Anthropology 101 - Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology: The Anthropology of Seattle

Summer 2014 Instructor: Jennifer Carroll Office: Denny XXX Office hours: XXX Otherwise, by appointment. Email: jencarr2@uw.edu

Course Objectives
This course is intended to provide a general introduction to socio-cultural anthropology. While there are many general concepts that will be covered in this course (such as kinship, gender, symbols, structure, etc) anthropology as a discipline more closely resembles a conversation than it does a growing list of rules and axioms like many mathematical or natural sciences. This means that our textbooks will be different from other textbooks. We will be getting our feet wet, so to speak, in many academic conversations about human life and culture. The focus of anthropology is human cultural diversity; our own culture(s) are considered as one part of the broad spectrum of human behavior and organization that exists around the globe. This means that American cultures are open to investigation and interpretation just like every other culture that we may come across during the course of the semester. Likewise, students are encouraged to reject binary ideas like us and them, modern and traditional, advanced and primitive as false and misleading, and to explore with an open, tolerant, and inquisitive mind the ways in which all people are equally unique and basically the same.

Texts
Deloria Jr., Vine. Custer Died for your Sins: An Indian Manifesto Spradley, James. (1970) You Owe Yourself A Drunk. Waveland Press. Thrush, Coll. (2008) Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing Over Place. Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books.

Films
During this course, we will also be viewing several films. Students who, for whatever reason, are unable to view these films in class are required to view these films independently. Many of these titles are available in the library. Others may be acquired through Interlibrary Loan. Students experiencing unusual difficulty in acquiring these films for viewing should talk to the instructor. Films for this course include, but are not limited to, the following: Hype! (1996) Dir. Doug Pray. Girls Rock! The Movie. (2007) Dirs. Arne Johnson and Shane King The Business of Fancy Dancing. (2002) Dir. Sherman Alexie

Course Assignments and Grading Grading

Final grades for this course will be determined as follows: 3 Film Response Papers: 15% (5% each) 2 Ethnography Response Papers: 50% (25% each) Case Study: 5% Participation: 30%

Film Response Papers (15% of final grade, 5% each)

During weeks 3, 4, and 7, our last class will end with the viewing of a film whose subject matter relates to the readings for that week. By midnight on Friday of each of these weeks, students will submit a response paper of 600-800 words in length that addresses how each film illustrates key theoretical concepts that we have learned in that weeks readings. Specific prompts and/or questions to be answered in this response paper will be distributed at the beginning of the week, so that students can keep them in mind when reading for class and watching the film.

Response Papers (50% of final grade, 25% each)

We will be reading two major anthropological books in this class. Two times during the quarter, one for each book, students will submit a paper of 1200-1500 words in length that ties each book to the major theoretical concepts that have been covered in class. Paper prompts will be distributed as we begin to read each of these ethnographies.

Case Study (5% of final grade)

During week 6, Students will compose a short (600-800 word) position paper Jimi Hendrix and representations of race. Specifically, student will take a position on whether or not the designation of Jimi Hendrix as the black Elvis is valid and should remain in use. In defending their position, students are encouraged to address the ways in which racial categories have affected the definition of musical categories or how racial categories have affected Jimi Hendrixs public image.

Participation (30% of final grade)

Since dialog and debate are central to the discipline of anthropology, the grade for classroom participation in this course is weighted the same as a paper. Satisfactory participation requires students to come to class prepared to discuss all of the readings assigned and to actively engage in discussion about those readings and the topics at hand. Active engagement in discussion does not simply mean talking. Asking questions, active listening, making room for and inviting others to participate, and making other meaningful, if small, contributions to class are all appropriate forms of classroom engagement. Being a part of a class of this size (especially a cultural anthropology class!) requires each of us to recognize that different individuals have different reaction times, different speeds of speech and lengths of conversational pauses. Some students may not be native speakers of English or may process information differently and at different speeds. Some people take a longer time to consider their words, and others sometimes speak without thinking! There is no concrete outline for how a student should participate in class, but everyone is required to make a consistent, concerted effort to actively engage.

