Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies (ANT 1A)

Spring 2014 M,W, Th 11:00 AM–11:50 AM

Instructor: Prof. Jonathan Anjaria Dept. of Anthropology Brown 219 Office Hours: Mon 3:30-4:30pm; Wed 9:45-10:45am [email protected]

TAs: Jennifer Skinnon — [email protected] Paige Henderson — [email protected] Doug Bafford — [email protected] Jessica Bray— [email protected] Kelly Hacker — [email protected] Holly Doerflinger — [email protected] Nicole Welk — [email protected]

Course description: This course introduces the principal ideas and methods of social and cultural anthropology, the comparative study of human societies in all their remarkable complexity and diversity. The special mandate of the field is to discover new and less harmful ways of perceiving and understanding, and therefore validating, the different experiences, histories, and values of people and communities from all parts of the world. This course is designed to examine the ways people--within a range of societies, including African, South Asian, Hmong and US American--make sense of and order their lives. It emphasizes that other possibilities beyond the ones with which we are most familiar exist for solving problems and for achieving meaningful lives. The course serves to introduce the beginning student to several primary domains of social-cultural anthropology, including the concept of culture; the nature of fieldwork; kinship and social organization; economic systems; gender and sexuality; religion and ritual; sickness and healing; and cultural contact and transnational processes. The course will also consider the often pernicious effects of class, ethnic, racial and gender hierarchies in human societies. It will explore as well the theme of globalization, from the period of European colonial expansion, when anthropology first came into being, to the current “global era,” when many societies have become increasingly part of a world- embracing political, economic and cultural community. This course serves as a core requirement for majors in Anthropology and in International and Global Studies. It also satisfies the University Studies requirements for the School of Social Sciences and Non-Western and Comparative Studies.

1 Course requirements: Two 4-5 page papers (10% each) 20% — Midterm 25% — Final exam 25% Two 2-page observation exercises (5% each) 10% — Class participation (with attendance) 10%— Learning Catalytics quiz questions— 10%.

Observation exercises: These will be short exercises in which you will be asked to observe particular kinds of social-cultural practices in the environments surrounding you, and to write up 2-page descriptions and analyses of the phenomena, drawing on course concepts.

Papers: Topics for the two 3-5-page papers will be handed out in advance. The paper should engage fully with a concern raised in our readings and/or discussions, and be structured as a formal paper, with a thesis statement and a well-developed argument

All written work must be submitted on Latte.

Class participation: This includes attendance (in lecture and section), timely completion of reading assignments (by the class in which the material is to be discussed), thoughtful contribution to class discussions and Learning Catalytics responses (see below). Furthermore, talking to your neighbors, using electronic devices (see below) or reading during class time is not allowed. TAs will take note of this behavior and your participation grade will be negatively affected.

Discussion sections will be held during the regular class period roughly every other Wednesday, and participation in these discussions is particularly important. You will receive your discussion section assignment during the 2nd week of classes.

Learning Catalytics: This is a “bring your own device” form of in-class student engagement. I will use this program in two ways. 1) Discussion: At the beginning and end of some classes I will often ask a short question. You will respond via your phone, ipad or computer. These will not be questions meant to test you, but to get a better sense of how you are engaging with the material.

2) Reading questions: On occasion I will ask a simple question. If you have done the reading thoroughly you should be able to answer the question correctly. You correct response rate will be calculated at the end of the semester. This will be your “Learning Catalytics” grade. There are no make-up questions. If you are absent from class on that day it will count as an incorrect response.

Absence Policy: Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. When you enter the room, find your TA and sign in with her or him.

I take attendance very seriously. Each class builds on the next, so if you miss a class your comprehension of the material will suffer. Full attendance is also essential for establishing a productive learning community and class dynamic. Needless to say, for the midterm and final exams you will be responsible for material discussed in lectures but do not appear in the readings.

However, I understand that things come up during the semester that can prevent you from coming to class (family emergencies, delayed flights, sickness, job interviews, etc.). As a result, you may miss two classes (which includes sections… so missing one lecture and one section equals two absences) without it affecting

2 your grade. **However, for each additional class that you miss, your participation/attendance grade will be reduced by five points. You will also get a zero for your LQ question for that day (as explained above) ** I don’t do excused or unexcused absences, so please refrain from contacting me or your TA about reasons for missing class.

