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course format:
This course has two goals. Firstly, it examines the interaction between diverse human cultures and societies and the environments of people that practice them. It stresses the ways in which concepts developed for small-scale, non-western, pre-industrial societies are applicable to the modern world, characterized by transnationalism and globalization. Secondly, it traces the development of theories that explain this interaction and discusses current research. Through the close examination of alternative theories, this course provides students with general tools in critical thinking and analytical writing.
This course meets three different General Education requirements: Social Science Topical Breadth, Social-Cultural Diversity and Writing Experience. Its approach to different theories gives students a deeper understanding to research methods and explanation in social sciences. Its presentation of human cultures around the globe introduces students to a range of diverse cultures. The activities in sections and the papers provide the students with tools to strengthen their writing skills.
This course could appeal to students outside anthropology and environmental studies because it examines a broad range of topics, because it teaches basic skills in critical thinking through the application of the concept of paradigm, and because it provides an opportunity to develop writing skills. It is particularly well-suited to students in International Relations, because of the breadth of coverage of different cultures. Students from Nature and Culture and from Science and Technology Studies often take this course as well, for its exploration of fundamental issues in the study of human cultures and environments. The course has no prerequisites.
course requirements:
grading:
The grading will be based as follows: midterm 20%, final 25%, discussion questions 15%, paper 35%, section participation 5%. Students will also have the option of submitting an extra-credit paper, worth 10% of the grade, by Friday 11 May.
papers:
The paper, 4-6 double-spaced typewritten pages in length, compares two of the paradigms discussed in class and in the readings. (A handout will be provided to explain these papers in greater detail.) Students are required to bring a preliminary draft of the paper to section in week 8. In section, students will circulate these drafts and comment on them. One week later, on Wednesday 30 May, the second and final draft is due. This second draft will be graded, but the first will not.
discussion questions:
Students will also be required to bring to section discussion questions based on book chapters and articles. These will be used to organize discussion in section. They will be due in section on weeks 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7. These summaries will not receive letter grades, but will only be graded full pass/weak pass/not pass.
late papers and discussion questions:
Late papers and discussion questions will not be accepted. Exceptions will be made only for medical emergencies of the student or an immediate family member, and only if the emergency is verified by a note from a doctor or other medical professional.
lecture outline and reading list:
texts:
1. course reader (Navins, 231 Third St., Davis. 758-2311)
2. Harris, Marvin. 1977. Cannibals and Kings: The Origins of Culture. New York: Random House.
3. Picchi, Debra. 2000. The Bakairн Indians of Brazil: Politics, Ecology and Change. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
4. Schlosser, Eric. 2001. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Week 0. Introduction.
30 March Lecture 1 Introduction
Week 1. Introduction. Basic Elements.
Picchi, The Bakairн Indians, chapters 1-4 and pp. 185-194
Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, Introduction and chapters 1-3
“Chimps in the wild show stirrings of culture”, Gretchen Vogel. 1999. Science 284:2070-2073.
“Are our primate cousins conscious?”, Elizabeth Pennisi. 1999. Science 284:2073-2076.
“Fruit smearing by captive chimpanzees: a newly observed food-processing behavior.” Samuel Fernбndez-Carriba and Ðngela Loeches. 2001. Current Anthropology 42(1): 143-147.
“Intergroup differences in a social custom of wild chimpanzees: the grooming hand-clasp of the Mahale Mountains.” W. C. Mc Grew, L. F. Marchant, S. E. Scott, and C. E. G. Tutin. 2001. Current Anthropology 42(1):148-153
02 April Lecture 2 Basic Element I Environment
04 April Lecture 3 Basic Element II Society
06 April Lecture 4 Basic Element III Culture
Week 2. Basic Elements. The Core Concept: Paradigm
Picchi, The Bakairн Indians, chapters 5-8 and pp. 194-202
Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, chapters 4-6
09 April Lecture 5 The Central Concept: Paradigm.
11 April Lecture 6 The Kayapу (film)
13 April Lecture 7 Classificatory Cultural Ecology I. energy and evolution
Week 3. Paradigm 1: Classificatory Cultural Ecology.