Extra Credit
Extra credit assignments may be given at the discretion of the instructor. If the instructor specifies a due date for an extra credit assignment, no extensions will be allowed, and the assignment will not be accepted after that date.

Grade Disputes
The University of Washington has procedures in place to handle grading disputes and appeals. This and other information about grading policies can be found online at http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/front/Grading_Sys.html

Student Expectations Anticipated Absences

If you are unable to come to class due to illness, personal or family emergency, or any other reason, you are responsible for informing the instructor prior to that class period. If you miss class for a reason that was unforeseen (traffic accident, etc.), you are responsible for informing the instructor as to the reason for your absence as soon as possible. It is expected that the instructor will be informed as to the nature of every absence, regardless of the cause. The excusing of absences is at the discretion of the instructor. If you are ill, you must bring a doctors note in order for that absence to be excused.

Classroom Behavior and Preparation

Please be on time for class. If you cannot be on time for class, for whatever reason, please enter class without causing too much of a disturbance. This means enter the classroom quietly and sit in the first available seat. The same goes for those who need to leave class early. Please select a location close to the door of the classroom and leave quietly so as to keep the inevitable disruption to a minimum. By acting in such a manner, you are showing respect to your fellow students and the instructor. It is expected each student will be prepared for class. Preparation is defined in this course as having read all of the material prior to the class period, cell phones either turned off or put on silent, possession of a functioning writing utensil and something which to write on, and have on

their person the relevant textbooks/reading material for the class period. The student can determine the relevant information for the class period by referring to the course schedule, which is available on the class website. Students are welcome to bring laptops to class for note taking and accessing relevant on-line references and course materials. Email checking, chatting, game playing, and web surfing are highly inappropriate uses of class time and are disrespectful to the instructor and the other students in class. Students blatantly misusing technology in the classroom (including cell phones) will be asked to leave and will receive no credit for classroom participation on that day.

Electronic Document Submission via Catalyst Dropbox

Whenever an assignment is submitted as an electronic document, it is the students responsibility to make sure that the file is correct and complete. If an electronic document is submitted and is unreadable or in anyway corrupted, the assignment will be considered incomplete and late penalties will apply until a proper, functional document is submitted. All written assignments should be submitted in .doc or .pdf format. All filenames should reflect the students name and the assignment.

Individual Student Needs and Disability Support

Every student deserves the opportunity learn in the best and most appropriate environment possible. If you have a question, concern, comment, request or other need please come and talk to me in person or send me a detailed e-mail as soon as possible. I can make adjustments or accommodations for individuals or the entire class, but only if I am made aware of them. Students with medically recognized and documented disabilities and who are in need of special accommodation have an obligation to notify the University of their needs. Students in need of accommodation should contact the Office of Disability Resources for Students at 206-543-8924 (Voice) or 206-543-8925 (TTY) You can also find more information online at http://www.washington.edu/students/drs/. If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.

Academic Honesty
I take academic honesty very seriously. When flagrant cheating or plagiarism occurs, it is an insult to me, to the students in this course, and to the guilty student. It is an insult to the time we spend here teaching and learning from each other. Academic instruction, particularly in the liberal arts, is unique in its focus on intellectual fluency and collaborative effort rather than taskbased competition and self-promotion. Your college education does not consist of a collection of hoops that you need to get through. This course requires you to engage with course materials, with other students, with the instructor, and with the greater academic community in a productive and innovative fashion. Academic dishonesty defeats the purposes of this class and of this institution, and it will not be tolerated.

