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gwanth1002 · 7 years

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Anthropology 1002 Syllabus

Anth 1002.11 Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology

Spring 2017: Hybrid Version

Professor Barbara Miller, [email protected]

Office hours: Friday 11:30am-1pm (please email in advance to confirm)

Email and phone availability (cell 202-420-1002, for emergency)

Hybrid course mission:

A so-called hybrid course involves less time in a traditional classroom setting and requires more independent, self-monitored work by the student outside of class. In this case, class time will not be devoted to lectures or watching full-length documentary films. Instead, class time will be used for structured discussion of readings, film viewings, and independent research projects. Given the altered course delivery, evaluations of student achievement will not be based on the traditional testing model. In all, the class will consider students to constitute a community of scholars, working toward the common goal of learning a lot about sociocultural anthropology and how it connects to our everyday lives through reading, viewing, sharing, and independent observational research and analysis.

Given GW guidelines about expected class time per week:

► Students will spend 90 minutes a week in class (attendance is required; please see below for details).

► Students are expected to devote at least six hours a week, on average, outside of class to this course.

Expectations – students will:

Do the assigned reading, watch the assigned films, and be prepared to discuss them in class and participate in Blackboard discussions about them

Conduct and present 6 of the “Anthropology in Everyday Life” Research Exercises; review classmates’ presentations on Tumblr, and be prepared to comment on them in class.

Take a turn being a class note-taker for one-half of a class session (45 minutes); thus each student will have an opportunity. There will be a list/sign-up sheet; if something goes wrong and you cannot take notes at your assigned time, it is your responsibility to swap a time with another student (social capital at work). Class notes will be posted on a thread on Discussion Board on a weekly basis so that we build an archive.

Participate in class discussion in person and on Discussion Board (ONE thoughtful post each week, either a novel post or a post in response to another student’s post; posts should be about 100 words on average, thoughtful, well-crafted, and perhaps drawing on other class readings/learning); individual introductions at the beginning of class do not count).

Learning objectives:

► Awareness of concepts and theories in sociocultural anthropology and awareness of world ethnographic variation

► Understanding of ethical responsibilities and challenges in fieldwork; learn of the value and limitation of purely optical research

► Facility with critical thinking in assessing anthropology’s approaches and findings

► Practicing close observation, note-taking, and reflexivity

► Writing short reports and visual presentation on Tumblr

► Preparing and presenting short oral reports on research (6 in all) including required overview during the last class

► Appreciation of value of peer learning through “Community of Scholars” approach

Grading:

As of the first class, everyone starts with an “A” grade. I will be your coach, guiding you to achieving learning objectives. There are no exams.

Draft rubric:

Task

Midpoint

End of Course

Misc.

% of Grade

Attendance

Discussion Board

Tumblr

TOTAL

100 percent

Required Books (on sale in the GW bookstore; 2-hour reserve in Gelman Library):

Barbara D. Miller, Cultural Anthropology (2017, 8th edition). ISBN 978-0-13-44190-7 [My Anthro Lab not required].

James Spradley and David W. McCurdy, eds., Conformity and Conflict (2016, 15th edition); referred to below as C&C. ISBN 13-978-0-205-98079-5 [selected chapters].

Elizabeth Thomas, The Old Way: A Story of the First People (2006, any edition].

Seth Holmes, Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies: Migrant Farmworkers in the United States (2013).

Jon D. Holtzman, Nuer Journeys, Nuer Lives: Sudanese Refugees in Minnesota (2000, any edition).

GW support for students:

► Instructional Technology Help Desk open every day 24 hours: Tel. 202-994-4948; [email protected]

►Disability Support Services (DSS): Marvin Center 242, telephone 994-8250; http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss

►Mental Health Services, counsellors available all day, every day at 202-994-5300; https://counselingcenter.gwu.edu/

In case of an emergency:

Our class meets in the seminar room, 2nd floor, of 2110 G Street, the main anthropology department building. It is a historic row house and has no elevator. In case of an emergency, we will follow general GW instructions about evacuating the building, as needed, or “sheltering in place.”

Week- by-Week

Week 1. January 27. Introductions and orientation

Introductions around the room (also posted on Blackboard in more detail)

Discussion of creating a Tumblr site for the class research presentations: need to decide on its name and draft a mini-description [Nicole volunteered to set it up]

Week 2. February 3. What are goals and scope of anthropology and how to the four fields contribute to a broad and deep view of humanity?

