NC State University

This is a course being taught through Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA). The principal contact person for the course is the instructor, Tim Wallace, and your contact person in DELTA is Lily Leegstra (lily_leegstra@ncsu.edu); 919-513-2395 or 919-515-9030.  For test proctoring services on campus at the McKimmon Center, please contact Katherine Klinger (katherine_klinger@ncsu.edu); 919-515-2138.  For more information about proctored tests, please see the section under Exams below.  This course is a required for anthropology majors at NC State University. Seminar-type discussion is a key element in the pedagogy for this type of course.  I have set up a message board through the Wolfware course website.  Through this I hope you will feel encouraged to post ideas, thoughts and musing about the reading material and the class discussions you see.

One thing you can expect from this course is a LOT of reading. Class lectures and discussions have the goal of helping you digest and assimilate those readings. There is simply no other way to get into recent anthropology.  This is obviously a key course for those who want a deep understanding of what anthropology is all about. 

At the same time, there are about 12-15 decades of previous history to account for, which makes it difficult to learn everything in one course. so necessarily, we will have t be somewhat selective.  As instructor, I have two key roles. One is to build a scaffolding for the class, selecting the readings and themes we will examine throughout the semester. The second is to facilitate creative and interesting discussions that will allow us to hear from each other. Your key contributions as a participant is to explore the readings carefully and come to class prepared for critical discussion. You must participate in the class through sharing of ideas and thoughts on the course message board.  Even if you don't initiate many posting, you must do your best to answer or reply to them as they appear. In the on-campus course I will begin most classes with a short lecture, and then encourage each of you to participate, seminar-like- with your own perspectives, questions and analyses. I strongly invite you to participate yourself through the message board.

You are always welcome to make suggestions about topics or issues for the discussion period. You can call me or send me email. You are expected to participate regularly in these message board discussions, and demonstrate that you are keeping up with the reading. Don't be intimidated by other students' postings.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course the student should:

• have a solid grounding in anthropological theory, but emphasizing the socio-cultural subfield;
• know the key authors and theoretical perspectives in the discipline;
• be able to connect theories with research perspectives and methods;
• understand how anthropologists interpret the interrelationships between data and theory and produce analyses; interpretations;
• come to better know describe the inter-relationships between theories,
• understand better the directions of anthropological theory in the future and;
• have a sense of the history of the disciplines development, both here and globally.

This is obviously a key course for those who want a deep understanding of what anthropology is all about.  At the same time, there are about 12-15 decades of previous history to account for, which makes it difficult to learn everything in one course. so necessarily, we will have t be somewhat selective.  As instructor, I have two key roles. One is to build a scaffolding for the class, selecting the readings and themes we will examine throughout the semester. The second is to facilitate creative and interesting discussions that will allow us to hear from each other. Your key contributions as a participant is to explore the readings carefully and come to class prepared for critical discussion. I will begin most classes with a short lecture, and then encourage each of you to participate, seminar-like- with your own perspectives, questions and analyses. If you prefer passive listening, this class is not for you!

Course Requirements for Grade Evaluation

Message Board (10%): Students are expected to communicate via the course message board.  It is expected that each student will contribute a minimum of 4-5 postings during the semester.

Article Summaries (15%): Each student is required to read everything in the reading list, but you must write a critique for two articles from the Readings in each section of the Syllabus. Thus, you should submit twenty-four.  Please use the one page form provided here. (Article Critique Form)

Research Paper (25%):  On or before the last regular day of class (12/8/06), students must submit a 10-page (minimum) paper on an anthropologist from the list included at the end of this syllabus.  Papers should include brief biographical information, but must focus on the following components: (a) the theoretical and/or methodological contributions of the anthropologist, and/or significance to a particular theoretical and/or methodological orientation; (b) his/her historical significance as a leading anthropologist of a particular period; and (c) his/her major written works (if applicable to that person). Read the guidelines carefully (see separate handout). 

Information on the Research Paper  

Your assignment is to write a research paper on an individual from the list provided, focusing on their contributions to anthropology.  You may also select someone else, once you have acquired permission from the instructor.  Your paper should include the following:

• Introductory information: Who was the person, and when and where did he/she live?  If relevant, where did the person do his/her major study or fieldwork?

• What were the person’s major theoretical and/or methodological contributions to anthropology?
• How did this person’s work and ideas fit into the cultural, intellectual and historical context of his/her time?
• How did this person contribute to a particular theoretical and/or methodological orientation? (e.g. evolutionism, functionalism, etc.)

• What written works did the anthropologist produce?
• 10-15 pages, plus cited works, please number your pages and include a separate title page with a title, the anthropologist’s name and your name and current date.
• You must have a references cited page with at least 5-10 references that are not publications of the anthropologist you are writing about and a separate list of at least 5-6 of the anthropologist’s own publications. Citations must be made correctly.
• You must use the style as found in the journal, the American Anthropologist.  (See www.aaanet.org (American Anthropological Association website), style guide. Or look at any issue of American Anthropologist.
• Do not rely on websites, but you may use digital sources, insofar as they are sources such as online journals, newspapers, museum publications, and so on, i.e. regular published sources.  Today, many journal articles are available digitally so you may conceive of these as the same as journal articles.
• A paragraph about the person you have selected is due on October 1.  The paper itself is due on December 8, 2006.

