Office hrs: Mondays and Wednesdays, 1:30-3:00 pm

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Course Overview

Course Requirements

    Doing the reading

    Attendance at lectures and films

     Attendance and participation in sections

     Write   four (4) segment papers

             Lateness policy

             Grading policy on papers

              Revision policy

              Citation policy

              Plagiarism policy

   Final "Deepen the Topic" Paper (due December 13)

Overall grading break-down

Disability Policy

Note on Office Hours

SEGMENT 1: ENCOUNTERING THE HMONG

SEGMENT 2: ENCOUNTERING THE ELDERLY IN JAPAN

SEGMENT 3: ENCOUNTERING FEMALE CIRCUMCISION

SEGMENT 4: ENCOUNTERING THE NAVAJO

Introduction

Welcome! While the world has long been a place of encounters between different peoples and cultures, the present generation has seen these encounters become more constant and rapid than ever.  It is therefore increasingly important for you to develop the perspective and skills you need to engage with such encounters thoughtfully and constructively. This course will help you build this perspective and these skills, by challenging you to

(August 28-September 20)

We will begin by learning about the Hmong, a Southeast Asian people, tens of thousands of whom became refugees in the United States after the Vietnam War. We will focus on how Hmong notions of medicine differ from and conflict with those of "Western" biomedicine; and on how living in the United States has affected Hmong culture, especially their gender norms.

In this segment we will turn to investigating the differences between how the elderly are treated in Japan and the United States. We will pay special attention to the profound changes taking place around the elderly in Japanese society, to the policy implications of the contrast between Japan and the United States, and how Alzheimer’s disease is understood differently in these two societies.

In the second half of the course we will confront two particularly "tough" global encounters. In the first, we will inquire into the meanings of female circumcision in the African societies where it is a widespread practice. We will then grapple with the nature and limits of the "Western" response to it, and examine the possibility for the development of a non-colonialist perspective on female circumcision that is both ethical and constructive.

                Please obtain the following texts:

                1) Course Reader for ANT 185/AAS 185 (at Campus Copy Center in Marshall Square Mall)

                2) Anne Fadiman, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (New York, 1997), available in                      paperback at Follett’s Orange Bookstore (also at Marshall Square Mall).

Every Wednesday, at the end of lecture, you will receive a guide-sheet to help you approach the reading for the following week. This guide-sheet will give you questions to think about as you read, will explain key terms, and generally make your job of reading more rewarding. The guide-sheets will also be posted on this web-site

IMPORTANT: The TAs and I expect you to have the reading assignment completed in time for your section meeting. (The TAs will occasionally give "spot" quizzes on the week’s reading, which will constitute a portion of your participation grade). The TAs will evaluate your reading through quizzes, the quality of your participation in sections, and how well you incorporate relevant readings into your papers.

Lectures and films will provide crucial concepts, information, and perspectives that your TA will expect to see reflected in your papers. If you must miss a lecture, it is important that you obtain class notes from a classmate. Most of the films (with several exceptions) are in the Bird Library collection. If you must miss a film in class, you should plan on watching it in Bird Library.

20% -- a full fifth -- of your final grade will be based on your attendance at, and participation in sections. This percentage is divided into the following three parts:

1. Section attendance……………………………………………………………...………5%

An attendance sheet will be circulated at the start of every section meeting. Of the thirteen (13) section meetings during the semester, the first two (through the week of September 4-8) will not be counted toward your attendance grade. Thereafter, if you need to miss a section for any reason, you must tell your TA and explain why you must be absent. Grades for attendance are as follows:

       0-1 unexcused absences…………………………………………………..A

       2 unexcused absences…….………...……………………………………..B

       3 unexcused absences……………………………………………………..C

       4 unexcused absences…………………………………………….……….D

       5 or more unexcused absences………………………………………….….F

2. "Spot" reading quizzes and quality of participation …………......…...................……............15% Your TA may give up to six (6) "spot" reading quizzes over the course of the semester.   In addiiton, weekly section meetings  will be devoted to exploring the readings through discussion, debates, role-plays, and  other activities. Your TA will pay attention to the frequency and quality of your  involvement in  group discussions and activities. There are three main criteria used to evaluate your participation:

1. Being informed. How prepared are you? Have you done the reading?
2. Being thoughtful and articulate. How thoughtfully have you done the reading? Have you tried to think about the questions and issues set forth in the reading guide-sheet? Are you able to articulate clearly your ideas?
3. How frequently do you participate? Do you try to speak at least once each meeting? Do you allow more than one or two meetings to go by without speaking?

In general, the better informed, more thoughtful, and more frequent your participation, the higher your grade will be for this part of your evaluation.

You must write four papers in this course, each no shorter than 1400 words and no longer than 1600 words. You must run a Wordcount on your paper to make sure it is the proper length.  Each paper corresponds to one segment of the course. At the very start of each course segment, you will receive a short list of topics to choose from. You should then treat the segment (lectures, readings, discussions and films) as a research project: as you progress through the segment, take note of all facts, ideas, and interpretations that are pertinent to the topic you have chosen and which will aid you in preparing your paper. On the list of topics you will also receive a guide of what will make for a better paper.

