Brandeis University

Fall 2015
ANTH 1a
Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies

Class:
Instructor:
TAs:
TA Offices:

M W Th 11:00-11:50 (Block D), Olin-Sang 101

Sarah Lamb, email: lamb@brandeis.edu, phone: x62211, mailbox: Brown 229
Office: Brown 208, Office Hours: Thurs. 9:45-10:45, Fri. 1:00-2:00, and by appointment
Doug Bafford (bafford@brandeis.edu), Ilana Cohen (icohen18@brandeis.edu), Shawn Dunlap
(sjd5961@brandeis.edu), Patrick Harhai (harhai@brandeis.edu), Idil Omar (iomar@brandeis.edu),
Katherine Peterson (kpeter27@brandeis.edu), Scott Schnur (sschnur@brandeis.edu)
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 the different experiences, histories, and values
of people and communities from all parts of the world. This course is designed to examine the ways peoplewithin
a range of societies, including in Africa, South Asia, Oceania, and the Americasmake 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.
The central learning goals of the course are to:
Learn about the diversity of human cultures and interdependence of people around the world,
Understand inequalities in relations of power within and among the worlds societies and nations in the past
and present,
Gain insight into the diverse ways people around the world find meaning and make sense of their lives, and
thereby also illuminate ones own taken-for-granted assumptions,
Gain knowledge of the major questions, concepts, theories, ethical issues, and methodologies of anthropology
as a social science discipline,
Develop skills in interviewing and/or participant observation research (research methodologies to be used in
two of the course assignments), and
Hone skills in critical thinking, analytic writing, and collaborative discussion.
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 and film
excerpts will be shown in class. These five 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

Lamb, Anth 1a

1997 edition would also be acceptable.]

Lee, Richard. 2012. The Dobe Ju/'hoansi, 4th edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Lamb, Sarah. 2000. White Saris and Sweet Mangoes: Aging, Gender and Body in North India. Berkeley:
University of California Press. [Note that this entire book is available free of charge online, if you dont wish
to purchase a copy: http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft458006c0 ]

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)
Midterm exam (in-class 50 min.)15%
Final exam (2 hours)
Two observation exercises (5% each)
Class participation

40%
25%
10%
10%

Success in this four-credit course is based on the expectation that students will spend an average of approximately
three hours of study time in preparation for each class meeting over the course of the semester (including readings,
papers, fieldwork, LATTE postings, studying for exams, etc.).
Papers: Topics for the two 3-5-page papers will be handed out several 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 both detailed 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 Registrars 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 2 nd week of classes or just
after the shopping period ends.

Lamb, Anth 1a
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 dont 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, if you 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 class
participation grade. The TAs and the professor work closely together throughout the course to calibrate grading,
using sample papers/exams and detailed grading guidelines.
TheWritingCenter:TheUniversityWritingCenterprovidesfree45minuteoneononesessionstohelpwith
youressays.ItislocatedonthefirstfloorofGoldfarbLibrary(room107).Youareencouragedtotakeadvantage
ofthisservice.Pleasefindmoreinformationandsignupforaconsultationonline
(http://www.brandeis.edu/writingprogram/writingcenter/).
ANTH 1a is partnered with an optional 2-credit Experiential Learning course, EL 16a The Immigrant
Experience in Waltham: A Service-based Practicum. As an adjunct to ANTH 1a, the practicum is entirely
voluntary, but something that you are encouraged to consider. 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. 2nd, and complete both written and oral assignments. The practicum application and syllabus
are posted on the LATTE site for this course. Applications are due Monday, August 31st at 12 noon. For more
information, contact the Practicum Instructor, Marci McPhee of the Ethics Center (mcphee@brandeis.edu).
AcademicIntegrity:Youareexpectedtobehonestinallofyouracademicwork.PleaseconsultBrandeis
UniversityRightsandResponsibilitiesforallpoliciesandproceduresrelatedtoacademicintegrity(seesection4:
MaintenanceofAcademicIntegrityhttp://www.brandeis.edu/studentlife/srcs/rr/RR14_15version11.4.pdf).
StudentsmayberequiredtosubmitworktoTurnItIn.comsoftwaretoverifyoriginality.Allegationsofalleged
academicdishonestywillbeforwardedtotheDirectorofAcademicIntegrity.Sanctionsforacademicdishonesty
canincludefailinggradesand/orsuspensionfromtheuniversity.Remember,youmustindicatethrough
quotationsandcitationwhenquotingfromanyoutsidesource(internetorprint).
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.

