Lamb, Anth 1a
Brandeis UniversityFall 2014
ANTH 1a
Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies
Class:M W Th 11:00-11:50 (Block D), Olin-Sang 101
Instructor:Sarah Lamb, email: , phone: x62211, mailbox: Brown 229
Office: Brown 208, Office Hours: Mon. 2-3, Thurs. 5-6, and by appointment
TAs:Jara Connell (), Paige Henderson (), Amy Hanes
(), Patrick Harhai (), Holly Doerflinger (), Sarah Schofield (), Zeeshan Hussain ()
TA Offices:Office locations and hours will be posted on LATTE and are also available by appointment.
TA mailboxes are in Brown 223.
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 in Africa, South Asia, Melanesia and the Americas—make sense of and order their lives. It emphasizes that other possibilities, beyond the ones we are most familiar with, 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; symbols and language; gender and sexuality; religion and ritual; sickness and healing; and cultural contact and change. The course will also consider the often pernicious effects of class, caste, 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.
Required readings: Books are available at the bookstore and on reserve in the library. A few additional articles will be available through LATTE, marked with (LATTE) in the syllabus. Readings will amount to approximately 75-100 pages per week. Please complete the reading on or before the class date listed in the syllabus.“Recommended” readings are optional, if you have interest or to help with a particular paper topic.Films will be shown in class. These four required books will be read in approximately this order:
- Podolefsky, Aaron and Peter J. Brown, eds. 2012. Applying Cultural Anthropology: An Introductory Reader, 9th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. [Note: Earlier editions of the book will contain many, but not all, of the assigned articles, and the page numbers will be different.]
- Rabinow, Paul. 2007. Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco. Berkeley: University of California Press. [The 1997 edition would also be acceptable.]
- Shostak, Marjorie.2000. Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman. Harvard University Press.
- Fadiman, Anne. 2012. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. New York, NY: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux.
Course requirements:
Two 3-5-page papers (20% each)40%
Midterm exam (in-class 50 min.)15%
Final exam (2 hours)25%
Two observation exercises (5% each)10%
Class participation 10%
Papers: Topics for the two 3-5-page papers will be handed out at least two weeks before the work is due (due dates are specified in the syllabus).
Observation exercises: These will be short (rather informal and engaging) exercises in which you will be asked to observe particular kinds of social-cultural practices in the environments surrounding you, and to write up 1-page descriptions and analyses of the phenomena, drawing on course concepts.
All written work must be submitted both on LATTE and in person, typically to your TA.
Late work: Written work submitted after the due date and time will be lowered by one third of a grade for each day (or fraction of a day) late, except in documented cases of illness or emergency. Work submitted later than 15 minutes beyond the start of class will be considered one day late.
Exams: The midterm and final exams will consist largely of short answer questions (of 1-4 paragraphs) based on the readings, lectures and films. You will be asked to supply bothdetailed 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. Exam dates are specified in the syllabus.
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.
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 postings on LATTE in advance of discussion sections. Furthermore, using electronic devices during class time (see below) 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 on many Wednesdays, and participation in these discussions is particularly important. You will receive your discussion section assignment during the 2nd week of classes.
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. (Attendance will not be taken during the first days of class during the shopping period.)
Attendance is taken 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 not appearing in the readings.
However, we understand that things come up during the semester that can prevent you from coming to class (family emergencies, delayed flights, illness, 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 your grade. However, for each additional class that you miss, the attendance portion of your participation grade will be reduced by five points.
We don’t do excused or unexcused absences, so please refrain from contacting me or your TA about reasons for missing class.
Laptop Policy:
Ordinarily, no electronic devices may be used during class time. However, ifyou find it preferable or necessary to use a laptop to take notes, inform Prof. Lamb and your TA at the beginning of the semester. If permission is granted, then you must sit in the front three rows of the right section of the classroom.
TAs are instructed 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.
Grading: The TA who leads your discussion section will be the primary person responsible for grading your papers, observation exercises and exams. Professor Lamb 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/exams and detailed grading guidelines.
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 (
EL 94a The Immigrant Experience in Waltham: A Service-based Practicum: For students enrolled in the fall 2014 ANTH 1a class, there is an opportunity to also participate in a two-credit Experiential Learning Practicum Course, The Immigrant Experience in Waltham. This class provides students with hands-on experience through community work and collaboration with a local organization addressing needs of immigrants in Waltham. Participants will work with an organization for 3 hours a week, meet weekly on Wed. from 12:00-12:50 p.m. beginning Sept.10th, and complete both written and oral assignments. To apply and for more information, contact the Practicum Instructor, Marci McPhee ().
