Introduction to Social & Cultural Anthropology
Overview
- Holism in anthropology
- Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism
- Historical development of the concept of culture
- Ethnographic methods
- Ethics in research involving human subjects
- The importance of language in human perception and communication
- Kinship
- Economy
- Modes of production
- Modes of exchange
- Sex, gender, and sexual expression
- Reproduction
- Critiques of biological and cultural determinism
- Ethnicity
- Nationalism
- Violence
- Environment, ecology, and culture
Additional themes such as language endangerment and revival or race and racism may be undertaken by individual instructors.
The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some or all of the following:
- Lectures
- Small group discussion
- Large class discussion
- Case study analysis
- Films or videos
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline containing specific criteria during the first week of classes.
Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
An example of a possible assessment scheme:
Reflection/Response Papers 30% (3x10%)
Research Paper 25%
Midterm 20%
Final 25%
Total 100%
Students may conduct research with human participants as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving human subjects.
At the conclusion of the course, successful students will be able to:
- Outline the major subfields of anthropology and the importance of social and cultural anthropology within the broader perspective on humanity offered by the discipline;
- Define key terms and concepts in social and cultural anthropology and claim experience in applying them to discussions of historical and contemporary research in the discipline;
- Discuss the core methods in social and cultural anthropology;
- Identify and reflect upon the ethical obligations of pursuing research involving human subjects both living and deceased and;
- Develop and deepen an appreciation for human diversity.
Texts will be updated periodically. Typical examples are:
Bodley, John H. 2016. Tribes, States and the Global System. (Most recent edition). New York: AltaMira Press.
Eller, Jack David. 2009. Cultural Anthropology: Global Forces, Local Lives. Routledge: New York.
Kenny, Michael G. and Smillie, Kirsten. 2015. Stories of Culture and Place: An Introduction to Anthropology. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Robbins, Richard H., Cummings, Maggie and McGarry, Karen. 2016. Sociocultural Anthropology: A Problem Based Approach. Toronto: Nelson Education.
Stern, Pamela. 2015. Reading Cultural Anthropology: An Ethnographic Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Requisites
Prerequisites
No prerequisite courses.
Corequisites
No corequisite courses.
Equivalencies
No equivalent courses.
Course Guidelines
Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.
Course Transfers
These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca
| Institution | Transfer details for ANTH 1100 |
|---|---|
| Alexander College (ALEX) | ALEX ANTH 101 (3) |
| Camosun College (CAMO) | CAMO ANTH 220 (3) |
| Capilano University (CAPU) | CAPU ANTH 121 (3) |
| Coast Mountain College (CMTN) | CMTN ANTH 102 (3) |
| College of New Caledonia (CNC) | CNC ANTH 101 (3) |
| College of the Rockies (COTR) | COTR ANTH 101 (3) |
| Coquitlam College (COQU) | COQU ANTH 101 (3) |
| Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) | KPU ANTH 1100 (3) |
| Langara College (LANG) | LANG ANTH 1120 (3) |
| Okanagan College (OC) | OC ANTH 121 (3) |
| Simon Fraser University (SFU) | SFU SA 101 (3) |
| Thompson Rivers University (TRU) | TRU ANTH 1210 (3) |
| Trinity Western University (TWU) | TWU ANTH 101 (3) |
| University Canada West (UCW) | UCW ANTH 1XX (3) |
| University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) | UBCO ANTH_O 100 (3) |
| University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) | UBCV ANTH_V 100 (3) |
| University of Northern BC (UNBC) | UNBC ANTH 213 (3) |
| University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) | UFV ANTH 102 (3) |
| University of Victoria (UVIC) | UVIC ANTH 1XX (1.5) |
| Vancouver Island University (VIU) | VIU ANTH 112 (3) |
Course Offerings
Winter 2025
| CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CRN
12043
|
Mon | Instructor last name
Yard
Instructor first name
Jaime
|
Course status
Waitlist
|
This course can count as a relevant course in an Associate of Arts specialization in Intercultural and International Studies.
| CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CRN
12972
|
Tue | Instructor last name
Yard
Instructor first name
Jaime
|
Course status
Waitlist
|
This course can count as a relevant course in an Associate of Arts specialization in Intercultural and International Studies.
| CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CRN
15433
|
Mon | Instructor last name
Fitzpatrick
Instructor first name
Brenda
|
Course status
Waitlist
|
This course can count as a relevant course in an Associate of Arts specialization in Intercultural and International Studies.
| CRN | Days | Instructor | Status | More details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
CRN
15434
|
Wed | Instructor last name
Fitzpatrick
Instructor first name
Brenda
|
Course status
Open
|
ANTH 1100 006 - This course can count as a relevant course in an Associate of Arts specialization in Intercultural and International Studies.