Lamb, Anth 1a
***********
Schedule of classes and assignments:
8/27
(Th)

Introduction to the course.

I. Anthropology and the concept of culture. (Please complete all reading assignments before class on the day
listed.)
8/31
(M)

All from Applying Cultural Anthropology (hereafter ACA):

"Introduction: Understanding Humans and Human Problems" (ACA): pp. 1-4. (and on LATTE)
Laura Bohannan, "Shakespeare in the Bush" (ACA): pp. 5-10. (and on LATTE)
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.
9/2
(W)

Renato Rosaldo, Of Headhunters and Soldiers: Separating Cultural and Ethical Relativism,
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. (and on LATTE)

9/3
(Th)

Ahmadu, Fuambai, Rites and Wrongs: An Insider/Outsider Reflects on Power and Excision.
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)
FILM in class: "First Contact" (by Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson, 1983, 54 min.)

Monday, 9/7 Labor Day: No Brandeis classes.

9/9
(W)

Clifford Geertz, "The Impact of the Concept of Culture on the Concept of Man," in The 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) 47:430438. (LATTE)
FIRST ESSAY TOPICS handed out: Due Thursday, 10/1.

III. Encounters in and out of the field: the project and difficulty of mutual understanding across cultures. The
invention of fieldwork.
Thursday, Sept. 10th is a Brandeis Monday. This M-W-Th class will meet as usual.
9/10
(Th)

Bronislaw Malinowski, "Introduction" to Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1984[1922]): pp. 1-25.
(LATTE)
Paul Rabinow, Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco (1977): Introduction & chapters 1 & 2: pp. 1-30
(and plan to keep reading the book over the coming week).

Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 14-15: No University exercises: Rosh Hashanah

Plan to continue reading Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco over the week that this class does not
meet. Be sure to begin early if you will be busy during Rosh Hashanah. A posting is due on LATTE
by no later than 9 pm on Tuesday, 9/15 (see below)but you can post days earlier if you like.

Lamb, Anth 1a
9/16
(W)

Discussion sections during class time. See LATTE for your room & group assignment. Come prepared
to discuss the course materials from Sections I, II and III. Bring your questions and ideas! Also,
by 9 pm on the Tuesday night before each discussion section: Post a quote from one of the
assigned readings, along with a comment, question or reflection.
Read before section:
Rabinow, Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco: chapters 3-6: pp. 31-130.
Janet McIntosh, Maxwells Demons: Disenchantment in the Field (ACA): pp. 1626.

9/17
(Th)

Rabinow (complete the book): pp. 131-162.

MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE handed out (for in-class midterm exam Monday, 10/26).

IV. Language, culture and communication: Speech styles, cultural collisions, and power dynamics; the
relationship between language and thought.
9/21
(M)

Catch up on the Rabinow book if you're behind (completing it). Focus now especially on pp. 150-155.
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.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29language-t.html?scp=1&sq=does
%20language%20shape%20how%20you%20think?&st=cse

Wednesday, 9/23: No University exercises: Yom Kippur.

9/24
(Th)

Keith Basso, "'To Give up on Words': Silence in Western Apache Culture" (ACA): pp. 36-45.
Deborah Tannen, Talk in the Intimate Relationship: His and Hers (ACA): pp. 114-121.

Monday, 9/28: No University exercises: Sukkot.

V. Economic systems: making a living, patterns of exchange and consumption. Begin case study: The
Ju/hoansi or !Kung of southern Africa: subsistence and social values among hunter-gatherers.
Tuesday, 9/29: Brandeis Monday. This class will meet.

Lamb, Anth 1a
9/29
(Tu)

Jared Diamond, The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race (ACA): pp. 92-95.
Richard Lee, The Dobe Ju/hoansi, chs. 1-3: pp. 1-40.

9/30
(W)

Discussion sections during class time. Come prepared to discuss materials from sections IV and V.
(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.
Read before section:
Lee, ch. 4 (Subsistence: Foraging for a Living): pp. 41-64, and "Eating Christmas in the Kalahari":
pp. 245-252. (Eating Christmas is also in ACA: pp. 52-56.)

