ANTH& 206 - Cultural Anthropology

Credits: 5
Variable Credit Course: No

Lecture Hours: 55
Lab Hours: 0
Worksite/Clinical Hours: 0
Other Hours (LIA/Internships): 0

Course Description: A study of the origin and development of various forms of culture found among tribal and early agricultural peoples. This will include the development of language, the meeting of basic needs such as food and shelter, the family, magic and religion, and leisure activities (including artistic, musical, literary, and other forms of expression).

Prerequisite: ENGL& 101 with a C or higher.
Strongly Recommended:
Special Requirements:

Distribution Requirements: Social Sciences Distribution Requirement
General Education Requirements: Fulfills Engage General Education Requirement
Meets FQE Requirement: No
Integrative Experience Requirement: No

Student Learning Outcomes

Appreciate the development of cultural anthropology as a field of study.
Understand the basic ideas used in studying the origins and nature of language.
List and describe basic forms of society studied by anthropologists.
Understand the nature of produciton, distribution, and consumption of goods and services at various levels of culture.
Understand various forms of marriage, families, and family life in the world.
Comprehend various types of groupings of humans at different levels of development–by age, castes and classes, and forms of political organizations.
Appriciate efforts to use magic and religion to deal with the supernatural.
Appreciate basic forms of aesthetic expression and recreation.

Course Contents

The development of cultural anthropology as a study of human behavior.
The
Basic approaches used in stydying the thousands of languages on the earth.
The characteristics of the basic forms of society studied by anthropologists: Hunting, gathering, and fishing–subsistence economies which rely on taking advantage of natural resources for food, shelter, and other basic needs. Horticultural–early agriculture in a. Rural-agricultural–settled agriculture which uses crop rotation, fertilizers, and carefully chosen seed for more efficient crop production. Urban-industrial–the setting of modern, western humans.
Biology and Genetics: Key ideas of Gregor Mendel on basic principles of genetic transmission and inheritance of physical features.
The distribution of goods: Reciprocity, redistribution, and the market.
Marriage and the family among various peopless of the world: Family organization, tracing descent and kinship, martial residence, etc.
Non-family groupings in society: Age grades, voluntary associations, castes, other forms of social classes, and forms of political organization.
Forms of magic and religion developed as humans have sought to deal with the supernatural and unknown.
Forms of aesthetic expression: Oral literature, painting and sculpture, music, drama, and other forms of artistic endeavor.
Social-cultural change as found in various stages of cultural development throughout the world.

Instructional Units: 5