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).Please refer to Section 4 “Maintenance of Academic Integrity” of the Brandeis Rights and Responsibilities booklet:
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.
**Note: Laptops are allowed in class for note-taking only. Out of respect for your fellow classmates and the instructors, if we find you using a laptop for other purposes, your laptop privileges will be taken away. Students taking notes on their laptops must get permission from their TA and the professor and sit in the front right section of the class. Please also refrain from using hand-held communicative devices during class time. Thank you!**
* * * * * * * * * * *
Schedule of classes and assignments:
8/28Introduction to the course.
(Th)
Monday, 9/1 Labor Day: No Brandeis classes.
I. Anthropology and the concept of culture. (Please complete all reading assignments before class on the day listed.)
9/3All from Applying Cultural Anthropology (hereafter ACA):
(W)"Introduction: Understanding Humans and Human Problems" (ACA): pp. 1-4.
Laura Bohannan, "Shakespeare in the Bush" (ACA): pp. 5-10.
Horace Miner, "Body Ritual among the Nacirema" (ACA): pp. 64-67. (and on LATTE)
II. The origins of cultural anthropology in the context of colonialism. Perspectives on evolutionism, biological determinism and racism. The search for cultural explanation: launching cultural relativism.
9/4Renato Rosaldo, “Of Headhunters and Soldiers: Separating Cultural and Ethical Relativism,”
(Th)Issues in Ethics 11(1) (Winter 2000): 1-7. (LATTE)
Lila Abu-Lughod, “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others” (ACA): pp. 133-139.
9/8Ahmadu, Fuambai, “Rites and Wrongs: An Insider/Outsider Reflects on Power and Excision.”
(M)In Shell-Duncan and Hernlund, eds. Female “Circumcision" in Africa (2000) pp. 283-312.
London. Lynne Rienner Publishers.(LATTE)
Recommended:Janice Boddy, “Womb as Oasis: The Symbolic Context of Pharaonic Circumcision
in Rural Northern Sudan.” American Ethnologist (1982) 9(4): 682-698. (LATTE)
FIRST ESSAY TOPICS handed out: Due Thursday, 10/2 in class and on LATTE.
9/10Discussion sections during class time. See LATTE for your room & group assignment. Come prepared
(W)to discuss the course materials from Sections I and II. Bring your questions and ideas! Also: Post a
comment, question or reflection on LATTE by 9 pm the night before each discussion section.
Clifford Geertz, "The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man," inThe Interpretation of Cultures (1973): Read especially pp. 49-54 (the rest is recommended only).(LATTE)
Recommended: Stephen J. Whitfield (from the Brandeis American Studies Program), “Franz Boas: The Anthropologist as Public Intellectual,” Soc (2010) 47:430–438(LATTE)
III. Encounters in and out of the field: the project and difficulty of mutual understanding across cultures.The invention of fieldwork.
9/11Janet McIntosh, “Maxwell’s Demons: Disenchantment in the Field” (ACA): pp. 16-26.
(Th)Paul Rabinow, Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco (1977): Introduction, pp. 1-7 (and plan to keep
reading the book over the weekend).
FILM in class: "First Contact" (by Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson, 1983, 54 min.)
9/15Bronislaw Malinowski, "Introduction" to Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1984[1922]): pp. 1-25.
(M)(LATTE)
Continue to read Rabinow, Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco: chs. 1-3, pp. 8-69.
9/17Discussion section during class time.Come prepared to discuss the Rabinow book, “First Contact,”
(W) “Maxwell’s Demons,” and the themes of section III. Remember to post a comment, question or reflection on LATTE by 9 pm the evening before.
Continue to read Rabinow, Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco: chapters 4: pp.70-130.
MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE handed out (for in-class midterm exam Monday, 10/27).
9/18Rabinow (complete the book): pp. 131-162.
(Th)
IV. Language, culture and communication: Speech styles, cultural collisions, and power dynamics; the relationship between language and thought.
9/22Catch up on the Rabinow book if you're behind (completing it). Focus now especially on pp. 150-155.
(M)Recommended: David S. Thomson, “The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: Worlds Shaped by Words,” in
Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology, James Spradley and David McCurdy, eds. (2003 [1975]): pp. 78-90. (LATTE)
Recommended: Guy Deutscher, “Does Your Language Shape How You Think?” The New York Times
August 26, 2010.
