ANTH 200:  Introduction to Anthropology

Spring 2009

Instructor:

Kristen Arntzen

Email: arntzenk@kellogg.edu

Phone:

269-343-5001 (home)

Office Hours:

 

Online:

I will respond to student e-mail within two working days or sooner.  It is quickest to contact me by email, but I encourage you to post any general course questions to the designated discussion board, so that all students may benefit from them.

 

If general consensus dictates, I will also establish weekly "virtual" office hours using the Chat Room feature in Blackboard.

Course Prerequisites:  

COMPASS reading score of 70, or "C" in STSK 98 or ENGL 120

Textbook

Required:  

1. Thinking Like an Anthropologist: A Practical Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, by John T. Omohundro, McGraw-Hill, 2008

    ISBN: 978-0-07-319580-3

2. Annual Editions: Anthropology 09/10, 32nd edition, edited by Elvio Angeloni, McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-07-339783-2

 

Online Course Features and Requirements

Number of tests: 2of which 0 must be proctored.    

Required on campus sessions:   0

Special labs or practicum:  0

Number of assignments:  Weekly short review quizzes, homework exercises, and discussion board postings, as well as occasional anonymous surveys.  One short paper (~3 pages) and one longer paper and self-evaluation (~7 pages).  Midterm and final exams consisting of 3 open-book essay questions apiece, to be completed in ~ 1.5 hours time.

Extra credit: There will be two opportunities for extra credit during the semester – one through a chat room activity early in the semester, and one through submission of an additional short paper by the end of the term.

Estimated time per week: 10-12 hours 

Group interaction required:  yes

Scheduled activities or self paced:  Weekly and longer-term assignments with deadlines

Requirements - students must have access to the following:

  • Equipment:  You will need a computer that is able to access and interact with the Web. For best results, a Pentium or PowerMac with a 56 Kbps or faster modem, 64 MB or more of RAM, and 1 GB of available hard disk storage should be considered the minimal system.
     
  • Software:   Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 or 7 recommended.  Windows XP or Vista are recommended.  You may also need to install other free plug-ins as needed, such as Windows Media Player, RealPlayer and Adobe Flash Player, to fully access some of the Web resources our course site will be linking to.  A word processor capable of saving and opening RTF (rich text format) documents is required (almost all popular word processing programs can do this).
    Chapter Reviews from the publisher will be available as Microsoft PowerPoint files (for which a free viewer is also available for download).
  • Internet connection: Home users need Internet access through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) that offers a reliable, direct connection to the Internet. 

Other requirements: Students must check in both with the instructor and on the Blackboard course page on or before the first day of class.  Students must have a backup plan to continue computer and internet access in the event of the failure of their own equipment/service.

Course Site:

http://bb.kellogg.edu (If hosted by KCC)

Curriculum Statement:

This course prepares the student to achieve competency in the core ability of GLOBAL AWARENESS by demonstrating "knowledge of the implications of living in a culturally diverse society and contemporary global community."

 

There are five components to this Core Ability:

  1. Identify the meaning of cultural diversity in the global community.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of basic terms relating to citizenship in the global community.
  3. Integrate knowledge of the historical, geographical and/or political perspectives relating to citizenship in the global community.
  4. Integrate knowledge of cultural, social and/or economic perspectives relating to citizenship in the global community.
  5. Compare and contrast cultural and ethnic groups relating to citizenship in the global community.

 

Description

Human adaptation to varied environments is examined through cross-cultural study of social institutions, technologies, and ideologies.  The implications of different ways of life for the understanding of human behavior worldwide are also considered. 

