ANTH 383: History of Anthropology
Fall 2014
Monday Wednesday 2:20-3:50 PM
Asbury Hall 007
Dr. Lydia Wilson Marshall
Office: Asbury Hall 223
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 765-658-4508
Office Hours: 2:30-4 PM Tuesday and Friday or by appointment.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A survey history of the central theoretical perspectives, questions and data of sociocultural
anthropology. Focusing on significant scholars and case studies, the course explores the
development of different ways that anthropologists have formulated and understood fundamental
questions concerning human society, culture, change and universals.
COURSE TEXTBOOKS
Moberg, Mark
2013 Engaging Anthropological Theory: A Social and Political History. New York:
Routledge.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Visions of Culture: An Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists.
4th edition. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
All other assigned readings will be posted as pdfs on Moodle or placed on reserve in the library.
SUMMARY OF ASSIGNMENT DUE DATES AND TESTS
Note:
9/30:
11/4:
12/8:
12/8:
12/15:
Your reading/film logs will be collected periodically (5-8 times) throughout the
semester through Moodle dropbox. The dates they will be collected are not
announced in advance.
Take-home exam #1 due by 4 PM via Moodle (note: not a class day)
Take-home exam #2 due by 4 PM via Moodle (note: not a class day)
Contemporary article exegesis due in class.
Student presentations of contemporary articles.
Take-home exam #3 due by 4 PM via Moodle
2
CLASS SCHEDULE AND READINGS
Wednesday, 8/27: Course Introduction and Overview of Expectations and Goals
Focus on Pre-Anthropological Views of Human Diversity
Monday, 9/1: What is Theory and Why Do Anthropologists Need It?
Moberg, Mark
2013 Of Politics and Paradigms. In Engaging Anthropological Theory: A Social and
Political History. Pp. 1-23. New York: Routledge.
Wednesday, 9/3: CLASS CANCELED
Delaney, Tim
2009 Social Spencerism. Philosophy Now 71:20-21
Moberg, Mark
2013 Spencer, Darwin, and an Evolutionary Parable for Our Time (excerpt). In
Engaging Anthropological Theory: A Social and Political History. Pp. 106-114. New
York: Routledge.
In lieu of class: Write a succinct one-page response (due at 4 PM on Wednesday 9/3, via
Moodle) to the readings above explaining the difference between biological Darwinism and
social Darwinism. Give an example of each process in your response. Be prepared to discuss
your response in class on Monday. (Note: This paper will be graded as a reading log entry, but
you cannot opt out of this day’s assignment.)
Wednesday, 9/3 – Last day of adjustment period
Monday 9/8: Cultural Evolutionary Theory
Focus on Lewis Henry Morgan
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Founders and Lewis Henry Morgan: The Evolution of Society. In Visions of
Culture: An Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 1-4,
17-29. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Morgan, Lewis Henry
1878 Ethnical Periods. In Ancient Society. Pp. 3-18. New York: Henry Holt.
Sidky, Homayun
2004 Lewis Henry Morgan and the Evolution of Society. In Perspectives on Culture: A
Critical Introduction to Theory in Cultural Anthropology. Pp. 60-81. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson.
3
Wednesday, 9/10: Marxism
Focus on Karl Marx
Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels
2008 [1848] Bourgeois and Proletarians. In The Communist Manifesto. Pp. 33-51.
London: Pluto Press.
Moberg, Mark
2013 Marx. In Engaging Anthropological Theory: A Social and Political History. Pp.
68-86. New York: Routledge.
Monday, 9/15: Historical Particularlism
Focus on Franz Boas
Boas, Franz
1940 Race and Progress (excerpt). In Race, Language and Culture. Pp. 3-8. New York:
The MacMillan Company.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Franz Boas: Culture in Context. In Visions of Culture: An Introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 30-41. Walnut Creek, CA:
AltaMira Press.
Moberg, Mark
2013 Boas and the Demise of Cultural Evolution (excerpt). In Engaging
Anthropological Theory: A Social and Political History. Pp. 138-154. New York:
Routledge.
Pierpont, Claudia Roth
2004 The Measure of America: How A Rebel Anthropologist Waged War on Racism.
New Yorker 80(3):48-63.
In-class film (excerpt): Franz Boas: The Shackles of Tradition
Wednesday 9/17: Historical Particularism, continued
Focus on Zora Neale Hurston
Hurston, Zora Neale
1979 From Mules and Men. In I Love Myself When I Am Laughing . . . And Then
Again When I Am Looking Mean and Impressive. Alice Walker, ed. Pp. 82-122. Old
Westbury, NY: The Feminist Press.
