Contact Information & Office Hours:

Professor Raymond Hames
836 Oldfather Hall
Office Hours: M&F 8:00-10:00; T&R 3:30-4:00
Phone 472-6240
Email: Raymond Hames

GTA Bill Altizer
833 Oldfather Hall
Office Hours: Tues. 1-2, Wed. 1:30-2:30, Thur. 1-2
Phone 472-3817
Email: Bill Altizer

Basic Links

• Course Schedule

• Learning Aids
     Critical Concepts
     Study Questions
     Book Report Format & Instructions
     Power Points from Lecture (PDF format)
      Exam Key & Results

• Web Sites Supplementing the Ethnographies

• Anthropology in the News

Some great "Anthropological" films made in Hollywood (for your next trip to Blockbuster when you can't find anything to rent).

At Play in the Fields of the Lord
John Lithgow, Tom Berrenger, Aidan Quinn, Kathy Bates, Darryl Hannah, and Tom Waits.  My #1 but start early - it's 3 hours long.
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
A film by made by an Inuit (Eskimo) director, based on a old story, and acted by local Inuit.
The Mission
Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson.  The tragedy of Guarani Indians in Paraguay as the Jesuits leave and the entrance of Spanish civil government controlled by slavers.
Black Robe
Jesuit missionary among the Algonquians and Hurons: conversion, war, and disease.  Directed by Bruce Beresford who also directed Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies, Breaker Morant.
Song Catcher
A the turn of the century woman ethnomusicologist discovers bluegrass music in Appalachia.  Fine musical performances by recognizables.  Story is a bit formulaic. 
 

Course Overview
This course is basic introduction to the field of cultural anthropology.  Instead of using a standard cultural anthropology text your texts will be three ethnographies (an ethnography is monograph that broadly describes a single culture) that span a wide range of human sociocultural variation.  My lectures will cover standard text book topics such as marriage, family, kinship, economics, sex, environmental adaptation, religion, and the like with a focus on cultural diversity and relevant theory that attempts to account for cross-cultural variation in human behavior.  Your ethnographies will provide concrete and integrated examples of the broad topics through an examination of specific culture.  In addition, I will ask each of you to choose an ethnography and write a 7-9 page book report.  In your report you will be expected to relate the findings in your ethnography to concepts highlighted in class and your readings.

Grading Basics
There will be three exams worth 50 points each (for approximate dates, see course schedule). All exams will consist of 50 multiple choice machine-graded questions. In addition, you will be required to read an ethnography of your choice (after consulting with me) and write a book report on it. Reports should be typed or computer-printed with a 7-9 page length (double-spaced with one inch margins and 12 point characters). The book report is worth 50 points is due on 29 April 2007.  A complete draft may be turned in by 22 April for suggestions for revision and a preliminary grade.  Click here for detailed information on the book report format. I must approve the book upon which the report is written.