Anthropology V02 Notices
5/8
5/6
Tomorrow, Monday, is our last class. Turn in extra credit for The Business of Hunger. We will see The Kayapo: Out of the Forest. Extra credit papers for this film will be due the day of the Final.
The final for the 9:30 class is Wednesday 9-11. The final for the 11:30 class is Friday 10-12. The format will be the same as the previous two exams. All study questions are now posted.
Failure of Green Revolution in India
Updates on Kayapo struggles:
2008 encounter (check out the Al Jazeera video report from the link on this page)
Several recent articles regarding the Belo Monte Dam controversy:
http://www.ww4report.com/node/9549 2/28/11
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/04/belo-monte-dam-moves-ahead-despite-indigenous-protests.php
Sadly, The Brazilian tribe that played by our rules, and lost 6/3/11
Brazil's Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant Threatens 40,000 2/12/12
Chief Raoni and the Kayapo Under Attack 2/13/12
Some hope: Kayapo Take Struggle to Brasilia 3/20/12
If you Google "Kayapo" and search the last 3 months, you will find many updates and action pages for their struggles.
Indigenous peoples and climate change
Some videos: Dam it: Brazil's Belo Monte stirs controversy
For those interested in indigenous rights: IWGIA and Survival International contain articles about several of the groups we've studied in this course.
5/1
4/29
4/27
Democracy Now interview today with Pakistani lawyer Shahzad Akbar, who represents families of civilians killed in U.S. drone strikes, about the rise in drone strikes under the Obama administration: As Obama Expands Drone War, Activists & Victims’ Advocates Join D.C. Summit on Growing Civilian Toll
4/24
Wednesday we will see the short film: White Power USA instead of Holy Ghost People.
Excellent 15-minute video interview with TV and radio broadcaster Tavis Smiley, and Cornel West, professor of religion and African-American studies at Princeton University: Tavis Smiley & Cornel West on "The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto"
4/23
Recent NY Times article on how family income affects whether or not the children get a college degree: The Reproduction of Privilege
Some excerpts:
"Instead of serving as a springboard to social mobility as it did for the first decades after World War II, college education today is reinforcing class stratification, with a huge majority of the 24 percent of Americans aged 25 to 29 currently holding a bachelor’s degree coming from families with earnings above the median income."
"The “income achievement gap” – differences in standard test scores and grade point averages – between children from families in the top 10 percent of the income distribution and those from families in the bottom ten percent has been growing."
“The children of the rich increasingly do better in school, relative to the children of the poor — that is, they score higher on standardized tests and they graduate from college at much higher rates. This has always been true, but is much more true now than 40 years ago, ...This means that social mobility has gotten rarer – the ‘American Dream’ is increasingly difficult to attain.”
4/22
Article in Vanity Fair: Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%
3-minute video of comedian George Carlin on The American Dream. Warning: as they say, it "contains language."
Article in The Nation: "The Media-Lobbying Complex"
Interesting short thought experiment regarding the subtleties of racism in the 2008 presidential campaign
4/17
Website describing Dalit conditions and issues: Dalit Freedom Network
4/16
Reminder: The Mini-ethnography write-up is due this coming Monday, 4/23. I urge you to carefully follow the guidelines. Here again are links to the pages for the ethnographic project. If you need more consent forms, you can just print them out. Project guidelines, Project Consent Form, Project Worksheet. And here is how the papers will be graded: Project Grade Sheet.
4/15
4/14
Some recent artles relevant to this week's topics that may be of interest to you:
South Africa's Female Tribal Chiefs Often Rule in Fear
Corporations Tailoring Product Lines To Reflect Growing Income Inequality
Social Networks Spread Iranian Defiance Online
Protests in Moldova Explode, With Help of Twitter
Tuareg Rebels in Mali Declare Independence: Part of an African Awakening for Self-Determination?
This last one is a recent film and transcript of an interview by Amy Goodman of Firoze Manji, editor-in-chief of the prize-winning Pambazuka News, a pan-African social justice website, and former Africa director for Amnesty International. Manji touches on many contemporary issues regarding the effects of both colonial and current multinational interventions in Africa, where ethnic groups have been denied self-determination based upon foreign economic interests. Here is an excerpt:
"As for the Tuareg, these are people who have occupied vast areas of Africa. They stretch from Morocco to Mauritania to Burkina Faso. What one has to realize, that these are cattle herders. These are people who have been traditional nomads, who move around, and who got incorporated into Mali only because the French colonial government just divided up this land according to how they wanted to exploit the resources of Mali. And remember that Mali has very substantial sources of gold, as well as oil and gas. And so, the Tuareg people are related to a large community of people who stretch right across the north of Africa and in many parts of West Africa. And they have been seeking to have their own state, which is not unreasonable, and they have had many attempts to try to form a movement to liberate their territory. This was denied to them by the international community. It was denied to them by the French government. And indeed, the United States has a military presence in that area called AFRICOM. And there is no doubt at all that they are active to prevent the liberation movement, the movement of the Azawad, as the Tuareg like to call themselves, to prevent them from achieving any form of independence.
