Anth 100

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Spring 2019

Lahore University of Management Sciences

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Anth 100
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Spring 2019

Instructor: Ali Khan

Office: 222 New SS Wing
E-mail: akhan@lums.edu.pk
Office Hours: 11am – 1pm Monday and Tuesday and otherwise by appointment.

Format for Lectures: 2 x 100 minutes sessions.

Pre-Requisites: Open to all, Compulsory course for Sociology/Anthropology Majors
Course Level: 100

I. Course Description

The word anthropology derives from the Greek anthropos (human) and logia (discourse) and
literally means ‘the study of man’ or the ‘science of man’. Anthropology, therefore, is the study
of humanity and its main focus is on exploring the social and cultural diversity of human
experience, practice, and knowledge.

This course introduces students to the discipline of anthropology, paying particular attention to
social/cultural anthropology and the domains covered within it. By presenting a variety of case
studies from different parts of the world and introducing key anthropological schools of thought
and concepts, this course aims to shed light onto the diversity of cultural systems prevalent in
the world, enabling students to "make sense" of the behaviour and cultures of peoples unlike
themselves, as well as gain insights into their own behaviour and society. These case studies will
also help facilitate a nuanced understanding of the concept of culture and cultural change.

The course covers the four main pillars of anthropology – religion, kinship and political and
economic systems. More specifically it examines issues such as the centrality of kinship as a social
institution, social hierarchies, power and politics and the economy as an integrated part of social
and cultural totality. In addition the course covers more contemporary issues dealt with by
anthropology. This means paying particular attention to the manner in which encounters
between different peoples and cultures - for instance, through the media, migration, and
globalisation - are constantly shaping and reshaping culture, and recognising that people actively
shape the cultural world they inhabit through their everyday decisions.

The course finishes with a discussion of what anthropologists can do with a professional degree
in terms of employment.

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II. Course Objectives

At the basic level this course introduces students to an entirely new discipline and a new way of
academically viewing problems that are looked at very differently by other disciplines. More
specifically:

 To become familiar with an anthropological way of understanding the world

 To gain an enhanced conceptual understanding of “culture”
 To examine the processes bringing about cultural change
 To acquire knowledge of the multiplicity of cultural systems in order to recognise both the
variants of belief systems and the power of socialisation
 To reflect upon the nature of one’s own culture
 To learn skills that enable them to operate in different cultural environments
 Allow the student to begin to cultivate both intellectual and practical skills and look
at contemporary problems creatively and through a unique perspective.

The introductory course will address goal 1 from the Learning Assessment exercise:

 Goal # 1: Instill in the students an awareness of the overall unifying concerns of the
disciplines of sociology and anthropology. Provide them with a solid grounding in the
core concepts, theoretical perspectives, and bodies of knowledge used and produced
by the twin disciplines.

o Objective # 1: Students will demonstrate the ability to summarize, analyze,

critique, and compare the key concepts, bodies of knowledge, and
perspectives used by anthropologists and sociologists.
o Objective # 2: Students will demonstrate their ability to apply the key
concepts, methodologies, and perspectives to real world issues, both historical
and contemporary.

III. Lectures, Seminars and Attendance Policy

Lectures and Attendance

There will be 28 sessions of 100 minutes each. These 28 sessions will be broken up into a
combination of lectures, seminar sessions and documentary sessions. The lectures will cover
essential topics of the course.

This is primarily a lecture-based course, so attendance is critical for both your “learning” and for
your performance. Much of the material will be new to you so the easiest way to become familiar
with it is to attend lectures and participate in discussions.

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Attendance, therefore, is strongly encouraged as exams, quizzes and presentations will be based
on lectures and seminar sessions and failure to attend will clearly influence class participation,
presentation and exam performance. Missed quizzes will not be offered again.

Seminars

There are a number of seminar sessions in this course and the class will also be divided up into
groups for each seminar. Each group will be given a pre-assigned topic on which to make a
presentation. This allows students a greater level of interaction and engagement with course
material. It also gives greater flexibility in terms of breadth of material covered. Groups will be
expected to make presentations (20-25 mins) on assigned topics and the class will then be
opened up for discussion.

Seminars can be very good or very ordinary depending on the contribution of the students. If
students are unprepared and therefore unwilling to contribute the session becomes a wasted
opportunity. If however students are well prepared, class participation can lead to a very rich,
varied and productive discussion. You are therefore encouraged to read in advance and while CP
is only 5% it can make the difference between grades.

