Spring 2025 - SA 101 D900
Introduction to Anthropology (A) (4)
Class Number: 2540
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2025: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
Surrey
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Instructor:
Elliot Montpellier
emontpel@sfu.ca
Office: TBA
Office Hours: Monday 11:00-12:00pm Via: In-Person
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Anthropology asks fundamental questions about how people live and interact in different contexts. Engages with contemporary social life around the world, including the relations among people, ideas, and things. Provides analytical tools to help understand the role of culture and society in our lives. Breadth-Social Sciences.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course is an introduction to social and cultural anthropology. Sociocultural anthropology examines, in broad terms, processes that produce and sustain a diverse set of social and cultural practices in human communities. Anthropology offers a range of methods and theories for understanding how people make meaning in everyday contexts and how varied ways of living interact across space and time. Thinking anthropologically helps analyze shared human experience, cultural difference, current events, our own cultural biases, and the shared world we live in by drawing attention to cultural patterns and themes across communities and history. The course delves into long-standing interests of the discipline, such as kinship, and more recent developments in the field, like interest in the impacts of climate change on the human species. It spans a range of topics from agrarian social structure to urban consumer culture, with selected case studies from Latin America, North America, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast and East Asia.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
- Explain the concept of culture and how cross-cultural analysis can inform our understanding of diverse social issues
- Recognize anthropological concepts and ways of questioning in ethnographic case studies and apply them in thinking through social issues
- Describe and analyze the research methods used by anthropologists and engage these methods in critically considering one’s own society and experiences
- Understand the impact of historical change, power, colonialism, and globalization on culture and society
- Present and defend well-organized arguments, orally and in writing, using critical anthropological thinking
Grading
- Class participation and attendance 15%
- Weekly Assignments (total of 5) 20%
- Mid-term Exam 10%
- In-class writing assignments 15%
- Final Exam 20%
- Auto-ethnography assignment (final paper) 20%
NOTES:
Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and the student does not write the exam or withdraws 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 A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, F, N (N standing indicates student did not complete course requirements). Intervals for the assignment of final letter grades based on course percentage grades are 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
REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance and participation in all assignments is required. Please complete all readings prior to coming to lectures, participating in exercises, and submitting assignments.
Please submit assignments on time or write to me to request an extension in the case of illness or emergency. Late assignments for which no extension was granted will be accepted up to five calendar days past the due date with a penalty of 5% per day.
Please come to class prepared to engage in critical thinking, to consider where scholars are coming from in their writing, and to respect differences in intellectual opinions among your peers.
Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and the student does not write the exam or withdraws 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 A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D, F, N (N standing indicates student did not complete course requirements). Intervals for the assignment of final letter grades based on course percentage grades are 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
Materials
MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:
A dedicated notebook for auto-ethnographic reflections and writing exercises.
REQUIRED READING:
(2020) Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology, 2nd Edition. eds. Nina Brown, Thomas McIlwraith, and Laura Tubelle de Gonzalez. American Association of Anthropology
All other readings will be available through the SFU Libraries and/or in open access publications. All materials will be posted or linked to on the class Canvas page.
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity website 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
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.