This course provides an introduction to the discipline of anthropology with emphasis on the subdisciplines of biological anthropology, archaeology and sociocultural anthropology. There is a strong emphasis on the relevance of an anthropological perspective in modern life and on the application of anthropological knowledge. Our specific goals are learning about key aspects of the human biological and cultural past, developing an awareness of and appreciation for human cultural diversity and understanding anthropological perspectives and values. A second emphasis in this course is on the acquisition or strengthening of skills essential for the educated person. These include skills in discussion, writing and critical thinking. We will be particularly interested in holistic thinking in this course because understanding things holistically or in terms of the whole as well as the parts has been an important aspect of anthropology.

Your grade in this course will depend on your performance in a variety of situations. You can earn up to 500 points as follows:

1)TESTS (320 pts) - There will be four multiple choice tests. The first three will be given during class time as shown on the schedule below. The fourth test will be given during the blocked final exam period also as shown. Each test will be worth 80 points. MAKEUPS ON ANY OF THESE TESTS GENERALLY WILL REQUIRE A WRITTEN MEDICAL EXCUSE OR DOCUMENTATION OF FAMILY EMERGENCY.

2)CASE STUDIES (100 pts) - You will be required to select a case study from the three listed below. I will ask you to write about your case study on two separate occasions during the semester. The first assignment is a short essay 1-2 pages in length which is worth 20 points due as shown on the attached schedule. The second assignment is to answer an essay question concerning the case study. You will have the question one class before the test, but you will write your essay in class as shown on the attached schedule. You will have the option of rewriting your essay based on my comments. See the Schedule of Topics and Assignments and the Instructions for Case Studies for more information. LATE REWRITES WILL BE ACCEPTED BUT WILL HAVE 10 POINTS DEDUCTED FROM THE SCORE EARNED PER CLASS MEETING.

4)CLASS EXERCISES (80 pts) - You will also earn points for completion of in-class exercises throughout the semester. Completion of all the exercises is worth 80 points; the points earned for each exercise will be prorated depending on how many we complete. Students who have completed at least 80% of these exercises will be eligible to have borderline final grades raised. I DO NOT GIVE MAKEUPS ON THESE EXERCISES ALTHOUGH COPIES OF EXERCISES ARE AVAILABLE FOR STUDY PURPOSES WHEN APPROPRIATE.

5)BONUS POINTS - You may earn up to 20 additional bonus points during the semester based on your participation in cooperative work groups established at the beginning of the semester and the proportion of exercises you complete. Please see the Bonus Point section for more information.

Although IUP gives me the right to require attendance, I do not require you to attend a certain number of classes in order to pass the course. The decision about class attendance is yours; I urge you to take your responsibility seriously. Some things you should keep in mind when you make attendance decisions are:

1)You can't make up any class exercises which you miss; if you miss all of them you will lower your grade by 16%

2)I use the proportion of completed exercises as a means of evaluating whether I should raise borderline grades at the end of the semester.

3)You can't earn as many bonus points if you do not complete all the exercises.

4)It is the rare student who does well on the tests in this course without being in class most of the time.

PHILOSOPHY ON ACTIVE LEARNING

I really would like you to learn some anthropology this semester. I know that the following two proverbs are true:

Native American Proverb:
Tell me, I'll listen.
Show me, I'll believe.
Involve me, I'll learn.

Chinese Proverb:
I hear and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.

This course is planned to balance these ideals and the realities with which each of us copes, but its only partially up to me. Your attitude toward engaging with the material in your readings, in class exercises and in lecture is an essential ingredient. Remember your brain is less like a sponge and more like a muscle than you may have been conditioned to think! You need to use it to keep it in shape!

As described in the IUP Student Handbook, The Source, pp. 58-62 certain standards of academic integrity and honesty are essential within our community. It is your responsibility to know what constitutes a violation of IUP’s standards on academic integrity. I will seek to resolve any incidents of academic dishonesty through an informal conference, but you should expect to earn no points for the work involved in such incidents and your grade could be lowered as well.

