Schedule of Readings
Note: All readings are either from required course texts or on reserve in the Bailey-Howe Library or the Anthropology Department office (509 Williams Hall)
Seeking tips on reading for this course? See my 'Reflections on Reading for this Anthropology Class'
Problem #1: Why should we, and how can we, know our own and other cultures?
Tues. 1/18: Introduction to the course, instructor¹s expectations, requirements, etc.
Film: "Babakiueria"
No reading
Thurs. 1/20: What is anthropology anyway?
Readings: 1. Robbins, pp. 1-19.
2. Haviland, et. al., pp. 1-14.
3. Regina vs. Mudarruba (handout provided on first day)
Tues. 1/25: What are the meanings of "culture?"
Readings: 1. Robbins, pp. 20-29.
2. Haviland, et. al., pp. 24-27, 35-46.
Thurs. 1/27: How do the ways people talk to each other create meaning and social difference?
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 28-34, 47-60.
[Quiz #1 - 1/27]
Tues. 2/1: If culture is collectively-held, how do we as individuals relate to it?
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 61-76
Thurs. 2/3: How do anthropologists learn about peoples¹ ways of life?
In-class Activity: Fieldwork exercise
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 15-23, 128-29, 190-91, 168-71, 230-1.
Problem #2: Why are some societies seemingly "more advanced" than others?
Tues. 2/8: What are some factors that shape human relations with the natural world?
Film: "The Return of Navajo Boy"
Readings: 1. Robbins, pp. 33-45.
2. Haviland, et. al., pp. 78-86.
Thurs. 2/10: How do people get food and what do they do with it?
Readings: 1. Robbins, pp. 46-56.
2. Haviland, et. al., pp. 87-91.
[Quiz #2 - 2/10]
Tues. 2/15: What are the meanings and practices of food around here?
Class discussion on ethnographic assignment
Reading: Review Haviland, et. al. readings on fieldwork (pp. 15-23, 128-29, 190-91, 168- 71, 230-1).
Thurs. 2/17: How do people make and acquire what they need to survive?
In-class Activity: The Bean Game
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 56-69.
2. Haviland, et. al., pp. 92-104.
Interlude: Anthropology and Problem-Solving
Tues. 2/22: What are some causes of conflict between conservationists and local people?
Film: "Second Nature"
Reading: 1. Igoe, begin reading book.
[Quiz #3 - Tues. 2/22]
Thurs. 2/24: What are some ways anthropologists can help resolve these conflicts?
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 259-72.
2. Igoe, finish book.
[Fieldwork analysis paper due 2/24.]
Tues. 3/1: Town Meeting Day (no class)
Problem #3: How do societies channel individual self-interest to common goals?
Thurs. 3/3: How do people organize themselves to get things done?
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 71-96.
Tues. 3/8: How do people control each other?
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 172-89.
Thurs. 3/10: How do people respond to outside cultural and political impositions?
Film: "Trobriand Cricket: An Ingenious Response to Colonialism"
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 214-25.
[Quiz #4 - 3/10]
Tues. 3/15: Why do people live with social inequalities?\
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 197-228.
2. Haviland, et. al., pp. 148-61.
Problem #4: How do people respond when social order is threatened because of conflict?
Thurs. 3/17: How do different societies resolve conflicts?
Film: "Little Injustices"
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 204-7, 226-29.
Tues. 3/22-Thurs. 3/24: Spring Break (no class)
Tues. 3/29: Why are some societies more violent than others?
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 231-56.
[Quiz #5 - 3/29]
Problem #5: What does it mean to be in a family?
Thurs. 3/31: What is wrong with a biological definition of family?
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 139-56.
[Film responses for first four films due in class - 3/31. Note: you do not have to provide a response to the film shown on the first day of class.]
Tues. 4/5: How are differences between men and women created and maintained?
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 158-67.
2. Haviland, et. al., pp. 109-10, 116-29.
Thurs. 4/7: What does it mean to be married?
Film: "Dadi¹s Family"
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 111-15, 130-47.
Problem #6: Why do people believe things that others consider wrong?
Tues. 4/12: Is it possible to understand radically different beliefs?
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 99-116.
[Quiz #6 - 4/12]
Thurs. 4/14: How do rituals create meaning?
Film: "The Jolo Serpent-Handlers"
Reading: 1. Robbins, pp. 116-135.
Tues. 4/19: Why and how do religious practices change?
Reading: Haviland, et. al., pp. 192-203.
Problem #7: How do people figure out and communicate who and what they are?
Thurs. 4/21: How do people know who they are?
Film: "Kawelka: Ongka¹s Big Moka"
Readings: 1. Robbins, pp. 169-94.
2. Haviland, et. al., pp. 35-46, 63-66.
Tues. 4/26: Why are differences of race also not differences of biology?
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 58-60, 162-67, 210-13, 221-25.
[Quiz #7 - 4/26]
Problem #8: What is the future of cultural diversity in a time of intense global interconnections?
Thurs. 4/28: What does it mean to say we live in a "global village?"
Reading: 1. Haviland, et. al., pp. 238-40, 245-48.
Tues. 5/3: Course conclusions
Final Exam: Monday 5/9, 9-11:30am, 301 Williams Hall. Final three film responses due at final exam.