Ward, Cynthia
2012 Truths, Lies, Mules and Men: Through the “Spy-glass of Anthropology” and
What Zora Saw There. The Western Journal of Black Studies 36(4): 301-313.
In-class film: Zora Neale Hurston’s Fieldwork Footage, 1928
4
Monday 9/22: Culture and Personality
Focus on Ruth Benedict
Benedict, Ruth,
1996 [1928] Culture and Personality and Psychological Types in the Cultures of the
Southwest In Anthropological Theory: An Introductory Reader. R. Jon McGee and
Richard L. Warms, eds. Pp. 202-214. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Ruth Benedict: Patterns of Culture. In Visions of Culture: An Introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 71-80. Walnut Creek, CA:
AltaMira Press.
Sidky, Homayun
2004 After Boas: The Development of American Anthropology (excerpt). In
Perspectives on Culture: A Critical Introduction to Theory in Cultural Anthropology. Pp.
149-157. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Take-Home Exam #1 handed out (covers material through 9/24)
Wednesday 9/24: Culture and Personality, continued
Focus on Margaret Mead
Mead, Margaret
1939 Excerpt. In Coming of Age in Samoa. Pp. 1-11. William Morrow: New York.
Metraux, Rhoda and Sydel Silverman
2004 Margaret Mead. In Totems and Teachers: Key Figures in the History of
Anthropology, Second Edition. Sydel Silverman, ed. Pp.199-221. Walnut Creek, CA:
AltaMira Press.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Margaret Mead: The Individual and Culture. In Visions of Culture: An
Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 95-106. Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
In-class film (excerpt): Coming of Age: Margaret Mead
Monday 9/29: Structural Functionalism
Focus on A.R. Radcliffe-Brown
Kuper, Adam
1996 Radcliffe-Brown. In Anthropology and Anthropologists: The Modern British
School. 3rd edition. Pp. 35-65. New York: Routledge.
Moberg, Mark
2013 Structure and Function (excerpt). In Engaging Anthropological Theory: A Social
and Political History. Pp. 178-186. New York: Routledge.
5
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 A.R. Radcliffe-Brown: The Structures of Society. In Visions of Culture: An
Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 134-145. Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Radcliffe-Brown, A.R.
1952 [1924] The Mother’s Brother in South Africa (excerpt). In Structure and Function
in Primitive Society. Pp. 15-18. London: Routledge & Kegan.
Tuesday 9/30: Take-Home Exam #1 due at 4 PM via Moodle
Wednesday 10/1: Functionalism
Focus on Bronislaw Malinowski
Malinowski, Bronislaw
1984 The Essentials of the Kula (excerpt). In Argonauts of the Western Pacific. Pp. 8189. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
Moberg, Mark
2013 Structure and Function (excerpt). In Engaging Anthropological Theory: A Social
and Political History. Pp. 186-200. New York: Routledge.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Bronislaw Malinowski: The Functions of Culture. In Visions of Culture: An
Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 122-133. Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
In-class film (excerpt): Bronislaw Malinowski: Off the Veranda
Monday 10/6: Cultural Ecology
Focus on Julian Steward
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Evolutionary, Adaptationist, and Materialist Theories and Julian Steward:
Cultural Ecology and Multilinear Evolution. In Visions of Culture: An Introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 157-59, 174-184. Walnut Creek,
CA: AltaMira Press.
Moberg, Mark
2013 Ecological and Neo-Evolutionary Approaches (excerpt). In Engaging
Anthropological Theory: A Social and Political History. Pp. 225-241. New York:
Routledge.
Steward, Julian H.
1955 The Patrilineal Band. In Theory of Culture Change: The Methodology of
Multilinear Evolution. Pp. 122-142. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
6
Wednesday 10/8: Cultural Materialism
Focus on Marvin Harris
Harris, Marvin
1992 [1966] The Cultural Ecology of India’s Sacred Cattle (excerpt). Current
Anthropology 33(1):261-265.
Moberg, Mark
2013 Contemporary Materialist and Ecological Approaches. In Engaging
Anthropological Theory: A Social and Political History. Pp. 246-265. New York:
Routledge.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Marvin Harris: Cultural Materialism. In Visions of Culture: An Introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 185-195. Walnut Creek, CA:
AltaMira Press.