Exams: The midterm and final exams will consist largely of short answer questions (of 1-3 paragraphs) based on the readings, lectures and films. You will be asked to supply both detailed factual information and your own interpretations. It will be difficult to do well on the exams if you do not carefully keep up with both readings and lectures. The lectures often cover material not duplicated in the readings, so attending class is very important. The midterm exam date is specified in the syllabus. The final exam date is set by the University Registrar later in the semester. A make-up midterm examination will be given only to students in cases of documented illness or emergency, or if arrangements have been made well in advance (also requiring documentation, such as a letter from an athletic director). Students who simply fail to show up for the midterm exam will receive a 0 for the exam. The class follows the University procedures for absence from the final exam. A make-up final examination will be administered by the Registrar’s Office only and is available only to students who have made formal arrangements through the Registrar for an Excused Absence or who have three or more scheduled final exams on the same day.

Note that the final exam is a university-scheduled final exam. University regulations do not permit the professor to schedule individual make-up examinations before or after this date. If you have a pressing conflict (such as 3 or more final exams scheduled for the same date), then you can arrange with the Registrar’s Office to take the exam on the final exam conflict resolution date, generally the last day of the final exam period.

Grading: The TA who leads your discussion section will be the primary person responsible for grading your papers, observation exercises and exams. Professor Anjaria and your TA will jointly determine your attendance/ participation grade. The TAs and the professor work closely together throughout the course to calibrate grading, using sample papers and detailed grading guidelines.

Late work: Written work submitted after the due date and time will be lowered by three points for each day (or fraction of a day) late, except in documented cases of extreme illness or serious emergency.

The Writing Center: The University Writing Center provides free 45-minute one-on-one sessions to help with your essays. It is located on the first floor of Goldfarb Library (room 107). You are encouraged to take advantage of this service. Please find more information and sign-up for a tutorial online (http://www.brandeis.edu/writingprogram/writingcenter/ ).

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: You may only submit your own original work in this course; this includes exams, observations, written papers, and other media. Please be careful to cite precisely and properly the sources of all authors and persons you have drawn upon in your written work. Plagiarism (from published or internet sources, or from another student) is a serious violation of academic integrity. Please take special care to indicate the precise source of all materials found on the web, indicating the correct URL address of any material you have quoted or in any way drawn upon. Remember, you must indicate through quotations and citation when quoting from any outside source (internet or print). 3 Accommodations: If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please contact me as soon as possible. Accommodations cannot be granted retroactively.

Religious Exemptions: For a full description of Brandeis’s regulations governing coursework and religious observance, please see http://www.brandeis.edu/das/downloads/AcademicCourseworkandReligiousObservations.pdf.

Athletic Exemptions: Participation in an intercollegiate sport must be documented in a letter from the Athletic Director and presented to the instructor at the beginning of the semester, accompanied by a schedule for the season. For the full guidelines on conflicts between coursework and intercollegiate athletic competition, please see http://www.brandeis.edu/das/downloads/GuidelinesforAthletes.pdf.

Laptop Policy: Electronic devices are only allowed when using Learning Catalytics. Otherwise, no electronic devices may be used during class time. If you find it absolutely necessary to use a laptop to take notes, inform Prof. Anjaria in the first week of the semester. If permission is granted, then you must sit in the front row, right section and email your TA your notes after each class.

You will notice that the TAs generally sit in the back of the room during class. I have instructed them to make a note of any students surreptitiously using laptops, phones, ipads, etc. Your participation grade for the semester will be reduced as a result of such notations.

Required Books: All of these books are available for purchase at the Brandeis bookstore. The books are also on reserve at the library.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fadiman Fat: Anthropology of an Obsession, eds. Kulick and Meneley. Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction, eds. Monaghan and Just Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe Exotic No More: Anthropology on the Front Lines, ed. Jeremy MacClancy.

Readings: All readings must be completed by the dates listed below.

Jan 13 Introduction to the course

Part 1: Culture and the Ethnographic Imagination

Jan 15 The Idea of Culture Horace Miner, “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema.” Mark Greif, “The Hipster in the Mirror.” Renato Rosaldo, “The Family Breakfast.” Jeremy MacClancy, “Taking People Seriously” In Exotic No More

Jan 16 Ethnographic Inquiry Clifford Geertz, “Thick Description,” 7-10. 4 Bronislaw Malinowski, Argonauts of the Western Pacific, 1-11, 20-25. Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction, 13-25

Jan 20 No class — Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Jan 22 Fieldwork and Subjectivity Lila Abu-Lughod, Veiled Sentiments, 1-35

Jan 23 Fieldwork, Reflexivity and Social Scientific Inquiry Philip Bourgois, “Understanding inner city poverty.” In Exotic No More.

