SocioCultural Anthropology
Fall 2011
University of Toronto
Dylan Clark
University of
Toronto
Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6
Canada
Teaching Assistant: Matt Hilder
ANT204
Sociocultural
Anthropology (SSc)
A general introductory course emphasizing social and political
organization,
economics, and the development of theory. Specific cases of
social
dynamics are
drawn from both traditional and contemporary societies. [24L,
12T]
Prerequisite: ANT102.
This
course is designed to provide students with a vigorous
introduction to
the
field of sociocultural anthropology. We will review many
of the
basic
subfields of the discipline: kinship, political anthropology,
the
anthropology
of gender, economic anthropology, the anthropology of religion,
and ethnography, that most vital
practice
of sociocultural anthropology. This particular course will
help
students
to explore the dynamic and increasingly linkages between
“culture” and
“capitalism” In the process, we will try to understand why
these
two
terms are both illuminating and problematic. By the end of
this
course, a
student should be well versed in the basic components, theories,
and
paradigms
of sociocultural anthropology, comfortable thinking through the
relationships
of capitalism and culture, and attentive to symbolic
constructions of
authority
and hierarchy.
Course grading:
Midterm exam: 27%; final exam: 40%; research paper. 15%.
homework,
quizzes, and
participation (combined): 18% (ratio of 6 percent for
attendance, 6
percent for
oral contributions and positive, respective impact on tutorial,
6
percent for
unannounced quizzes.). Participation includes
attendance,
preparation, arriving on time, not leaving early, and being a
positive
and
respectful member of the class.
Participation on Blackboard is also counted in your
favour.
Negative
marks:
students who disrupt lectures and/or tutorials through talking,
texting,
Internet surfing, leaving late, leaving early can and will be
penalized. The instructor and/or
the TA may deduct
marks from participation. Students
who need to leave early should check in with the instructor or
the TA
before
class and sit near the door.
Quizzes are possible on any day of tutorial. They
will be
based on
the current reading only, not on
previous
reading.
This course
requires a good
deal of reading. If you are unable to read a
lot for
this
class, you should consider dropping the course. If you miss a
quiz,
there will
not be a make-up. No make-ups, that is, except for medical
emergencies
and
religious holidays (as approved by diversity officer on
campus). Attendance in all
lectures and
tutorials is strongly recommended.
.
Time and Place: Wednesdays/Fridays 3-4, classrooms TBA.
Office: HSC 354; Office hours: by appointment,
and
Tuesdays
10-12, Fridays, 11-12. "Virtual office hours" online at
Blackboard: always glad to answer questions on our Blackboard
discussion board.
TA office and hrs: TBA.
Course texts:
· Delaney, Carol. 2004. Investigating Culture: An Experiential Introduction to Anthropology. NY: Blackwell.
· Schieffelin, Edward L. 2005 (1976). The Sorrow of The Lonely and the Burning of the Dancers. 2nd edition. NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
________________________________________
Expectations, Policies, and Common Courtesy
Attendance: Recommeded for all lectures and tutorials.
Punctuality: You are expected to arrive and be settled in
your
seat by
the beginning of class or tutorial and to remain until the end
of class. Students who violate this
policy will
be penalized on their participation mark. Unless you become ill,
do not
begin
packing up books or stand to leave before the end of class or
tutorial,
because
this is distracting to all. If you know you cannot stay for the
entire
period,
please sit near the door and leave very quietly.
Courtesy in Class: Every student is expected to pay close
attention
in the
lecture or film. Refrain from talking during lectures and films,
except
to ask
or respond to a question from the instructor. Even quiet talking
is
distracting
and disrespectful for your fellow students and your instructor.
Turn
off pagers
and mobile phones. In tutorials, your undivided attention and
courtesy
is also
expected; however, this is your opportunity to discuss what you
are
learning in
class with your TA and one another. You are encouraged to
thoughtfully
ask and
answer questions, but please, no confidential, whispered
conversations.
Anything you say should be directed to the class as a
whole.
Email Communication: Emailing with your professor or TA is a form of professional communication. Please write courteously and clearly; do not use text-messaging abbreviations or slang. Please clearly indicate your questions or concerns. Be sure to provide a summary of the email topic in the Subject line (do not just write “Hi”or leave the Subject blank, or your email may be rejected as junk mail by the UTM server). You should always use your UT email address if at all possible. The UT server regularly rejects Hotmail and Yahoo accounts as potential spam. Your message should be very brief, polite, and to the point. (For example: subject; [ANT204] Dear Professor Clark, I will be unable to attend the midterm because I will be observing the religious holiday of X. Is there a way I can make up the midterm?)
Please try to
limit
your
email to the professor. Can't find the reading? Ask
a
friend, or
ask your comrades on Blackboard. Did you miss class one
day? Please
ask a friend or a peer for her notes. Not sure which pages
to
read?
Can't find your tutorial? Unsure of what is on the final?