Monday 10/13: Structuralism
Focus on Marcel Mauss
Mauss, Marcel
1990 The Extension of This System: Liberality, Honour, Money (excerpt). In The Gift.
Pp. 33-46. W.D. Halls, trans. New York: W.W. Norton.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Marcel Mauss: Elemental Categories, Total Facts. In Visions of Culture: An
Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 110-121. Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Culler, Jonathan
1986 Langue and Parole (excerpt). In Ferdinand de Saussure. Pp. 39-44. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University.
Wednesday 10/15: Structuralism, continued
Focus on Claude Lévi-Strauss
Lévi-Strauss, Claude
1978 ‘Primitive’ Thinking and the ‘Civilized’ Mind. In Myth and Meaning: Cracking
the Code of Culture. Pp. 15-24. New York: Schocken Books.
Moberg, Mark
2013 Symbols, Structures, and the “Web of Significance” (excerpt). In Engaging
Anthropological Theory: A Social and Political History. Pp. 266-279. New York:
Routledge.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Claude Lévi-Strauss: Structuralism. In Visions of Culture: An Introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 209-223. Walnut Creek, CA:
AltaMira Press.
7
Wiseman, Boris and Judy Groves
1997 Excerpt. In Introducing Lévi-Strauss and Structural Anthropology. Pp. 52-63.
New York: Totem Books.
Monday 10/20: NO CLASS (FALL BREAK)
Wednesday 10/22: NO CLASS (FALL BREAK)
Monday 10/27: Interpretive Anthropology
Focus on Clifford Geertz
Geertz, Clifford
1973 Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight (excerpt). In The Interpretation of
Cultures. Pp. 412-423. New York: Basic Books.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Clifford Geertz: An Interpretive Anthropology. In Visions of Culture: An
Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 235-246. Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Roseberry, William
1981 Balinese Cockfights and the Seduction of Anthropology. In Anthropologies and
Histories: Essays in Culture, History, and Political Economy. Pp. 17-29. New Brunswick,
NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Take-Home Exam #2 handed out (covers material through 10/29)
Wednesday 10/29: Symbolic Anthropology
Focus on Victor Turner
Deflem, Mathieu
1991 Ritual, Anti-Structure, and Religion: A Discussion of Victor Turner’s Processual
Symbolic Analysis. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 30(1):1-25.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Victor Turner: Symbols, Pilgrims and Drama. In Visions of Culture: An
Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 224-234. Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Turner, Victor
1967 Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage (excerpt). In The
Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual. Pp.94-102. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press.
10/31: Registration Adjustment: Last day to withdraw from a course with grade of W,
change from P/F to grade, change from grade to P/F
8
Monday 11/3: Postmodernism
Focus on James Clifford
Clifford, James
1986 Introduction: Partial Truths. In Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of
Ethnography. James Clifford and George E. Marcus, eds. Pp. 1-26. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
Barrett, Stanley R.
1996 Excerpt. In Anthropology: A Student’s Guide to Theory and Method. Pp. 150162. Buffalo: University of Toronto Press.
Tuesday 11/4: Take-Home Exam #2 due at 4 PM via Moodle
Wednesday 11/5: Postmodernism, continued
Focus on Michel Foucault
Fillingham, Lydia Alix
1993 Introduction (excerpt). In Foucault for Beginners. Pp. 2-18. Danbury, CT: For
Beginners.
Foucault, Michel
1995 The Body of the Condemned (excerpt). In Discipline and Punish: The Birth of
the Prison. Pp. 3-16, 25-28. New York: Vintage Books.
Hoffman, Marcelo
2011 Disciplinary Power (excerpt). In Michel Foucault: Key Concepts. Dianna Taylor,
ed. Pp. 27-35.
Monday 11/10: Practice Theory
Focus on Pierre Bourdieu
Bourdieu, Pierre
1990 The Kabyle House or the World Reversed. In The Logic of Practice. Richard
Nice, trans. Pp. 271-283. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Pierre Bourdieu: An Anthropology of Practice. In Visions of Culture: An
Introduction to Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 292-307. Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
Ortner, Sherry
1984 Theory in Anthropology since the Sixties (excerpt). Comparative Studies in
Society and History 26(1): 144-157.
9
Wednesday 11/12: Political Economy
Focus on Eric Wolf
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Eric Wolf: Culture, History, Power. In Visions of Culture: An Introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 308-326. Walnut Creek, CA:
AltaMira Press.
Wolf, Eric R.