Jan 27 The Cultural Relativism Debates Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture, 1-20, 251-278. Renato Rosaldo, “Of Headhunters and Soldiers: Separating Cultural and Ethical Relativism” Roland Barthes, “Great Family of Man”

Jan 29 Section meeting

Jan 30 Ethnographies of everyday life: Food and culture Fat: Anthropology of an Obsession, 1-8, 185-198 Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction, 34-44

Part 2 Kinship, Gender and Personhood

Feb 3 Ethnographies of everyday life: Food and Bodies Fat: Anthropology of an Obsession, 9-29, 153-168

Feb 5 Section meeting Fat: Anthropology of an Obsession, 77-120.

Feb 6 Gender as an Analytic Category Sherry Ortner, “Is Female to Male as Nature Is to Culture?”

 Feb. 7 Observation exercise #1 due 11:59pm

Feb 10 Love and Personhood Lila Abu-Lughod, Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society (39-51, 118- 134, 171-185, 208-221). Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction, 131-143

Feb. 12 Section meeting Alma Gottlieb, “Interpreting Gender and Sexuality: Approaches from Cultural Anthropology” In Exotic No More.

Feb 13 Gender in a Cross-Cultural Perspective Lila Abu-Lughod, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?” Lila Abu-Lughod, Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society (159-167) Krista Bremer, “Bikini or headscarf -- which offers more freedom?”

5 Feb 17 - 20 no class – Winter Recess

Feb 24 Constructing Sex and Sexuality “‘Strange Country This’: An Introduction to North American Gender Diversity,” Will Roscoe.

Feb 26 **Special event: Trio Da Kali, Musicians from Mali** Readings TBA.

Feb 27 Rethinking Sex and Gender Binaries Serena Nanda, Hijras: Neither Man Nor Woman. Intro, 12-23, 38-43.

 Feb. 27 Paper #1 due 11:59pm

March 3 In-class midterm

Part 3 Language, Ritual and Religion

March 5 Language and Culture Benjamin Whorf, “The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behaviour to Language”

March 6 Speech and Belief Susan Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, 3-29 E. E. Evans-Pritchard, “The notion of witchcraft explains unfortunate events.”

March 10 Religion and Rationality Susan Harding, The Book of Jerry Falwell, 30-60 Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction, 120-130.

March 12 Section meeting [Start reading Things Fall Apart]

Part 4 Race, Ethnicity and Power

March 13 Religious Practice and Colonial Power Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Part 1

March 17 Colonialism and Postcoloniality Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, Parts 2 and 3.

March 19 Section meeting

March 20 Cultural Identity and Political Struggle Richard Jenkins, “Imagined by not Imaginary: Ethnicity and Nationalism in the Modern World,” In Exotic No More. Fat: Anthropology of an Obsession, 139- 152.

 March 21 Observation Exercise #2 due 11:59pm

6 March 24 The Idea of Race Faye Harrison, “Unraveling ‘Race for the Twenty-First century,” In Exotic No More. Jonathan Marks, “Black, white, other.” American Anthropological Association, “Statement on ‘Race’” (can be accessed here— http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm)

March 26 Experiencing Race Elizabeth Chin, “Ethnically Correct Dolls: Toying with the Race Industry.”

March 27 Race, Anthropology and the Politics of Representation In-class screening: Herskovitz In The Heart of Blackness

Part 5 Culture in a Transnational World

March 31 Medicine in a transcultural context Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, ch. 1-5.

April 2 Section meeting Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, ch. 6-10

April 3 Cross-cultural healing practices

April 7 Cross-cultural healing practices Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, ch. 16-19.

April 9 From Modernization to Globalization Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, 107-119. James Ferguson, “The Anti-Politics Machine”

April 10 Globalization and Cultural Process Inda and Rosaldo, “The World in Motion”

 April 11 Paper #2 due 11:59pm

April 14 Travel and Migration Rolph Trouillot, “North Atlantic Fictions” (read only 29-35 and 41-46). James Clifford, “Travelling Cultures,” (read only 18-30).

April 16 – April 22 — No class Passover Break

April 24 — TBA

April 28 Culture and Authenticity in the Contemporary World Beth Conklin, “Body Paint, Feathers, and VCRs: Aesthetics and Authenticity in Amazonian Activism”