Class discussion: Review of student comments to topics on Discussion Board Week 2

Readings for Week 2 discussion:

Miller Chapters 1 & 2

C&C Chapter 31 "Body Ritual among the Nacirema”

Start reading Thomas

Viewing for Week 2: two films: Nanook of the North (YouTube) and The Fast Runner

Discussion Board

Exercise 1 due by midnight Sunday, Feb 5 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts (listed at the end of the chapter) from Chapters 1-2; take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concepts, write 100-150 words about each concept and post the text and photos on Tumblr as part of your growing research archive.

Week 3. February 10. Research methods: truth, objectivity, intersubjectivity; and Economic systems: working, eating, sharing, exclusion

Class presentation by each student about their posts for Exercise 1 and comments on classmates’ post.

Readings for Week 3 discussion:

Miller Chapter 3, 4 & 5

C&C Chapter 3 "Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of AIDS"

C&C Chapter 4 "Nice Girls Don't Talk to Rastas"

C&C Chapter 13 "Poverty at Work: Office Employment and the Crack Alternative"

C&C Chapter 14 "Women in the Mine"

C&C Chapter 2 "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari"

Continue reading Thomas

Discussion Board

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Exercise 2 due by midnight Sunday February 12 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapters 3-5 including a related photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concepts, write 100-150 words about each concept, and post on Tumblr

Week 4. February 17: Reproduction, the life cycle, and well-being

Class discussion of one’s own posts for Exercise 2 and comments on classmates’ posts

Readings for Week 4 discussion: Miller Chapter 6 & 7

C&C Chapter 16 “Mother’s Love: Death without Weeping”

C&C Chapter 37 "Medical Anthropology: Improving Nutrition in Malawi"

C&C Chapter 38 "Public Interest Ethnography: Women's Prisons and Health Care in California"

Finish reading Thomas

Viewing: Maasai Women (e-reserves streaming video)

Discussion Board: Questions will focus on The Old Way

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Exercise 3 due by midnight Sunday February 19 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapter 6 or Chapter 7 and take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to each of them, write 100-150 words about each concept, and post on Tumblr

Week 5. February 24: People related

Presentation and class discussion of posts for Exercise 3

Readings for Week 5 discussion: Miller Chapter 8

C&C Chapter 18 "Polyandry: When Brothers Take a Wife,"

C&C Chapter 19, “Marriage and Adulthood in West Africa”

Start reading Holmes

Viewing: Dadi’s Family (e-reserves streaming video)

Discussion Board: Questions will cover Weeks 4 and 5 textbook topics and C&C readings

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Exercise 4 due by midnight Sunday February 26 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapter 8 and take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concept, write 100-150 words about each concept, and post on Tumblr

Week 6. March 3 Groups

Presentation and class discussion of Exercise 4

Readings for Week 6 discussion: Miller Chapter 9

C&C Chapter 22 "Mixed Blood"

Finish reading Holmes

No viewing

Discussion Board

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Exercise 5 due by midnight Sunday March 5 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapter 9 and take a photo for each from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concepts, write 100-150 words about each concept and post on Tumblr

Week 7. March 10 Power and politics

Presentation and class discussion of Exercise 5

Readings for Week 7 discussion: Miller Chapter 10

C&C Chapter 24 "Cross-Cultural Law: The Case of the Gypsy Offender"

C&C Chapter 6 “Manipulating Meaning: The Military Name Game”

Viewing: Kawelka—Ongka’s Big Moka (e-reserves streaming video)

Exercise 6 due by midnight Sunday March 12 on Tumblr: choose a Key Concept from Chapter 10 and take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concept, write 100-150 words about each concept and post on Tumblr

Discussion Board: Questions will focus on Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Mid-point assessment: The professor will review and comment on the students’ two files (Discussion Board posts and Tumblr photos/posts, provided on Blackboard/Assignment no later than midnight March 10; post as much as you have done by the deadline).