Groups will be expected to research the topics and present new material on the topics. Simply
reiterating what has been said in lectures will not get you good marks. Asking relevant questions
during the seminar sessions will get you CP marks.

III. Course Evaluation

Group Presentation 10%

Group Project 10%
Class Participation 5%
Class Attendance 5%
2 quizzes 20%
Short Response papers during seminars 10%
Final Exam 40%

Group Presentation and Project (10% + 10%)

As mentioned above, groups will make presentations in the seminars on pre-assigned topics.
Once a presentation is made and comments made by the class, the presentation should be
revised on the basis of feedback. The presentation should also be made more comprehensive so
as to make the basis of the Group Project. The project should be presented both visually and also
have commentary based on research undertaken. As a group students will have flexibility to
decide exactly what final shape the project takes – documentary, podcast, posters and
photoessays, joint report.

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Class Participation (5%)

CP is important in order to ensure regular reading and also as a means of ensuring that students
can articulate their thoughts orally. While it accounts for 5% I should reiterate that participating
positively will often allow you to jump a grade.

Attendance (5%)

Attendance accounts for 5% of the grade. You are allowed 2 unexcused absences. Beyind that
every time a student misses a class 1% will be deducted up to a maximum of 5% (5 missed
classes). Again while the overall amount is not much it can make a crucial difference when you
are .5% from a higher grade.

Quizzes and Response Papers (20% and 10%)

In order to promote a consistent reading commitment from students, two closed note quizzes
will be scheduled during the semester. Advance warning will be given of the quizzes. Questions
in the quizzes can cover any topic from the beginning of the course to the one covered by the
reading(s) assigned for the day on which the test falls. Two quizzes are worth 10% each.

Seminars and other sessions may also have responses at the end of the session based on the
presentations made or the readings given out in class. These will be worth 10%

Examination (40%)

Your final examinations will be a combination of multiple choice questions, true/false, fill in the
blanks, short answers and a series of essay questions. These questions will test your
comprehension of key concepts and your ability to apply/engage with key anthropological
theories, terms and ethnographic material covered during the course, and will be based on your
lectures, seminars, readings, and the films you will see during the course.

IV. Grading

The course will be relatively graded.

Student Responsibilities

 Attend the lectures:

You are expected to be present in ALL class sessions.

 Be in class on time. If you are more than ten minutes late, or if you leave class before it
is over, you will get an “absent” for that class.

 Do the readings:

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 It is essential for you to do all the assigned readings. Careful and thoughtful reading will
be crucial to your performance in the course.

 Hand in your work when it is due. Late work will NOT be accepted.

 Turn your mobile phones OFF before entering the classroom. If you are seen using your
mobile phones you will lose CP. Disruptive behavior (such as talking) will incur negative
marking.

Grading Guidelines1

Letter Grade Grade Definition

Excellent: Strong evidence of original thinking; good organization; capacity to
A+ analyze and synthesize; superior grasp of subject matter with sound critical
evaluations; evidence of extensive knowledge base.
A Excellent
A- Excellent
Good: Evidence of grasp of subject matter; some evidence of critical capacity
B+ and analytic ability; reasonable understanding of relevant issues; evidence of
familiarity with literature.
B Good
B- Good
Adequate: Student who is profiting from his/her university experience;
C+ understanding of the subject matter; ability to develop solutions to simple
problems in the material.
C Adequate
C- Adequate
Marginal: Some evidence of familiarity with subject matter and some
D+
evidence that critical and analytic skills have been developed.
D Marginal
D- Marginal
Inadequate: Little evidence of even superficial understanding of subject
F matter; weakness in critical and analytic skills; with limited or irrelevant use of
literature.

Active Reading Guidelines

Keep the following questions in mind when you are reading.

1
Taken from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Arts and Science, Grading Policies -
http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/newstudents/transition/academic/grading

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  What am I getting out of the assigned reading? What arguments or points is the author
making? What is the main thesis that the author is presenting?
 What data does the author marshal to support this argument? Is it convincing? Why or
why not?
 What new concepts and terms am I learning?
 How are my own assumptions shaping my reactions?
 What ideas, terms, and events am I not clear on?
 What questions have the readings raised for me?
 How can I connect this to other things I know?

