Home Page for Social Structure 2012 (Anthropology 412/812)

Social Structure: Anthropology 412/812
(Fall 2012)

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 8:30-9:20
in 108 Avery Hall

 Last update: 7/30/2012
Instructor: Raymond Hames

Phone # 472-6240, 2411
Office: 836 Oldfather Hall
E-mail  
 Course Web page: http://www.unl.edu/rhames/courses/social

Office Hours:
Monday 2:00-4:30
Tuesday 8:00-9:00
Friday 8:00-9:00

 ORGANIZATION AND COURSE REQUIREMENTS

This course on social organization focuses on family, marriage, and kinship in non-western society and, to a lesser extent, historic and current western societies.  The aim is to firmly ground students in anthropological concepts and theories relevant to those topics especially those of a comparative and evolutionary emphasis. The first part of the course will be devoted to a grounding in the traditional topics and theoretical issues in the study of social organization. This section will conclude in the seventh week with an essay examination covering chapters 1-10 in Pasternak, Ember, and Ember's Sex, Gender, and Kinship, assigned readings, and lectures. In the second part of the course, we will cover chapters 6-13 in Sex, Gender, and Kinship and then turn to evolutionary interpretations of human social organization and behavior by reading relatively new research in evolutionary approaches to social organization. You will be examined on those readings and lectures in the fourteenth week of the course.   Remember web readings in the weekly schedule are required readings.

Research Paper
All students will be required to write research papers but requirements will differ for graduate and undergraduate students.  By the end of the first exam (7^th week) you should have a basic understanding of issues and topics in social structure and this knowledge should guide your choice of a term paper.  Each student must visit me and propose a paper topic for my approval.  I should be able to help you with source materials and clarify your approach.  Sample topics include: causes of divorce, determinants of lineal descent, kin support, factors influencing mate choice, adoption, cooperative child care, determinants of female status, parental investment, etc.

Undergraduate students (412 credits) will write a 10-12 page paper while graduate students (812 credits) will write a 20-22 page paper. In addition, graduate students will present a fifteen minute oral version of their paper during the last week of class.   You will either write a research paper or a literature review.  The format for each can be found by clicking here.   References should be formatted following the American Anthropologist style sheet located here.  Writing clearly (and hopefully well) is of great importance to effectively communicate your ideas.  Towards this end, I will give all the opportunity to submit a complete rough draft of your paper prior to the final paper's due date (see timing below).  Finally, all student will be required to write a 200 word abstract describing their papers to be posted on-line.  Click here for paper titles and abstracts created by former students and here for this semester's abstracts (when available).

Paper topics should deal with analytic issues.   I encourage you all to be aware of what your peers are doing so that you may provide one another with support especially on topics that overlap or when one of you have a particular expertise you can offer a peer.  

Finally, academic honesty is expected of all students.  Any plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty in any exam or assignment will result in an automatic “F” for the course and I will report you to the Director of Student Judicial Affairs.

Each exam (2) will count 25% toward the final grade and the term paper will count 50%. Class participation is strongly encouraged and will be rewarded.

Students will be expected to be familiar with the assigned reading so they can contribute to class discussions. This means that one has read and taken notes on currently assigned readings for the week.  In general, I'll begin the class by highlighting the main issues in the readings by clarifying definitions, elaborating theory, and filling in empirical and historical gaps.  Later, I'll move on to empirical tests of theory, especially focusing on how a particular hypothesis was deduced, the kinds of data required, methods used to gather the data, and the outcome of the test of a particular hypothesis. You should feel free to interject comments at any time to enable me to clarify or extend what I'm talking about or to present an alternative way of dealing with a particular issue.  Indeed, I'll stimulate this process by simply asking students to give us their position on particular issues and case studies.