Cultural Anthropology 2410

Daytime Class

Social Science Department, Seminole Community College

Professor K.G. Noone

Classroom L-015 Library Building

Office L-016B Library Building

Phone 407-328-2086

Fax 407-328-2419

NooneK@scc-fl.edu

 

Course Description:

{ANT-2410, Cultural Anthropology (3 credits-3 hours); Prerequisite/ co requisite: ENC 1101 or permission from the instructor or the department chair.}  This course will explore the nature, characteristics, and content of culture from an anthropological perspective by examining the economy, art, religion, politics, language, and kinship patterns of individual human societies. 

List of Basic Units:

Introduction to the field and how it fits in the epistemological scheme

Methodology and how to access and understand the professional literature                        

Social/Cultural Anthropology (economics, Politics, Religion, Art, kinship, history, and theories.)  

                                   

Office Hours:

Monday and Wednesday from 9-2:00

Please call 407-328-2086 for an appointment and also direct your inquiries to NooneK@scc-fl.edu

 

 Course Objectives:

The purpose of this course is to provide the student with a superficial understanding of the four major areas of anthropology. Other goals are as follows: to provide the student with the knowledge of how to write a research proposal, how to access the professional literature, and further, to provide a sense of the methodology of anthropology.

 

Required Reading:

The current text used in the course is available in the bookstore: Cultural Anthropology, 81h edition by Nanda & Worms

 

Course Rationale:

This course should benefit the Arts and Science in that anthropology provides us with an overview of the human family. This discipline helps break ethnocentric prejudices by allowing us to explore how we are alike and how we differ, not only now, but also in the past. Providing a true basis for a solid appreciation of diversity, business and education majors can develop a flexibility that makes them more attractive candidates in their field. Some universities require this course in their colleges of health related professions.

 

Grading Scale:

90-100=A

80-89 = B

70-79 = C

60-69 = D

 

Course Management Guide:

 

1. No makeups are allowed unless there are serious mitigating circumstances that can be documented. Makeups place a burden on the instructor and give the person making up the test an unfair advantage in that they have more time to study than students who take exams at regularly scheduled times. If a serious circumstance occurs and it can be documented such as hospitalization, it is the prerogative of the professor to review this rule.

 

2. Late papers and test will be marked down 10 points.

 

3. When cheating or plagiarism has occurred, the instructor may take academic action ranging from denial of credit for or assigning a grade of “F” on a specific assignment, examination, or project, to assigning a grade of “F” for the course. The student may also be subject to further sanctions as disciplinary probation, suspension to understand what is required when writing paper. Any academic, non-fiction paper for grading purposes must have proper documentation. This means honest internal and external citation. Any paper that does not credit sources with proper internal and external documentation makes the paper vulnerable to charges of plagiarism. A paper turned in without proper documentation will be returned with a grade of zero.

 

4. No grades will be given over the phone or by email.

 

5.While attendance is at the discretion of the student, for the sake of good grades, it is encouraged. Further, the college now requires the professor to take attendance daily. Students are responsible for all class information despite their attendance.

 

6. WITHDRAWALS: The policy on withdrawals has changed and the dates of withdrawal must be adhered to. Please check the college website. If one has not finished the work at the proper time, a withdrawal or incomplete will not be given.  All withdrawals are the responsibility of the student only and must be handled by the student. This professor will only enter withdrawals in the final grade forms that have been processed by the records department in their official capacity through regular records procedures. DO NOT ASK THE PROFESSOR FOR A WITHDRAWAL.  You must handle the process your self. This means the student must initiate any and all withdrawals before the official date of withdrawal. If a student does not file for withdrawal, they must realize that the possibility of the grade of “F’ exists. LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW IS OCTOBER 28.

 

7. An incomplete will be given only under serious circumstances and an incomplete will not be given without a contract prior to the end of the course.

8. Grades generally are not curved, however, the student needs to be aware that an average grade is a grade of “C” and to deserve a “B” is to do work that is above average of the class and to deserve an “A” means the student did extraordinary well compared to all other students. The following scale will be used:

90-100=A, 80-89=B, 70-79=C, 60-69=D

 

9. It is the policy of this professor to make all the students feel welcomed.  All students must be aware that the professor will treat each student equally, given the requirements of the syllabus. There will be no exceptions unless the circumstance is very exceptional and can be documented. This does not mean car or computer failure.