All of
these good questions are better posed to the discussion board on
Blackboard. Your comrades in class can help you and you
can help
them. The professor and the TA will also be frequent
contributors
on
Blackboard. And, if you have a
question about the material, please post it to the discussion
board on
Blackboard. Still seeking an answer? After
talking
with your
peers and the TA, and still needing help, then it may be time to
visit
office
hours. Please remember that office
hours are limited and that there are only so many hours to
divide
between
hundreds of students.
There is seldom a reason to explain your missing presence,
missing
papers, etc.
Generally speaking, something came up and you missed class. It
is your
responsibility to get notes from another student.
Back
up your computer files, start projects long before they
are due, and study hard. You will not be excused from your work:
just
get the
job done. In severe situations (death in the family, disabling
illness,
etc.)
provide written proof.
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability,
please
submit to me a letter from the proper UTM authorities in a
timely
manner so
that your needs may be addressed. UTM has procedures to
determine
accommodations based on documented disabilities. If you have
religious
scheduling concerns, please report these in the first or second
week of
class.
I will do my utmost to respect disabilities and religious
issues if
they
should arise.
Examinations
Both the mid-terms and the final exam will consist of multiple
choice
and short
answer questions on ALL materials presented in the class and
discussed
in
tutorial (readings, lectures, AND films). The final exam
may be
cumulative, but likely will feature material from after the
midterm. Final decisions about exam
materials
will be announced in class.
Missed exams
Avoid missing an exam - the procedure for taking a make-up exam
is
strictly
regulated by the university, and these policies will be followed
in all
cases.
Please notify the instructor by email or phone as soon as
possible if
you
miss an exam. Ideally, you should notify the professor
before you
miss the exam or the day of the exam.
Any student who misses an exam, must contact the
instructor on
email
within 24 hours, unless physically unable to do so.
The instructor may refuse a make-up exam to students who
do
not provide a valid excuse and who fail contact the instructor
in one
day.
* For the
Mid-term
Exam, see
Section 7.9 “Term Tests” in the UTM Calendar for 2009-2010. A
valid
doctor's
excuse or similar university-approved excuse will be required to
take
the
make-up for the mid-term. ONE makeup will be given for the
mid-term,
the week
after the regular exam. All makeup exams will be short answer
format
only.
* For the Final Exam, see Section 7.14 “Examinations” in the UTM
Calendar for
2009-2010. You will have to submit a petition to Registrarial
Services,
among
other requirements, and re-take the exam during the Deferred
Examinations
Period). Makeup exams are likely to be essay format only.
Plagiarism on exams and written work: You may get
lecture
or
tutorial notes from other students for days when you are absent,
but
the
answers you submit must be your own independent work.
Exercises in which duplication is detected will be
severely
penalized. For more details, see Academic Honesty; and the Code
of
Behaviour on
Academic Matters in the UTM Calendar for 2009-2010 under Code of
Behaviour on
Academic Matters. It is your responsibility to be familiar with
this
code, and
adhere to it. IF you have any questions about what is or
is not
plagiarism, please see http://www.plagiarism.org/. Students will be required to
submit
their
course essays to Turnitin.com, via UTM Submit.
By now you should be aware that the university expects
your
work to be done independently. The university takes this
issue
very
seriously. Any attempt to gain undue advantage over your
classmates by
plagiarizing or other forms of cheating will be dealt with
according to
the
Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. The terms that
apply to
the
University's use of the Turnitin.com service are described on
the
Turnitin.com
web site.
Late exercises: (1) Late exercises will be penalized per
calendar day,
including weekends (Turnitin.com will register the time/date of
your
submission). The penalty is 3% on the first day late, then
1% per
day
thereafter. Professor may refuse to mark work that is more
than
10 days
late, if unexcused and deadline unextended.
Marking. Course marks will be computed as follows: first exam, 30%, term paper 15%, participation in tutorials and lectures (including oral contributions, attendance, and contributory presence, and involvement on discussion board of Blackboard) 15%, final exam 40%.
________________________________________
* Attendance is strongly recommended for lectures and
tutorials. Absences in tutorials will likely result in
missed
quizzes and a low participation mark.
*
Reading is to be done by the start of class and tutorial.
* Read both text and illustrations, except as noted.
* Do not fall behind. The reading is too challenging and
extensive to
cram before an exam. When you have done your reading you will
have a
far
greater comprehension of the lectures.
* Please bring the day’s assigned readings to class.
FALL SESSION 2011
week 1 [The concept of culture, and going to the field]
Sept 5 Labour Day holiday. No tutorials this week.
Sept 7 First day of class. Horace MINER, "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema," Delaney pp. 265-9, Bohannan, "Shakespeare in the Bush," Delaney pp. 25-31 (If you don't have your book yet, you can probably find these on the Internet). Gloria Steinem 1978, “If Men Could Menstruate,” Ms. Magazine, Oct. 1978 (about 2 pages).