Exams (50%): The mid-term exam (25%) (take it by October 20)consists of a essay questions from class discussions and course readings. The final (25%) (take it by December 20) will be the same format, but emphasizing material from the final half of the course. Make-up tests will only be given, at a mutually convenient time, for students with excused absences (for example, "I overslept" is not sufficient reason for being given the opportunity to take a make-up test). There will be no make-ups for unexcused absences. In rare cases, a grade of In(complete) can be given due to an extended, excused absence or special problem. These must be mutually agreed to in advance with the student providing a schedule for completing the missed work.

Grading Scale: A+ = 97+; A=96-93; A-=92-90; B+= 89-87; B=86-83; B-=82-80; C+=79-77; C=76-73; C- =72-70 ; D+=69-67; D=66-63; D-=62-60; F= below 60

Requirements Explained:

Attendance and Class Participation: Attendance is expected.  There is no official penalty for missing class, but your absence will be noted and it will affect your participation grade. You should also be on time to class. It is sign of disrespect if you arrive late to class, not only for the professor, but also for your peers.  Students arriving late will be expected to lead discussions in the next class.. Keep the instructor informed if you have an emergency during the semester that requires you to miss a class or be late. Classroom discussion is also very important. This means that you must come to class and answer questions when called upon and participate in group discussions and assignments. Your participation grade also will be determined in part by how well you have contributed to the dialogue in the classroom. You may also be called upon to participate in the presentation of an article summary or book chapter for the class.

You will choose an anthropologist whom you will get to impersonate in class discussions and debates. You will be expected to know the person well enough to tell the class where he/she would stand on major issues. You should be familiar with their major works, their goals, and their place in the discipline.

Research Paper:   On or before the last regular day of the cable recording viewing (12/15/06), you must submit a 10-page (minimum) paper on an anthropologist you have chosen to become familiar with from the list included at the end of this syllabus.  Papers should include brief biographical information, but must focus on the following components: (a) the theoretical and/or methodological contributions of the anthropologist, and/or significance to a particular theoretical and/or methodological orientation; (b) his/her historical significance as a leading anthropologist of a particular period; and (c) his/her major written works (if applicable to that person). Read the guidelines carefully (see separate handout). 

Information on the Research Paper  

Your assignment is to write a research paper on an individual from the list provided, focusing on their contributions to anthropology.  You may also select someone else, once you have acquired permission from the instructor.  Your paper should include the following:

• Introductory information: Who was the person, and when and where did he/she live?  If relevant, where did the person do his/her major study or fieldwork?

• What were the person’s major theoretical and/or methodological contributions to anthropology?
• How did this person’s work and ideas fit into the cultural, intellectual and historical context of his/her time?
• How did this person contribute to a particular theoretical and/or methodological orientation? (e.g. evolutionism, functionalism, etc.)

• What written works did the anthropologist produce?
• 10-15 pages, plus cited works, please number your pages and include a separate title page with a title, the anthropologist’s name and your name and current date.
• You must have a references cited page with at least 5-10 references that are not publications of the anthropologist you are writing about and a separate list of at least 5-6 of the anthropologist’s own publications. Citations must be made correctly.
• You must use the style as found in the journal, the American Anthropologist.  (See www.aaanet.org (American Anthropological Association website), style guide. Or look at any issue of American Anthropologist.
• Do not rely on websites, but you may use digital sources, insofar as they are sources such as online journals, newspapers, museum publications, and so on, i.e. regular published sources.  Today, many journal articles are available digitally so you may conceive of these as the same as journal articles.
• A paragraph about the person you have selected is due on October 1.  The paper itself is due on December 8, 2006.

Exams (50%):  There will be two tests -- a mid-term (see due dates above) and a final (see due dates above). If you want to use the McKimmon Center for your proctoring center, please contact Katherine Klinger (katherine_klinger@ncsu.edu) or her co-worker at the McKimmon Center 919-515-2138 to find a proctor at the McKimmon Center. Ms. Donovan has developed some policies about scheduling proctored tests, so you must contact her at least a week or so (better at least two weeks) in advance to schedule a date and time. You may also nominate someone else, perhaps a boss, a pastor, someone at a school or community college, etc. If this is your choice, please email me (tmwallace@mindspring.com) or (if I am unable to be on campus at the time you need to take the test, you can also email Lily Leegstra at the Distance Learning (DELTA) office (919-515-2395 or 513-2395; fax-919-515-6668) or email to Lily_Leegstra@ncsu.edu and she will know what to do. Just let me know who it will be (as soon as possible) and give me an address and a telephone number to contact them. If I am not in the country, I will email Lily Leegstra at the DELTA office to have them send the tests.

The mid-term exam consists of a essay questions from class discussions and course readings. The final will be the same format, but emphasizing material from the final half of the course. Make-up tests will only be given, at a mutually convenient time, for students with excused absences (for example, "I overslept" is not sufficient reason for being given the opportunity to take a make-up test). In rare cases, a grade of In(complete) can be given due to an extended, excused absence or special problem. These must be mutually agreed to in advance with the student providing a schedule for completing the missed work.

Some of the readings have direct links to pdf versions of the articles. These are underlined.