Spring 2013 Instructor: S.

Walling Anth 112

Anthropology 112 Second Writing Assignment

3-16-13 This assignment asks you to analyze in detail the meaning and content of three of five selected articles from the Class Reader. Each article describes a culture, or subculture, and how it was understood by an anthropologist. In other words, you are describing the viewpoint of the anthropologist as he/she presents it concerning three of the following five cultures: The communities of prostitutes in Atlanta and New York City The inhabitants of a Shantytown in Brazil The inhabitants of a farming village in northwestern India Tibetan farming families in Nepal Traditional Chinese families in Taiwan

For each of the three articles you choose you will do the three things listed below and present them in essay format. In effect, your paper will be three parallel, but distinct essays, each about a different culture and the perspective of the anthropologist who describes it. For each of your three essays: 1. Define the structure, superstructure, and infrastructure of the culture at the heat of the article as it is described by the anthropologist. Describe each cultures structure, superstructure, and infrastructure as much as the information provided by the article permits. Dont use outside sources use only what the author provides (see below). 2. Use specific details in the article, either general descriptive details regarding the culture or interpretive comments by the anthropologist to discuss how each of three theoretical frameworks (Interpretivism, Structuralism/Structurism, and Cultural Materialism) could be interpreted as the primary motivating force in the lives of the members of the culture. You must provide a convincing argument for each perspective, based on details from the article. Be aware that at the

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close of the paper you will choose one of these perspectives as the best explanation of the driving force in the culture (See #3). In this section use three short quotes (no more, no less) from the article (each, no more than five sentences) to support your statement. Per article. If possible. 3. Provide a conclusion that explains which theoretical perspective is the best tool for describing the lives of those described in the article and why. The perspective you choose should explain what makes the culture tick, as the anthropologist presents it. This should be the perspective for which you decide that the author provides the most convincing evidence. Is there one factor that tips the balance toward one perspective as opposed to the others? If so, discuss it and why it is primary.

Support your choice with solid reasoning. Given that none of the articles is a full ethnography on a culture, feel free to fill in the gaps of information by making reasonable presumptions about the culture or the situation. Label all presumptions as such. Remember, this is not absolute truth. You are just using what the anthropologist provides you, the reader of the article.

Feel free to make related comments on patterns or relationships you note in the culture and your analysis, such as the relationship between structure, infrastructure, and superstructure on one hand and the corresponding aspects of Structuralism, Interpretivism, and Cultural Materialism, on the other. You can also comment on how the descriptive work of the anthropologist helped or hindered your job of understanding and interpreting the culture. What might you have needed in the way of information to make the culture more understandable?

Some Dos and Donts Do not use outside sources. The descriptions provided by the authors will be sufficient for your task. If you have to make reasonable

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guesses as to values, informal rules, or the precise nature of the institutions of a culture, you are free to do so, but you should label your inferences as such and state what specifically in the article makes you think the way you do (See #3, above). Define the culture you are discussing by indicating the traits of the population as well as you can socially (social class), and economically (industrial, farming, herding, among others), its regional affiliation (Asian, Western, African, etc.) the type of living environment (e.g., urban, suburban, rural), the language spoken (as well as you can tell), religion, and any other factors you think important. (Be sure to relate these factors to your discussions of structure, superstructure, and infrastructure.) Use the articles as your sources in support of your points. Refer to specific pages and paragraphs to provide support for your statements, as in As Sterk indicates in the 2nd full paragraph of page 18, Also, as indicated above, you will use three direct quotes (no more than that) from each author in your paper to support your statements. Provide a comprehensive thesis statement for each of your three miniessays in which you clearly outline the content and purpose of the paper. In your essays, be clear. Be to the point. Organize your paper thoughtfully. Grammar, punctuation and overall presentation count for half of your grade on this assignment.

The Articles (From the Class Reader, Conformity and Conflict, 2nd Ed., by Spradley & McCurdy) Fieldwork on Prostitution in the Era of Aids, by Sterk (Article 3) Mothers Love: Death Without Weeping, by Scheper-Hughes (Article 15) Family and kinship in Village India by McCurdy (Article 16) Polyandry: When Brothers Take a Wife, by Goldstein (Article 17) Uterine Families and the Womans Community, by Wolf (Article 18)

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Due Dates and Misc. Information Your final paper should be typed, double-spaced, and 4 7 pages in length. Do not exceed 7 pages. Use 11 or 12 font with traditional 1 1/4-inch to inch margins. Draft (a hard copy of the full draft or the paper -- or an outline with an introductory paragraph and thesis statement accompanied by an outline of the remainder) due Monday, April 15, in class (for my MWF students) and Tuesday, April 16th in class (for my T/Th students). Final Version due your last day of class, either Monday April 22 or Tuesday, April 23, in class.