Download Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:10 AM – 12:35 PM Office Hours

Los Angeles Harbor College
Anthropology 102 Spring 2015
Human Ways of Life: Cultural Anthropology
Dr. Sasha David
[email protected]
Section 0102: Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:10 AM – 12:35 PM
Office Hours: Monday through Thursday 1-3 PM @ NEA 157
Office Phone: (310) 233-4577
Course Description: This course attempts to define culture and to survey the variety of man’s
cultures at all levels of socio-cultural development from the small-scale, technologically simple
cultures to the large-scale technologically complex ones. Topics described and analyzed include the
social institutions, such as kinship, marriage, family, religion, politics, language, and economics in a
cross-cultural perspective.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Apply the ethnographic research method and typical themes of anthropological inquiry.
2. Define the term “culture” and explain how it impacts the lives of individuals.
3. Compare and contrast the differing subsistence strategies, and/or attitudes towards work,
that are found among varying societies.
4. Apply the key concepts and methods of anthropology to appraise how ideals of sex and
gender are shaped by cultural context.
5. Compare, contrast and critically assess the effect of globalization and consumerism on the
environment.
6. Compare and contrast different kinship and lineage systems, and explain how each affects
lifeways in various cultures.
7. Apply the fundamentals of linguistic anthropology to explain how language is an integral
part of human culture.
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Assigned readings for the course:
Guest, Kenneth J. 2014. Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age. New York: Norton.

E-Book Available for purchase at:
http://store.vitalsource.com/show/9780393521504R180
David, Sasha. 2013. The Anthro Download. Xanedu Press.
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COURSE WORK:
Lectures: Make sure to take thorough notes on each lecture for the course; this entails writing down
everything from the PowerPoint slides. Your performance on the pop quizzes and exams for the
class will depend on the quality of the notes that you take.
Pop Quizzes: On certain days, there will be a pop quiz at the end of lecture, to check to make sure
you were paying attention and taking good notes. The pop quiz will only cover that day’s lecture and
you will be allowed to use your notes. Any failed pop quiz will result in 1 point deducted from your
final grade for the course.
Reading Quizzes: These quizzes will assess your mastery of the material in the assigned textbook
reading. See below for Reading Quiz dates and the chapters they will cover. These quizzes consist
of five True/False questions. Make sure you study the reading in depth for these quizzes. These
quizzes cover both of the textbooks.
Midterm and Final Exam: These exams only cover the lectures and the Anthro Download; they do not
cover the other textbook for the course. The Midterm covers every lecture and assigned Anthro
Download chapter up to the date of the test. The Final Exam is cumulative and covers every lecture
and assigned Anthro Download chapter throughout the course. There will be review sessions for each
exam in which you will receive a review sheet to help you study. Both of these exams are entirely
multiple choice.
***
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GRADING FOR THE COURSE:
Reading Quizzes: Six quizzes worth a total of 30% of your final grade total; each quiz is worth 5%
of your final grade for the course.
Midterm Exam: Worth 35% of your final grade for the course.
Final Exam: Worth 35% of your final grade for the course.
Pop Quizzes: One point deducted from your final grade for the course for each failed quiz.
Extra Credit: Ten points will be added to your final grade for the course based upon successful
completion of the course Service Learning. (For example, a final grade of 75/C will become 85/B
with the extra credit.) Please see the accompanying handout for information on this course and how
to enroll. It can be taken online or in-person. There will be no other extra credit offered for this
course. I highly suggest that you do Service Learning, as life is unpredictable, and no early or late
quizzes or exams will be accepted. You can also expect to find the quizzes and exams very
challenging.
Calculation of final grades: This class will use the traditional numerical values for each letter grade.
(A = 90%-100%; B = 80%-89%; C = 70%-79%; D = 60%-69%; F = 59% or lower.)
***
COURSE POLICIES:
Attendance: Attendance is only taken once, at the beginning of class. Attendance will be called at
every class. If you are not present for roll call, you will be considered absent from the class that day.
If you leave class for longer than five minutes, you will be considered absent from that class, even if
you return. You are allowed to leave class once per class. Any student who sleeps during class for
any period of time will be considered absent from that class.
Excused Absences: No absence will be excused, regardless of circumstance.
Drop Policy: If you are absent from five or more classes cumulatively from the start of the semester,
you may be dropped according to Title V regulations. After the first week of class, it is your
responsibility to drop the class if you will no longer be participating.
Test Taking Policy: You must be present at the beginning of any quiz or exam in order to take it.
This pertains to all pop quizzes and reading quizzes, as well as the Midterm and Final Exam. Make
sure to bring an unwrinkled, 50-question per side Scantron form and pencil with you for every
reading quiz and the Midterm and Final Exam.
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Make-Up or Late Work: There will be no make-up quizzes or exams given for this class. You will
only be able to take the quizzes and exams for this class at the time that they are given in class; you
will not be able to take them earlier or later than the scheduled time and date.