Raymond Scupin and Christopher DeCorse, 1998, Anthropology: A Global Perspective (THIRD EDITION), and

David L. Carlson and Vaughn M. Bryant, Jr., 1997, Through the Looking Glass: Readings in Anthropology.

Higham, Charles and Rachanie Thosarat ,1994, Khok Phanom Di: Prehistoric Adaptation to the World’s Richest Habitat

Chiñas, Beverly Newbold, 1992, The Isthmus Zapotecs: A Matrifocal Culture in Mexico (Second Edition)

Pomponio, Alice, 1992, Seagulls Don’t Fly Into the Bush: Cultural Identity and Development in Melanesia

In this schedule, I have listed the class topic, the assigned reading and any written assignments due for each class meeting. You are expected to have read and studied the assigned pages BEFORE each class meeting. Slight changes in this schedule may be necessary and will be announced in class (SDC= Scupin and DeCorse; DCB = Carlson and Bryant).

1/21 What is this course about?

1/23 What is anthropology?

READ SDC pp. 1-18 and REVIEW YOUR SYLLABUS

1/26 What is it like to be an anthropologist?
READ DCB pp. 1-20

1/28 What is the theory of evolution?
READ SDC pp. 19-31

1/30 How does evolution occur?
READ SDC pp.31-42; DCB pp. 47-52

2/2 How do we study the past?
READ SDC pp.43-63
DEADLINE TO SIGN UP FOR CASE STUDY

2/4 What is a primate?
READ SDC 64-69; 82-89 and sections on modern primates on pp. 72,73-74, and 76

2/6 Primate behavior
READ DCB pp. 53-61

2/9 What is a hominid?
READ SDC pp.90-108; DCB pp. 63-65
SHORT ESSAY ASSIGNMENT IS DUE FOR ALL CASE STUDIES

2/11 What is a Homo sapiens sapiens?
READ SDC pp.108-115; DCB pp. 67-77

2/13 When and how did modern humans evolve?
READ DCB pp. pp.35-45

2/16 Do races exist?
READ SDC pp.116-134

UNIT TWO: THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE AND CULTURAL EVOLUTION

2/20 What is culture and what is instinct?
READ SDC pp.199-221

2/23 Culture Again
READ DCB pp. 21-25; pp.187-194

2/25 What is the difference between language and animal communication?
READ SDC pp. 242-249

2/27 The origins of culture
READ SDC pp.135-153

3/2 What’s so bad about hunting and gathering?
READ DCB pp.79-90; 107-116

3/4 Why food production?
READ SDC pp.155-165; DCB pp. 91-95

3/6 What happened in the Neolithic?
READ SDC pp.165-177

3/16 What is a complex society?
READ SDC pp.178-198

3/18 How were the Americas settled?
READ DCB pp. 97-106
ESSAY QUESTION FOR HIGHAM AND THOSARAT DISTRIBUTED

3/23 Studying sociocultural variables
READ SDC pp.283-310

3/25 What is a band society?
READ SDC pp.311-333

3/27 CLASS CANCELLED

3/30 Are hunter-gatherers egalitarian?
READ DCB pp.117-122

4/1 What are tribal societies like?
READ SDC pp.334-361

4/3 What is a chiefdom?
READ SDC pp.362-381

4/6 Why social stratification?
READ DBC pp. 129-137

4/8 What makes a state different?
READ SDC pp.382-397

4/10 The Maya case
READ SDC pp.397-402

4/13 The industrial state
READ SDC pp.403-429

4/15 Gender issues and anthropology
READ DCB pp. 161-175
CHIÑAS ESSAY QUESTION DISTRIBUTED

UNIT FOUR: THE IMPACT OF GLOBAL INDUSTRIALISM

4/20 What is global industrialism?
READ SDC pp.430-451

4/22 What has progress meant for indigenous people?
READ DBC pp. 123-128, 205-216

4/24 How has global industrialism affected Non-Western countries?
READ SDC pp.452-486