V. Plagiarism & Cheating Policy

I trust in the integrity of each and every one of you, yet if I’m convinced of a case of plagiarism
the matter will be immediately referred to the Disciplinary committee. If you have any questions
regarding how to cite material in your work, ask me BEFORE the work is due.
Plagiarism

What is it?
Plagiarism is defined as “the representation of another’s words, ideas…opinions, or other products
of work as one’s own either overtly or by failing to attribute them to their true source.” 2 In other
words, it is drawing upon other people’s work without giving them credit for it.

Plagiarism is the use without citation of:

 another person’s written words
 a paraphrase of another person’s written words

Avoiding Plagiarism
In order to avoid plagiarism, make sure that you acknowledge the source of your ideas:
 You must use quotation marks around all material that you are quoting exactly, and
immediately follow it with a citation to the source in your text.
 You must cite all ideas and materials from other authors (including web pages) that you
are paraphrasing or referring to in you work.

A Common Mistake to Avoid

 Sometimes students put down the original text, but substitutes similar or equivalent
terms throughout. You should instead write the ideas completely in your own
words/format, and then cite the source from which you derived the ideas

Citing Sources
Citing sources in your text means providing the reader with
 the author’s last name,
 the year of publication of his or her work,

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Syracuse University Rules and Regulations, Section 1.0

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  and the page number from which the quote is taken (in case of a quote)

Bibliography
Your bibliography must follow either the APA, MLA or The Chicago Manual of Style. Whatever
style you use, make sure you use it correctly and consistently. Do not have more than one style
in a bibliography.

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VI. Schedule and Readings

Lectures Readings
Mon 21st Introduction to the course No Readings
Jan
Wed 23rd Jan Lecture 1: What is Chapter 1 – Comparison and Context and
Anthropology Chapter 2 – A Brief History of Anthropology
in Small Places, Large Issues, Thomas Hylland
Eriksen, 2001, Pluto Press
Chapter 1- Understanding Anthropology in
Cultural Anthropology, Global Forces, Local
Lives, Jack David Eller,
Mon 28th Jan Lecture 2: What is Culture Chapter 4 – The Study of Culture in Cultural
Anthropology, Thomas Rhys Williams, 1990,
Prentice-Hall
Chapter 2 - Understanding and Studying
Culture in Cultural Anthropology, Global
Forces, Local Lives, Jack David Eller,
Wed 30th Jan Lecture 3: Fieldwork Chapter 3 – Fieldwork and Its Interpretation
in Small Places, Large Issues, Thomas Hylland
Eriksen, 2001, Pluto Press
Tenting with Malinowski, Murray Wax’s “1-
12, in American Sociological Review 37(1).
Ethnography and Culture, James P/ Spradley
in Conformity and Conflict, James P. Spradley
and David W. McCurdy (ed), Harper Collins,
1994
Mon 4th Feb Tales from the Jungle, BBC 4 Documentary - Malinowski and Margaret Mead
Wed 6th Feb Seminar - Group 1 - Culture is Review Paper 1 - In class exercise The
a construct – discuss with Abominable Pig
reference to food, beauty,
dress etc
Mon 11th Feb Lecture 4: Religion I – Chapter 12 – The Field of Magic and Chapter
Religion, Magic, Science and 13 The Field of Ritual in Other Cultures, John
Cosmology Beattie, Routledge, 1999
Wed 13th Feb Lecture 5: Religion II – Chapter 8 - Cosmology II: Witchcraft,
Witchcraft, Shamanism and Shamanism and Syncretism in An
Syncretism Introduction to Social Anthropology, Joy
Hendry, 2008, Palgrave
Mon 18th Feb Documentary on Syncretism
and Witchcraft
Review Paper 2 - In class
reading/exercise

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Wed 20th Feb Seminar
Group 2 - Witchcraft today
and in the past
Group 3 – The Anthropology
of Zombies
Mon 25th Feb Lecture 6: Marriage Chapter 8 - Sex & Marriage in Cultural
Anthropology, Haviland, 2002, Harcourt
College publishers
Wed 27th Feb Documentary on Marriage Practices
Review Paper 3 - in class reading/exercise
Mon 4th Lecture 7: Kinship and Chapter 9 - Kinship and Descent in Cultural
March Descent Anthropology, Ferraro, 1995, West Publishing
Company
Chapter 28 – Kinship and Power on Capitol
Hill, Jack McGiver Weatherford in James P.
Spradley in Conformity and Conflict, James P.
Spradley and David W. McCurdy (ed), Harper
Collins, 1994
Wed 6th Quiz 1
March
Mon 11th Seminar
March Group 4 - Question the
traditional anthropological
definition of the family

