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CCC – Writing in the Discipline – Van Gilder (Anthropology)
SMC Core Curriculum Course Proposal Form
1. Name of Proposer: Cynthia Van Gilder
2. Email address: [email protected]
3. Department/Program of Proposer: Anthropology
4. Name of Department/Program housing the course: Anthropology
5. Name(s) of Department Chair (if not the proposer): Lynn Meisch
6. Course Acronym, Number and Title: Anth 100: Principles of Anthropology
7. Semester(s) in which course will be offered: Spring
8. How often is this course taught? Once per academic year
9. Course Prerequisites (if any): ENGL 005 AND ANTH 001 OR ANTH 005 AND one upper
division course in Anthropology – students must be Anthropology (or Archaeology)
majors or minors
10. Unit Value of Course: 1.0 credit
11. Proper Audience for the course: Sophomores & Juniors
12. The Learning Goals for which the course is being submitted
Writing in the Discipline course for Anthropology
Discussion of Learning Outcomes for ANTH 100: Principles of Anthropology
Students will…
…learn to ask anthropological questions and research their possible answers in the
anthropological literature by devising search strategies and using library resources to find
relevant material
Understanding “how to frame questions anthropologically” is a process that begins in the lower division
courses of the discipline. In this course it is reinforced through students’ reading of sample literature reviews
from The Annual Review of Anthropology as well as the broad content frame of the class, the history of
anthropological thought. Students learn to research possible answers to those questions initially in a library
session with Patty Wade which covers among other things how to use reference books to do preliminary
research on a topic with which you are very unfamiliar, the nature of different sources (e.g., peer review
journals, edited volumes, etc.), how to find and use anthropological databases, how to build a list of possible
search terms, and how to link and “hop” from references cited list to references cited list in various sources.
The students then have to use these skills repeatedly throughout the semester as they build their literature
review, expanding and contracting their research topic to meet the scale of the project. Students will be
assessed through the dialogue in their research journal, a variety of shorter stepped assignments, and the
quality of the final product, their literature review.
…write a literature review, including developing an appropriate defining thesis, critically
evaluating sources, and then integrating and citing those sources in accordance with the
standards of both anthropology and academic integrity
CCC – Writing in the Discipline – Van Gilder (Anthropology)
Over the course of the semester, the students will write a literature review that is framed in terms of “This is
everything anthropologists have written about __blank__.” One of the hardest parts is finding an appropriate
sized topic or thesis to fill in the “blank.” This is what I call finding your “potato.” So for example, students
may start with a topic like, “This is everything anthropologists have written about the peopling of the Pacific.”
Then, as they look into the literature, they might find that this topic is too big for a 10-12 page paper, and they
have to adjust the size of their potato. They might try “This is everything anthropologists have written about
the peopling of the Marquesas” and realize that this would barely fill a 3 page paper, so it is time to resize
again. Eventually they settle on an appropriate topic, perhaps, “This is everything anthropologists have
written about the peopling of Polynesia since the invention of radiocarbon dating.” Students keep detailed
research journals describing their research process that the professor collects, reads, and writes comments in,
giving the students periodic feedback on every aspect of their process. Students are taught anthropological
citation standards, and drafts are edited for their appropriate useage. Students will be assessed through their
final product, the literature review, as well as a variety of stepped assignments (see below).
…employ cyclical strategies of research, writing, and editing to continually improve the
relationship between content (e.g., well-supported and well-reasoned anthropological arguments)
and clarity (e.g., clear and careful organization, coherent paragraphs and well-constructed
sentences that employ the conventions of Standard Written English)
The work the students do on their literature reviews is supported by the text The Literature Review: Six Steps
to Success. By using the six steps described in the text (intended for beginning graduate students in the social
sciences), students work through a carefully scoffolded set of assignments that is supplemented with peer
editing sessions, written as well as oral comments from the professor on papers and research journals
(students must meet with the professor one-on-one to discuss their “jellyfish” diagram, for example), and
careful readings of sample anthropological texts. Students will be assessed through a variety of assignments
built around the Six Steps outlined in the text.
…demonstrate an understanding of the history of American anthropological theory and how it has
both enabled and constrained research undertaken within the discipline
The disciplinary content comes in the form of a handful of sample literature reviews in anthropology as well as
the text, A History of Anthropological Theory. This is a secondary source description of the growth of American
anthropology (which is distinguished by its four field approach – archaeology, linguistics, cultural
anthropology, and biological anthropology) that has been written specifically for students. We move through
it fairly slowly, with students using the study questions at the back of the book to practice writing short
answers and medium length essays on anthropological theory (as well as practicing how to discuss and
analyze these issues with their peers in class). Students will be assessed through written tests and a final
exam.