ANT 420 Section 001: Backgr Anthropol Thought
Fall 2009
3 Credit Hours
Primary Instructor: Dr. Michael Murphy
Core Designation: Writing
Twelve hours of Anthropology or permission of instructor
A review of the work of four key figures in the development of social theory: Marx, Freud, Durkheim and Weber. Emphasis will be given to their relevance for contemporary social anthropology. Writing proficiency is required for a passing grade in this course.
At the conclusion of the course, attentive students will be able to...
Week 1: Howard and Barton's Thinking on Paper in its entirety
Week 2 : Marx Reader: Communist Manifesto (pp. 469-501); Marx on the History of His Opinions (pp. 3-7); Discovering Hegel (pp. 7-9); For a Ruthless Criticism of Everything Existing (pp. 12-16); Theses on Feurbach (pp. 143-146).
Week 4: Marx Reader: Working Class Manchester (pp. 579-585); The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State (pp. 734-759); Letters on Historical Materialism (pp. 760-768); Speech at the Graveside of Karl Marx (pp. 681-682).
MARX PAPER DUE.
Week 5: Durkheim Reader: The Field of Sociology (pp. 51-68); Methods of Explanation and Analysis (pp. 69-88); The Science of Morality (pp. 89-107).
Week 6: Durkheim Reader: Forms of Social Solidarity (pp. 123-140); The Division of Labor and Social Differentiation (pp. 141-154); Analysis of Socialist Doctrines (pp. 155-172); Anomie and the Moral Structure of Industry (pp. 173-188).
Week 7: Durkheim Reader: Political Sociology (pp. 189-202); The Social Bases of Education (pp. 203-218); Religion and Ritual (pp. 219-238); Secularisation and Rationality (pp. 239-249).
DURKHEIM PAPER DUE
Week 8: Weber Reader: Class, Status, Party (pp. 180-195); Bureaucracy (pp.196-244); The Sociology of Charismatic Authority (pp. 245-252).
Week 9: Weber Reader: Science as a Vocation (pp. 129-158); India: The Brahman and the Castes (pp. 396-415); Begin reading The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Week 10: The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
WEBER PAPER DUE
Week 11: Freud's Totem and Taboo
Week 12: Freud's, Civilization and Its Discontents
Week 13: Freud's, Future of an Illusion
FREUD PAPER DUE
Week 14: Overview of the Course
There will be no make-up examinations and no alternatives to writing the four assigned essays. There will be no "extra-credit" options.
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
Students will be assigned FOUR (4) essays to be completed during the course. The essays will each be a minimum of 5 typewritten pages in length (i.e., 1,000 words) and will treat successively the work of Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Freud. Each essay will be thoroughly examined for coherence, logic, grammar, spelling, format and style. All essays will be returned to the student for re-writing if necessary. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the special departmental web site created especially to assist them in perfecting writing assignments in anthropology: Writing Tools for Anthropology Students : http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/libguidt.htm . Additional assistance can be had at the Writing Center. Check out their web site at http://www.as.ua.edu/english/ugrad/wr_ctr.htm
1. The student is responsible for keeping a separate copy of every written assignment turned in to the professor.
2. The paper should have a title page which includes the name of its author, the course number and title, the date and a title for the essay.
3. The student's name should appear on every numbered page of every written assignment.
4. Staple the pages together (no paper clips, no plastic covers).
5. The paper should be fully documented, relying mainly upon the assigned readings and following the style guide of the journal American Anthropologist.
The grade for this course will be based on the writing assignments, class participation and class attendance. No other examinations will be given. Each of the four essays will be graded for punctuality (they must be turned in on schedule), intellectual content, originality, comprehension of reading and lecture material, coherence, logic, organization, grammar, punctuation, spelling and prose style. Writing proficiency is an absolute requirement for passing the course. All papers will be carefully evaluated, marked-up, and returned to the student. In some cases, a passing grade for an assignment will require one or more re-writes.
Attendance at every class meeting is a non-negotiable requirement. More than one unexcused absence will lower the grade for the course at the rate of 5% per absence.
1. V.A. Howard & J.H. Barton, Thinking on Paper.
2. Robert C. Tucker (ed.), The Marx-Engels Reader (2nd edition).
3. Hans Gerth and C.W. Mills (eds.) From Max Weber.
4. Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
5. Emile Durkheim, Selected Writings.
6. Sigmund Freud, Totem and Taboo.
7. Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents.
8. Sigmund Freud, The Future of an Illusion.
Thursday, 2-5pm and by appointment
room 19B ten Hoor
There are no examinations in this course and there are no substitutions for writing the required essays.