".... [Responding to a question about recent developments in Senegal] In Senegal, the president—the former president of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade, attempted to change the constitution for the 16th time to ensure that he could win the presidency in the elections on a mere 25 percent of the vote. And young people took to the streets, and there were massive protests. Unfortunately, about six people got killed in that protest. But that protest led to a situation where that change in the constitution was simply not possible. And that is what set the framework for the successful elections in Senegal, which led to the winning of the presidency by Macky Sall. And so, that’s a huge victory. But I think it’s part of a general phenomenon that is happening across the continent, which is driven by the fact that over the last 30 years our people have lost all the gains of independence. We used to have free healthcare. We used to have free education, access to water, our own telecommunications infrastructure, own communications infrastructure. All those things that we gained through independence have been lost, and these being lost because of the implementation of the—what I refer to as neoliberal policies, which have been imposed on many African countries by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. And over the last 30 years, you’ve seen people—massive unemployment, dispossession of their land, dispossession of their jobs, a decline in living standards. But worst of all, what has happened during these last 30 years has been a political dispossession, so that people feel that their governments are more accountable to the banks and to the international multinational corporations than they are to their citizens. And I think, you know, people are outraged that their governments respond more to these corporations than they do to citizens.
In Mali, for example, in exactly the area, in the northeast part of Mali, where the Azawad revolution is taking place, you have an area of something like 7,500 square miles which has been handed over to a Canadian oil company, who are also involved in gold in other parts of Mali. And so, you know—and they are making no investment into Mali itself. They just reap the oil. They have free—they have almost no taxation at all. And they are allowed to export all their profits. And so, Mali, the people of Mali, don’t benefit it. And indeed the Tuareg, whose land they are occupying, don’t benefit, either. ...And so, we have a situation in much of Africa where our rulers are deeply embedded with the multinational corporations. And I think there’s a growing discontent that people feel that they have no means for determining their own destinies. And so self-determination has become a real vital dynamic within the continent. And I think the rise of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, what people refer to as the Tuaregs, that is part of that same process of feeling, you know, a loss of self-determination."
4/10
4/9
The film, Maasai Women, is on reserve in the LRC DVD room, a.k.a. the BEACH. You may view it there, do extra credit for it, and turn it in on or before the last class, May 7. A reminder: for extra credit papers you must use course concepts and terminology to comment on the film. It is not adequate to merely write a description or synopsis. See instructions in syllabus. Extra credit for Dead Birds is due Wed., 4/18.
4/8
Second Exam Curve
90-100 A
76-89 B
50-75 C
35-49 D
0-34 F
4/3
There will be a lecture tomorrow (3/4) rather than the film, Dead Birds, which will be shown on Monday instead.
Reuters and BBC articles regarding Nuer / Dinka rivalry and raid in 2010.
3/31
Here is the info for the second exam:
There are 3 PARTS to the exam, totaling 100 points:
PART I: Questions 1-13. Short answers worth 1-2 points each, total 25 points. Write the answers for Part I on the lines provided for each question. Answer these questions as succinctly as possible. Sometimes one or two words may suffice. Other parts require more.
PART II: Questions 14-24. Choose 5 of these 5-point questions. Use the lines provided for each.
PART III: Questions 25-33. Choose 5 of these 10-point questions. Do NOT write answers for Part III under the questions. USE THE BLANK LINED PAGES (both sides) to answer these.
There is one optional bonus question worth 10 points.
Read the questions carefully, answer and label EACH PART of the question (A, B, C, etc).
Put your name on the front of each lined page, and WRITE LEGIBLY!
