This course could cover almost anything, since anthropology is a product of the modern world and cultural anthropology essentially has been a study of human beings in all parts of the world.  My own interests have been the numerous localized factions and conflicts that have been active in much of the non-western world and also the rapid changes that have been occurring in a globalizing society.  Our readings will focus on a number of hot spots around the world -- Afghanistan, Iran, the former Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Rwanda, South Africa, Chile -- and because events continue to challenge our ability to keep abreast of affairs I will be handing out additional readings on current events. 

General Requirements 

Reading:  Below is a schedule of readings but I will possibly change specific assignments as the course proceeds.  Other specific assignments can be given weekly, sometimes daily, in preparation for discussions in class.  Some of the assignments will come from the textbooks but others will come from the handouts.  Reading materials to be obtained are the following:

    At the Campus Bookstore: 
>  Khassan Baiev.  2003.  Grief of My Heart [ or: The Oath:  A Surgeon Under Fire].  New York:  Walker [Paperback] ISBN: 0-8027-7709-0 
>  Julie Flint and Alex de Waal.  2008.  Darfur: A Short History of a Long War. [second edition]. London:  Zed.  •  ISBN-10: 1842776975 ISBN-13: 978-1842776971
>  Sarah Chayes.  2006.  The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban.  New York:  Penguin.  ISBN-10: 1594200963
>  Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin.  2007.  Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time.  New York: Penguin.  ISBN-10: 0143038257, ISBN-13: 978-0143038252 
> Gourevitch, Philip.  1998.  We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families : Stories from Rwanda.  New York : Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. ISBN 0374286973 
>  Tutu, Desmond Mpilo.  1999.  No Future Without Forgiveness.  New York: Doubleday.  ISBN: 0385496907 

 On Eres [Library code “paradigm”]
>  *Sahlins, Marshall.  2004.  "The iconization of Elian Gonzales" pp 166-193, In Apologies to Thucydides:  Understanding History as Culture and Vice Versa.  Chicago:  University of Chicago. [ISN 0226734005] 
>  *Fenton, Tom.  2008.  The Day they Buried the Ayatollah. Iranian Studies 41(2); 241-246.
>  *Derluguian, George.  2003.  “Introduction:  Who’s Truth?”’.  In:  A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya, by Anna Politkovskaya.  Chicago:  University of Chicago.
> *Denich, Bette.  1994.  "Dismembering Yugoslavia: Nationalist Ideologies and the Symbolic Revival of Genocide."  American Ethnologist 21(2):367-390. [ISSN 0002-7294] 
>  *Drakulic. Slavenka.  1999.  “The Importance of Wearing a Uniform.”  In:  Cafe Europa: Life After Communism.  New York:  Penguin.  Pp.85-92, 160-169. 
>  *Bevan, Robert.  2004.   “Cultural Cleansing:  Who Remembers the Armenians?”  In:  The Destruction of Memory:  Architectural and Cultural Warfare.  Pp. 25-60.  Reaktion Books
>  *Balic, Smail.  1993.  “Culture Under Fire”  In:  Why Bosnia:  Writings on the Balkan war, ed by Rabia Ali and Lawrence Lifschultz (eds).  The Pamphleteer's Press.

Attendance and class participation:  You will be expected to attend every class and to participate in discussions of the required readings.  There will be a number of lectures but the success of the course will depend heavily on class participation.  Class attendance and participation will definitely help in the writing assignments and examinations; there is virtually no chance of doing well without consistent exposure to what happens in class.  For that reason a record of attendance will be kept.  If you expect to miss a class, please notify me first, or as soon afterwards as possible.  A student that misses more than 3 unexcused classes should not expect to earn an A or A-; a student who misses more than 6 hours should see me about the terms of continuing in the course. 

Special activities:  I plan to show some films and I hope to have at least one speaker come in from the outside.  Be sure to be present when a film is shown and when we have an outside speaker; again, attendance will be taken.  I will eventually ask you to write some short comments on the films late in the course and your responses could have a marginal influence on your grade. 

Examinations and papers:  There will be two examinations and one paper, weighted roughly equally in the grading.  You will be given some clues as to what to expect on the exams; mostly they will be short answer questions.  The final project will be a take-home paper.  The dates of examinations are approximate.  To prepare you for the examinations I may give you a list of possible questions.  We will be studying issues:  come prepared to show that you understand the issues, the processes involved in the specific social developments that we will examine.  The final paper will not be cumulative; it will count no more than the other examinations but it will differ somewhat from the others in that it will require you to bring the lecture material more precisely to bear upon the major issues raised in the readings. 

A special note to pass/fail students: Pass/fail students will have to do all the same activities as the other students and pass at the level of a C on all exams/papers.  Any pass/fail student who has a B+ average toward the end of the course may be excused from the last paper.  However, they will be required to attend classes to the very end of the course. 

Organization of the course and specific activities 

Class meetings will be of three kinds.  One kind of activity will be our discussions about assigned readings.  I will assume you are following the reading schedule.  My lectures will be aimed at making the readings intelligible to you.  There may also be some additional reading assignments on short notice.  Stay on schedule.  Come to class prepared to discuss the readings.  A second kind of activity will be the lectures.  You will be expected to keep notes; material from the lectures will directly bear upon the examination questions.  Because I am best informed on affairs in Asia, my lectures will be biased to that part of the world but the relevance of the principles discussed to other parts of the world will, I hope, be evident.  A third activity will be films and guest lectures.  Again, attendance will be taken and you will be asked some questions about the films on the tests.