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Anthropology 111, Introduction to Anthropology (3 credit hours)

Meeting Place & Time: Klinefelter, Beck Auditorium  8:00-9:15 a.m. and ONLINE  T,Th, Fall 2004
Instructor: Gary Cummisk, Ph.D.
Office 412 Stickney, Phone (701) 483-2410, E-mail: Gary.Cummisk@dsu.nodak.edu
office hours T,Th  9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Website: www2.dsu.nodak.edu/users/cummiskclasses

Course Description: This course studies physical and cultural anthropology and explores the classic sub-fields of anthropology to examine human prehistory, human variation, archeology, and ethnology, and the diversity and expression of contemporary human cultures and their relationship to environment.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Institutional Student Learning Outcomes:

1.        Critical Thinking Skills: Students will need to interpret case studies that employ scientific and humanistic methodologies.  The will necessarily need to think critically to understand the material.

2.        Communication and Technology Skills: Anthropology 111 will stress group work, communication, and interpretation of multimedia.

3.        Multicultural and Global Experience: The course is inherently multicultural in that it explores global cultural diversity comparatively.

4.        Aesthetic Experience:  Interpretation of arts is central to the interpretation of cultural meaning.

5.        Discipline Based Knowledge:  The students will acquire a discipline-based vocabulary and a working knowledge of anthropological and archaeological techniques and methods.

6.        Health and Wellness Knowledge:  Diet and lifestyle comparisons of many cultural groups provide insights into the nature of health and wellness.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

1.        Students will learn the fundamental place of, and the contributions of  anthropology within the social science field

2.        Students will become aware of professional possibilities within the disciplines of anthropology and archaeology

Course Student Learning Outcomes

1.        Students will acquire a fundamental understanding of the discipline of Anthropology

2.        Students will better understand the scientific basis of the interpretation of Prehistory

3.        Students will acquire an appreciation of the diversity of cultures and their expression

Course Content Outline (in addition to the syllabus, you will receive a specific course schedule with examination and assignment dates)

Unit One                Introduction to Anthropology (weeks 1-3)

                                Chapter 1, “The Nature of Anthropology”
                                Chapter 2, “Methods of Studying the Human Past”
                                Videos: Faces of Culture series
·          “How Cultures are Studies”
·          “The Nature of Anthropology”
Exam One

Unit Two                Genetics, Evolution, and Human Adaptation (weeks 4-8)

                                Chapter 3, “Biology and Evolution”
                                Chapter 6, “The Earliest Hominines”
                                Chapter 7, “Homo habilis and Cultural Origins”
                                Chapter 8, “Homo erectus and the Emergence of Hunting and Gathering”
                                Chapter 9, “Archaic Homo sapiens and the Middle Paleolithic”
                                Chapter 10, “Homo sapiens and the Upper  Paleolithic”
                                Videos from In Search of Human Origins
Exam Two

Unit Three             Agriculture, the Rise of Civilization, and Economic Systems (weeks 8-12)

                                Chapter 11, “Cultivation and Domestication”
                                Chapter 12, “The Rise of Cities and Civilization”
                                Chapter 17, “Patterns of Subsistence”
                                Chapter 18, “Economic Systems”
                                Videos from Faces of Culture series:
·          “Patterns of Subsistence: Foragers/ Pastoralists”
·          “Patterns of Subsistence: The Food Producers”
·          “Economic Anthropology”
·          “The Highland Maya”
                                Exam Three
                     

Unit Four               Language, Religion, the Arts, and Cultural Change (weeks 12-15)

                                Chapter 14, “The Nature of Culture”
                                Chapter 15, “Language and Communication”
                                Chapter 24, “Religion and the Supernatural”
                                Chapter 25, “The Arts”
                                Chapter 26, “Cultural Change”
                                Videos from Faces of Culture series:
·          “Religion and Magic”
·          “The Arts”
                                Exam Four (Final, not comprehensive)

 

Teaching Strategies

In addition to lecture-based learning, the class will engage in small and large group discussion, individualized research and presentations, interpretation of educational video material, and short writing assignments interpreting materials placed on reserve in the library and from the text.

Assessment of Student Performance

Students who exhibit an excellent grasp of the material studied throughout the course through written assignments, examinations and classroom participation will earn the highest grades.  An above average grasp of the material exhibited in the assessment tools will earn a grade of B.  Average performance will earn a grade of C, and below average performance that exhibits rudimentary understanding will earn a D.  Students who perform below an acceptable level of performance will earn an F. 

Examinations (100 points each) [administered ONLINE via WebCT]

There are a total of four examinations in the course (there will be no make-up examinations).  No one will be excused from the final examination.  The highest three examination scores will be factored into the final grade for the course (the lowest grade will be dropped).

Written assignments (15 points each) [written assignments will be submitted in WebCT discussions ONLINE]

There are total of five written assignments (available on Reserve in the library from Anthropology Annual Editions).  It would be wise to make photocopies of the assigned materials.  A minimum one-page typewritten (or word-processed) summary is due at the beginning of the class when the discussion will occur.  No late papers accepted. 

Articles

 “The Lost Man” by Preston
“The Battle of the Bones” by Bonnichsen and Schneider
 “Memories of a Kung! Girlhood” by Shostak
“Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” by Lee
“Why Can’t People Feed Themselves?” by Lappe and Collins

Class Presentation (25 points)

Everyone will have to make a presentation on an art form that is meaningful to them.  Specific guidelines will be forthcoming.

Grading

A total of 400 points is possible in the course complied from the three highest examinations, the written assignments, and the class presentation.

90-100=A
80-89=B
70-79=C
60-69=D
below 59=F