1982 Introduction. In Europe and the People Without History. Pp.3-23. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
Monday 11/17: Globalization
Focus on Arjun Appadurai
Appadurai, Arjun
1996 Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy. In Modernity at
Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization. Pp. 27-47. Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press.
Grossberg, Lawrence
1997 Cultural Studies, Modern Logics, and Theories of Globalisation (excerpt). In
Back to Reality?: Social Experience and Cultural Studies. Angela McRobbie, ed. Pp. 2326. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Robinson, Andrew
2011 An A-Z of Theory: Arjun Appadurai. Ceasefire Magazine.
http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/in-theory-appadurai/, accessed July 31, 2014
Wednesday 11/19: Orientalism and Indigenous Critiques of Anthropology
Deloria, Vine
1969 Anthropologists and Other Friends. In Custer Died for Your Sins. Pp. 78-100.
New York: Macmillan.
Dirks, Nicholas B.
2004 Edward Said and Anthropology. Journal of Palestine Studies 33(3):38-54.
Said, Edward W.
1978 Introduction (excerpt). Orientalism. Pp. 11-12. New York: Vintage Books.
Monday 11/24: Feminist Critiques of Anthropology
Moore, Jerry D.
2012 Eleanor Burke Leacock: Feminism, Marxism, and History and Sherry Ortner:
Symbols, Gender, and Practice (excerpt). In Visions of Culture: An Introduction to
Anthropological Theories and Theorists. 4th edition. Pp. 196-204, 277-284. Walnut
Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
10
Leacock, Eleanor
1978 Women’s Status in Egalitarian Society: Implications for Social Evolution
(excerpt). Current Anthropology 19(2): 249-252, 255.
Ortner, Sherry
1972 Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture? Feminist Studies 1(2): 5-31.
Wednesday 11/26: NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break)
Monday 12/1: Archaeology and Theory
Earle, Timothy
2008 Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology: Theoretical Dialogues. In Handbook of
Archaeological Theories. R. Alexander Bentley, Herbert D.G. Maschner, and Christopher
Chippindale, eds. Pp. 187-202. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
Johnson, Matthew
2010 Common Sense is Not Enough. Archaeological Theory: An Introduction. 2nd
edition. Pp. 1-11. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Take-Home Exam #3 handed out (covers material through 12/10)
Wednesday, 12/3: Biological Anthropology and Theory
Goodman, Alan H. and Thomas L. Leatherman
1998 Traversing the Chasm between Biology and Culture: An Introduction (excerpt).
In Building a New Biocultural Synthesis: Political Economic Perspectives on Human
Biology. Pp. 3-25. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Kuper, Adam and Jonathan Marks
2011 Anthropologists, Unite! Nature 470:166-168.
Monday 12/8: Student Presentations of Contemporary Articles (no reading)
Due: Contemporary article exegesis paper, in class
Wednesday 12/10: Public Anthropology
Low, Setha M. and Sally Engle Merry
2010 Engaged Anthropology: Diversity and Dilemmas. Current Anthropology 51(S2):
S203-S226.
Monday 12/15: Take-Home Exam #3 due at 4 PM via Moodle
11
COURSE GOALS
This course will introduce you to concepts and models that anthropologists use to explain their
data. These models help anthropologists analyze big questions about human diversity and
human universals, cultural stability and cultural change, and the relationship between the
individual and the group. The course is organized chronologically, with earlier theories coming
earlier in the semester. The challenge and goal for us this semester is to consider how these
theories relate to and build on one another. We will also explore how these theories reflect the
eras in which they were formulated. This course is designed to help you sharpen your critical
reading skills, practice clear verbal communication of your ideas in class discussion, develop
your discussion leadership skills, and improve your ability to write reflectively and integrate
ideas from different sources in your writing.
COURSE EXPECTATIONS
Class Participation
This course will be primarily discussion-based and class participation is essential. Class
participation means attending all classes, arriving on time, volunteering to speak when you have
a chance, demonstrating that you are well prepared for class by offering thoughtful
comments/questions, and sometimes pushing yourself to make more rigorous, analytical, or
imaginative points. I expect everyone to be respectful of other people’s ideas and opinions.
While we can and should debate issues, we should not attack other people personally for the
ideas they express in class. Class participation accounts for 15% of the final course grade.