 

Objectives

Through completion of this course:

  1. Students will learn about anthropology as a discipline: the materials it covers; the kinds of research methods used; the sorts of issues and problems it addresses; the varieties of theories and understandings it has developed; and what it has learned about the human condition. (Core Abilities 1, 2)
  2. Students will explore anthropology's four major subfields: cultural anthropology, anthropological linguistics, physical or biological anthropology, and archaeology. (Core Abilities 1, 2)
  3. Students will learn the similarities and differences between anthropology and other social science disciplines and how anthropology is related to other fields in the humanities and natural sciences. (Core Abilities 3, 4)
  4. Students will become familiar with the varieties of cultures around the world.  Students will learn about societies from all the continents; societies whose economies range from foraging to industry; societies whose political systems range from egalitarian bands to highly complex states; and societies whose communication systems, world-views and belief systems are incredibly varied.  Central to the discussions throughout the semester will be the concept of culture, which is anthropology's most fundamental contribution. (Core Abilities 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
  5. Students will learn to demonstrate, discuss, analyze, and generally apply some of the key principles and methods used by anthropologists in the process of collecting anthropological data. (Core Ability 2)
  6. Students will learn to relate the following anthropological principles to several topics:

A.    Human behavior generally shows regular and recurring patterns.

B.    People are social animals and our relationship to others is critical to our well being and growth and development.

C.    Human behavior is greatly influenced by our relationships to various groups (sub-cultural or ethnic affiliation).

(Core Abilities 1, 3, 4, 5)

  1. Students will learn to define, discuss, and apply selected anthropological terms, theories, and principles. (*Core Ability 2)
  2. Students will learn about current issues in the public eye to which anthropology has something to contribute, ranging from ethnic conflicts in other parts of the world to enculturation problems here at home. (*Core Ability 1, 3, 4, 5)
  3. Students will have ample opportunity to relate the anthropological subject matter introduced in this course to the individual students' daily lives. (Core Abilities 3, 4, 5)

 

Grading

Your grade will be based upon the total number of points you earn out of 1000 possible.  About 55% of your grade will come from your weekly work, and 45% will come from your papers, midterm exam, and final exam (non-cumulative).  Written work is graded upon both quality and depth of understanding of subject, and grading rubrics for each type of written assignment may be found on the Blackboard course site.  The two extra credit assignments combined would allow you to increase your grade by a maximum of up to 70 points (7%).

Grading Scale

94 - 100%

A

73 - 76%

C

90 - 93%

A-

70 - 72%

C-

87 - 89%

B+

67 - 69%

D+

83 - 86%

B

63 - 66%

D

80 - 82%

B-

60 - 62%

D-

77 - 79%

C+

00 - 59%

F

 

Academic Policies 

Dropping:  It is the responsibility of the student to know the date by which he or she may drop and obtain a refund of tuition, as well as the dates after which withdrawing from the course will result in either a grade of "W" or "F" issued on your permanent record/transcript. Specific dates are available from the Customer Service Center.  In general, the following formulas apply:

 

The drop period is through the first tenth (1/10) of the total number of calendar days over which the class meets. An adjustment fee of $5 per course section dropped will be charged from the first day of the class through the end of the drop period.

 

You may withdraw from a course after the drop/refund period and prior to the completion of seven eighths (7/8) of the duration of the course. Withdrawing will generate a grade of "W" on your academic record. Tuition and fees are not refunded when you withdraw from a course.

If you withdraw during the final one-eighth (1/8) of the duration of a course, a grade of "F" will be entered on your academic record.
If you stop attending a course and do not formally withdraw, the instructor will assign a final grade based upon progress toward completion of course objectives.

"I" Grades: 

A grade of Incomplete ("I") will be awarded only when the instructor has determined that illness, unavoidable absence, or extenuating circumstances have prevented the student from completing all course requirements. 

 

To be eligible, the student must have completed at least 2/3 (66%) of the assigned material, with an average grade of "D" or better.  In addition, the request for a grade of "I" must be made to the instructor at least one week prior to the end of this specific class's duration.


Remaining course requirements must be completed within one calendar year, if the student desires a change of this grade. If the course requirements are not completed, the "I" grade will remain on the student's academic record.

It is the student's responsibility to make arrangements with the instructor for completion of the remaining course requirements.

Attendance

Attendance through regular online participation is mandatory. To be successful in this class it is highly recommended that you check into Blackboard at least every day.  Attendance requirements are that you must enter the Blackboard Site to read Announcements and "Lecture Notes" for each lesson, take quizzes and exams, submit homework assignments, participate in the Discussion Board, take occasional surveys, and occasionally collaborate with several others in the "Group Page" feature to collectively complete a homework assignment.  