Group 5 – Explore how

kinship is important in the
economic and political fields.
Wed 13th Lecture 8: Economics I - Chapter 7 – Economics: Humans, Nature and
March Exchange Social Organization in Cultural Anthropology,
Global Forces, Local Lives, Jack David Eller
Potlatch -
Chapter 13 – Reciprocity and Power of
Giving, Lee Cronk in James P. Spradley in
Conformity and Conflict, James P. Spradley
and David W. McCurdy (ed), Harper Collins,
1994
Potlatch Reading
Potlatch in Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches,
Marvin Harris, Vintage Books, 1974

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Mon 25th Lecture 9: Economics II – Chapter 12 – Exchange in Small Places, Large
March Markets, Money and Issues, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, 2001, Pluto
Currency Press
(SR) Some Principles of Exchange and
Investment among the Tiv, Paul Bohannan,
American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 57,
No. 1, Part 1 (Feb, 1955), pp. 60-70 Published
by: Blackwell Publishing
Wed th
27 Lecture Chapter 11- Power & Politics in Cultural
March 10: The Art of Politics Anthropology, A Contemporary Perspective,
Keesing, Strathern, Harcourt Brace College
publishers
Chapter 12 - Political Organization and Social
Control in “Cultural Anthropology, Ferraro,
1995, West Publishing Company
st
Mon 1 April Seminar
Groups 6 – Analyze the Kula
and Potlatch linking it to
modern day phenomena

Group 7 – Does Agriculture

represent the Dawn of
Progress/Civilization
Wed 3rd April Lecture 11: Social Hierarchies Chapter 13 - Social Stratification in Cultural
Anthropology 2nd edition, G. Ferraro, 1995,
West Publishing Company
Chapter 6 - Individuals and identities: Race
and ethnicity in Cultural Anthropology Global
Forces, Local Lives, Jack David Eller
Mon 8th April Film To Be Confirmed

Wed 10th April Lecture 12: Cultural Change
Chapter 15 - Cultural Change in Cultural
Anthropology, Haviland, 2002, Harcourt
College Publishers
Phantom Cargo in Cows, Pigs, Wars and
Witches, Marvin Harris, Vintage Books, 1974
Three Case Studies of Cultural Change, 344-
347, in Cultural Anthropology, 1990, Thomas
Rhys Williams, Prentice Hall

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Mon 15th April Seminar Group 8 - Examine
the film with reference to
inequality, social hierarchy,
race, stratification.

Reflection Paper 4
Wed 17th April Lecture 13: The Cultural Chapter 16: The Cultural Future of Humanity,
Future of Humanity in Cultural Anthropology, Haviland, 2002,
Harcourt College Publishers
The Globalization of Nothing, 189-199,
George Ritzer, SAIS Review 23(2).
From Sacred Cow Dung to Cow Shit:
Globalization and Local Religious Practices in
Rural North India" 1-25, Susan Wadley,
Journal of the Japanese Association for South
Asian Studies 12
Mon 22nd Groups 9 – Can anthropology
April help solve some of
humankinds most challenging
problems?

Group 10 – Has globalization

gone too far, not far enough
or has it been heading in the
wrong direction?

Wed 24th April Quiz 2

Mon 29th April Seminar

Group 11 – Trace the
diffusion of human culture
across the world.

Group 12 – Multiculturalism
Cannot Work

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Saturday 4th Lecture 14: What US Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones,
May Anthropologists Do in The New York Times, 2007.
(Rescheduled ESRC ‘ignores’ danger fears” 1-2, in the Times
Class) Higher Education, 2007.
Applied Anthropology, The Future of
Anthropology & Anthropology and Jobs 350-
353 & 355-357, in Cultural Anthropology: An
Applied Perspective, Gary Ferraro, 1995, West
Publishing Company
Chapter 36 – Using Anthropology, David W.
McCurdy in Conformity and Conflict, James P.
Spradley and David W. McCurdy (ed), Harper
Collins, 1994
Mon 6th May Review of Course

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