NOTE ON PARTICIPATION: Participation and attendance are very important to your success
in this course. Remember, you cannot participate if you are not there! If you are going to be
absent, contact me before class. It is your responsibility to get all information you missed on any
days you were absent. Acceptable reasons for an excused absence include family emergency,
serious illness, religious holiday, and participation in college athletic competitions. Please note
that excessive absences, even when excused, will negatively impact your participation grade and
your final course grade at the professor’s discretion. Students with unexcused absences will
receive no participation credit for the days they are absent. Typically, no more than two excused
absences are permitted over the course of the semester. If you have more than four absences,
you may not be eligible to continue in the course whether these absences are excused or
unexcused.
Discussion Leadership
Over the course of the semester, each student will lead discussion twice; each student leader will
be in charge of 30-45 minutes of class time each day they lead discussion. You should prepare
(1) a short presentation on the life and work of the anthropologist whose theory we are
discussing, (2) a handout or other visual aid to help students better understand the ideas of the
anthropologist (no PowerPoint presentations, please), (3) a list of discussion questions (at
minimum, seven). These questions should be emailed to me at least two hours (12:20 PM) ahead
of class and printed on a handout for students that you pass out. Questions should reflect a close
12
reading of the texts and be clear and understandable. They should be thought-provoking and
challenging for other class participants.
The questions should also encourage class
participation—that is, be open-ended yet not so vague that engaging with them is problematic.
There will be no opportunity to make up a missed presentation. Discussion leadership
responsibilities are worth 10% of the course grade.
Reading Log1
The Reading Log is a place to reflect on the theories we study; these logs are also very important
preparation for the three take-home essay exams. You must fill out the log for every day that
readings are assigned, except for two days when you can opt out without a grade penalty.
Each log entry should answer the following questions, and should be approximately two pages,
single spaced:
1)
When did the anthropologist live?
2)
Where did he or she conduct fieldwork? If he/she worked primarily with one ethnic
group, what was the name of that group?
3)
What is the name of the school of thought to which this anthropologist belongs?
4)
Drawing upon all assigned secondary sources, what is the most significant idea,
approach, or concept that you associate with this anthropologist? Succinctly describe the main
theoretical and conceptual issues associated with this person rather than the details of his or her
life or information about his or her fieldwork. Your aim is to explain, in a nutshell, what the
theorist’s original ideas and concepts are and why he or she is an important figure in the
discipline.
5)
What were your impressions of the writing sample written by the anthropologist? Did it
grab you? Did it seem old-fashioned? Did you dislike it? If so, why?
6)
What criticism might be made of the anthropologist’s ideas?
7)
Can you compare or contrast his/her ideas with the ideas of another anthropologist whom
we have studied? If this is an early anthropologist, can you compare or contrast his/her ideas
with prevailing thoughts about non-Western peoples and society (salient during the era in which
they lived)?
Helpful reminders and tips for completing the reading logs:
•
You must complete a Reading Log every day readings are assigned, beginning on 9/1 and
ending on 12/10. For class days that don’t focus on a specific theorist (9/1, 9/3, 11/19, 11/24,
12/1, 12/3, and 12/10), you will not fill out a standard log form but a unique form prepared
specifically for that class day that will be posted on Moodle. For all of the other days, you can
use the standard form.
•
Students should fill out the reading log as a Microsoft Word document (approximately
1.5-2 pages in length, single spaced). Save it to your P-drive or a thumb drive that you always
bring with you to class.
1
With many thanks to Professor Donna Perry, Gettysburg College.
13
•
After you fill out a form, save it in a folder with your other forms, giving it a unique
name (with the name of the theorist or date of class included in each document’s title). You can
upload your reading logs to Moodle before each class or wait until I call a “log check.” Note that
it is fine to edit your logs to take into account points raised during our class discussion, but you
should prepare a log BEFORE every class.
•
I will collect reading logs at random times throughout the semester to make sure that you
are completing all entries and to grade the quality of your work. I will announce a “log-check” at
the end of class and students will have fifteen minutes after class to submit any missing logs to
Moodle.
•
You should submit your reading log forms to the drop-box on Moodle, uploading all
forms that you have completed since the last log-check.
•
I will grade the reading logs on comprehension of the material, inclusion and citation of
all assigned readings, and overall thoughtfulness and sophistication. Don’t worry if you don’t
fully understand something or aren’t certain that your critique or comparison is valid. Just do
your best, complete all sections of the log, and know that I understand the complexity of the
ideas under study. I appreciate students’ honest efforts.
Your reading/film logs are worth 20% of your course grade. A reading log sent to me more than
fifteen minutes after class but within a day will be marked down by 10 percentage points.
Missing class is no excuse. If you will be absent, have your reading logs up to date on Moodle.
