1 Course Description e field of anthropology has long claimed culture as its object of study and area of expertise. It is, according to Clifford Geertz (1973:4), the concept “around which the whole discipline of anthropology arose.” But culture has never been a neutral concept. It is simultaneously scientific and political, constructed in part depending on the social and historical context in which it emerges. is majors’ seminar examines the culture concept in and out of anthropology. We are not focused on determining a single “correct” definition of culture. Rather, we will follow Dominguez (1992:21), and ask “what is being accomplished ... when the concept of culture is invoked to describe, analyze, argue, justify, and theorize?” Topics discussed include the development of the culture concept and debates over its meaning in anthropology; ways in which the culture concept has been deployed in public discourse to depoliticize understandings of immigration, war, poverty, and disease; the use of the culture concept by marginalized groups in efforts to gain rights and recognition; cross-cultural education and training programs; and the appropriation and selling of cultural difference. is is a writing-intensive course, and activities and assignments throughout the course will focus on the development of scholarly reading, writing, and presentation skills. In addition to short essays and in-class writing exercises, students will produce and present a final research paper of 2,500-3,000 words (~10-12 pages). UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE SPRING 2015 Anthro Majors’ Seminar: Culture In and Out of Anthropology ANTHRO 180AW (60410) TIME & LOCATION Tues/urs 12:30-1:50pm Room: SSL 105 PROFESSOR INFO Angela C. Jenks, Ph.D. Office: SBSG 3304 Email: [email protected]Phone: 949-824-3188 Office hours: Wed 1-3pm or by appointment COURSE WEBSITE Information for this course can be found through the EEE system at: https:// eee.uci.edu/15s/60410 e course website includes links to readings, assignment information, handouts, discussion forums, and information about campus resources. Geertz. 1973. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books. Dominguez. 1992. “Invoking Culture: The Messy Side of ‘Cultural Politics.’” South Atlantic Quarterly 91(1):19-42 Image credit: Masks from Guatemala; Chmouel Boudjnah; http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guatemala-Mask.jpg
Transcript
1
Course Description
e field of anthropology has long claimed culture as its object of study and area of expertise. It is, according to Clifford Geertz (1973:4), the concept “around which the whole discipline of anthropology arose.” But culture has never been a neutral concept. It is simultaneously scientific and political, constructed in part depending on the social and historical context in which it emerges.
is majors’ seminar examines the culture concept in and out of anthropology. We are not focused on determining a single “correct” definition of culture. Rather, we will follow Dominguez (1992:21), and ask “what is being accomplished ...when the concept of culture is invoked to describe, analyze, argue, justify, and theorize?”
Topics discussed include the development of the culture
concept and debates over its meaning in anthropology; ways in which the culture concept has been deployed in public discourse to depoliticize understandings of immigration, war, poverty, and disease; the use of the culture concept by marginalized groups in efforts to gain rights and recognition; cross-cultural education and training programs; and the appropriation and selling of cultural difference.
is is a writing-intensive course, and activities and assignments throughout the course will focus on the development of scholarly reading, writing, and presentation skills. In addition to short essays and in-class writing exercises, students will produce and present a final research paper of 2,500-3,000 words (~10-12 pages).
Information for this course can be found through the EEE system at: https://eee.uci.edu/15s/60410
e course website includes links to readings, assignment information, handouts, discussion forums, and information about campus resources.
Geertz. 1973. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books.Dominguez. 1992. “Invoking Culture: The Messy Side of ‘Cultural Politics.’” South Atlantic Quarterly 91(1):19-42Image credit: Masks from Guatemala; Chmouel Boudjnah; http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guatemala-Mask.jpg
is writing course is designed to give you the opportunity to develop your writing skills through experimentation, practice, and revision. Individual assignments will be graded on a check/check plus/check minus scale as they are completed. Your final course grade will be based on a portfolio of all work that is due on Monday, June 8. Your portfolio should contain the following items:
In-Class Activities (20% of grade)
Attendance and participation are essential components of this seminar course. Class sessions will include mini-lectures, films, discussions, short writing assignments, writing workshops, grammar quizzes, and student presentations.
In-class activities can not be made up. Missing more than
one class session will have a negative effect on your final course grade.
Journal Exercises (40% of grade) Your journal will include a number of writing exercises in response to given prompts. ese may include reflections on your own writing process, analyses of assigned readings, and posts to the online discussion boards.
Research Project (40% of grade)
You will complete a research paper (~10-12 pages) and oral presentation on a topic of your choice related to the issues raised in this course. is project will be completed in several stages as you select your topic, give and receive feedback, revise your dras, and present your findings.