The papers are due in lecture (not section), as follows:

           Paper 1……………….....................................................……..Due Monday, September 25

           Paper 2………………….....................................................…. Due Monday, October 16

           Paper 3………….....................................................…………..Due Monday, November 13

           Paper 4……….....................................................……………..Due Monday, December 4

Your papers will be returned to you, graded, in your section meeting the week following its due date.

Lateness policy: A LATE PAPER WILL BE GRADED DOWN ONE FULL GRADE FOR EVERY DAY IT IS LATE, INCLUDING WEEKENDS. THIS IS A "NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS" POLICY.

Grading policy on papers: Together, the four papers you write comprise 60% of your grade. You MUST hand in all four papers. Failure to hand in a paper is the equivalent of an "F" or that paper, and this grade WILL be factored into the 60% . However, because we expect your writing to improve over the course of the semester,  the lowest grade you receive on one of the four papers will be dropped. For example, if your grades are "C", "B", "B" and "A", the "C" grade will be dropped, and your 60% paper grade will be the average of the remaining three grades ("B", "B" and "A"). If however you fail to hand in a paper, the resulting "F" will NOT be dropped from the average. For example, if your grades are "C", "B", "F" and "A" (because you failed to hand in the third paper), the "C" will be dropped, and the remaining grades to be averaged will be "C", "F" and "A". You can see that you have a strong incentive to write every paper (and to write each paper as best you can).

Revision policy: In an ideal world you would have a chance to revise all your papers. Unfortunately, because of the limits of time and TAs, this is not possible. If you strongly desire to rewrite a paper, you may do so, but only according to the following rules:

1. You may rewrite only one (1) paper.
2. You may rewrite only if a) you received a significantly lower grade than you think you are capable of earning for the paper at hand; and b) if you feel you can work quickly and efficiently to revise the paper (because you will not have much time to revise).
3. If you wish to rewrite, you must meet with your TA during the week you received back your paper. No rewrites will be accepted without such a meeting. At the meeting, you must make sure you understand what you need to do to improve the quality of your work.
4. The revised paper is due NO LATER THAN ONE WEEK following your meeting with your TA.
5. You are responsible during the period of the rewrite to keep up with ALL readings, and be prepared for all pop quizzes.
6. An improved grade is NOT guaranteed for a rewrite.

  Citation policy (how to acknowledge your sources):

a) For lecture material:

    Find the date of the when the lecturer gave the example or made the point. Then after         you refer to the example or point, write (Burdick, lecture of 10/6 [or whatever date it          is]). Be sure to place the citation in parentheses.

Find the name of the author of the article you are citing from the Reader (all authors’ names have been written out at the start of each assigned reading). Cite as follows: (NAME OF AUTHOR, DATE OF PUBLICATION: PAGE NUMBER IN READER). Always place the name of the author first, followed by the date of the article’s publication. This must then be followed by a colon, and then the page number from the Reader. The whole citation must be placed in parentheses. Example: (Schwarz 1997: 1)

Follow the same format as for B), but include the correct original page number from which you are drawing the idea or example.

Cite, in parentheses, the title of the article, report, or page from which you have drawn your idea or example, followed by the web-site address.

It is strongly recommended that you avoid directly quoting from lectures or readings. It is far preferable to PARAPHRASE (use your own words to convey the idea or example). Even after a paraphrase, YOU MUST STILL cite the source of the idea or example. If you fail to cite the source, you are implying that YOU are the source, and this is PLAGIARISM. If you include paraphrases of material not included in the assigned readings, you must cite your source, in the format set forth above. If you paraphrase material from other sources, and fail to cite your source, this will be regarded as plagiarism, because you are implying that the idea is your own.

If you feel you must quote directly, then place the BRIEF quotation in quotation marks, and follow it by the appropriate citation. If you include direct quotations without placing them in quotation marks, you are implying that you are the source of those words, EVEN IF YOU INCLUDE A CITATION. This is a common error, so don’t do it! You have been forewarned.If you include direct quotations from sources outside of the assigned reading, but fail to cite the source or place the quotation in quotation marks, you will be implying that the idea is your own, and this will be regarded as plagiarism.

You must choose one of the cultural areas/situations focussed on in this course, and deepen your knowledge of some focussed aspect of the area.  A guide of possible topics and related readings will be posted on this website by the fourth week of the semester. The main work you will do for this paper is to read at least one published book related to the chosen topic (written by a social scientist), plus at least two scholarly (non-Website) published articles pertaining to your topic, plus as much other material as you wish. In this latter category, you may include personal interviews, Website material, popular newspaper and magazine articles, films, dcumentaries, and television programs.

Disability policy

It is important that the course and classroom be fully responsive to students with special needs due to disability. Any student requiring special assistance due to a disability should come and see me as soon as possible.

Note on office hours