Department: Anthropology
Course No: 100W
Credits: 3
Title: Other People's Worlds
Contact: Penn Handwerker
Content Area: Social Sciences (CA2)
Diversity: CA4 International
WQ: Writing
Catalog Copy: A survey
of the development, contributions, and contemporary social problems of selected
non-Euroamerican peoples and cultures.
Course Information: a. A brief (2-3 sentences) course description that includes
course goals and objectives. This course
introduces students to cultural theory.
We survey the development, contributions, and contemporary social
problems of selected non-Euroamerican peoples and
cultures. In the process, the course
aims to help students learn to recognize and work with cultural diversity in
today’s world.
b.
Course requirements: Specify exam formats, nature and scope of weekly reading
assignments, nature and scope of writing assignments, problem sets, etc.
Course
requirements consist of a paper (12 pt font, single spaced) of at least 15 pp
typed double-spaced (approximately 4000 words), written in four parts plus a
final synthesis. Each part contributes 15%
of the course grade, 60% total. The
final synthesis contributes the remaining 40%.
Late submissions will lose half a grade for each day late, up to three
days; after 3 days the overdue submission will be assigned a zero. Half of each grade is the grade for the W
part of the course. Students must pass
the W part of the course to pass the course.
The
first part of the paper describes the assumption(s) that Eskimo people and the
individual student make about what constitutes food, and explains the implications
of those differences for how an Eskimo and the individual student live their
lives. Subsequent sections of the paper
analyze ethnographic data collected by the class and (1) identifies principles
of moral evaluation that extend beyond specific domains (sex, relationships,
violence, food) with supporting evidence (i.e., quotes) (2) moral evaluations
specific to the domain on which the individual conducted interviews (sex,
relationships, violence, food) with supporting evidence (i.e., quotes), and (3)
one cultural difference with supporting evidence (i.e., quotes) or an analysis
that shows (with supporting quotes) that no cultural differences exist. The final synthesis integrates the first part
of the paper with the data analysis of moral principles to reflect on the
nature and significance of cultural differenc!
es and similarities.
c.
List the major themes, issues, topics, etc., to be covered.
Global
movement and communication have placed us face-to-face with individuals who
embody different cultures. This course
aims to help students recognize and make sense of the observation that we find
standing face-to-face with us people whom we might think embody different
cultures, but who don’t --
in which a successful Rap group comes out of Japan, you can watch
the movie “Out of Africa” in an African bush village, and Russians play jazz,
compose Country music, and turn capitalist.
We begin with an introduction to the basics of culture theory. Then, students will do cultural anthropology
with real people who live lives in ways that may or may not differ markedly
from the way they live theirs. We shall
look for differences and similarities in moral reasoning about sex,
relationships, food, and violence.
Meets Goals of Gen Ed:
1. Become articulate; Successive, cumulative writing assignments, with
instructor feedback, improve students' ability to present complex ideas
directly and simply.
2.
Acquire intellectual breadth and versatility; The wide range of subject matter
(e.g., violence, relationships, sex, food ) shows students interrelationships
that allow them to see beyond disciplinary boundaries and, thus, increase their
intellectual breadth and versatility.
3.
Acquire critical judgement;
Successive,
cumulative writing assignments, along with class discussion, help students
formulate standards by which to distinguish what's important from what's not.
4.
Acquire moral sensitivity;
5.
Acquire awareness of their era and society;
6.
Acquire consciousness of the diversity of human culture and experience; and The diversity of human cultures and experience constitutes
the primary content of this course.
7.
Acquire a working understanding of the processes by which they can continue to
acquire and use knowledge.
CA2 Criteria: 1. Introduce students to
theories and concepts of the social sciences.
The
central goal of the course is to introduce students to cultural theory and its
core constructs (e.g., cultural relativism, cultural diversity, cultural
sharing).
2.
Introduce students to methods used in the social sciences, including
consideration of the ethical problems social scientists face.
This
course introduces students to both qualitative and quantitative methods used in
the study of culture. Students apply
empiricist epistomology to elicit and analyze data
bearing on cultural similarities and differences. Class discussion explores the ethical
problems of data collection, analysis, and write-up.
3.
Introduce students to ways in which individuals, groups, institutions, or
societies behave and influence one another and the natural environment.
The
central goal of cultural theory is to understand how individuals, groups,
institutions, and societies behave and influence one another and the natural
environment. Class assignments provide
first-hand experience with cultural similarities and differences of significant
interest to students. Class discussion
and data analysis focused on topics like food, sex, violence, and relationships
provide opportunities for students to explore how individuals, groups,
institutions, or societies behave and influence one another in different ways
in different contexts.
4.
Provide students with tools to analyze social, political, or economic
groups/organizations (such as families, communities, or governments), and to
examine social issues and problems at the individual, cultural, societal,
national, or international level. Social issues may include issues of gender,
race, social class, political power, economic power, and cross-cultural
interaction.
Cultural
theory and ethnographic methods provide students tools with which to recognize
and analyze cultural similarities and differences that may be embedded or
manifested in social, political, or economic groups/organizations (such as
families, communities, or governments).
Class assignments provide first-hand experience with the cultural
dynamics of our globalizing world.
CA4 Criteria: 1. Emphasize that there
are varieties of human experiences, perceptions, thoughts, values, and/or modes
of creativity; The diversity of human cultures
(experiences, perceptions, thoughts, values, and modes of creativity)
constitutes the primary content of this course.
2.
Emphasize that interpretive systems and/or social structures are cultural
creations; One central point is that interpretive
systems and social relations are cultural creations.
3.
Consider the similarities that may exist among diverse groups;
The
study of culture necessarily entails the examination of both similarities and
differences among diverse groups.
4.
Develop an understanding of and sensitivity to issues involving human rights
and migration;
Class
discussion applies lessons from our exploration of the construct of cultural
relativism, and contemporary cultural variation in the foundations of moral
judgments, to contemporary human rights issues that arise from the dynamics of
our globalizing world.
W Criteria: 1. Describe how the writing
assignments will enable and enhance learning the content of the course.
Describe the page requirements of the assignments, and the relative weighting
of the "W" component of the course for the course grade.
Course
requirements consist of a paper (12 pt font, single spaced) of at least 15 pp
typed double-spaced (approximately 4000 words), written in four parts plus a
final synthesis. Each part contributes
15% of the course grade, 60% total. The
final synthesis contributes the remaining 40%.
Late submissions will lose half a grade for each day late, up to three
days; after 3 days the overdue submission will be assigned a zero. Half of each grade is the grade for the W
part of the course. Students must pass
the W part of the course to pass the course. Successive, cumulative writing assignments
help students work through and master the intellectual content of the course.
2.
Describe the primary modes of writing instruction in the course (e.g.
individual conferences, written commentary, formal instruction to the class,
and so on.)
Writing
instruction will be conducted through written commentary and successive drafts
of papers, together with individual conferences.
3.
Explain how opportunities for revision will be structured into the writing
assignments in the course.
Successive
and cumulative drafts of a single paper integrate opportunities for revision
into the primary course assignment.
Role of Grad Students: Graduate
students who have been trained in how to teach writing may supervise specific
sections of 100W under the supervision of a regular faculty member.