COURSE DESCRIPTION  This course of seminars and lectures reviews past and contemporary theories and approaches adopted by cultural anthropologists.

COURSE PREREQUISITES Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

COURSE OBJECTIVES At the end of this course, the diligent student will be able to...
 

• better appreciate the history of the anthropological study of human culture and social life
• write better papers in the anthropological style
• read professional papers in anthropology with greater discernment and efficiency.

READINGS

• Paul A. Erickson and Liam D. Murphy (2001) Readings for a History of Anthropological Theory. Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press. ISBN 1551114119 (RHAT)
• Philip Carl Salzman (2001) Understanding Culture: An Introduction to Anthropological Theory. Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press. ISBN 1577661796 (UC) NOTE: This book is not required, merely suggested, reading.

  Check out http://www.fetchbook.info/, http://www.booksprice.com/ and http://www.studentmarket.com/textbooks.html for cheap(er) used copies of the above books.

• Articles & Book Chapters on reserve in the Gorgas Library:
  • Articles on e-reserve (RES).  Go to http://amelia.ua.edu/ and click on Course Reserves.  Search for "M.D. Murphy" and look up the article by the author's name, followed by at least part of the article's title. Once you have located the article you can download it or print it out from the library server.  The library has facilities to do this, if you do not have a computer at home.  Ask a reference librarian for help or consult online instructions for printing e-reserve article

BAMA ACCOUNT EMAILER  Students are required to use their "bama" email account for this course in order to communicate with the professor.  Bama email accounts are created near the beginning of each semester for all students who do not already have one. Once your account is created, you should receive an account information sheet in the mail.  If you forget it, you can access it online at https://bama.ua.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~acctweb/accountchange.pl  

If you prefer to use a different emailer (Yahoo or MSN, for example), all you need to do is automatically forward all of your "bama" mail to your preferred email address.  Directions for doing so are to be found at: https://bama.ua.edu/cgi-bin/cgiwrap/~helpdesk/sforward.pl.

eLEARNING & COURSE NOTES  By all means take advantage of the eLearning site I have constructed for  this course.  Among other resources, it provides you with easily downloadable pdf  files of the notes and hand-outs used in class.   Access eLearning through your MyBama webpage.

PDF files present you with material very similar to that of the Power Point Presentations used in class, but in a format that is relatively quick and easy to print out. To take advantage of this feature you must have a copy of Acrobat Reader on the computer you are using.  Most, if not all, University Computer Labs will have this software installed. You can download a free copy for your own machine at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html 

EXAMINATIONS There are no examinations for this course.

PROMPTNESS AND PUNCTUALITY All class assignments must be completed on schedule or the grade will suffer.

CLASS PARTICIPATION & STUDY GROUPS For administrative purposes, students will be assigned to one of two study groups (A&B). Every other week (with several exceptions) each student will meet with his/her study group to discuss the readings in advance of the seminar and in preparation for leading the seminar discussion. Both this task and general student participation in seminar discussions will be evaluated. The evaluation of the quality of class participation is separate from deductions for poor attendance. Details will be explained in class.

ATTENDANCE POLICY Attendance at every class meeting is a nonnegotiable requirement. More than two unexcused absences will lower the grade for the course at the rate of 5% per absence.

GRADING POLICY The final grade for the course will be based on the following formula: Essays = 80% (20% per essay); Discussion Leadership and Participation = 20%.

ESSAYS All students must write FOUR short essays based on readings and seminar discussions. Each essay must be a minimum of 5 pages (1,250 words) on topics assigned by the professor. Essays will be graded for organization, quality of prose, comprehension of assigned readings and ideas.   All written assignments must be submitted as Word documents sent as attachments through email to mdmurphy@tenhoor.as.ua.edu 

The file names for your essays should follow this formula: "641" + "Last name" + "First name initial" + "Number of paper assignment"
For example, John Smith's third paper should have the following file name:  "641SmithJ3"

First Essay due on February 6
Second Essay due on March 5
Third Essay due on April 2
Fourth Essay due on May 5 (at noon)

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR WRITTEN WORK

• Submit all written work as Word attachments sent through email (to mdmurphy@tenhoor.as.ua.edu ).  Please try to ensure that your submissions are virus-free. You are responsible, of course,  for keeping a separate copy of every written assignment that you turn in. I recommend maintaining a hard copy...just in case.
• For questions of formatting please refer to the American Anthropologist Style Guide at http://www.aaanet.org/pubs/style_guide.htm

Writing Tips

• Written work will be graded for IDEAS, ORGANIZATION, EXPRESSION.
• The three secrets to good writing are : Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.
• Never suggest (by the absence of quotation marks and other citation devices) that someone else's writing is your own. Do not use extensive quotations. Cut-and-paste authorship is not acceptable.
• When you think you have finished your written work, read it aloud to yourself, then make changes to rid it of awkwardness, confusion and redundancy.  Edit by ear.
• Consult the following sites for help in producing your term paper:
  • Michael Murphy's Writing Tools for Anthropology Students
  • Jim Bindon's  Rules for Writing a Research Paper. 
  • Steven Parrish's The Student's Practical Guide: Writing Term Papers for Anthropology (and related subjects) . 
  • Jim Moore's Research Papers .
  • David Jordan's  Underground Guide to Literacy Even in Termpapers

Seminar Schedule & Assigned Readings

USEFUL WEB PAGES

• Anthropological Theories: A Guide for Students by Students

Social Evolutionism
Diffusionism and Acculturation
Historicism
Functionalism
Manchester School
Culture & Personality
American Materialism
Cultural Materialism
Ecological Anthropology
Cross-Cultural Analysis
Cognitive Anthropology
Marxist Anthropology
Feminist Anthropology
Structuralism
Symbolic & Interpretive Anthropologies
Postmodernism & Its Critics

• Anthropology Department Web Site: This web site provides comprehensive information about UA anthropology programs, faculty and facilties.

• Library Research in Anthropology Web Site: A guide to conducting library research in anthropology at UA. Use this site for the essay and web work.

• Anthropology on the Internet: A jump site to interesting anthropology sites on the Internet

• Writing Tools for Anthropology Students at UA: A bibliographic, grammar and style guide designed to improve student writing.

Disability Statement

If you are registered with the Office of Disability Services, please make an appointment with Prof. Murphy as soon as possible to discuss any course accommodations that may be necessary.  If you have a disability but have not contacted the Office of Disability Services, please call 354-5175 to register for services.

Dishonesty Statement

All acts of dishonesty in any work constitute academic misconduct.  This includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication of information, misrepresentations, and abetting of any of the above.  The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event that academic misconduct occurs.  Students should refer to the Student Affairs Handbook, which can be obtained in the Office of Student Life and Services in the Ferguson Center.

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