Week 8 SPRING BREAK

Week 9. March 24 Communication

Class discussion of one’s own post for Exercise 6 and comments on classmates’ post

Readings for week 9 discussion: Miller Chapter 11

C&C Chapter 7 "Conversation Style: Talking on the Job"

Start reading Holtzman

Exercise 7 due by midnight Sunday March 19 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapter 11 and take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concepts, write 100-150 words about each concept and post on Tumblr

Discussion Board: Questions will cover week & and week 9

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Week 10 March 31 Religion and beliefs

Class discussion of one’s own post for Exercise 7 and comments on classmates’ post

Readings for week 10 discussion: Miller Chapter 12

C&C Chapter 29 "Baseball Magic"

C&C Chapter 30 "Run for the Wall: An American Pilgrimage"

Continue reading Holtzman

Exercise 8 due by midnight Sunday March 26 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapter 12 and take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concepts, write 100-150 words about each concept and post on Tumblr

Week 11. April 7 Expressive culture

Class discussion of one’s own post for Exercise 8 and comments on classmates’ post

Readings for week 11 discussion: Miller Chapter 13

C&C Chapter 32 "How Sushi Went Global

C&C Chapter 33 "Village Walks: Tourism and Globalization among the Tharu of Nepal"

Finish reading Holtzman

No viewing

Exercise 9 due by midnight Sunday April 2 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapter 13 and take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concepts, write 100-150 words about each concept and post on Tumblr

Discussion Board

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Week 12. April 14 People on the move

Class discussion of one’s own post for Exercise 9 and comments on classmates’ post

Readings for week 12 discussion: Miller Chapter 14

Viewing “First Contact” (e-reserves on Blackboard)

Exercise 10 due by midnight Sunday April 9 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapter 14 and take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concepts, write 100-150 words about each concept and post on Tumblr

Discussion Board

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Week 13 April 21 People (re)defining development

Class discussion of one’s own post for Exercise 10 and comments on classmates’ post

Readings for week 13 discussion: Miller Chapter 15

C&C Chapter 11 "Forest Development the Indian Way"

C&C Chapter 36 "Advice for Developers: Peace Corps Problems in Botswana"

C&C Chapter 39 "Using Anthropology"

Viewing: Kayapo: Out of the Rainforest (e-reserves on Blackboard)

Discussion Board: final posts due by

Read Tumblr posts and be prepared to comment in class next week

Exercise 11 due by midnight Sunday April 23 on Tumblr: choose two Key Concepts from Chapter 15 and take a photo from your daily experiences connecting to your chosen concepts, write 100-150 words about each concept and post on Tumblr

Week 14 TUESDAY May 2 Class round-up

Following the guiding principle of this class as being formed by a “community of scholars,” we will devote this final class meeting to discussing the format of the class in terms of its learning objectives. We will consider expectations, work load, research assignment details, and student accountability in terms of Discussion Board, Tumblr, and class participation.

Second-half assessment: The professor will review and comment on the students’ two files (Discussion Board posts and Tumblr photos/posts, provided on Blackboard/Assignment no later than April 30; post your work since the mid-point assessment, March 10, following instructions on Blackboard).

#BarbaraMiller #Anthropology #Culturalanthropology #Anth1002 #gwuniversity #sp17

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rutgerssocialworkabroadmexico · 7 years

