions, which do not fit our current lifestyles?  This clash leads to high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and a host of other aliments.  Do you agree or disagree with Cronk? Explain.

VISIT THE ST. LOUIS ZOO/WRITE A ONE PAGE SUMMARY OF PRIMATE OBSERVATION

 

T  02/03                  FILM: Apes and How They Live.  Video.

 

R  02/05                  Scupin pp. 95-99                   Sociobiology & Human Behavior. SECOND QUIZZ

YOU SHOULD BE HALF WAY THROUGH THE BOOK NISA AT THIS POINT.

 

T  02/10                  Scupin. pp. 100-114              Australopithecines/ Missing Links?

 

R  02/12                  Scupin. pp. 114-125              Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, & Neanderthals

                                1. When and why did the "Great Leap Forward," occur?  Did modern humans automatically replace Neanderthals in Europe, the Near East and Asia?

                                2. Describe the cultural life of early hominids and Neanderthals then compare and contrast them with the cultural life of Homo Sapiens and Cro-Magnon.

                                3.  What does the Piltdown Hoax tell us about fraud and skepticism in science?

                                4. When, where and for how long did the Neanderthals live?      What do you think caused their extinction?

 

T  02/10                  Cronk & Bryant: 112-122 & 149-156  Diet, Sex & Human Evolution.

                                Cronk & Bryant: 84-94         Ice Age Women.

 

R  02/12                  Scupin. pp. 147-166              Paleolithic/Oldowan, Acheulian, Mousterian.

                                First Exam Review: Time and place announced in class.

VIDEO: CAVE BENEATH THE SEA

*****First exam coming soon -  Be prepared!!!

 

 T 02/17                  STUDY DAY: Re-read, review, & prepare for exam.

 

R  02/19                  FIRST EXAM: Bring Number 2 pencil with an eraser.  *****

 

T  02/24                  Review FIRST EXAM in class.

CONTINUE READING THE LAST HALF OF NISA.

 

R  02/26                  Scupin. pp. 127-137              Human Variation & “Race”

1. Discuss the statement that ". . .  in diversity lies strength and resilience" in relation to the eugenics movement of the early 20th century.

 

T  03/02                  Scupin. pp. 138-146              What Do We Measure/Race & I.Q.

1. Why did participants at the UNESCO symposium on race conclude,  "It is false to see racism as the mere consequence of economic phenomena, when it is not objective economic situations that encourage racism but their subjective interpretations."  What did they mean?  Discuss this, using examples like Schinler's List and the holocaust, the Turkish massacre of Albanians, race relation in Mississippi, etc.

2. Discuss Ashley Montague’s findings when he re-examined Yerkes Alpha Army Test administered to 1.5 million veterans during W.W.I.  Why did Yerkes believe that the 15 point reported difference in I.Q. between whites and blacks was genetically determined and explain why Montague believed that this was due to environmental factors?

 

R  03/04                  Cronk & Bryant: 43-48         RACE: Black, White, Other THIRD QUIZZ

                                Cronk & Bryant: 36-42         Ethnicity

 

SPRING BREAK MARCH 8-14, 2004

 

T  03/16                  Scupin. pp. 20-30  Archaeology

                                                1. What are the tenets of the "new" archaeology?  Use the Koster to provide examples.

                                2. Discuss the three major goals or levels of analysis which archaeology has.

                                3. What does archaeology have to tell us about the value of fossils and artifacts for the human species?  Why does the preservation and study of ancient artifacts
                                    and sites matter?

 

R  03/18                  Scupin. pp. 31-45  Relative vs. Absolute Dating

 

T  03/23                  Cronk & Bryant: 94-112       Arrival of the First Americans.

                                Cronk & Bryant: 123-130.    Strings Attached.

                                1. Why are hunters so nomadic? Why did people hunt for 4 million years?

                                2. Which came first, pastoralism or farming?

                                3. Does farming change the sexual division of labor & the value of children?

 

R  03/25                  Scupin. pp. 335-357              Band Societies, Leadership & Affluence FOURTH QUIZZ

 

T  03/30 Scupin. pp. 168-182              Neolithic/Origins of Agriculture

                                1. Was farming invented once or many times? Where & Why?

                                2. How does farming influence population growth and density?

                                3. Why do cities occur only in societies with an agriculture base?

                                4. Can hunter-gather groups build complex civilizations?

                                5. Whys do private property and social inequality correlate with crime?  

FILM: Slash and Burn Agriculture       06 M 043 

SECOND EXAM BE PREPARED!

 

R  04/01                  Scupin. pp. 183-190              Population Growth/Stratification

                                1. Are social equality and stratification compatible?

                                2. Why do social complexity and war correlate so highly?

                                3. Discuss the theories of V. Gordon Childe, Bradford, Braidwood, & Bosorop.

                                4. Does technological advancement equate with civilization? Control of energy?

PEER REVIEWOF YOUR PAPER IN CLASS; SUBMIT YOUR REVIEW.

 

T  04/06 Scupin. pp. 358-387              Tribe, Sodalities, Religion & Art

***** FIRST DRAFT OF BOOK REVIEW ESSAY DUE IN CLASS/ PEER REVIEW.

 

R  04/08                  FILM: Cahokia Mounds: Ancient Metropolis. Video.  FIFTH QUIZZ

                                1.Choose two of the following anthropologists and discuss their theories on the origin of civilization:  Childe, Adams, Flannery, Hassan, Haas, and Carniero.

                                2. Discuss “Prime-Mover” theories, on the origin of civilization.

                                3. Compare the ancient cities of the Old World with the ancient cities of the New  World.

                                4. Explain the rise and fall of Cahokia. Do civilizations grow old and die?

                                5. Discuss the role of invasion, economic decline, technological backwardness, value shifts, natural disasters, ecological neglect, etc. in the fall of civilizations.

VISIT CAHOKIA MOUNDS AND WRITE A ONE PAGE REPORT FOR EXTRA CREDIT.

 

T  04/13                  Scupin. pp. 389-408              Chiefdoms, Rank, Law, & Religion

                                Cronk & Bryant: 185-191     Judas & Mayan Indian Culture

 

R  04/15                  Scupin. pp. 409-426              State Societies Caste, Divine Rulers, & Mediation

FINAL PAPER DUE IN CLASS TODAY

 

T  04/20                  Scupin. pp. 427-444              Industrial States & Modernization, Class, Ethnicity

 

R  0422                   FILM: Holy Ghost People                  

 

T  04/27                  Scupin. pp. 238-248              Freud, Culture & Personality

 

R  04/29                  Scupin. pp.249-264               What is ‘Abnormal’ Behaivor?

 

T  05/04                  In class review for FINAL EXAM. Bring a pencil, eraser & lots of preparation.

BEST OF LUCK TO EACH OF YOU! Final exam begins at 10A.M. Please be on time.

               

FINAL EXAMINATION, Tuesday  , May 4,, 2004 in PH 0405 from 10:00 – 11:40 A.M.

*****If you need your final grade before it is officially available through the Registrar then please supply Dr. Browne with a STAMPED, SELF-ADDRESSED POSTCARD requesting your grade.