After one day, the log will lose an additional 10 percentage points for every day it is late. I will
not accept logs more than three days late.
Article Exegesis
Each student will review recent issues (within the last 5 years) of one of the following journals in
anthropology: Current Anthropology, American Anthropologist, American Ethnologist,
Anthropological Quarterly, or American Antiquity. You will select an article of interest to you
and read it carefully. You will write a paper (5-6 pages) and give a class presentation on the
article. In both the paper and presentations, students will 1) give an overview of the article and
discuss the central theoretical concerns that the author explores and 2) link the ideas of this
article with the theories that we have already discussed in class (by comparing or contrasting).
Students are encouraged to be critical in their analysis of the article. Presentations cannot be
postponed. Papers lose 10 percentage points for every day they are late; papers turned in after
class are considered one day late. I will not accept papers more than three days late. The article
exegesis paper is worth 7.5% of the course grade; the presentation is worth 2.5% of the course
grade.
Exams
This course includes three take-home essay exams that will require students to compare and
contrast major theorists and schools of thought. Access to class readings is permitted for the
14
exam but the exam must be completed independently by each student. Each take-home exam is
worth 15% of the course grade.
GRADING SUMMARY:
Class Participation: 15%; Discussion Leadership (2 times, x 5 % each): 10%; Reading Log: 20%;
Article Exegesis: 7.5%; Article Exegesis Presentation: 2.5%; Take-Home Essay Exams (3 times,
x 15% each): 45%.
GRADING POLICIES
A 93+; A- 90-92.999; B+ 87-89.999; B 83-86.999; B- 80-82.999; C+ 77-79.999; C 73-76.999;
C- 70-72.999; D+ 67-69.999; D 63-66.999; D- 60-62.999; F <60
At Depauw, A and A- grades reflect “achievement of exceptionally high merit.” B+, B, and Bgrades indicate “achievement at a level SUPERIOR to the basic level.” C+, C, and C- grades
reflect “basic achievement,” and D+, D, D- grades reflect “minimum achievement that warrants
credit.” Please realize that B grades in this course reflect very good work; a “B” is not a poor
grade in this or any other course at DePauw. C grades also indicate basic mastery of the material.
COURSE POLICIES
Academic Misconduct
Please familiarize yourself with DePauw’s Academic Integrity Policy. I take academic
dishonesty, including plagiarism, very seriously, and at DePauw such misconduct can have a
variety of serious consequences. If you are at all unsure what constitutes plagiarism, please ask.
If you get behind or overwhelmed, please talk to me. Students in this course will include the
following pledge on all assignments and exams: "On my honor, I pledge that I have neither given
nor received help on this assignment."
Late Assignments
All course exercises are due in class on the due dates listed. After its due date, an assignment’s
value drops 10 percentage points for each day it is late. For example, if an assignment were one
day late, a perfect score would give you only 90%. If it were two days late, an otherwise perfect
assignment would be given 80%. I will not accept assignments more than three days late. If you
have an emergency, contact me before class.
Missed Exams
I will not provide make-up examinations for the midterm or final unless a serious illness or
family emergency prevents a student from taking the exam at the scheduled time. Otherwise,
any missed exam will result in a grade of 0%. If a religious holiday or college athletic
competition conflicts with either exam time, please let me know in the first two weeks of class so
15
that we can plan for your accommodation. If you miss the exam unexpectedly because of serious
illness or family emergency, let me know within 24 hours of the missed exam time.
Laptops and cell phones
Laptop and cell phone use is generally prohibited during class sessions. If you like to take notes
on your laptop, talk to me.
Learning and Other Disabilities
If you have a documented disability, please contact Mrs. Pamela Roberts, Coordinator of Student
Disabilities Services, to arrange for any needed accommodations, such as extended test-taking
time or the right to take tests in an environment with fewer distractions. Also, if you suspect that
you have a disability but don’t yet have documentation, please contact Mrs. Roberts for help. She
can be reached at 765-658-6267 or [email protected]. Disabilities entitled to
accommodation include mobility impairments, hearing or vision issues, speech impairments,
learning disabilities, ADD, ADHD, psychological disabilities, neurological impairments,
traumatic brain injury, and chronic medical conditions such as AIDS, cancer, and diabetes. I
cannot accommodate any student without first receiving proper documentation from the Student
Disabilities Services, so plan ahead. It is the student’s responsibility to bring the SDS memo to
me and discuss the implementation of accommodations. Please note that accommodations are
not retroactive.