Course Description:
Cultural Anthropology explores different cultures in all of their manifestations - from how people make a living to what people live for. In an increasingly interconnected world, cultural differences lie at the root of many of our most pressing challenges, throughout the world and in our own personal lives. There has never been a time when Cultural Anthropology has been more important than it is right now.

Successful students will:

• learn the basic tools, concepts, and methods of cultural anthropology and be able to apply these to their own lives regardless of what career path they may choose.
• identify ways in which different aspects of culture – economic, social, political, and religious practices and institutions – relate to one another and are integrated in a cultural system.
• be able to draw comparisons between different cultures, recognizing that such comparisons require a holistic understanding of each of the cultures involved in the comparison.
• describe the processes of globalization and the ways they shape, and are shaped by, different aspects of culture in human communities throughout the world.
• improve their abilities to “think outside the box” by recognizing their own cultural biases and questioning the assumptions, beliefs, concepts, and ideas they had previously taken for granted.
• learn to ask challenging and productive questions about the world and humanity.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge. 12th Edition.
Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride.
Annual Editions: Anthropology 08/09 Edited by Elvio Angeloni
Additional readings will be posted on K-State Online
You also must bring a 3”x5” notecard to each class.


COURSE REQUIREMENTS

PRESENCE – Your full presence (not just your “attendance”) is required at every class. This means that you must be fully actively engaged with the class at all times. Your presence will be measured by your *thoughtful* responses on notecards to be turned in every day (or almost everyday) in class.

ON-LINE QUIZZES – The on-line quizzes must be completed before class each Tuesday by 11:59 pm. They will always be over that week’s readings (including the readings for the Wednesday the quiz is due). The readings form an important part of the storyline of the course. This class moves through over 40,000 years of human existence and jumps all over this world which is 25,000 miles around in an any one of the infinite directions you might wish to travel and we only have 17 weeks. So hold on, and please keep up with the readings. The points for each quiz will vary from 10 to 30.

WORLD SIMULATION ETHNOGRAPHY - The class will be broken up into 20 groups of about 20 people in each group. Each group will create their own culture, step-by-step, as we go through each aspect of culture in class. Each member of the group will be assigned to write a particular section of the final ethnography about the culture. Late in the semester we will have an actual world simulation in which all cultures will interact with one another in the Union Ballroom. The goal of this simulation is to actually experience how cultures are interrelated, both for better and for worse. More details will be distributed as the semester continues. The ethnographic section you write is worth 100 points.

PARTICIPATION - Your participation will be graded by your TA and is worth 100 points.

NAME QUIZ - You will be required to know the names and something about each of your fellow group members by the 4th week of class. There will be a quiz worth 20 points.

KOOBECAF ETHNOGRAPHY. Write a 500-600 word essay on your experiences with the Nacirema use of "Koobecaf" using the tools and techniques learned in class.

WORLD SIMULATION REFLECTION - After the simulation you must write a reflection piece worth 30 points.

EXAMS - Each exam is worth 100 points (10% of your final grade for a total of 40%.)

MAKE-UP POLICY

Quizzes: If you missed the deadline for a quiz, you can type a 500 word summary of the articles for that week and turn it in to be graded. You will receive 1 point off for each week that it is late. The summary will be carefully graded, so 500 words does not automatically mean that you will receive full credit.

Attendance: Read the lecture notes on the wiki from the day you missed. Spend 50 minutes doing additional research on the topics covered in class, and add supporting links, pictures, and videos to the lecture notes. E-mail your TA to let them know you have completed this.

Exams: You must have a note that excuses your absence. This can be obtained from the Office of Student Life, provided you have a valid excuse. Beware that make-up exams are significantly more difficult than the in-class exams.

HONOR SYSTEM

Kansas State University has an Undergraduate Honor System based on personal integrity which is presumed to be sufficient assurance in academic matters that one's work is performed honestly and without unauthorized assistance. Undergraduate students, by registration, acknowledge the jurisdiction of the Undergraduate Honor System. The policies and procedures of the Undergraduate Honor System apply to all full and part-time students enrolled in undergraduate courses on-campus, off-campus, and via distance learning.

A component vital to the Honor System is the inclusion of the Honor Pledge that applies to all assignments, examinations, or other course work undertaken by undergraduate students. The Honor Pledge is implied, whether or not it is stated: "On my honor, as a student, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this academic work." A grade of XF can result from a breach of academic honesty. The F indicates failure in the course; the X indicates the reason is an Honor Pledge violation.

If you have any condition, such as a physical or learning disability, which will make it difficult for you to carry out the work as I have outlined it or which will require academic accommodations, please notify me in the first two weeks of the course.


CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST COURSE SCHEDULE