Especially in a discipline that requires you to be able to engage with the ideas of others and to cite multiple unique sources, plagiarism is an incredibly self-defeating activity. Plagiarism is, at the very least, grounds for a zero grade for that assignment. If a student is suspected of deliberate plagiarism on an assignment, that student will be reported to the Dean Representative on Academic Conduct in accordance with UWs Academic Honesty Policy. More information on UWs academic honestly policies can be found online: http://www.washington.edu/uaa/advising/help/academichonesty.php

Course Schedule
WEEK 1 Introduction: Anthropology and the Culture Concept Tuesday June 24 Discussion: Introduction to American anthropology and the study of human culture; Franz Boas and four-field anthropology; a brief, troubling history of anthropology in and out of the academy Thursday June 26 Readings: Geertz, C. (1973) Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight in The Interpretation of Cultures. Selections from Slate Magazines If It Happened Here: a regular feature in which American events are described using the tropes and tone normally employed by the American media to describe events in other countries. Discussion: Defining culture; emic and etic perspective, cultural relativism, the work of anthropology WEEK 2 Local Histories Tuesday July 1 Readings: Deloria Jr. V. Custer Died for Your Sins Introduction and Chapter 2 Discussion: Qualitative research and social inquiry; the kinds of questions that anthropologists ask and how they answer them Thursday July 3 Readings: Thrush, C. Native Seattle Introduction and Chapters 1 and 2. Discussion: An introduction to material culture and hermeneuticshow to interpret the past, what it means for us today WEEK 3 Power, Identity, and Otherness Tuesday July 8 Readings: Deloria Jr. V. Custer Died for Your Sins Chapter 1 Discussion: Power/Knowledge; an introduction to subjectivity. Thursday July 10 Readings: Deloria Jr. V. Custer Died for Your Sins Chapter 4 The construction of social identity and the concept of Otherness

Film: The Business of Fancy Dancing Film Response #1 Due Friday at midnight WEEK 4 Economies of Exchange: Trade, Gifting, and Markets Tuesday July 15 Readings: Selections from Mauss, M. (1967[1923]) The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange Discussion: Gifting and the social relations of exchange Thursday July 17 Readings: Marx, K. Selections from Capital Discussion: Capitalism and the modern Market. Film: Hype!

Film Response #2 due Friday at midnight WEEK 5 Ethnography: You Owe Yourself a Drunk Tuesday July 22 Readings: Introduction (by Merrill Singer), Chapter 1, Chapter 3 (selections), Chapter 5 Thursday July 24 Readings: Chapter 6, Chapter 8, and Chapter 9 Response Paper #1 due Sunday, July 22, at midnight. WEEK 6 Race: Cultural Construct, Social Reality Tuesday July 29 Readings: Smedley, A. (1999) Race and the Construction of Human Identity. American Anthropologist 100(3): 690-702 Discussion: The cultural construction of race Thursday July 31 Readings: Katherine Beckett, Kris Nyrop, Lori Pfingst and Melissa Bowen. 2005. Drug Use, Drug Possession Arrests, and the Question of Race: Lessons from Seattle. Social Problems 52, 3: 419-41. Wells J. (1997) Blackness Scuzed: Jimi Hendrixs (In)Visible Legacy in Heavy Metal. In Race Consciousness, Fossett J, ed. Discussion: Black-boxing race; engaging race-based categories of meaning CASE STUDY: Jimi Hendrix and race. Due Sunday, August 5, at midnight WEEK 7 Sex and Gender Tuesday August 5 Readings: Ortner, SB. 1974. Is female to male as nature is to culture? In M. Z. Rosaldo and L. Lamphere (eds), Woman, culture, and society. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 68-87. Discussion: The social construction of gender; the three waves of feminism

Thursday August 7 Readings: Jhally, S. Advertizing, Gender, and Sex: Whats Wrong With a Little Objectification? Hanna, Kathleen. (1991). Riot Grrrl Manifesto Discussion: Gender and power; gender and empowerment Film: Girls Rock! The Movie Film Response #3 due Friday at midnight WEEK 8 Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place Tuesday August 12 Readings: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 Thursday August 14 Readings: Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 Activities: Trip to the Pacific Voices exhibit at the Burke Museum WEEK 9 Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place Tuesday August 19 Readings: Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 Activities: Final papers topics and group work **Possible trip to Pioneer Square. Thursday August 21 Readings: Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 Activities: Final paper rough draft read-around Response Paper #2 Due Sunday, August 24, at midnight. No extensions!!