Dr. Eric Canin                                                                                                                Summer 2008

California State University, Fullerton                                                            Department of Anthropology

Office Hours:  online via email and on campus by appointment                                        Office:  MH 104L

Phone:  278-5761                                                                                   Email:  ecanin@fullerton.edu

Course Description:

This course is a comparative, worldwide survey of traditional, selected and well-studied ways of life using ethnographic writings, novels and films.  It examines representative bands, tribes, chiefdoms, primitive states and folk societies. 

This is an online course, run from the CSUF Blackboard site, and has no scheduled class meetings except for an optional orientation meeting on campus (date and time tba on Blackboard).  Students will be expected to participate in online discussion on a regular basis, and will access instructional materials, quizzes, and writing assignments online under Blackboard, Course Documents.  

Class rhythm:  The class is broken into five 5-day weeks, from Monday to Friday, with all work due on Friday by 9pm.  Late work will be accepted with penalty up to the final day of class.  The following week’s material will be posted at least by Friday, to give you a chance to work over the weekend.  Check announcements on Blackboard daily.

Required Texts:

Texts for the class will include print and electronic media.  Online material is available on the CSUF Blackboard site. 

Books available at the campus bookstore:

1.  Peters-Golden, Holly, Culture Sketches:  Case Studies in Anthropology.  4^th edition.  Boston:  McGraw Hill, 2006.

            If you obtain the book through other means (library, bookstores, online book seller) make sure to get the 4^th or 5^th edition.  The book has a companion website at www.mhhe.com/peters4.

2.  Butler, Octavia.  Parable of the Sower.  New York:  Grand Central Publishing, 2000.

            This is a novel set in the future, yet its theme is tradition and change.  Any edition will do, though the one listed above includes study questions.  Read at your own pace, as long as you finish by week 4.

Online texts:

1.  Cultural Anthropology Tutorial at http://anthro.palomar.edu/tutorials/cultural.htm

            Check Blackboard, Course Documents for specific chapters.

2.  Online articles.  Each week, you will be assigned an article which will be posted on Blackboard Course Documents.

1.  Participation in Online Discussion (25%): 

You are expected to participate in web discussion at least once per week in relation to topics that I introduce.  More than minimum participation and interaction with other students is highly encouraged.  I will keep a log of your participation, and will usually make a general reply to the forum, rather than individual posters.  Also, you will be subdivided into groups, or “tribes,” and may receive a participation rating by your peers.  The discussion questions will be posted on Monday morning and will be available for comment until Friday at 9 PM.  For every week that you contribute (thoughtfully and relevantly), you will receive 4 points, for a total of 20 points for the 5 week semester.  The remaining 5 points of the 25 total for participation will be for other forums and/or awarded to exceptional posters.  Web postings that are poorly spelled, ungrammatical, impolite, and lacking in a signed real name will not be accepted as meeting this assignment.  Remember, the standard is college-level writing, not messaging shortcuts or other types of abbreviated language.

2.  Essays (3): 

#1:  Cultural Background, based on your autobiography, 1 page (double-spaced)

#2:  Traditional Cultures, based on Culture Sketch and Online readings, 3 pages

#3:  Novel, based on Butler’s Parable of the Sower, 3 pages

Write essays in MS Word, and upload on Blackboard, Course Documents, View/Complete Assignment.  Specific instructions will be posted there.

3.  Quizzes (5):

Each week’s quiz will cover material for that week.  Expect multiple choice questions unless told otherwise.  Review questions will be posted.  The quizzes will be available on Blackboard, Course Documents, each Friday from morning to evening, along with specific instructions.

·               CS under Reading below, refers to the text Culture Sketches

·               For the purpose of this course, the week starts on Monday (except for the first week) and ends on Sunday

·               Assigned reading should be completed by early in the week, so that you may participate in online discussions

·               The due date for essays, quizzes and discussion posts in a given week is Friday, 9pm of that week.  Any extended deadlines will be announced on Blackboard

Use of Blackboard: 

• Blackboard is a web-based application provided by CSUF on which instructors can provide course documents and resources to students.  Essentially, the entire course will be run through Blackboard.
• Students access Blackboard through their Student Portal.  Login to the portal at http://my.fullerton.edu;  click the Blackboard tab;  click the link Click here to Access your Blackboard Classes.  You are responsible for learning how to use Blackboard.  For a tutorial or access to the Blackboard Support Web Site, click on “Need Help?” which you will find once you’ve clicked the Blackboard tab.