Sept 9 Schieffelin, cha. 1, “Ceremonies and Reciprocity,” pp. 18-28; Schieffelin, cha. 9: “Ceremonial Occasions and Preparations,” pp. 160-70.
week 2 [The concept of culture, and the rule of relativism]
Sept 12 Tutorials. Carefully read Clifford Geertz, "The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man," Delaney, pp. 410-22. Lightly read Schieffelin, cha. 10: “The Gisaro,” pp. 171-95 (note uses of tension, hailing, place, nostalgia, and the reciprocal burning of the dancers). See pictures that follow p. 195.
Sept 14 Schieffelin, p. 149 (yes: one page). See pictures between 133-4.
Sept 16 Marshall Sahlins, "The Original Affluent Society," Delaney, pp. 110-33 (best to use book version but you may download longer version for free).
week 3 [Language and culture]
Sept 19 Tutorials. Delaney, "Language: We Are What We Speak," pp. 135-65.
Sept 21 no reading assigned
Sept 23 Ursula LeGuin, "She Unnames Them," Delaney, pp. 169-70. Alan Dundes, "Seeing is Believing," Delaney, pp. 170-4.
week 4 [Space, place, and culture]
Sept 26 Tutorials. Delaney, "Spatial Locations," pp. 33-62.
Sept 28 Ellen Goodman, "Time is for Savoring," Delaney, pp. 109-10;
Sept 30 Schieffelin, cha. 2, “In the Shadow of the Mountain,” pp. 29-44.
week 5 [Time and space-time]
Oct 3 Tutorials. Delaney, cha. 3, "All we have is Time," pp. 77-109.
Oct 5 Hegemony and Space-Time Handout (Clark, with Guy Debord attached; on Blackboard)
Oct 7 Schieffelin, cha. 3, “I’m Sorry, Brother, I Don’t Eat That,” pp. 45-71.
Week 6 [Food: Good to think with]
Oct 10 No tutorials. Happy Thanksgiving!
Oct 12 Delaney on food. pp. 271-3070
Oct 14 Jill Dubisch, "You are What you Eat, Religious Aspects of the Health Food Movement," Delaney, pp. 311-9.
Week 7 [Midterm]
Oct 17 Tutorials. Midterm review
Oct 19 Midterm
exam, part I (1 hour)
Oct 21 Midterm
exam, part II (1 hour)
Week 8 [Kinship: from nuclear to nation]
Oct 24 Tutorials. Delaney, cha. 5, "Relatives and Relations," pp. 175-206
Oct 26 no reading assigned
Oct 28 A.M. Hocart, "Kinship Systems," Delaney, pp. 222-7
Week 9 [Material culture and everyday life]
Oct 31 Tutorials. Delaney, chapter 8, "Clothing Matters," pp. 321-57
Nov 2 no reading assigned
Nov 4 Penelope
Eckert, "Symbols of Category Membership,"
Delaney, pp. 209-22.
Week 10 [Religion, reciprocity, and an anthropology of emotion]
November 7. Tutorials. Schieffelin, cha. 5: “The Unseen World and the Opposition Scenario,” pp. 93-115.
November 9 Schieffelin, cha. 6: “Assertion and Appeal,” pp. 116-33
November 11 Schieffelin, cha. 7: “Anger, Reciprocity, and the Rhythms of Experience,” pp. 134-46.
Week 11 [Gendered bodies, gendered worlds]
Nov 14 Tutorials. Delaney, cha. 6, "Our Bodies, Our Selves," pp. 229-69
November 16 no reading assigned
November 18 Delaney, cha. 9, "VIPS: Very Important People, Places, and Performances," pp. 367-406
Week 12 [Culture: the stories we live]
Nov 21 Tutorials. Schieffelin, cha. 11: “Gisaro and the Opposition Scenario,” pp 196-23.
Nov 23 Nancy Scheper-Hughes, short excerpt from Death Without Weeping: The Violence of Everyday Life in Brazil. Berkeley: Univ. of California Press.
Nov 25 Mahmood Mamdani. "Good Muslim Bad Muslim," American Anthropologist, vol. 104(3), Sept. 2002, pp. 766-75
Week 13 [Term papers; studying for exams]
Nov 28. No tutorials. no reading assigned. Papers due. E-copy due on UTM Submit by 7PM. You must tick the box to send your paper to TurnItIn.com as well. We will use UTM Submit as the “clock” to determine punctuality of the paper.
Nov 29 Hard copies (paper copies) due under prof’s office door (HSC 354) by noon. Late e-copies and late hard copies will be marked late. Early submissions will receive marking priority.
Nov. 29- Dec 4: Study break. Please use your time well to prepare for a very challenging final examination.
December. XX : Final
exam. Date/time/place to be determined by Office of
the
Registrar.
Please bring UTOR ID card.
What is written on the body?
What is read on the body?
Yemen, 2011. "Youth of freedom"
Further: http://utoronto.academia.edu/DylanClark/About
updated November 28, 2011