Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Fall 2007
THE ETHNOGRAPHIES
The four ethnographies in the course help to structure the semester. For more information on the context for the ethnographies, see the below web pages.
Nisa: The Life and Words of a !Kung Woman, by Marjorie Shoshak, examines the Ju/'hoansi. There are several web pages on the !Kung San, including a page with a recording of |asa Kx'ao speaking, a general overview at "The !Kung of the Kalahari Desert, "and a photo exhibit. The Kalahari Peoples Fund is an important resource for helping the San as is Cultural Survival - see their 2002 issue: The Kalahari San: Self-determination in the Desert.
Nest in the Wind, by Martha Ward. Martha Ward has a web page on her anthropology and on the ethnography we are using in this course: Martha Ward. Information on the State of Pohnei is labeled Garden Island of Micronesia. Music and news are available at Beautiful Island of Pohnpei. More information is found at the Micronesian Seminar and the College of Micronesia has FSM in the News.
As Strong as the Mountains focuses on the Kurds. The Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq has a web site: http://www.krg.org/. There are numerous web sites on the Kurdish peoples and their heritage, for instance http://www.akakurdistan.com/ and http://www.kurdistan.org/. Visual ethnographies are available at Kameel Ahmady.
Defending the Land, by Ronald Niezen, focuses on the James Bay Cree. We will discuss the impact of hydroelectric power dams on the Cree and the larger, global concerns. For more information on the Cree, see Aanischaaukamikw (the Cree Cultural Institute, is the regional cultural organisation of the nine Cree communities of Iiyiyuuschii, also known as the James Bay region of Quebec). Also, the resources on the Cree of Northern Quebec is helpful. For a larger view regarding the peoples of northern Canada, see the Nunavut homepage. For more information on the impact of hydroelectric power dams, see Roopali Phadke's annotated bibliography: Dams, Displacement, and Community Reconstruction.
Textbook
Conrad Kottak Mirror of Humanity has a web page with web resources.
Course Assignments
For more background on kinship, see Brian Schwimmer's Kinship Tutorial
# 2 Journal Article
For the collection of anthropology journals at the Cook Library, see its web page
State Flag of Pohnpei
Useful/Interesting links:
Background for Anthropology on webpages:
American Anthropological Association - an important source for information on anthropology
For news articles, see Anthropology in the News
WorldCat - Identities: Top Anthropologist in the USA [WorldCat - Identities is also a search engine for publications by academics]
A History of Anthropology makes "available for educational purposes a large selection of articles published in the American Anthropologist on the subject of the history of the discipline of anthropology."
A blog called Savage Minds "is a collective web log devoted to both bringing anthropology to a wider audience as well as providing an online forum for discussing the latest developments in the field."
See some leading anthropologists on video on a site called Films of Anthropological and other "Ancestors"
Activist/Advocacy Anthropology Examples:Cultural Survival is a Cambridge based organization that advocates "the rights, voice and vision of indigenous peoples."
The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs - IWGIA's "overall mission is to endorse and promote indigenous peoples' right to self-determination, their cultural integrity and their right to development on their own conditions. In order to fulfil this mission, IWGIA works within a wide range of areas: documentation and publication, human rights, lobbying and advocacy, research and projects."
Survival International, founded in London, "has supporters in 82 countries. It works for tribal peoples' rights in three complementary ways: education, advocacy and campaigns."
Partners in Health is a Boston based organization whose "mission is both medical and moral. It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone. When a person in Peru, or Siberia, or rural Haiti falls ill, PIH uses all of the means at our disposal to make them well—from pressuring drug manufacturers, to lobbying policy makers, to providing medical care and social services. Whatever it takes. Just as we would do if a member of our own family—or we ourselves—were ill."
Public Anthropology "demonstrates the ability of anthropology and anthropologists to effectively address problems beyond the discipline."
Hunger Site "was founded to focus the power of the Internet on a specific humanitarian need: the eradication of world hunger."
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center has a Public Service Announcement "the Power of One Voice" on YouTube on encountering bias/racism.
For events related to the course concerns around Tampa Bay, see the USF Anthropology events page and the USF Patel Center for Global Solutions events.
This hybrid craft, a cross between a canoe and a kayak, traveled to the U.S. as a joint effort of the Cree and Inuit. Odeyak at Manhattan on Earth Day in 1990 to protest against the Great Whale River project.