INVESTOR NEWSLETTER ISSUE N°3 FALL 2009URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY FALL 2013ANTHROPOLOGY MAJORS SEMINAR SPRING 2015
Course Requirements
GRADING
Please save all assignments to turn in at the end of the course. Your final grade will be based on a portfolio that includes the following:
A ≥ 93.5 A- ≥ 90.0B+ ≥ 86.5 B ≥ 83.5 B- ≥ 80.0C+ ≥ 76.5 C ≥ 73.5 C- ≥ 70.0D+ ≥ 66.5 D ≥ 63.5 D-≥ 60.0F ≤ 59
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Q&A Course Policies
What’s the best way to
contact the professor?
To speak in person, come to my office hours or make an appointment. Otherwise, email ([email protected]) is generally the best way to contact me. During the week (M-F), I aim to respond to messages within 24-48 hours. Please remember to include the name of the course in the subject line and your full name in your message.
I missed class. What should I
do?
Attendance and participation are very important in this seminar class. In-class activities cannot be made up, and missing more than one class session will have a negative effect on your grade. If you must miss a class session, check the course website to access any handouts and materials, and ask another student for a copy of the notes.
Can I use my phone, laptop,
or tablet in class?
No. is is a small seminar that will involve discussion and peer review. While laptops, tablets, and other device are useful tools, they oen distract from face-to-face interaction. Please put away electronic devices in class and come prepared with paper and a pen/pencil.
What if I need an
accommodation because of a
disability?
e UCI Disability Services Center ensures access to educational programs and resources for all students. If you believe you need an accommodation because of the impact of a disability, please contact them at 949-824-7494 or visit http://disability.uci.edu/ and bring your faculty notification letter to me.
My printer ran out of ink; can
I email my assignment to you?
Assignments will not be accepted via email or other electronic means. A hard (printed) copy of each assignment must be turned in. To find a location on campus where you can print, visit http://www.lib.uci.edu/services/printing.html
Can I turn in my assignment
late?
Many of the assignments in this course build on one another and will involve discussion and peer review during class time. Late assignments will be accepted without penalty only in extraordinary situations. Please come talk to the professor if you have any concerns.
What is the course policy
regarding plagiarism and
academic honesty?
All assignments should be written by you during the duration of this class. Assignments produced for previous classes are not acceptable. Plagiarism and other violations of academic integrity will result in no credit for the assignment and possible course failure and referral for disciplinary action. If you are unfamiliar with UCI’s policies on academic integrity, please go to http://www.editor.uci.edu/catalogue/appx/appx.2.htm
INVESTOR NEWSLETTER ISSUE N°3 FALL 2009URBAN ANTHROPOLOGY FALL 2013ANTHROPOLOGY MAJORS’ SEMINAR SPRING 2015
Breidenbach and Nyiri. 2009. “Introduction.” Pg. 3-22 in Seeing Culture Everywhere: From Genocide to Consumer Habits.
Journal 1: CULTURE Acrostic Poem
Week 2Culture in Anthropology
Tues, 4/7
Stocking, George. 1966. “Franz Boas and the Culture Concept in Historical Perspective.” American Anthropologist 68(4):867-882.
Week 2Culture in Anthropology
urs, 4/9
Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. 2002. Adieu, Culture: A New Duty Arises. Pg. 37-60 in Anthropology Beyond Culture.
King, Barbara J. 2002. “On Patterned Interactions and Culture in Great Apes.” Pg. 83-104 in Anthropology Beyond Culture.
Journal 2: Writer’s autobiography
Week 3Culture on Display
Tues, 4/14
Griffiths, Alison. 2002. “Science and Spectacle: Visualizing the Other at the World’s Fair.” Pg. 46-85 in Wondrous Difference.
Lutz and Collins. 1993. Reading National Geographic. Excerpt.
Week 3Culture on Display
urs, 4/16
Bruner, Edward M. and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett. 1994. “Maasai on the Lawn: Tourist Realism in East Africa.” Cultural Anthropology 9(4): 435-470.
DailyMail. 2012. “How Harlem’s churches are being overrun by ‘gospel tourists.’”
Journal 3: Reading analysis
Week 4Culture and Exclusion
Tues, 4/21
Stolcke, Verena. 1995. “Talking Culture: New Boundaries, New Rhetorics of Exclusion in Europe.”Current Anthropology 36(1):1-13.
Wilson, Richard. 2002. “e Politics of Culture in Post-Apartheid South Africa.” Pg. 209-234 in Anthropology Beyond Culture.
