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INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGY

Fall 2004

ANTH 1102 (call number 44-508)
Tuesday-Thursday 11:00AM-12:15PM, SLC171
Dr. Robert E. Rhoades, Instructor
Office Telephone: 542-3141
Baldwin 105J/K
Office Hours: Tuesday-Thursday, 2:00-3:00PM

Course Description: Meeting the Social Science and Environmental Literacy Requirements
Introduction to Anthropology (ANTH 1102) is a general survey of the field of anthropology which potentially serves UGA students for both the social science and environmental literacy core course requirement. This course is also geared to helping students improve their writing skills through exam essays.
Anthropology addresses the issue of human biological and cultural diversity across space and time. Homo sapiens--the subject matter of anthropology--is a highly adaptable primate, with a great capacity to assimilate and transmit its experience and knowledge in a symbolic way. To serve its purposes, our species has made remarkable impact on practically all world environments, modifying them intentionally by introducing changes in their productivity, order and structure, and also causing unintentional perturbations. The future of planet Earth depends on how well our species comes to grips with nature itself. The population question, the ever-increasing demand for energy and raw materials, and the degradation of our natural resources, as well as changes in ecological processes on a planetary scale, may be placing our species on a path to extinction---despite our apparent technological successes.

The aim of this course is to give the undergraduate student critical knowledge of the vast sweep of the human experience, from a primordial pre-hominid existence in Africa down to the contemporary world. The course will look at how Homo sapiens evolved, developed culture and technology, and transformed itself from being simply another species in localized natural ecosystems to the dominant species of the natural and "fabricated" global ecology. The course is organized around five major transformations affecting human-environmental interactions: 1. Biological evolution of the humanoid form; 2. Development of the Paleolithic foraging way of life; 3.Domestication of plants and animals; 4. Development of complex society; and 5. Evolution of the modern world system. The course will have a special focus on indigenous or non-western cultures. The course will conclude with a discussion of the role of anthropology in solving future human-environmental problems.

Course Organization
ANTH 1102 will be experienced through lecture, guest lectures, course-enriching videos, and discussion. Each week there will be lectures combined with discussion/video and an occasional guest lecturer. Class attendance and participation are required in all course-related activities. Your primary contact for information and guidance will be your Graduate Teaching Assistant who will provide you with their office hours. I can be contacted through the telephone number at the top of this syllabus should you have any special problems.

Class Policies
To facilitate learning, mutual respect must govern all class activities. Coming late to class and leaving early is not permitted. Reading newspapers, talking and other forms of distracting behavior are not allowed during class. The University academic honesty policy is strictly enforced http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/academic_honesty/culture_honesty.htm. Do you own work in exams and report writing. During exams all caps and hats will have to be safely stored beneath your chair and all notes out of sight.

Exams
FOUR EXAMS will be given in the course. You will be allowed to drop your lowest exam score among the first three exams. The final exam grade cannot be dropped. Given this flexibility, no make-up exams will be given. A missed exam will constitute the dropped-exam. Your final grade will be based on the following percentages of total scores:
1. 90-100%...........A (270 points and above)
2. 80-89%.............B (240 - 269)
3. 70-79%.............C (210 – 239)
4. 60-69%.............D (180 – 209)
5. 59-below%......F (179 and below)

Textbook

Haviland, William A., H. Prins, D. Walrath, B. McBride. 2004 (11TH Edition). Anthropology: The Human Challenge. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

WEEKLY TOPICS AND READINGS (Approximate Dates)

Lecture 1 (8/19). Class Objectives and Requirements.

Lecture 2 (8/24). What is Anthropology? What are the fields of Anthropology? Reading:
Chapter 1

Lecture 3 (8/26). Our Place in Nature. Reading: Chapter 2.

Lecture 4 (8/31). The Primate Order. Reading: Chapter 3.

Lecture 5 (9/2). Archeology: Primary Technique for the Study of Prehistory. Reading:
Chapter 4.

Lecture 6 (9/7). Paleontology: The History of Recovery of Fossil Record. Readings:
Chapters 5 and 6

Lecture 7 (9/9-9/14). Human Paleontology: The Hominids (Australopithecines to Homo erectus).
Readings: Chapters 7 and 8.

EXAM 1. September 16 covers all class activities and Chapters 1-8.

Lecture 8 (9/21). Early Humans and Their Culture. The Upper Paleolithic. Readings:
Chapters 9.

Visiting Lecture (9/23). Scott Jones, Primitive Technologist. Reading: Chapter 10.

Lecture 9 (9/28). Peopling of the New World. Effects of Domestication on Human-
Environmental Interaction. Reading: Chapter 11.

Lecture 10 (9/30). Rise of Complex Civilizations: Old and New Worlds. Reading: Chapter 12.

Lecture 11 (10/5). Human Biological Diversity. Reading: Chapter 13.

EXAM 2. October 7 covers all class activities and Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.

Lecture 12 (10/12-10/14). The Nature of Culture. Reading: Chapter 14

Lecture 13 (10/19). Development of Anthropological Culture Theory. Readings:
Chapters 15 and 16.

Lecture 14 (10/21). Patterns of Subsistence: Hunters and Gatherers. Reading: Chapter 17.

Lecture 15 (10/26). Horticultural Tribes and Pastoralists. Reading: Chapter 17.

FALL BREAK. October 28-29

Lecture 16 (11/2). Economic Anthropology. Reading: Chapter 18.

EXAM 3. November 4 covers all class activities and Chapters 14-18.

Lecture 17 (11/9 and 11/11). The Family. Readings: Chapters 19, 20, and 21.

Lecture 18 (11/16). Political Anthropology. Reading: Chapter 23.

Lecture 19 (11/18). Magic and Religion. Reading: Chapter 24.

Lecture 20 (11/23). Cultural Change. Reading: Chapter 26.

THANKSGIVING BREAK November 24-26

Lecture 21 (11/30 and 12/2). Development and Change. Reading: Chapter 27

EXAM 4. December 7 covers all class activities and Chapters 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, and 26.

NO FINAL EXAM WILL BE GIVEN DURING FINALS WEEK

Note: Chapters 16, 22, and 25 in Haviland et al. are recommended readings but not required for this class due to time constraints.