Course Format and Requirements
While this course is cross-listed with Environmental Studies and Latin American Studies, it is primarily an Anthropology class. It is my conviction that cultural anthropologists have much to add to debates on globalization, and so I expect you to engage seriously with the theoretical and ethnographic insights this course generates. Your grade will depend on the extent to which you grapple with anthropological concepts and material.
This course will include lectures, discussions, guest lectures, small group activities, and films. Attendance is mandatory at all course activities, and the only excused absences are for family or health emergencies (with proof). Please note that we will have one class outside normal class time, on February 6. If you cannot make this class, I will assign you an alternative writing assignment. You will be graded on the following:
Class Attendance, Participation, and Discussion Papers 20%
Group Exercise and Response 20%
Individual Presentation 10%
Research Paper 50%
Four times during the semester, you will write a 3-4 page response to the readings for that week. These will be due at the end of the class sessions listed below, and no late papers will be accepted. The purpose of these assignments is to help you conceptualize in advance of our discussion the key issues for that section of the course. The critical review should 1) outline main ideas and arguments of the relevant text or texts, and 2) be followed by questions, commentary, assessments, analysis, protests, opinions, or any combination of these. You will not be graded in terms of their quality, only that you turn them in. The penalty of not turning one in on time is that you will lose a whole grade of your participation grade (i.e., miss one, drop from A to B for overall participation grade; if you miss four, you get an F for participation, no matter how much you added to class discussion). In other words, turn them in on time and you have nothing to worry about. When possible, I will comment on them.
There is a presentation requirement for this class, and you have several ways to fulfill it. The first is to participate in the class play 'Sgt. Ola and his Followers.' Another is to choose a recommended reading and make a 5-minute presentation to the class on it (describing its insights, evidence, etc.). Others will have the opportunity to make a 5-minute report to the class on one of the following: 1) profile a specific institution or process that promotes certain economic policies favoring modernization¹ or globalization¹ or has global¹ aspirations (i.e., development bank, free trade agreement, structural adjustment program, global communications media, etc.), or 2) social movements of resistance to or autonomy from globalization (i.e., WTO protests, local ecological and social justice movements, etc.). I will provide a list of ideas for presentations and a sign up sheet early in the semester. I also encourage you to offer reports on entities or processes from your own research or activism.
At the end of the course, we will engage in a group exercise (to be determined) that forces us to confront and apply some of the insights we have generated on globalization, environment and culture. I would like you to write a three page response to this exercise, to be due when you turn in the final paper on Monday May 7.
There will be a research paper for this course. The topic is open, but you should write a brief prospectus describing your topic and possible sources by Thursday 3/8. The paper should be 15-20 pages in length, and it will be due Monday May 7.
A note on writing assignments:
In these days of computer-mediated writing, there are no excuses for the two following problems: 1) late papers due to 'computer crashes,' and 2) poor spelling. Regarding the former, claiming a 'computer crash' is the basically the same as telling me that your dog ate your homework. This is not a valid excuse if you are backing up your materials on diskettes. If indeed this has happened, I expect you to provide a note from a computer specialist explaining the problem; otherwise your late paper will be evaluated in terms of my late paper policy. Regarding the latter problem, use your spellcheck option and proofread - I will mark you down for poor spelling and grammar.
My policy on late papers is that I do not accept them, although I will make an exception if you are willing to receive a lower grade. For every 24 hour period your paper is late, you drop a full grade from the grade I feel your paper would receive if it were not late. For example, if your 'A' paper is not turned in on time, you will receive a 'B' if it is turned in within the next 24 hours. The next day, your grade drops to a C.¹ The day after that, it is a D.¹ If you turn in a paper late and expect to receive a non-reduced grade, you must provide evidence of an emergency.