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Course Description

Although anthropology is oen identified as something that happens “over there” or among exotic “Others,” American anthropologists have long conducted research within the United States, applying ethnographic methods to the study of American communities, hospitals, churches, workplaces, and other areas. Despite this focus, however, no clear “school” of U.S. anthropology has emerged.

is course examines both the breadth of anthropological research in the United States and the potential significance of an anthropology of the United States.

We begin by examining the history of anthropological concerns with U.S. populations, critically exploring the origins of the distinction between the Anthropology of the U.S. and the Anthropology of Native

America. We will then examine the relationship between anthropological research in the United States and broader disciplinary concerns with difference, authenticity, reflexivity, and the possibilities of “native ethnography.” e main portion of the class will examine identity and experience in everyday life in the U.S., and we will end with a discussion of U.S. empire and hegemony around the world.

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of the class, students should be able to:

✦Apply an anthropological approach to the analysis of contemporary U.S. social issues.

✦Critically analyze ethnographic research on and representations of life in the United States.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE SPRING 2014

Anthropology of the United States

ANTHRO 169 (60410)

TIME & LOCATION

M/W/F 10-10:50amRoom: PCB 1300

PROFESSOR INFO

Angela C. Jenks, Ph.D.

Office: SBSG 3304Email: ajenks@uci.eduPhone: 949-824-3188Office hours: Mon & Wed 2-4pm or by appointment

COURSE WEBSITE

Information for this course can be found through the EEE system at:  https://eee.uci.edu/14s/60410

e course website includes links to readings, assignment information, lecture slides and handouts, discussion forums, and information about campus resources.

Image credit: Inside the Statue of Liberty crown; Patrick Shyu; http://www.flickr.com/photos/19650786@N04/4994415542

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Attendance & Activities (10% of grade)

e weekly class sessions are a main source of learning for the course. Please arrive to class on time and plan to stay for the entire session.

ere will be multiple activities throughout the quarter that are designed to give you an opportunity to apply the concepts we have been learning in class. ese may include quizzes, short reflections, film viewing guides, or other activities. No make-up or late activities will be accepted. Missing more than one activity will have a negative effect on your grade in the class.

Observation Exercise (20% of grade)

is assignment gives you a chance to practice observing and describing social life in the United States. Choose an unfamiliar public place or event where you can participate or discreetly conduct observations. e setting is up to you—it could be a city block, an area of campus, a religious service, a shop, a restaurant, a park, a cultural event, a tourist attraction, etc. It should, however, be a place that is open to the public and in which your observations will not be disruptive.

Spend at least 1 hour there, taking notes as you observe. Pay attention to what you see, hear, and smell. What is the setting like? Who is there (do you notice any patterns in age,

gender, racial or ethnic characteristics)? What are people doing?

Write a 750-1,000 word (~3 pages) essay describing your observations and discussing their relationship to relevant themes of the class.

Midterm & Final Exams (50% of grade)

ere will be one in-class midterm and a final exam. Exams may contain multiple choice, identification, short answer, and essay questions. You will receive a study guide one week before each exam.

Make-up and late exams will only be accepted in extraordinary (and well documented) situations.

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Course Requirements

e idea of the “melting pot” has been a dominant metaphor for the assimilation and “Americanization” of U.S. immigrants since the early 20th century.

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Ethnography Review (20% of grade)

Choose one book-length ethnography on any topic related to an “Anthropology of the United States” and write a 1,000 word (~4 page) critical review and analysis. is is not simply a summary—think about the theoretical arguments and ethnographic methods of the book, it’s historical context, the author’s background, reactions and reviews (either from within anthropology or outside), the style of presentation, and your own interpretations and reactions.

Many ethnographies of life in the United States have been written in the last century. You may choose any ethnography that interests you, but must have the book approved. If you are having trouble finding a book,

feel free to come to office hours and I can offer suggestions.

Complete the project in two stages:1. Proposal (10 points): Write a

1-paragraph (~150 words) description of your topic, identifying your chosen ethnography and its central themes.

2. Review (70 points): Write a 1,000 word (~4 double-spaced pages) review and analysis of this ethnography.

is project will be discussed more during class sessions and a grading rubric will be posted to the course website. For further assistance, the UCI Writing Center offers online and drop-in peer consultations for students at any stage of the writing process.

GRADING

ACTIVITIES & QUIZZES 40 PTS

OBSERVATION EXERCISE 80 PTS

MIDTERM EXAM 100 PTS

FINAL EXAM 100 PTS

ETHNOGRAPHY REVIEW

Topic 10 PTSReview 70 PTS

TOTAL 400 PTS

GRADING SCALE (PTS)

A ≥ 374 A- ≥ 360B+ ≥ 346 B ≥ 334 B- ≥ 320C+ ≥ 306 C ≥ 294 C- ≥ 280D+ ≥ 266 D ≥ 254 D- ≥ 240F ≤ 240

Course Requirements, cont.

