ANTHRO 110 · Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology

Led by Franz Boas Simulacrum

An introduction to sociocultural anthropology — its central questions, methods, and theories — with special attention to culture as a foundational concept and ethnography as a foundational method.

1. Module 1

   The Discipline and Its Origins: Culture, Race, and Relativism

   Led by Franz Boas Simulacrum

   The question

   Cultural relativism is frequently attacked as moral relativism. But Boas's claim was methodological, not moral. What is the distinction — and what does it require of the anthropologist studying practices they find troubling?

   Outcome

   The student can explain cultural relativism methodologically, describe the Boasian critique of racial determinism, and define the culture concept.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 1.1 Essay: What Is Cultural Relativism? Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 1.2 Primary Source Analysis: Boas on Race Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Begin the course → Print certificate of completion
2. Module 2

   Ethnography: The Method, the Field, and the Fieldworker

   Led by Franz Boas Simulacrum

   The question

   Malinowski's published ethnographies perform authority and presence. His private diaries reveal anger, contempt, and racism. What does the gap between the two documents tell you about the epistemological claims of participant observation?

   Outcome

   The student can define participant observation, describe the Kula Ring, explain Malinowski's functionalism, and discuss the ethical tensions in fieldwork.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 2.1 Case Study: The Kula Ring Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 2.2 Essay: The Malinowski Diaries Problem Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
3. Module 3

   Culture as Pattern, Gender as Construction

   Led by Franz Boas Simulacrum

   The question

   Margaret Mead argued that adolescent stress and gender roles are culturally, not biologically, produced. Derek Freeman challenged her fieldwork. What is at stake — scientifically and politically — in this debate? Does Freeman's critique undermine the broader argument that gender is culturally constructed?

   Outcome

   The student can describe Benedict's configurational approach, explain the nature/culture debate, and analyse gender as cultural construction.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 3.1 Essay: Nature, Culture, and Gender Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 3.2 Primary Source: Patterns of Culture Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
4. Module 4

   Exchange, Structure, and the Social Organisation of Meaning

   Led by Franz Boas Simulacrum

   The question

   Why do people give? Mauss: the gift is never free — it creates obligations to receive and to return. Lévi-Strauss: kinship systems are structures for the exchange of women. Gayle Rubin: this is both important and deeply problematic. What does each claim — and what does each conceal?

   Outcome

   The student can explain the three obligations in the gift economy, define the total social fact, and evaluate structural anthropology and its feminist critique.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 4.1 Primary Source: The Gift Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 4.2 Essay: Lévi-Strauss and His Critics Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion
5. Module 5

   The Interpretive Turn: Culture as Text, Writing, and Power

   Led by Franz Boas Simulacrum

   The question

   The Balinese cockfight is not gambling. It is a story the Balinese tell themselves about themselves. Geertz reads it through thick description. The writing culture debate asks: who speaks — and with what authority? Write the final synthesis essay.

   Outcome

   The student can define thick description, analyse the Balinese cockfight, describe the writing culture critique, and write a synthesis essay tracing the culture concept across the discipline's history.

   Sub-units

   1. ○ 5.1 Primary Source: Thick Description Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   2. ○ 5.2 Final Essay: Culture, Ethnography, and Power Open this unit → ✓ ↻
   Open this module → Print certificate of completion