10/1
(Th)

FILM IN CLASS: N!ai: The Story of a !Kung Woman (by John Marshall, Adrienne Miesmer
& Sue Marshall Cabezas, 1980, 59 min.)
Lee, ch. 8 (Conflict, Politics, and Exchange): pp. 121-136.
FIRST ESSAY DUE @ the beginning of class. Please bring one hard copy to class and upload one copy
on LATTE.
1ST OBSERVATION EXERCISE assigned handed out: Due Wednesday, 10/21.

Monday, 10/5: No University exercises: Shmini Atzeret.

Economic Systems II: Labor, consumption and inequality in capitalist systems.
10/7
(W)

Elizabeth Chin, Anthropologist Takes Inner-City Children on Shopping Sprees (ACA):

If you are short on time, you may skim the first pages and read the concluding section--Shopping
Trips in Childrens Cultural Worlds: pp. 197-199.
Bridget Anderson, Just Another Job The Commodification of Domestic Labor (ACA): Its 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): Its OK to read just the
introduction on p. 206 (the rest is recommended only, based on your time and interest).

VI. Kinship, family, and marriage: Ways of forging relatedness, belonging, and social organization.
10/8
(Th)

Melvyn C. Goldstein, "When Brothers Share a Wife" (ACA): pp. 27-31.

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.

10/12
(M)

Lee, The Dobe Ju/hoansi, ch. 5 (Kinship and Social Organization): pp. 65-84.
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).

10/14
(W)

Discussion sections during class time. Come prepared to discuss materials from sections V and VI.
(Catch up on any readings you may have missed!important also for the midterm exam.)
Remember to post a quote plus comment, question or reflection on LATTE by 9 pm on the
Tuesday evening before.
Before section: Read the following commentaries (or find your own to read and discuss) by
anthropologists contributing to recent debates over legalizing same-sex marriage in Ireland and the US:
http://www.headstuff.org/2015/04/same-sex-marriage-in-anthropology/ (Same-Sex Marriage from
an Anthropological View by Terry McFadden, April 2015)
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/13/opinions/launay-same-sex-marriage-history/ (CNN: Is Same-Sex
Marriage Anything New? by Robert Launay, May 2015)

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.

Lamb, Anth 1a
10/15 Lee, The Dobe Ju/hoansi: ch. 6 (Marriage and Sexuality): pp. 85-100.
(Th)
Recommended: Jacqueline Urla and Alan Swedlund, "Measuring Up to Barbie: Ideals of the
Feminine Body in Popular Culture" (ACA): pp. 122-131.
10/19 Will Roscoe, Strange Country This: An Introduction to North American Gender
Diversity (ACA):
(M)
pp. 143-150.
Serena Nanda, Life on the Margins: A Hijras Story. In Everyday Life in South Asia,
Diane Mines and Sarah Lamb, eds. (2010): pp. 124-131. (LATTE)
FILM excerpts shown in class: Guardians of the Flute: The Secrets of Male Initiation" (Paul Reddish
and Gilbert Herdt, directors, 1994, 55 min.). If youd like, you can view the whole film on LATTE.
10/21
(W)

Discussion sections during class time. Come prepared to discuss materials from section VII on gender
(including todays new materials below). Catch up on any readings you may have missed!
important also for the midterm exam. Remember to post a quote plus comment, question or
reflection on LATTE by 9 pm on the Tuesday evening before.
Read before section:
Gilbert Herdt, "Rituals of Manhood: Male Initiation in Papua New Guinea. In Gender in CrossCultural 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)
1st Observation Exercise due at the beginning of section.

VIII. Cross-cultural understandings of person and self, aging and life course.
10/22
(Th)

Sarah Lamb, White Saris and Sweet Mangoes (2000): Preface pp. xi-xiii (for background), Introduction:
pp. 1-middle of page 5 and Living in Mangaldihi pp. 17-23, and chapter 1 ("Personhoods"): pp. 2741. [Note that this entire book is available free of charge online, if you dont wish to purchase a copy:
http://www.escholarship.org/editions/view?docId=ft458006c0 ]
Slides: fieldwork in India.
In-class brief midterm exam review.

10/26
(M)

MIDTERM EXAM in class.

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.