Academic Honesty/Plagiarism Statement: All students are expected to adhere to the Los Angeles
Harbor College standards of academic honesty. These standards forbid plagiarism, unlawful copying
and, or, failure to give credit to sources that you may use in the research and writing of your class
work. Cheating and other forms of misconduct are covered under this statement. Failure to comply
with these standards will result in a failed assignment and, or, a failed grade in this class.
Controversial Content Statement: This course includes discussions of a frank nature regarding
particular subjects including race, religion and sexual orientation protected by the college’s academic
freedom statutes that may be considered offensive and controversial to some. When such topics
may arise during the course of this semester and a student wishes to be excused, please notify the
instructor that you wish to be excluded from class discussion on the ground that it is personally
offensive and the instructor will excuse you until such discussion has concluded.
Cell phone policy: If your cell phone goes off during class or if I see it in your hand, I will keep it for
the rest of the class period. Cell phones may not be on the desk, in your hand or in any way visible
while class is in session—including during testing.
Disruptive behavior: Students who engage in behavior that is disruptive to the learning environment
will lose their attendance credit for the day and they will be asked to leave the classroom and not
return until the following class meeting. (“Disruptive behavior” is defined as interacting with one’s
neighbor at an inappropriate time, sleeping, using the Internet, or otherwise disturbing the learning
environment.) Repeated instances of disruptive behavior may lead to a failed grade or withdrawal
from the class.
Disability Statement: Students with a verified disability who may need authorized accommodation(s)
for this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and the Office of Special Services or Disabled
Students as soon as possible, at least two weeks before any exam or quiz. All information will
remain confidential.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO ANY OF THE ABOVE POLICIES,
REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCE.
***
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SOME WORDS OF ADVICE:
Hearing from Dr. David: All emails that I send to you—and there may be quite a few—will only go
to your LACCD email account, so make sure you have it up and running ASAP. Also, there is a
good chance that the emails I send you will go to your spam/bulk/junk folder.
Start Keeping a Calendar: If you don’t have one already, use a calendar (whether it’s a desk or wall
calendar, or an app on your phone) and keep all your assignment dates marked in it. I am not
going to remind you about the reading quiz or exam dates.
Financial aid students: Please be aware that you will likely not receive your aid until several weeks
into the semester. The textbooks are on reserve at the library from the beginning to the end of the
semester, so not having your textbook will not be accepted as a reason to take the reading quiz late.
***
CLASS SCHEDULE:
Tuesday 2/10
Syllabus Review
Thursday 2/12
Introduction: What is Socio-Cultural Anthropology?
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 2/17
The Contributions of Malinowski, Mauss, and Marx
Thursday 2/19
Early Acknowledgements of the Connection Between Mind, Body, and Society
Tweet of the Week
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Tuesday 2/24
Reading Quiz #1:
Cultural Anthropology Chapters 1 & 2
The Anthro Download Chapters 1, 2 & 3
Film: Secret State of North Korea (Frontline)
Thursday 2/26
The Contributions of Mary Douglas to Socio-Cultural Anthropology
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 3/3
Subjectivity in Anthropology
Thursday 3/5
Studying Genocide as an Anthropologist
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 3/10
Reading Quiz #2:
Cultural Anthropology Chapters 3 & 4
The Anthro Download Chapters 4, 5 & 6
Film: God Grew Tired of Us
Thursday 3/12
Work Among the Baining of Papua New Guinea
Tweet of the Week
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Tuesday 3/17
Sex as Metaphor in the U.S. and Papua New Guinea
Thursday 3/19
Anthropological Perspectives on Family Planning
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 3/24
Reading Quiz #3:
Cultural Anthropology Chapters 6 & 7
The Anthro Download Chapters 7, 8 & 11
Film TBA
Thursday 3/26
Midterm Review
Thursday 4/2
Midterm Exam
Tuesday 4/14
Spirituality and Capitalism
Thursday 4/16
Formal vs. Informal Economies
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 4/21
Late Capitalism and the Selling of the Self
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Thursday 4/23
Reading Quiz #4:
Cultural Anthropology Chapters 8 & 9
The Anthro Download Chapters 9, 10 & 12
Film: The Dhamma Brothers
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 4/28
Applying the Anthropological Methodology to the Study of Hollywood
Thursday 4/30
Today’s Flexible Workplace
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 5/5
Tour Guides, Flight Attendants, and Boxers
Thursday 5/7
Reading Quiz #5:
Cultural Anthropology Chapters 10 & 11
The Anthro Download Chapters 13, 14 & 15
Film TBA
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 5/12
Sex, Gender, and the Impact of Capitalism on It All
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Thursday 5/14
Anthropological Perspectives on Male and Female Body Image in the U.S.
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 5/19
Anthropological Contributions to the Study of Alcoholism
Thursday 5/21
Reading Quiz #6:
Cultural Anthropology Chapters 12 & 13
The Anthro Download Chapters 16, 19 & 20
Film TBA
Tweet of the Week
Tuesday 5/26
Final Exam Review
Thursday 5/28
Final Exam Review
Tuesday 6/2 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM [*NOTE SPECIAL TIME*]
Final Exam
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