·         The syllabus is available on Blackboard where all the course information and activities required for your grade will be posted during the semester.  Your participation in discussion forums, your notes, the Cultural Anthropology tutorial, the textbook web site for Culture Sketches (www.mhhe.com/peter4), and the material posted on course Blackboard site, such as lecture notes, will help you understand the course material.

• At least a minimum proficiency with computers, software, and the internet is recommended, but not required, though note that this is not a class in computer use.  Direct technical questions to the technical discussion forum.  If you are an advanced computer user, and willing to help other students, your participation in the technical forum would be appreciated.
• Please make sure that the e-mail address listed for you on Blackboard is the one you use (all CSUF students receive a student e-mail address, but you may have it changed to another one you use, such as earthlink or yahoo;  remember that it is your responsibility to arrange this).  Your not receiving e-mail because of not having verified your correct e-mail address is your responsibility;  it may not be used as an excuse for missing assignments.

·         Please observe standards of etiquette on the web (or netiquette).   Be respectful and courteous to members of the class (including your professor).  Do not use all capital letters in your posts, and avoid personal comments.  Check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation as if you were writing a letter rather than thumbing a Blackberry (remember that your postings are considered part of the course’s writing requirements;  poorly prepared web postings will not be accepted as meeting your weekly requirement of web participation).  Sign all posts and e-mail with your real name.  I will respond to e-mail usually within a two-day period, and will have your online assignments graded and posted weekly.

·         Your education is your responsibility.   If you have difficulty following the work or doing the assignments, review the following check list:

1.      Have you read the assigned material and taken notes?

2.      Have you reviewed the lectures, study questions, and quizzes, and related them to the reading material?

3.      Have you gotten feedback from your professor and classmates about things that puzzle you by participating in web discussion?

4.      After you have done all of the above, have you e-mailed me with specific questions?

If you still have difficulty with the material, you may want to visit me during my office hours.  Be sure to bring your course materials (including the notes you’ve taken of your reading, the lectures, and the web links) so that I can get a sense of how you are assimilating the material, and we can try to pinpoint the problem.

Academic Honesty: 

All the work that you submit must be your own.  You may not copy from a another person, and no one else may do your work for you.  Also, you may not copy from print or electronic media (eg. a website) without identifying the material as a quote, and identifying the source with a citation reference.  Identical postings or assignments will result in both entries being considered fraudulent.  Any indications of plagiarism or other forms of dishonesty will result in sanctions.  Please consult the Student Handbook for information on the University’s academic integrity policies. Violations will not be tolerated and will be referred to the Dean of Students office, Judicial Affairs for further action.

General Education:

This course satisfies the learning goals for GE category III.B.3, Implications, Explorations, and Participatory Experience in the Arts and Humanities, which are:

• To understand broad, unifying themes in the arts and/or humanities from cross- disciplinary perspectives.
• To solve complex problems that require artistic or humanistic understanding.
• To relate the arts and/or humanities to significant social problems or to other related disciplines.
• When deemed appropriate, to apply disciplinary concepts from the arts and/or humanities in a variety of settings, such as community-based learning sites and activities.
• In arts courses, to deepen previously acquired artistic appreciation and understanding through participation either in the making or performing of art forms or through the experience of such a process by direct observation.

The course also satisfies the learning goals for GE category V, Cultural Diversity, which are:

• To understand that culture is socially constructed and fundamental to social interaction.
• To appreciate the complex relationships that gender, ethnicity and class bring to a discussion of society and culture.
• To understand that because we live in an inter-connected world, we need to understand the diversity and relationships within and among cultures.
• To recognize and evaluate how one's cultural history affects one's sense of self and relationship to others.

Prerequisite:  Completion of GE category III.B.2

Download syllabus Microsoft Word (.doc) file. If you do not have Word, please use the Word Viewer.