10/28 Interlude: Music Unites Us Residency. The class will meet in Slosberg auditorium.
(W)
Audio-Visual Performance from Three Syrian Artists: What is the role of the arts in response to
ongoing violence? How can artists respond in a meaningful way when every morning is a sad
morning? A melody opens the heart, the line of a drawing awakens our imagination, film witnesses and
inspires. Art can break the silence, allowing creativity to challenge the destructive force of violence.
10/29
(Th)

Lamb, White Saris, ch. 2 ("Family Moral Systems"): pp. 42-69.

In-class sweater exercise.
2nd OBSERVATION EXERCISE assignment handed out: Due 11/23.

Lamb, Anth 1a
11/2

Lamb, White Saris and Sweet Mangoes, ch. 4 ("White Saris and Sweet Mangoes, Partings and Ties," (M)
on aging and maya): pp. 115-143.
Richard Lee, The Dobe Ju/hoansi, ch. 7 (Aging and Caregiving among the Ju/hoansi): pp. 101-120.
Yohko Tsuji, Encounters with the Elderly in America, in Distant Mirrors: America as a Foreign
Culture, Philip DiVita and James Armstrong, eds. (2002): pp. 84-94. (LATTE)

IX. Social inequalities of caste, class, race and gender. Concepts to help us analyze social inequality, including
ideology, power, hegemony, structural and symbolic violence, agency and resistance.
11/4
(W)

Peggy McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (LATTE)

Paul Farmer, On Suffering and Structural Violence: A View from Below. In Violence in War and
Peace: An Anthology, N. Scheper-Hughes and P. Bourgois, eds. (2004) Pp. 281-289. (LATTE)
Re-read or re-consider (from 9/29) Jared Diamond, The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human
Race (ACA): pp. 92-95.
FINAL EXAM STUDY SHEET (exam Dec. 16th) and ESSAY #2 TOPICS (due 12/2) now available in
class and on LATTE.

11/5
(Th)

Steven Parish, God-Chariots in a Garden of Castes: Hierarchy and Festival in a Hindu City,
in Everyday Life in South Asia, Mines & Lamb, eds. (2002): pp. 174-189. (LATTE)
Sarah Lamb, 2005. The Politics of Dirt and Gender: Body Techniques in Bengali India, in Dirt,
Undress and Difference: Critical Perspectives on the Bodys Surface. Adeline Masquelier, ed.
Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. Pp. 213-232. (LATTE)
FILM excerpts shown in class: Caste at Birth (Director & Producer Mira Hamermesh, 1990, 52 min.)

11/9
(M)

Lamb, White Saris and Sweet Mangoes: the 1st parts of ch. 6 ("Gendered Bodies and Everyday
Practices" and "Competing Perspectives: Everyday Forms of Resistance"): pp. 181-197, and the first
parts of ch. 7 (the introduction and "Becoming a Widow"): pp. 213-220.
Mahasweta Devi, "Dhowli" (a short story), in Of Women, Outcastes, Peasants and Rebels,
Kalpana Bardhan, ed. and trans. (1990): pp. 185-205. (LATTE)

11/11
(W)

Discussion sections during class time. Come prepared to discuss the materials from sections
VIII & IX. Catch up on any reading you missed! Be sure to post by 9 pm on Tuesday evening a quote
plus your comments, reflections and questions.
Read before section:
Michelle Alexandera blog and excerpt from her The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of
Colorblindness (follow the links or on LATTE)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michelle-alexander/the-new-jim-crow_b_454469.html
http://newjimcrow.com/about/excerpt-from-the-introduction

X. Medical anthropology, globalization, and cross-cultural differences in healing.

11/12
(Th)

Lee, The Dobe Ju/hoansi, ch. 9 (Coping with Life: Religion, World View, and Healing):
pp. 137-154.
Begin reading Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her
American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures: chs. 1-3: pp. 3-31.
Recommended: Matthew Steinglass, It Takes a Village Healer: Can Traditional
Medicine Remedy Africas AIDS Crisis? (ACA): Read especially the
introduction, p. 151.

11/16
(M)

Continue reading Spirit Catches You: chapters. 4-9 pp. 32-118.

FILM in class: Between Two Worlds: The Hmong Shaman in America (Taggert Siegel and Dwight
Conquergood, Producers, 2008, 27 min.)