Tuesday, 9/23 is a Brandeis Thursday: This class will meet.
9/23Keith Basso, "'To Give up on Words': Silence in Western Apache Culture" (ACA): pp. 36-45.
(Tu)Deborah Tannen, “Talk in the Intimate Relationship: His and Hers” (ACA): pp. 114-121.
FILM shown in class: “N!ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman” (by John Marshall, Adrienne Miesmer
& Sue Marshall Cabezas, 1980, 59 min.)
V. Economic systems: making a living, patterns of exchange and consumption. Begin case study: The !Kung or Ju/’hoansi of southern Africa: subsistence and social values among hunter-gatherers.
9/24Jared Diamond, “The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race” (ACA): pp. 92-95.
(W)Marjorie Shostak, Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman: Intro. & chapter 1: pp. 1-58 (and
continue to plan reading Nisa over the long weekend).
Thursday and Friday, 9/25 and 9/26: Rosh Hashanah: No Brandeis classes.
9/29Richard Lee, “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” (ACA): pp. 11-15.
(M)Continue reading Nisa: chapters 2-3: pp. 59-94.
10/1Discussion sections during class time. Come prepared to discuss materials from sections IV and V.
(W)(Catch up on any readings you may have missed!—important also for the midterm exam.)
Remember to post a comment, question or reflection on LATTE by 9 pm the evening before.
Continue reading Nisa at least through chapter 4 (p. 114).
Economic Systems II: Labor, consumption and inequality in capitalist systems.
10/2 Elizabeth Chin, “Anthropologist Takes Inner-City Children on Shopping Sprees” (ACA):
(Th)If you are short on time, you may skim the first pages and read the concluding section (“Shopping Trips in Children’s Cultural Worlds”): pp. 197-199).
Bridget Anderson, “Just Another Job” The Commodification of Domestic Labor” (ACA): It’s OK to read just the introduction on p. 200 (the rest is recommended only, based on your time and interest).
Robert Morais, “Conflict and Confluence in Advertising Meetings” (ACA): It’s OK to read just the introduction on p. 206 (the rest is recommended only, based on your time and interest).
FIRST ESSAY DUE in class and on LATTE.
1ST OBSERVATION EXERCISE assigned handed out: Due Monday, 10/20.
VI. Kinship, family and marriage: ways of forging relatedness, belonging and social organization.
10/6Melvyn C. Goldstein, "When Brothers Share a Wife" (ACA): pp. 27-31.
(M)Meredith F. Small, “How Many Fathers Are Best for a Child?” (ACA): pp. 32-35.
Linda Stone, "Gay Marriage and Anthropology" (ACA): pp. 140-142.
10/8Nisa: chapters 5-7: pp. 115-158.
(W)Mark Auslander, “How Families Work: Love, Labor and Mediated Oppositions in American Domestic Ritual” (ACA): Focus on pp. 46-47 only (the rest is recommended if you have time & interest).
Thursday, Oct. 9th: Sukkot: No university exercises.
VII. Cultural constructions of gender and sexuality. Is male dominance universal? Same-sex sexual and social relationships. Trans and "third" genders. Gender and the global labor force.
Monday, Oct. 13th is a Brandeis Thursday. This M W Th class will meet as usual.
10/13Nisa: chapters 11-12: pp. 213-258.
(M)Recommended: Jacqueline Urla and Alan Swedlund, "Measuring Up to Barbie: Ideals of the
Feminine Body in Popular Culture" (ACA): pp. 122-131.
10/15Will Roscoe, "'Strange Country This': An Introduction to North American Gender Diversity" (ACA):
(W)pp. 143-150.
Serena Nanda, “Life on the Margins: A Hijra’s Story.” InEveryday Life in South Asia,
Diane Mines and Sarah Lamb, eds. (2010): pp. 124-131. (LATTE)
Thursday, Oct. 16th: Shmini Atzeret: No university exercises.
10/20Gilbert Herdt, "Rituals of Manhood: Male Initiation in Papua New Guinea.” In Gender in Cross-
(M)Cultural Perspective, 4th ed. C.B. Brettell and C.F. Sargent, eds. (2005): pp. 203-207. (LATTE)
Recommended: Gilbert Herdt, "Semen Transactions in Sambia Culture," in Ritualized Homosexuality in
Melanesia (1984): pp. 167-210. (LATTE)
FILM shown in class: “Guardians of the Flute” (1994, 50 min.)
1st Observation Exercise due at the beginning of class.