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Anthropology 180: Psychological Anthropology
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Instructor: Jeanne L. Shea, Ph.D, Associate Professor
Class Meetings: Spring 2006, Mon., Wed., Fri., 9:05-9:55, Dewey 314
Office Hours: 515 Williams Hall, Wed. 2:00-3:00 pm, Fri.1:30-2:30 pm
Contact Info.: jeanne.shea@uvm.edu, Phone: 802-656-3181, Fax: 802-656-4406
Mailing Address: Department of Anthropology, 515 Williams Hall,
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to psychological anthropology, an important subfield of anthropology which involves both academic research and practical everyday applications.
Psychological anthropology takes a cross-cultural perspective on issues of identity, experience, and human development. It explores notions of the self and its myriad relationships to culture, and it examines human variation in cognition, emotion, and social behavior. In this course we focus our inquiry around two topics central to current issues in psychological anthropology: the relationship between identity and culture, and cross-cultural variation in human development across the lifecycle.
Student work in the course is centered around interactive class discussion, three response papers analyzing our assigned readings and class discussions, and a final term paper and oral presentation on topics chosen by each student on the basis of their particular interest with respect to psychological anthropology.
Prerequisite: Anthropology 21 or permission of instructor.
Professor Profile
Member
of the faculty at the
Assigned Work
Assignments, Due Dates, and Grade Distribution
Class Participation (c.p.) At each class meeting 25%
Response Paper I Wed., Feb. 22 15%
Term Paper
Proposal/Biblio Fri.,
Mar. 17 part
of c.p.
Response Paper II Mon., Mar. 27 15%
Response Paper III Fri., Apr. 21 15%
Term Paper Draft (optional) Mon., May 1 n/a
Term Paper Fri., May 5, 8:00 am 30%
Presentation of Term Paper Fri., May 5, 8:00-11:00 am part of c.p.
Extra Credit Fri., May 5, 8:00 am +1-5 pts on
overall grade
Assigned
Books:
Charles Lindholm, Culture and Identity: The History, Theory, and
Practice of Psychological Anthropology,
Barbara Rogoff, The Cultural
Nature of Human Development,
Websites:
Society for Psychological Anthropology website: www.aaanet.org/SPA/index.htm
Description of Assignments
Class
participation
Attendance and prompt arrival at all class meetings. Completion of assigned readings prior to class. Attentive, considerate conduct during class. Active oral participation in class discussions and final presentation session.
Reponse Paper I
Critical analysis of an issue covered in the assigned readings and class discussions from Jan 20-Feb 17. Typed, 3 pages, in 12 point font., with 1-inch margins.
Response Paper
II
Critical analysis
of an issue covered in the assigned readings and class discussions from Feb
22-Mar. 17. Typed, 3 pages, in 12 point font., with 1-inch margins.
Response Paper
III
Critical analysis of an issue covered in the assigned readings and class discussions from Mar. 27-Apr. 19. Typed, 3 pages, in 12 point font., with 1-inch margins.
Term paper on semester project
Throughout the semester, each student will conduct independent research on a topic in psychological anthropology and write a term paper on their findings. The term paper should analyze scholarly research materials on some aspect of identity, experience, or the lifecycle in cultural perspective. The project can deal with any culture(s) or societi(es), and some element of cross-cultural comparison is recommended. The paper should explore issues and theoretical debates from the field of psychological anthropology, and it must analyze and cite material from assigned readings, lectures, and class discussions and from at least three outside scholarly books or articles. Term papers should follow the “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Papers,” a handout with tips for writing a paper in anthropology which will be distributed in class. The term paper should be 7-8 pages, in 12 point font., with 1-inch margins, plus an outline, thesis page, and an annotated bibliography.
Presentation of term paper
Each student is expected to bring a copy of their completed term paper to the final exam session. During the session, each class member will share and discuss their term paper with several of their classmates and then write a reflection on what they learned from hearing about the content of their classmates' papers and what they learned from discussing the content of their own papers with their classmates. Students may also add neatly hand-written corrections or additions to their own papers in black ink at this time if they choose to do so.
Extra credit
Attend three approved scholarly events related to psychological anthropology outside our class meetings, and write a five-page report summarizing the main content of the events and analyzing their relation to what you have learned about psychological anthropology in this class. Email Professor Shea for approval of the events you would like to attend for extra credit purposes. Turn in your extra credit report with your term paper.
Schedule
Introduction
Wed., Jan. 18 Hand out course syllabus
Fri., Jan 20 ***No class. Prof. Shea got chicken pox over winter break and will need to wait until Monday to come to campus.