Lamb, Anth 1a
11/18
(W)

Discussion sections during class time. Come prepared to discuss materials from Section X.
Before section: Continue reading Spirit Catches You. Read at least chapters 11 & 15:
140-153, 210-224.
Catch up on any missed Spirit Catches You reading and be prepared to discuss the book in depth.
(Also remember to post a quote + comments/reflections on LATTE by 9 pm on Tuesday evening.)

11/19
(Th)

Continue reading Spirit Catches You: chapters 17-18: pp. 250-277.

XI. Religion and ritual in human lives and cultures. How does religion organize beliefs and practices? How
are religious actions understood by actors? What roles does religion play in changing political, economic and
social circumstances? How do social scientists explain the nature, value and origins of religion?
11/23
(M)

Clifford Geertz, Religion as a Cultural System, in Reader in Comparative Religion: An

Anthropological Approach, William A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt, eds. (1979): pp. 78-89.
[Note: this is a difficult piece. Read especially the definition bottom of p. 79-top p. 80 and then the
numbered bolded headings.] (LATTE)
Richard Sosis, "The Adaptive Value of Religious Ritual" (ACA): pp. 85-91.
Scott Atran, Robert Axelrod and Richard Davis, "Sacred Barriers to Conflict Resolution" (ACA):
pp. 237-239.
Observation Exercise #2 due on LATTE and hard copy at the beginning of class.

Wednesday-Thursday, November 25-26: No class: Thanksgiving recess.

11/30
(M)

E. E. Evans-Pritchard, The Notion of Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events. From Witchcraft,

Oracles and Magic among the Azande (1937): pp. 18-32. (LATTE)
Reconsider (or catch up on): Nisa: chapter 13 (A Healing Ritual): pp. 259-272.
Excerpts from the documentary film The Holy Ghost People shown in class.

XII. Contemporary challenges of globalization and the intertwining of local and global processes.
12/2
(W)

David Crawford, Globalization from the Ground Up (ACA): pp. 289-294.

John Bodley, "The Price of Progress" (ACA): pp. 273-281. (and on LATTE)
2nd Essay Due in class and on LATTE.

12/3
(Th)

Globalizing the consumer revolution:

FILM in class: Advertising Missionaries (Directed by Chris Hilton and Gauthier Flauder, 1997,
52 min.) (also available on LATTE)

12/7
(M)

Indigenous peoples/people without a nation-state; the Ju/hoansi (!Kung) and the Hmong today.
Care chains and the globalization of domestic labor.
Richard Reed, Two Rights Make a Wrong: Indigenous Peoples Versus Environmental Protection
Agencies (ACA): pp. 256-263.
Richard Lee, The Ju/hoansi Today, ch. 12 from The Dobe Ju/hoansi: pp. 183-214.
Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You, ch. 14 (The Melting Pot): pp. 181-209.
In class excerpts from The Chain of Love (documentary film)

Lamb, Anth 1a
XIII. Final reflection: How might anthropology change the world? (and your careers?)
12/9
(W)

Discussion sections during class time. Come prepared to discuss materials from section XII and XIII.
Remember to post a quote and comments on LATTE! Sections will include final exam
collaborative review-discussion.
Recommended:
John Omohundro, Career Advice for Anthropology Undergraduates, in Conformity and Conflict:
Readings in Cultural Anthropology, James Spradley and David W. McCurdy, eds. (2003, 11th ed.),
Boston: Allyn and Bacon. (LATTE)
David Rohde, "Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones" (ACA): 240-242.
Frank Hutchins, The Unpeaceful Corps: Shaking Ethnocentrism from its Roots, Anthropology
News Dec. 2011 (p. 8 in the collection of essays on the Peace Corps) (LATTE)
Reconsider course materials, perhaps especially: Rosaldo (Of Headhunters and Soldiers),
Fadiman/Kleinmans Eight Questions (pp. 260-262), Fadiman ch. 18 (The Life or the Soul),
and from ACA: Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? (ch. 17), Sacred Barriers to Conflict
Resolution (ch. 29), It Takes a Village Healer (ch. 20), and Understanding Humans and
Human Problems (pp. 1-4).

FINAL EXAM: Wednesday, 12/16, 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. (Block D). Location TBA.
Note that this is a university-scheduled final exam. University regulations do not permit the professor to
schedule individual make-up examinations before or after this date. If you have a pressing conflict (such as
three or more final exams scheduled for the same date), then you can arrange with the Registrar's Office to
take the exam on the final exam conflict resolution date, generally the last day of the final exam period.

10