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Day 3 - Merida

Today we began our fieldwork for the program and began with a visiting to DIF, a facility for families and children. We first visited a DIF daycare center for mothers that are employees whose jobs don't offer childcare or social security to cover daycare, so they are unable to afford it. The social workers here work with parents to manage money for daycare and do home visits if they see or suspect maltreatment, domestic violence, alcoholism or drug problems. They also hold workshops with parents to teach them how to take better care of the kids. When the kids arrive at the facility, the staff check their bags to see if they have clean clothes, what they need for the day and to make sure they don't have anything they aren't supposed to have, like cookies or food. The facility provides food for the kids, so they do not want them bringing in their own. After the child checks in, they get examined by doctor. It is a fast physical exam checking their temperature, hair, ears, mouth, neck, and a check for bruises. All 50 kids here undergo the quick physical exam everyday. Kids here are between 45 days to 4 years old and the faculty compiles files for each child which include extensive health records and their parents socioeconomic status that determines the quota they pay for the childcare service. The facility operates between 6:30am and 5pm and family members must show an ID to pick up the kids. The faculty here are extremely qualified as all the cooks are certified in nutrition and all the teachers are certified in education. This program is funded by the federal government and the government sends money based on the quotas, paperwork and children's files. After learning all about the program we did a walk through of the facility and got to see the children there. The first class we went to was for ages 1 1/2 to 2 years old. They were so adorable and one of the little boys came right up to me, grabbed my hand and insisted I sit with him. It was the cutest thing! He was upset when we had to leave the class and kept asking me to stay. I wish I could have! We proceeded to the other classrooms where the 3-4 year olds were and observed as they played games and sang songs. The last class we visited was where the infants were. One of the caretakers handed a baby over to me and I gladly accepted. The baby I had the pleasure of holding was a very young baby girl. She was the cutest thing and just so full of love. I adore babies and young children so this was definitely my favorite visitation. Next we went to another DIF section called La Direccion para la atencion de la Infancia y la familia which is a Development center for infancy and families. They provide preventive programs for addiction, unplanned pregnancy, domestic violence and abuse. They also construct workshops to enable moms to work instead of the kids having to work. Many kids here in Mexico start working at an early age, resulting in them dropping out of school which is a big problem. Bullying is also very prominent in Merida right now, as it is in the United States. The program staff go to the families and explain it directly to them because they found that lecturing the students at school was ineffective. In addition, they create community-based programs like "Say no to bullying." While the staff goes out of their way to visit the communities, they largely depend on community members to take initiative and maintain the programs. The last stop at DIF was the social work department. Here they do economic evaluations for glasses, walking canes, medicine,hearing aids, funeral costs and other medical devices to give people in need the funds to acquire what they need. They also Follow up cases that are anonymously reported and companies fund this civil society. After DIF, we visited a psychiatric hospital. The hospital staff explained that they are changing towards a more modern model of rehabilitation and reintegration named after Miguel Hidalgo. They recently changed from an asylum four years ago and are moving towards being less institutionalized. The of this new model is to return patients to society, to help them get a job, live with their families and to feel better. In this psychiatric hospital, the patients are treated as regular human beings, and there isn't a stigma towards them as there still is in the United States. There are a few different shifts at the hospital; morning, evening, night shift and weekends. However, visitors are only allowed in the morning. The facility has a maximum capacity of 120, and currently has 90 patients. The most common diagnoses here are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, mental retardation, addiction, and multiple personality disorder. The facility used to accept minors but now only treats adults From ages 18 to 60. The staff explained that they provide 2 services, hospitalization and external consultation. Some Patients are "processed," or mandated, to be here by the corrections department. In addition to insurance, the Mexican government covers patients' costs so the patients do not have to pay to get the care they need. Those without jobs, private insurance and without social security receive seguro popular, which is a national insurance program similar to Medicaid but for mental health. This enables those without jobs, social security or private insurance to get free care for mental illness. This program is also more community-based in that the people in Mexico receive diagnoses in their community and don't have to travel far for treatment. They recently implemented group homes that are supervised and that administer treatment to the home's residents. These group homes are federally funded and have become popular because the Yucatán is the state with the second highest risk of suicide. After our visit to the hospital, we returned to the hotel and I had lunch there with Chrissto, Liesa and Cassie. Afterwards, Cassie, Chrissto and I headed over to the celebration for Three Kings Day (Las Rosca de Reyes), which is essentially Christmas here in Mexico. They believe that the three kings bring them presents and they celebrate with live music, dancing, christmas stories, and a traditional wreath shaped fruit bread. The bread was over a block long! They had tables set up all down one street that was closed off and the bread went all the way down one side of the street and back up the other. It was really incredible and such a great experience. After la rosca de reyes, Liesa and I went out to have dinner and margaritas at a Mexican grill called La Perilla. It was great food, amazing margaritas, and even better company! Afterwards we went across the street where they had street vendors selling handmade crafts and jewelry. We saw a family with their own table that we had met the night before and I asked them where their toddler was and they said he was walking around. While I was shopping, I felt something touch me from behind and it was him! He whispered something to his mom, ran up to me, grabbed my hand and started walking away with me! It was hilarious! His mom was laughing and saying he is a womanizer and that he wanted to walk me down to the tower. It was hilarious! He gave me kiss on the cheek goodnight and we reluctantly parted ways. After that, Liesa and I walked a few blocks down to where the parade for Merida’s 475th birthday was going to start. All the men and women were dressed in their traditional garments and were holding candles and flowers. Behind them were many string bands processing down the street. After they all passed, the people watching from the curb fell in line and joined the parade, so we did the same. We walked down a few blocks as part of the parade to the square where it ended. We then returned to the hotel for the night and watched the fireworks go off at midnight in celebration of the city of Merida’s birthday. It was quite an eventful day!

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