Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Anth 1010
Tuesday and Thursday, Clark Hall 107
8 - 8:50 am
Discussion sections -
Thursday, 2-2:50pm, Nau 241
Thursday, 4-4:50pm, New Cabell 320
Thursday, 5-5:50pm, New Cabell 320
Friday, 9-9:50am, Ruffner 187
Friday, 2-2:50pm, Nau 242
Friday, 3-3:50pm, Nau 242
Instructor:
Allison Alexy
alexy [at] virginia.edu, Brooks Hall 207
Office hours: 2-4pm on Wednesdays. Sign up for appointments through the “sign-up” tab on Collab.
Teaching Assistants:
Macario Garcia
mmg5pr [at] virginia.edu
Office hours: by appointment, please email
Katie Shakour
kes2bm [at] virginia.edu
Office hours: 12:30-2:30, Tuesday, Brooks Hall basement graduate lab
Course Content: This course provides an overview of key themes, theory, and methodology in cultural anthropology. Through books, articles, films, and discussion, students will be exposed to a wide range of human experiences and ways of living in the world. They will also learn and practice different analytical models to engage this diversity, primarily focusing on the benefits and drawbacks of cultural relativism, and structure / agency. Key themes around which coursework is organized include: religion, kinship, family lives, gender, race, language, modernity, medicine, gift giving, pop culture, and sports. To engage these themes, students will conduct independent preliminary ethnographic research, choosing a location and returning to it over the semester, before eventually writing a final proposal for hypothetical future research in the same location. Through this project, and regular writing assignments, students enact many of the ideas introduced in other course materials.