4/27 What are some contemporary global problems?
READ SDC pp. 487-512

4/29 What causes world hunger?
READ DBC pp. 225-233

5/1 What is applied anthropology?
READ SDC pp. 513-527; DCB pp. 217-224

POMPONIO ESSAY QUESTION DISTRIBUTED

5/4 POMPONIO ESSAY WRITTEN DURING CLASS;
NO CLASS OTHERWISE
CATCH-UP ON READING

PLEASE NOTE BLOCKED FINAL LOCATION TO BE ANNOUNCED

ANY POMPONIO REWRITES ARE DUE ON THE LAST DAY OF FINALS 5/14

There is a substantial body of evidence that learning is enhanced by cooperation and collaboration between students. For this reason many of the exercises we do in class will be done as group exercises. In addition, I like to encourage you to study with other students in this class and to discuss assignments with each other. These bonus points are intended to encourage this kind of behavior which I believe will also improve your grade.

In this course, you can earn bonus points based on your participation in a work group throughout the semester. The job of everybody in your work group will be to see that each member attends class regularly, participates fully in class exercises, is prepared for tests, understands assignments, gets class notes if they have to miss class and has someone to proofread their papers for them. In addition, whenever we form ad hoc cooperative groups in class, your group will work together. You should learn names and exchange phone numbers as soon as your group is formed and you should make an effort to check-in with your group as frequently as possible before or after class. If someone misses several classes, give them a call.

You can earn up to 5 bonus points for your participation in these groups for each unit of the course. At the end of each unit, your bonus points will be computed in two ways:

1.Group members will be asked to rate each other's participation in the group as either EXCELLENT=2, SATISFACTORY=1 or UNSATISFACTORY=0. These ratings will be averaged and rounded to whole numbers. Be fair, but honest. 2.If you have completed 80-100% of the in-class exercises for the unit, you will earn an additional 3 points; if you have completed 60-79% of these exercises you will earn 1additional bonus point. Otherwise you will not earn any additional bonus points.

You are required to read one of the case studies listed under reading materials. The purpose of this case study is to give you a chance to experience anthropology in greater depth than is possible from your text and class activities. You may read this book at your own pace, but be sure you complete it before the essay question is distributed. You must complete two assignments related to this case study as follows:

1.SHORT ESSAY - You must write a 1-2 typewritten page essay which identifies the case study which you have chosen, explains how it relates to this course and states what interests you about this book. This essay is worth 20 points and it is due 2/9 regardless of which case study you choose. IT SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY TO HAVE READ THE ENTIRE BOOK AT THIS POINT, but you should have read the Forward and the Preface, thoroughly looked over the Table of Contents and glanced through the book to get an idea of what it is about. DO NOT WAIT TO BUY THIS BOOK UNTIL AFTER THIS ASSIGNMENT AND JUST BORROW SOMEONE ELSE’S COPY. This is the only assignment sheet that I distribute for this assignment so please see me if you have questions. This essay is a way for you to get started on this project and for me to get to know you.

2.ESSAY - You must also write a long essay about your case study either during the second or third exam period or on the last day of class. You will have the question one class in advance so that you can prepare to write an answer to this

question. You will have about thirty minutes to write your essay. These questions will be individualized for each case study, but each question will require you to demonstrate your understanding of material in the book as well as to relate this book to topics we have covered in class. Make sure you finish the book before the questions are distributed.

REWRITE OPTION: You may rewrite your essay based on my comments. If your rewritten essay earns a higher grade than the original one, this second grade will be recorded. However, please note that a higher grade is not automatic and would reflect real improvement in the areas which I have criticized. Rewrites must be turned in on the due dates shown below with rewrites on the final essay being due on the last day of exams.

 
IMPORTANT DATES:

2/2 Buy a case study and sign-up for that case study in class

2/9 Short essay on all case studies is due

3/18 Higham and Thosarat essay question distributed

3/20 Higham and Thosarat essay written

4/15 Chiñas essay question distributed

4/17 Chiñas essay written and Higham and Thosarat rewrite due

5/1 Pomponio essay question distributed

5/4 Pomponio essay written and Chiñas rewrite due

5/14 Pomponio rewrite due

LATE ESSAYS AND REWRITES WILL BE ACCEPTED BUT WILL HAVE 10 POINTS DEDUCTED FROM THE SCORE EARNED PER CLASS MEETING