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Q&A Course Policies

What’s the best way to

contact the professor?

To speak in person, come to my office hours or make an appointment. Otherwise, email (ajenks@uci.edu) is generally the best way to contact me. During the week (M-F), I aim to respond to messages within 24-48 hours. Please remember to include the name of the course in the subject line and your full name in your message.

I missed class. What should I

do?

You are responsible for all material covered in class. In-class activities cannot be made up, although missing one activity will not have an effect on your grade. If you must miss a class session, check the course website to access any handouts and presentation slides, and ask another student for a copy of the notes.

Can I use my phone or laptop

in class?

Electronic devices are useful tools but oen distract from learning. Make sure your cell phones and mp3 players are silenced and put away during class. You may use a laptop/tablet in class, but only to take notes or access class materials like lecture slides. You may be asked to put your laptop/tablet away during some classes. Please also come prepared with a pen and paper.

What if I need an

accommodation because of a

disability?

e UCI Disability Services Center ensures access to educational programs and resources for all students. If you believe you need an accommodation because of the impact of a disability, please contact them at 949-824-7494 or visit http://disability.uci.edu/ and bring your faculty notification letter to me.

Can I turn the paper in late

or take a make-up exam?

Make-up or late exams will only be accepted in extraordinary and well-documented situations. Other assignments will lose 5 points a day for each day of lateness.

I think my grade is incorrect.

What should I do?

If you believe there is a mathematical error in the calculation of your grade, please email the professor. Requests for a regrade should be submitted in writing within 48 hours of receipt of your grade. Please provide your original assignment and a detailed written explanation of how you believe your work meets the requirements of the assignment/rubric.

What is the course policy

regarding plagiarism and

academic honesty?

Learning in this class depends on you completing all required assignments yourself. Violations of academic integrity (cheating, plagiarism, etc.) will result in no credit for the assignment and possible course failure and referral for disciplinary action. If you are unfamiliar with UCI’s policies on academic integrity, please go to http://www.editor.uci.edu/catalogue/appx/appx.2.htm

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TOPIC DATE WHAT TO READ WHAT’S DUE?

Week 1Introduction to the Course: What is “Anthropology of the US”?

Mon, 3/31

No readings.Week 1Introduction to the Course: What is “Anthropology of the US”?

Wed, 4/2

Linton, Ralph. 1937. “One Hundred Per-Cent American.” e American Mercury 40:427-429.

Sapir, Edward. 1916. “Culture in the Melting Pot.” (edited and introduced by Alex Golub)

Week 1Introduction to the Course: What is “Anthropology of the US”?

Fri, 4/4

Marcus, George E. 1999. “How Anthropological Curiosity Consumes Its Own Places of Origin”. Cultural Anthropology 14(3):416-422.

Week 2Anthropology and the American “Other”

Mon, 4/7

Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. 1991. “Anthropology and the Savage Slot: e Poetics and Politics of Otherness.” Pg. 17-44 in Recapturing Anthropology, edited by Richard G. Fox.

Week 2Anthropology and the American “Other” Wed,

4/9Starn, Orin. 2011. “Here Come the Anthros (Again): e Strange Marriage of Anthropology and Native America”. Cultural Anthropology 26(2):179-204.

Week 2Anthropology and the American “Other”

Fri, 4/11

Kelley, Robin D.G. 1997. “Looking for the ‘Real’ Nigga: Social Scientists Construct the Ghetto.” Pg. 15-42 in Yo’ Mama’s disFUNKtional!: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America.

Week 3“Insiders” vs. “Outsiders”: Defining Native Ethnography

Mon, 4/14

Varenne, Herve. 2002. “America and I.” Pg. 75-83 in Distant Mirrors: America as a Foreign Culture. Philip DeVita & James Armstrong, eds.

Passaro, Joanne. 1997. “‘You Can’t Take the Subway to the Field!’: ‘Village’ Epistemologies in the Global Village.” Pg. 147-162 in Anthropological Locations, edited by Akhil Gupta and James Ferguson.

Week 3“Insiders” vs. “Outsiders”: Defining Native Ethnography

Wed, 4/16

Narayan, Kirin. 1993. “How Native Is a ‘Native’ Anthropologist?” American Anthropologist 95(3): 671-686.

Week 3“Insiders” vs. “Outsiders”: Defining Native Ethnography

Fri, 4/18

Myerhoff, Barbara. 1980. Number Our Days. Excerpt. Syllabus quiz (EEE)

Course Schedule & Assignments (Changes to this schedule may be made as necessary).

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TOPIC DATE WHAT TO READ WHAT’S DUE?

Week 4Who is an American?

Mon, 4/21

Chavez, Leo R. 2013. e Latino reat: Constructing Immigrants, Citizens, and the Nation. Excerpt.

Ethno-graphy selection due

Week 4Who is an American?

Wed, 4/23

Park, Kyeyoung. 1999. “I Really Do Feel I’m 1.5!: e Construction of Self and Community by Young Korean Americans.” Amerasia Journal 25(1):139-163.