If the question asks for an 'ethnographic example' it means name a particular group
Subsistence strategies: foraging, horticulture, pastoralism, agriculture, industrialism
Exchange (Polanyi): reciprocity (generalized, balanced, negative), redistribution, market
Descent: patrilineal, matrilineal, ambilineal, bilateral
Residence: patrilocal, matrilocal, avunculocal, neolocal, ambilocal
Forms of marriage: monogamy, polygyny, polyandry
Family structure: nuclear, extended
Exchange at marriage: brideservice, bridewealth, dowry, reciprocal
The format is the same as exam 1. If you missed that exam, you can see more information on this Notices page 2/4 below about the questions and how to answer. Obviously, the amount of points indicates how much is expected. For 10-point questions, I expect at least 1/4-1/3 page. If I cannot read your writing, or your answer is vague or simply reiterates some part of the question, you will not receive points for it. Several people waste time repeating the question in their answer. Just answer it the way you would if I had asked the question verbally. If you have done what you need to do for this class, i.e. attended and taken notes during lecture, read the required materials, gone through the study questions and asked me about any that you are uncertain about, you should have no problem doing well on this exam.
3/25
‘Angry Brides’ Takes on India’s Dowry Culture
3/20
We will not see the film, Dadi's Family, tomorrow (3/21). We will see it next week instead.
Article and photos of child marriage in several countries.
Article about an honor killing in India in 2010.
Some recent articles about honor killings:
3/17
3/15
4-min film about polyandry in the Himalayas
5-min film from CNN on fraternal polyandry in Himachal Pradesh, northern India.
3.5-min film on Na (also called Musuo) in China
3/8
Happy International Women's Day. Here are some ways that it is celebrated around the world: International Women's Day.
3/7
Kinship symbols and cousin diagram
3/6
3/5
For those concerned about the rising cost of their educations and the growing gap between the 1% and the 99%, here is a 2-minute video produced by Fresno State students about the rally in Sacramento yesterday and a California ballot initiative to tax millionaires: Defend Your Education
3/4
3/1
Students who are concerned about GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in food may be interested in an on-going training program happening every Thursday afternoon at Lassen's, 4071 E. Main St. They are training volunteers who want to help gather signatures for a ballot initiative to label GMOs in our food. For more information, you can visit the website: Label GMOs. org. For a great film about what Monsanto is doing to family farms in the U.S. that you can watch for free online, once again, here is the URL: "The Future of Food."
Here's a link to a short piece and 13-minute film on Frontline about farmer suicides in India as a result of GM seeds. Seeds of Suicide And a 5-minute film by Vandana Siva on Youtube: Monsanto Indian Farmer Suicide.
Here are a couple of more recent articles in Counterpunch, "Neo-Liberal Terrorism in Idnia: The Largest Wave of Suicides in History", and in MailOnline: The GM genocide: Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops .
2/28
2/26
Be sure to come Monday with any questions you have about the mini-ethnography project.
2/21
2/20
Article by Dr. Vandana Siva The seed emergency: The threat to food and democracy
A 1997 article on the Nyae Nyae Ju/'hoansi-!Kung (the group that N!ai belonged to).
In 1998 the Nyae Nyae Conservancy was created. Article about how the Ju/'hoansi left the Tsumkwe reservation (seen in the N!ai film) to return to their home territories and fight for land rights and self determination: Controlling Their Destiny: Ju|'hoansi of Nyae Nyae .
List of articles in Cultural Survival about the struggles of the San: The Kalahari San
Several articles regarding San peoples' struggle for land rights. Note that they are referred to in these articles as "Bushmen." This is what the Whites called them originally, not a term the San themselves prefer. However, you still find them referred to by this term. "San" is an acceptable cover term for the various groups in the Kalahari area including the !Kung. These articles center on two other groups, the Gana and the Gwi. Their cultures are similar to that of the Ju/'hoansi.
Youtube video of an San elder in 2004 describing how three groups of San in Botswana, the Gwi, Gana, and Bakgalagadi, were harassed and forced to leave their lands: San people removed from their land (Roy Sesana), Botswana . Click "Show more" under the video for a brief summary and 2011 update.
AlJazeera Youtube multi-part video on struggles of the San to retain their ancestral lands and way of life: People & Power - San Bushmen of Kalahari- 12 Aug 07 - Part 1. There are many other short videos about the San available on Youtube.
2/18
The study questions for Weeks 7 and 8 are now posted.
2/17
Willie Nelson on the growing take-over of family farms by corporations like Monsanto, and the movement against it: Occupy the Food System
2/15
There were 4 handouts today: the Harris reading on the Potlatch, and 3 handouts for the ethnographic project. Here are links to the pages for the ethnographic project. If you need more consent forms, you can just print them out. Project guidelines, Project Consent Form, Project Worksheet. The Worksheet is due the Monday after Spring Break, March 19. Do consult with me if you are unsure about how to proceed.