Mon., Jan. 23 Overview of Psychological Anthropology
Wed., Jan. 25 Theory and Methods in Psychological Anthropology
Cultural Nature of Human Development
Fri., Jan. 27 Psychological Anthropology as a Scholarly Community
Mon., Jan. 30 Ideas and Resources for Student Term Papers
Culture and
Identity
Wed., Feb. 1 Notions of the Individual in Western Philosophy, Part I
Fri., Feb. 3 Notions of the Individual in Western Philosophy, Part II
Mon., Feb. 6 Anthropological Perspectives on Otherness, Part I
Wed., Feb. 8 Anthropological Perspectives on Otherness, Part II
Fri., Feb. 10 Psychoanalyzing Culture
Mon., Feb. 13 Studies of National Character
Wed., Feb. 15 Issues of Comparison, Commonality, and Diversity
Fri., Feb. 17 Agency, Interpretation, and Levels of Analysis
Mon., Feb. 20 President's Day Holiday – No class
Wed., Feb. 22 Issues of Self/Other Dialectics in Cultural Context
Work due: Response Paper I due
Fri., Feb. 24 Issues of Hierarchy and
Social Categories
Mon., Feb. 27 Issues in Cognitive
Anthropology
Wed., Mar. 1 Contemplating Consciousness
Fri., Mar. 3 Issues in the Anthropology of Emotion
Mon., Mar. 6 Dialectics of Emotion
Wed., Mar. 8 Issues of Marginalization, Insanity, and Deviance
Fri., Mar. 10 Interpretations
and Boundaries: Stigma versus Charisma
Mon., Mar. 13 Love in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Wed., Mar. 15 Issues Involving Romantic Love
Fri., Mar. 17 Individual and Group
Identities in Contemporary
Work due: Term paper proposal and annotated bibliography due
Mar. 20-24 Spring Break - No Classes
Culture, Human Development, and the Lifecycle
Mon., Mar. 27 Introduction to Cultural Perspectives on Human Development
Work due: Response Paper II due
Wed., Mar. 29 Relating Individual and Cultural Processes
Fri., Mar. 31 Gender, Generation, Community, and Social Change
Mon., Apr. 3 Childrearing in Families
Wed., Apr. 5 Childrearing in Community Context
Fri., Apr. 7 Roles of Infants and Children in the Community
Mon., Apr. 10 Roles of Adolescents and Adults in the Community
Wed., Apr. 12 Issues of
Fri., Apr. 14 Moral Development, Cooperation, and Competition
Mon, Apr. 17 Issues of Cognition and Intelligence
Wed. Apr. 19 Learning Through Guided Participation
Fri. Apr. 21 Cultural Change and Relations Among Communities
Research Skills, New Directions, Applications, and Conclusions
Mon., Apr. 24 Preparing Your Term Paper
Work
due: Response Paper III due
Wed., Apr. 26 Presenting Your Term Paper
Fri., Apr. 28 New Directions in Psychological Anthropology
Mon., May 1 Applying Psychological
Anthropology In Our Lives
Wed., May 3 Concluding Remarks
Work due: Optional draft of term paper due for feedback from professor
Fri., May 5 Term Paper and Extra Credit Report due at 8:00 am.
Term Paper Presentation,
8:00-11:00 am, Dewey 314
[Note: This syllabus is provisional and may be subject to modification by the professor during the course of the semester in the event of unexpected opportunities or unforeseen challenges encountered by the class.]
Students with Special Needs, Scheduling Conflicts, or Other Challenges
An important part of your responsibilities as a college student is to inform your instructors in a timely manner of any special needs, scheduling conflicts, religious obligations, medical problems, or family emergencies that may affect your ability to complete your coursework.
For example, ACCESS students should confirm that I have received a letter from the ACCESS office, and contact me during the first two weeks of class to discuss accommodations arrangements.
Students with scheduling conflicts due to religious obligations, family duties, pre-scheduled medical appointments, sports competitions, artistic performances, or other extracurricular commitments should contact me during the first two weeks of class and provide me with a letter with a written schedule of their commitments.
If unexpected health problems, physical or mental or emotional difficulties, or personal or family emergencies arise, you should contact me as soon as you can and keep in mind that the Office of the Dean of Students, the Student Health Center, the Counseling Center, the Center for Health and Wellbeing, the Learning Coop, and many other resources are available to assist you.
Course Policies
This section addresses course policies to ensure a positive and fair learning environment and to make sure that everyone has a clear understanding of the expectations in this course.
Preparation: Assigned readings must be completed prior to each class meeting. Inadequate preparation will impair your ability to perform well in the class. Class lectures will assume completion of assigned readings. It is your responsibility to make sure to complete all of the readings in a timely fashion.
Attendance: Attendance at each class meeting is crucial to your ability to do well in this course. Classes will start promptly. Students are expected to arrive in the classroom on time and to remain in the classroom until the end of the class. No absences and no tardiness can be permitted without consequences unless documentation of a serious health problem, family emergency, religious obligation, or other excused reason is provided. Unexcused absences, tardiness, or early departures will bring down the student's class participation grade. If you do need to be absent, with or without an excused reason, please touch base with the professor via a brief note or email as soon as you can. If, during class, you need to arrive late or leave early, you should do so quietly and considerately. It is your responsibility to make up any content that you miss due to absence from class.
Conduct: All members of the class are expected to be attentive and considerate, to work together to create a positive and invigorating learning environment, and to treat each other with respect and compassion. Inappropriate conduct will bring down the student's class participation grade.
Late papers and make-ups: Late papers cannot be accepted, extensions cannot be granted, and make-ups cannot be given without documentation of a serious health problem, family emergency, religious obligation, or other excused reason. Please mark your calendars and set your alarm clocks carefully. Unexcused absence on the day that a presentation is scheduled will result in a zero on the presentation in question. Unexcused late papers will be marked down by a full letter grade per day late (e.g., one to twenty-four hours late, an A- becomes a B-).
Plagiarism and cheating: Plagiarism and cheating hamper a person's ability to learn and grow and create original work, and they stunt a group's ability to maintain fairness, honesty, and trust. Please familiarize yourself with proper citation practices and definitions of plagiarism and cheating. It is important to be aware that violations can result in serious consequences, including a failing grade on the essay, paper, or presentation in question. If you any questions concerning the line between doing your own work and copying the work of others, please do not hesitate to ask.