Fall 2020 - SA 359 D100
Special Topics in Anthropology (A) (4)
Class Number: 8258
Delivery Method: Remote
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 9 – Dec 8, 2020: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Jie Yang
yangjie@sfu.ca
1 778 782-4297
Office Hours: Mo 5:30-6:30 via Zoom or Skype
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Prerequisites:
SA 101 or 150 or 201W.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Explores a topic in Anthropology not regularly offered by the department.
COURSE DETAILS:
The course familiarizes students with the social, cultural, economic and political underpinnings of mental distress and psycho-medical practices in societies throughout the world.
Mental and emotional distress involves more than psychobiological dysfunction. They are also produced by broader forces, including the political economy, history, and social hierarchies of particular groups. The course covers major and moderate psychiatric disorders and psychological and emotional disorders and their treatment as well as the use of mental illness and psychology by states and institutions as technologies to govern the population and social life. It examines topics such as somatization, medicalization, psychologization, global inequities, local desires, and modern plagues.
While evidence points to the universality of mental conditions like schizophrenia, culture shapes how people experience, and respond to, mental illnesses. The course thus pays particular attention to “culture.” We explore the various ways in which “culture” shapes illnesses and “culture” is used in discourses on health. Readings are drawn from cultural psychology, and psychological/psychiatric anthropology that emphasize the centrality of culture in understanding psychopathology, as well as from clinical, community, and counseling psychology that focus on therapeutic practice with individuals from diverse socio-cultural groups (based on gender, class, race or sexual orientation). The course offers students interdisciplinary perspectives on culture, psychopathology, and therapeutic governance.
Grading
- Discussion leadership and participation 20%
- Group peer-review exercise 5%
- Midterm quiz 10%
- Final essay 45%
- Final exam (last class) 20%
NOTES:
Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and the student does not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, an N grade will be assigned. Unless otherwise specified on the course syllabus, all graded assignments for this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned. An N is considered as an F for the purposes of scholastic standing.
Grading System: The Undergraduate Course Grading System is as follows:
A+ (95-100) | A (90-94) | A- (85-89) | B+ (80-84) | B (75-79) | B- (70-74) | C+ (65-69) | C (60-64) | C- (55-59) | D (50-54) | F (0-49) | N*
*N standing to indicate the student did not complete course requirements
Academic Dishonesty and Misconduct Policy: The Department of Sociology & Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T 20.01) and academic dishonesty and misconduct procedures (S10.01‐S10.04). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website.
Centre for Accessible Learning: Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need classroom or exam accommodations are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (1250 Maggie Benston Centre) as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible and that approved accommodations and services are implemented in a timely fashion.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
All readings will be available through Canvas, the SFU Library, or otherwise online as noted.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2020
Teaching at SFU in fall 2020 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.
Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).