Research Project: Proposal and preliminary sources
Week 4Culture and Exclusion
urs, 4/23
Chavez, Leo R. 2013. e Latino reat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation. Excerpt.
Course Schedule & Assignments (Changes to this schedule may be made as necessary).
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TOPIC DATE WHAT TO READ WHAT’S DUE?
Week 5Culture Clashes and Culture Wars
Tues, 4/28
Huntington, Samuel. 1993. “e Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72(3):22-49.
Said, Edward. 2001. “e Clash of Ignorance.” e Nation, October 22.
Week 5Culture Clashes and Culture Wars
urs, 4/30
Abu-Lughod, Lila. 2002. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and its Others.” American Anthropologist 104(3):783-790.
Brown, Keith. 2008. “‘All they understand is force’: Debating Culture in Operation Iraqi Freedom.” American Anthropologist 110(4):443-453.
Journal 4: Outline of an assigned reading
Week 6Culture and Inequality
Tues, 5/5
Glick Schiller, Nina. 1992. “What’s Wrong with is Picture? e Hegemonic Construction of Culture in AIDS Research in the United States.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 6(3):237-254.
Jenks, Angela. 2010. “What’s the Use of Culture? Health Disparities and the Development of ‘Culturally Competent’ Health Care.” Pg. 207-224 in What’s the Use of Race. Jones and Whitmarsh, eds.
Week 6Culture and Inequality
urs, 5/7
Lewis, Oscar. 1966. “e Culture of Poverty.” Scientific American 215(4):19-25.
Chua, Amy and Jed Rubenfeld. 2014. e Triple Package: How ree Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America. Excerpt.
Journal 5: Reading reflection and analysis
Week 7Culture as Intervention
Tues, 5/12
Hale, Charles. 2006. “Activist Research v. Cultural Critique: Indigenous Land Rights and the Contradictions of Politically Engaged Anthropology.” Cultural Anthropology 21(1):96-120.
Research Project: Dra 1, with writer’s reflections
Week 7Culture as Intervention
urs, 5/14
Demian, Melissa. 2008. “Fictions of Intention in the ‘Cultural Defense.’” American Anthropologist 110(4):432-442.
Wade, Lisa. 2011. “e Politics of Acculturation: Female Genital Cutting and the Challenges of Building Multicultural Democracies.” Social Problems 58(4):518-537.
Peer review in class
Course Schedule & Assignments, cont. (Changes to this schedule may be made as necessary).
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TOPIC WHAT TO READ WHAT’S DUE?
Week 8Culture and Communication
Tues, 5/19
Maltz and Borker. 1982. “A Cultural Approach to Male-Female Miscommunication.” Pg. 196-216 in Language and Social Identity.
Willen, Sarah et al. 2010. “Opening Up a Huge Can of Worms: Reflections on a ‘Cultural Sensitivity’ Course for Psychiatry Residents.” Harvard Review of Psychiatry 18(4):247-53.
Week 8Culture and Communication
urs, 5/21
Hindman, Heather. 2013. “Saving Business from Culture.” Pg. 143-172 in Mediating the Global.
Week 9e Cultural Marketplace
Tues, 5/26
Mullin, Molly. 1992. “e Patronage of Difference: Making Indian Art ‘Art, Not Ethnology.’” Cultural Anthropology 7(4):395-424.
Faris, Stephan. 2013. “Can a Tribe Sue for Copyright? e Maasai Want Royalties for Use of eir Name.” Bloomberg.
Week 9e Cultural Marketplace
urs, 5/28
Davila, Arlene. 2001. Latinos, Inc.: e Marketing and Making of a People. Excerpt.
Baer, Drake. 2014. “Here’s Why Companies are Desperate to Hire Anthropologists.” Business Insider, March 27.
Research Project: Annotated Dra 2
Week 10Wrap-Up, Review, Presentations
Tues, 6/2
No readings. Work on final research paper and presentation.
Peer review in classWeek 10Wrap-Up, Review, Presentations urs,
6/4No readings. Work on final research paper and presentation.
Student presentations
Final Exam Monday, June 8, 1:30-3:30pmMonday, June 8, 1:30-3:30pm Student presentations
Final portfolio due:--All in-class work, journals, project dras, peer review forms, and presentation feedback--Journal 6: Portfolio cover letter and final reflection--Research project dra 3
Course Schedule and Assignments (Changes to this schedule may be made as necessary).
ANTHROPOLOGY OF BIOMEDICINE & BIOTECHNOLOGY WINTER 2014ANTHROPOLOGY MAJORS’ SEMINAR SPRING 2015