Yes, you can do extra credit for the N!ai film we saw today (as you can for every film). It is due next Wednesday. Be sure to read the directions for extra credit in the Syllabus.
Since we did not get to some of the information for the study questions this week, I will combine them with those for the next 2 weeks, and label them Weeks 5, 6, 7, and 8. I will post these in the next couple of days or over the weekend. Don't forget: No class Monday. Enjoy the long weekend.
2/14
2/13
To reiterate what I said today about dropping the first exam: You can count this first exam as a missed exam. That means that your score on this exam will be 20 points lower than the lowest score you receive on the other 3 components of your grade: the 2 remaining exams, and the ethnographic project. But if you miss one of the 2 remaining exams, then the points you scored on this first exam will be what you get, and you will still get 20 points less on the actual missed exam. So basically, you will have the option to take either the score you actually got on this exam, or 20 points less than the lowest of your other exams and project. This means that if you do very well on the rest of the course components, plus do 20 points of extra credit, you could still receive a passing grade or better. But again, this is only if you put in the effort and seek help when you need it.
For those who wish to participate in a study group, you can send me an e-mail and I will add your name to the list that already exists and send you the list. This is so that you can get in touch with one another and either get together physically to go through the study questions, do it via e-mail, or one person can start a document on Google Docs where everyone can contribute their answers, and collaborate, compare, and discuss the study questions. One person needs to set up the document (maybe someone who already has gmail, but anyone can register and do it). They can just copy and paste the study questions into the Google Doc, then send the link to it to everyone on the list. Each participant can choose a different color and type their answers and comments under each question. If you start this now, you will have time to meet with me or send me e-mails about questions you are not sure about. I am also available for half an hour after class (at 10:45 and 12:45) to do study sessions where you can ask about the questions you are not sure about.
If you are having problems in general with studying or writing skills, there are places on campus where you can get help. Some people may not realize that they actually have a learning disability. At the EAC, you can get tested and get help. There is also a writing center and tutoring available through the LRC that may be of help, as well as a half-unit study course that people can take.
Wednesday, we will see the film, "N!ai The Story Of A !Kung Woman." It would be a good idea to look at the study questions for this film before viewing it and/or bring them to class.
2/12
3-minute BBC video on attempts to protect Amazonian group: Jungle tribes untouched by modern civilisation
2/10
First Exam Curve
85-100 A
70-84 B
50-69 C
35-49 D
0-34 F
This exam may serve as a wake-up call for some students. It can also be viewed as an exercise that lets you know what is expected in order to do well or at least pass the course. I realize that the theory section of the course may be difficult for some, but I was as generous as possible in giving points, and a minimum of studying should have enabled at least a C. For those who did not do well, there are a couple of options. Obviously, you can start taking the class seriously, i.e., do the reading, go through the study questions each week and get your doubts answered by me and/or fellow classmates in a study group. Print out the study questions and slides each week and bring them to class so that you can take advantage of the fact that I answer many of the questions during lecture. And very importantly, do more than just warm the seat - i.e., TAKE NOTES during lecture, and ask questions if something is unclear. You can also do extra credit papers for the films (see instructions in syllabus). The extra 20 points can make a difference in your grade. If you scored in the low F range and are not prepared to do these things to bring your grade up sufficiently, I strongly advise you to withdraw from the class. I do not want to fail anyone, but I do not give passing grades to students for just showing up. I encourage you to speak with me if you are having difficulties.
2/8
I mentioned a film about GMOs in the 11:30 class. The name of the film is "The Future of Food." You can see it for free at http://www.thefutureoffood.com/ or on Hulu. The other film that I mentioned, also excellent, is "Darwin's Nightmare."
2/7
2/4
Here is some information about Monday's exam.
There are 3 PARTS to the exam, totaling 100 points:
PART I: Questions 1-7. Short answers worth 1-2 points each. Write the answers for Part I on the lines provided for each question. Answer all questions as succinctly as possible. Sometimes one or two words may suffice.
PART II: Questions 8-15. Choose 6 of these 5-point questions. Use lines provided for each.
PART III: Questions 16-25. Choose 6 of these 10-point questions. Do NOT write answers for Part III under the questions. USE THE LINED PAGES to answer these.
Read the questions carefully and answer EACH PART of the question.
Put your name on the front of each page, and WRITE LEGIBLY!
You will not need scantrons or blue books. For Parts I and II, you will answer questions 1-15 on the exam itself. For Part III you will answer on the lined paper that I will provide.