 

10. Extra credit will be applied only if the class requirements are fulfilled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Organize your Formal Writings, e.g. Book Reviews, Critiques and Research Term Paper

 

You will be a book or possible a research article in this course. When you review writings, you will want to follow a certain structure or organization. First, as the writer, you must consider the reader. If you are going to pitch the ball, you must set up the catcher. The best way to do this in academic writing is to have an introduction to your paper that anyone can pick up and read and consequently, understand WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THE PAPER IS, WHAT THE PAPER WILL COVER, AND THE SEQUENCE OF TOPICS THE READER WILL READ. Do not, at this stage in your academic career, worry about being creative. You have a job to do in reviewing a paper, and you should think of it as building a structure. So, the first paragraph tells all. One may start of by stating the purpose after a few beginning sentences. For example, if you are reviewing an article on reading you might have the following opening introductory paragraph:

Children entering first grade often have difficulty learning how to read. How
children acquire knowledge of sounds may be the key in learning to read. The
purpose of the present paper is to critique of the peer-reviewed research
entitled "The Psychological Understanding of Phonemes." Joseph Burkowsky of
the University of Miami wrote the research. It was published in Developmental
Psychology in May 2000. In this critique I will briefly discuss my personal
interest in reading and why I chose this research to review. I will
thoroughly summarize Dr. Burkowsky's work, paying particular attention to the
result and conclusion sections. A discussion of weak points of Dr.
Burkowsky's selection of subjects and his lack of a proper baseline will be
explored. I will highlight the strengths of the research. A suggestion for
further research on phonemes will be offered. Finally, my own opinions on
how to teach reading will be offered to the reader.

or
Globalization is a topic that is very current in anthropology right now. This topic primarily reflects economic issues.  Judy Samson’s book entitled Chiapas Today encompasses many of the issues of Globalization and how they have impacted the Maya of Chiapas.  The Harvard Press published the book in 2002. Ms. Samson did most of her fieldwork for the book in 2000.  This writing is a critique of the work by Ms. Samson. In this review, I will first offer the reader a thorough summary of Chiapas Today, with an emphasis on Chapter Two entitled “Chamula.”  The second portion of the review will offer criticisms of Ms. Samson’s book with a laudatory section on her view of global economics.  A section on some of the weaker aspects of the writing will be discussed at this point in the review with particularly comments on the structure and the organization of the book. I will close the review with my own opinion of globalization and peasant populations in light of the economics of our first world economy.

 
This introduction tells any academic reader what this paper is about.  The writer can now take this paragraph as an outline and being to construct the paper.  So, you now can think of building a paper.  Construct your introductory paragraph by telling the reader the purpose of the paper YOU are writing.  Give the reader information on what you will cover in order to accomplish your purpose and the sequence in which the reader will encounter the information.  After this information, build the body of the paper topic, by topic, thoroughly covering what you said you would cover in your introduction.  Now you build a paragraph  (or two) of conclusion in which you very briefly mention some of the highlights of what the reader read. Remember, the title can be thought of as the shortest summary.

 

The final piece to a piece of formal academic writing is the documentation. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!  You must cite your sources internally.  Everything you learned, acquired, found, researched, and quoted from someone else, YOU MUST STATE THIS OR DOCUMENT THIS.  E.G. According to Ainsworth & Bell (1972)…or  ...In the research by Burkowsky (1989), he states that…. Just having a name at the end of each paragraph is not sufficient. If it is your idea you are writing, say so, e.g. In my opinion…. You also, of course need a bibliography of all references you used.   Finally, when in doubt, always ask for help.

 

For the Annotated Bibliography, you must pick a topic in anthropology. A Bibliography is a reference list.  Annotation means to briefly describe, hence you will be building a reference list on a specific subject and each entry will be briefly described. You must have 10 citations. You must print out the first page of each article to staple to your reference list. The first page would be the first page of the introduction to the article, not the abstract of the article.  Also, the citations must come from professional journals.  In order to take this course, students must have passed Freshman English. Annotated bibliographies were to be covered in your pre-requisite, so check in your English Handbook for more information or any number of websites that discuss Annotated Bibliographies. 

 

Please note: This schedule is tentative. Changes well be made throughout the semester so and the student is responsible for date changes that will be announced in class. Extra credit opportunities will be announced in class.