Week 4Who is an American?

Fri, 4/25

Perry, Pamela. 2001. “White Means Never Having to Say You’re Ethnic: White Youth and the Construction of ‘Cultureless’ Identities”. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 30(1):56-91.

Week 5Children, Family, and Kinship

Mon, 4/28

Toby Alice Volkman. 2005. “Embodying Chinese Culture: Transnational Adoption in North America.” Pg. 81-113 in Cultures of Transnational Adoption. T.A. Volkman, ed.

Collard, Chantal and Shireen Kashmeri. 2011. “Embryo Adoption: Emergent Forms of Siblingship among Snowflakes® Families.” American Ethnologist 38(2):307-322.

Week 5Children, Family, and Kinship

Wed, 4/30

No readings: Catch up and review.

Week 5Children, Family, and Kinship

Fri, 5/2

Midterm Exam in class Midterm exam

Week 6Religion: Myth, Ritual, and Identity in Everyday Life

Mon, 5/5

Luhrmann, Tanya M. and Howard Nusbaum. 2010. “e Absorption Hypothesis: Learning to Hear God in Evangelical Christianity.” American Anthropologist 112(1): 66-78.

Daugherty, Mary Lee. 1976. “Serpent-Handling as Sacrament.” eology Today 33(3): 232-43.

Week 6Religion: Myth, Ritual, and Identity in Everyday Life

Wed, 5/7

Amster, Matthew H. 2008. “A Pilgrimage to the Past: Civil War Reenactors at Gettysburg.” Pg. 15-27 in Reflecting on America: Anthropological Views of U.S. Culture. Clare L. Boulanger, ed.

Zepp, Ira G. 1997. “e Shopping Mall as Sacred Space.” In e New Religious Image of Urban America.

Week 6Religion: Myth, Ritual, and Identity in Everyday Life

Fri, 5/9

Bayoumi, Moustafa. 2009. How Does it Feel to Be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America. Excerpt.

Course Schedule & Assignments, cont. (Changes to this schedule may be made as necessary).

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TOPIC WHAT TO READ WHAT’S DUE?

Week 7Experiencing Race, Class, and Gender

Mon, 5/12

Baker, Lee D. 2001. “The Color Blind Bind.” Pg. 103-119 in Cultural Diversity in the United States. Ida Susser and Thomas C. Patterson, eds.

Hill, Jane. 1998. “Language, Race, and White Public Space.” American Anthropologist 100(3):680-689.

Observa-tion Exercise due

Week 7Experiencing Race, Class, and Gender

Wed, 5/14

Foley, Douglas E. 1990. “The Great American Football Ritual: Reproducing Race, Class, and Gender Inequality.” Sociology of Sport Journal 7(2):11-135.

Week 7Experiencing Race, Class, and Gender

Fri, 5/16

Howe, Alyssa Cymene. 2001. “Queer Pilgrimage: e San Francisco Homeland and Identity Tourism.” Cultural Anthropology 16(1):35-61.

Week 8Making a Living: Work and Identity

Mon, 5/19

Paugh, Amy Lynn. 2012. “Speculating about Work: Dinnertime Narratives among Dual-Earner American Families”. Text & Talk 32(5):615-636.

Bourgois, Philippe. “Office Work and the Crack Alternative Among Puerto Rican Drug Dealers in East Harlem.” Pg. 418-431 in Urban Life. George Gmelch and Walter Zenner, eds.

Week 8Making a Living: Work and Identity

Wed, 5/21

Nagle, Robin. 2013. Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City. Excerpt.

Week 8Making a Living: Work and Identity

Fri, 5/23

Ho, Karen. 2009. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street. Excerpt.

Week 9Individualism and Conformity

Mon, 5/26

NO CLASS: Memorial DayWeek 9Individualism and Conformity

Wed, 5/28

Elliott, Carl. 2003. Better than Well: American Medicine Meets the American Dream. Excerpt.

Week 9Individualism and Conformity

Fri, 5/30

Herman, Edward S. and Noam Chomsky. 1988. Manufacturing Consent: e Political Economy of the Mass Media. Excerpt.

Week 10Globalization and Empire: e U.S. Abroad

Mon, 6/2

Lutz, Catherine. 2008. “Empire is in the Details.” American Ethnologist 33(4): 593-611.

Week 10Globalization and Empire: e U.S. Abroad Wed,

6/4Watters, Ethan. 2010. “e Americanization of Mental Illness.” New York Times Magazine.

Week 10Globalization and Empire: e U.S. Abroad

Fri, 6/6

No readings. Catch up and review. Ethno-graphy Review due

Final Exam Monday, June 9, 10:30am-12:30pmMonday, June 9, 10:30am-12:30pm

Course Schedule and Assignments (Changes to this schedule may be made as necessary).

ANTHROPOLOGY OF BIOMEDICINE & BIOTECHNOLOGY WINTER 2014ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE UNITED STATES SPRING 2014