156-100 Varieties of World Culture (Extended Degree section)

UW-Green Bay Interdisciplinary Studies

ANTHRO-100 Varieties of World Culture 3 credits

Syllabus

Dr. Lynn Walter

920.465.2474; message 920.465.2355

walterl@uwgb.edu

fax: 920.465.2791

COURSE COMPLETION DATE: 6-23-06. LAST DAY TO DROP COURSE: 4-14-06. If course is dropped between 3-17-06 and 4-14-06, a symbol of DR will appear on your permanent record with no effect on grade point average. After 4-14-06, a grade will be recorded. See "Grading System" in the Student Handbook.

Required Texts

Robbins, Richard, Cultural Anthropology, Thomson Pub., 4th ed., ISBN 0-534-64074-5
Loftin, John D., Religion and Hopi Life in the Twentieth Century, Indiana University Press, 2nd. ed., ISBN 0-253-21572-2
Benjamin, Gail, Japanese Lessons, New York University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8147-1334-3

PREASSIGNMENT: Read Loftin's book on the Hopi, except pages 38--56 before our first class session on March 4, 2006.

EVALUATION l Mid-term exam 35%

l Final exam 35%

l Term paper 30%

Exams will be administered online using Desire2Learn (D2L).

You can access your course by logging in to D2L at the following website: http://www.uwgb.edu/learntech/d2l/

DESCRIPTION This course will explore the concepts of culture, cultural relativism and ethnocentrism. We will focus on the concept of culture in relationship to religion and environment, various forms of hierarchy, education, progress, and sustainability in order to understand how to apply the concept of culture to analyzing social problems. We will study a few cultures in more depth, including Hopi, India, Japanese, and U.S. applying the concepts we are studying to understanding them and to analyzing their cultures in comparative perspective.

3-4-06 Class 9:00-Noon MAC221 - Lecture: Culture, Cultural Relativism4 and Ethnocentrism.

Discussion of Religion and Hopi Life, discussion questions:

a. What are the central tenets of Hopi religion?

b. What does Loftin mean when he argues that the Hopi thinks that religion is practical and that the practical is religious?

c. What ways is Hopi religion tied to horticulture (i.e., subsistence based upon gardening)?

d. What impact has the Euro-American world had on the Hopi and on their religion?

e. How do the values of contemporary Euro-American life come into conflict with Hopi religion?

f. What strategies have the Hopi used to maintain their culture and religion?

Film: “Hopi, Songs of the Fourth World”; discussion of film.

Read Chapters 1, 2, 5 & 7 of Cultural Anthropology before the second class meeting.

4-8-06 Class 9-Noon MAC 221 - Lecture: On Forms of Inequality: India & U.S.

Film: “Dadi’s Family”; discussion of film

Discussion of Chapter 7 of Cultural Anthropology

4-23-06 DUE Mid-term Exam

The Mid-term and Final Exam will include both essay and multiple choice questions.

Read Chapter 3 & 6 of Cultural Anthropology and Japanese Lessons before the third class meeting. These readings will not be tested on the mid-term but will be on the final exam.

5-20-06 DUE Bring a paragraph statement of term paper topic to class.

5-20-06 Class 9:00-Noon MAC221 – Lecture on the Nation, Education, and Culture

Discussion of Japanese Lessons, discussion questions.

a. What are the important forms of Japanese pedagogy?

b. Why do Japanese use the specific educational practices outlined in question one?

c. What is the significance of han groups in Japanese elementary education?

d. What role does the family play in supporting Japanese elementary education?

e. What does Benjamin think the U.S. could learn from the Japanese educational system?

What do you think?

f. What are some of the Japanese criticisms of their own educational system?

Film: “The Heart of the Nation”, discussion of film.

Read Chapter 9 of Cultural Anthropology before the final exam.

5-28-06 DUE Final Exam

6-11-06 DUE Term Paper

For your term paper, describe some aspect of another culture, not your own, which you think is especially valuable and which would be of benefit to your career or avocation (or interest). Explain why you admire this particular aspect and what your own culture could learn from it. How does this cultural aspect fit within its own culture and society? What factors stand in the way of your culture learning from this other cultural knowledge or practice? Your paper should be 7-10 double-spaced typed pages in length. Make certain to cite all your sources.

6-23-06 Course completion date

uMail term paper with a self-addressed, stamped** envelope to:

Dr. Lynn Walter

UW-Green Bay MAC B310

2420 Nicolet Drive

Green Bay WI 54311

**Correct postage is appreciated!

As required by federal law and UW-Green Bay policy for Individuals with Disabilities, students with a documented disability who need accommodations must contact the Disability Services Office at 920.465.2841. Reasonable accommodations can be made unless they alter the essential components of the class. Contact the instructor and Disability Services Coordinator in a timely manner to formulate alternative arrangements.