Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2025 - SA 101 OL01

Introduction to Anthropology (A) (4)

Class Number: 2601

Delivery Method: Online

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Online

  • Instructor:

    Cristina Moretti
    cmorett1@sfu.ca
    Office: Zoom
    Office Hours: TBA

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:

What is culture, and how does it shape the way we move in the world, organize our lives, and think about ourselves and others? What makes social groups in different regions of the world different, and what do we all share? How are cultures and societies changing with the increasing globalization of contemporary life?

Through lectures, online resources, and discussions, we will learn some of the main anthropological insights and methods that allow us to learn from different people’s lives, ideas, and realities. At the same time, our goal will be to question some of the habits and assumptions that we take for granted in our everyday life. Topics covered in this class will include space and time; inequality; health and illness; families and kinship systems; gender; the environment; and anthropological research methods.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

At the end of the course, students will be able to

  • describe and explain key anthropological terms, concepts, questions, and research methods.
  • explain some of the ways that culture shapes ideas, societies, individual and group identities, language, space, and everyday life, by describing, analyzing, and comparing examples from different cultures.
  • think critically about their own society, and engage with perspectives different than their own; recognize how their culture informs experiential aspects of their own lives (like space, time, identity, gender, and more); and reflect on the assumptions they hold in regard to self and others.
  • understand that power relations are a key force in shaping cultures and societies; evaluate the effects of unequal power relations in particular examples.

Grading

  • Assignment 1 15%
  • Group Podcast assignment 20%
  • Online discussion 10%
  • Course test 25%
  • Course test 2 30%

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


Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Hamdy, Sherine and Nye, Coleman. (2017). Lissa: A Story About Medical Promise, Friendship, and Revolution. University of Toronto Press.
(Note: as this is a comic/graphic ethnography, I recommend buying the print version).

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.