Some questions may be slightly re-worded or combined from the Study Questions. Otherwise, they are more or less verbatim.
Answer questions directly and briefly. Don't waste time repeating the question in your answer. Here are some examples:
Question: A) What are the 2 mechanisms or processes by which cultures change? B) Give one example of each.
Answer: A) Innovation and diffusion B) automobile in the U.S., GPS in the Arctic.
Question: A) Who are the Nacirema? B)What is the point the author is making?
Answer: A) Americans. B) That our customs are just as peculiar from an outsider's view as we may think of some other cultures' customs.
Question: What is meant by 'heteronormative'?
Answer: That there are 2 sexes (male and female) that correspond to 2 genders, and heterosexuality is the norm.
Question: Why is it difficult to determine whether differences in behavior between human male and female babies are biologically based?
Answer: Socialization begins at birth. Newborn babies are treated differently depending upon whether they are girls or boys.
For this exam, you need to be prepared by having gone through the study questions. You need to know the answers and be able to go through the Part I short answers quickly. You cannot sit and ponder, or you will not have sufficient time to complete the longer questions. So pace yourself. You should be able to go through the first 7 short-answer questions quickly - in 10 minutes or less. Part II should take about 15-20 minutes. Leave ample time for the 10-point questions. Note what the question is asking - whether it says "name", "describe", "define," or "explain." Some parts of questions may be one-word answers. Don't answer something the question does not ask. You should answer all questions as clearly and as economically as possible, labeling the parts of the question in your answers, A, B, C, etc.
1/31
I sent out the list of people who wish to join a study group. If you sent an e-mail indicating your interest, but did not receive the list, please let me know.
1/29
The Study Questions for Week 4 are now posted. This is now the complete list of questions prior to the exam, unless you see a note on this page that I have added or changed any of the questions. Again, the exam questions will be drawn directly from the study questions.
Regarding forming a study group, only two students have so far e-mailed me their interest. If you want to form or join a study group, you should let me know by tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. I will send out the list of interested students Monday night. DO NOT TRY TO CRAM FOR THIS EXAM. Go through the questions well ahead of time. If anyone wants to meet with me regarding their questions, I am always available after class. You may also e-mail me if you are unsure about a question, but you should take a stab at the question first, and I can tell you whether you are on the right track.
1/27
Those whom I marked as absent this week have been dropped. If you feel you've been dropped by mistake, please let me know by e-mail: ptaber@vccd.edu.
1/24
The first exam will be a week from this coming Monday. If you would like me to help you to form a study group, you may e-mail me with the e-mail address that you would like to use to communicate with other interested students. I will compile these e-mail addresses from both the 9:30 and 11:30 classes into a list and distribute it to those on the list. You may then get in touch with one another to arrange a study group online or in person. It usually just takes one person who is willing to organize a group to say, "Hey, who wants to join a study group?" You can use Google Docs to collaborate, compare, and discuss answers to the study questions.
1/22
The study questions for Week 3 are now posted. You may want to think about forming study groups to discuss and compare your answers to the questions. In the past, students have done this through e-mail exchanges, and/or meeting face-to-face, and found it very helpful in preparing for exams. Also, you can meet with me after class or e-mail me if you have uncertainties about any of the questions.
1/18
For those who need help with their writing skills, there are tutors and other resources available at the Reading and Writing Center on campus. I would suggest that you seek help if you are not sure about grammar, word usage, and sentence construction. This will be especially important for the ethnographic project write-up later in the course. It will also help you to receive more points on your extra credit papers. Alternatively, you may want to have friends who can write well proof-read your papers.
1/17
I'm not sure whether we will get to the history of Anthropological theory on Wednesday, but I'm including those slides just in case.
If you have done extra credit for last week's film, don't forget to turn it in tomorrow.
1/16
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Check out this seldom-heard speech and see how relevant it is for the issues we face today: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in His Own Words
Study questions for Week 2 are now posted. As you can see, the list is already long, which is why it is essential to keep up week by week as you read and take notes in lecture. If you wait to go through the questions a few days before the exams you will be at a great disadvantage. Also note that not all of the questions come from the readings, which is why it is essential that you attend class and take notes. I will post the link to Wednesday's lecture slides tomorrow, Tuesday.
1/9
The study questions for Week 1 are now posted. You may want to look at them before viewing the film on Wednesday.
And to reiterate: If you print out both the study questions and the lecture slides before coming to class, it will make taking notes and answering the questions much easier.