Participation is determined by successful and timely completion of each assignment and accurately following the directions given.  There is also an automatic tracking system in Blackboard so that the Instructor can check your attendance/presence in the class. 

Absences will result in being dropped/withdrawn from the course as follows:  When a student does not participate in the first week's lesson, I will complete a No Show Report.  When a student misses two weeks of assignments or when absences reach a level when the overall completion of the course is jeopardized, I will complete an excessive absence report.  The Student Services department will follow up with individual students.

Cheating

Policy on Academic Integrity:

Students are expected to be honest and responsible in fulfilling the course requirements.  Any type of academic dishonesty – including but not limited to deliberate plagiarism, cheating, fabricating information, turning in work identical to a fellow student’s, or knowingly allowing another person to submit your work as their own – will result in a failure for that unit and notification of the departmental chair, as well as Student Services, who will record this in your permanent file.  A second offense will result in failing the class.  If the student has a prior record of academic dishonesty in any class, the first offense in this class will result in failure of the class and consideration of suspension or expulsion from the college.  Please see the clearly outlined KCC policy defining these offenses and the discipline procedures in the Student Handbook, available online.

 

Ignorance of any regulations regarding academic integrity will not be considered an excuse.

 

Cheating includes "(1) use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; (2) dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; or (3) the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the College faculty or staff" (Student Handbook p. 78).

 

Plagiarism involves any submission of another person's ideas or exact words as one's own, whether deliberately or unintentionally.  Unintentional plagiarism includes using incorrect citation methods while attempting to acknowledge the work of another person.  Deliberate plagiarism includes failure to make any acknowledgement of another person's work, whether you are copying their exact words or summarizing their ideas (paraphrasing).  As a general rule of thumb, whenever you are copying an exact phrase of three words or more from another person's work, it should be placed in quotation marks and cited precisely.  Even when you are not quoting word-for-word, however, any ideas attributable to another person must be acknowledged and the source cited.  Additional guidelines for proper citation of sources used may be found on pp. 78-79 of the Student Handbook.

Disclaimer

Information contained in this syllabus was, to the best knowledge of the instructor, considered correct and complete when distributed for use at the beginning of the semester. However, this syllabus should not be considered a contract between Kellogg Community College and any student, nor between any student and the instructor. The instructor reserves the right, acting within the policies and procedures of Kellogg Community College, to make changes in course content or instructional techniques without notice or obligation.

Make-up Policy

All assignments are due by 11:59 p.m. on the date indicated on the class schedule.  Late Assignments (Discussion Board postings, quizzes, homework exercises, papers, and surveys/evaluations) will be treated as follows: 

1.   On two occasions only, a student may submit an assignment up to 24 hours late (by 11:59 p.m. of the day following the due date), with no penalty. 

2.   For all subsequent late assignments, the student will lose one letter grade (10% of grade) per day late, up to three days (72 hours) late. 

3.   No assignment will be accepted more than 3 days late, without an agreement between the instructor and student, and based on exceptional circumstances.

It is strongly suggested that students set a personal deadline two days prior to the course deadline and complete all assignments by that deadline. This arrangement allows for unexpected life events and technology crashes.

 

Exams: Only written verification of extenuating circumstances preventing a student from taking an examination as scheduled will be considered for a make-up.  This Instructor reserves the right to determine whether a make-up examination will be granted given the circumstances provided.

Computer Access at KCC

It is assumed that students enrolled in this course have at their disposal appropriate equipment and software to complete the course work and communicate with other students.  If there are problems with your equipment and/or software, it is possible to come to the KCC Battle Creek campus and use the open computer lab in the Learning Resource Center.  See KCC's web site for campus maps and lab times. 

Online Submitting Materials

Students will be expected to use e-mail attachments and the blackboard site for this class to submit materials. 

ADA Statement

Kellogg Community College does not discriminate in the admission or treatment of students on the basis of disability.  KCC is committed to compliance with the American Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

 


Last modified:  October 28, 2008by Linda Younglove © Copyright 2003,  Kellogg Community College.  All rights reserved.