Revised Guidelines and Assessment Procedures

Revised Guidelines and Assessment Procedures

for teaching of

Anthropology/Sociology100x

and other courses for meeting the Core Program

course requirement on the topic

Perspectives on the Human Condition

Prepared

February 26, 2001

by David Koester

Department of Anthropology

Undergraduate Studies Coordinator

Revised and Amended

December 19, 2003

by Patty Gray

Department of Anthropology

Assistant Professor

Preamble: The College Core curriculum requires that all students take 18 credits in

the general subject area, “Perspectives on the Human Condition.” Anthropology and

Sociology 100x, “The Individual, Society and Culture,” is offered as one of six

courses meeting this requirement.

Aims for the Course:

Objectives and teaching options for the course were established in the Core

Curriculum Requirements in 1990. The following is taken directly from the Core

Curriculum statement. These ideas should serve as a guideline for development of

100X courses and not necessarily as specific expected outcome targets.

From - Core Curriculum Requirements, August 1990

OBJECTIVES AND OPTIONS: INDIVIDUAL, SOCIETY AND CULTURE

1. Objectives

a. Examining the motivated, perceiving and problem-solving individual;

b. Understanding the processes of socialization and enculturation in cross-cultural perspective, and sociocultural change expressed in the interrelationships among social groups;

c. Exploring social class, social role, ethnicity, race and related social factors which affect individual behavior in groups, organizations and the society at large;

d. Examining the role of symbol systems, including language, in constructing and expressing meaning in different cultures;

e. Investigating social institutions cross-culturally: the family, religion, education, the economy and the polity.

2. Options: Two course descriptions suggest how the objectives may be fulfilled. Other

courses may be developed to satisfy the requirement if they meet the general objectives

stated above.

a. Individual/Group Emphasis

This course would focus on individuals and groups, as the bases of modern societies and states. The values and beliefs individuals learn, and the assumptions they make about themselves and others, would be critically examined. Although the course would emphasize the experiences of individuals and groups in American society, a number of cross-cultural comparisons would be introduced (e.g., caste and cross- cultural kinship practices). Concepts central to the course would be culture, society, norms, symbols, status, role, socialization, stratification, social control, ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.

b. Cultural Diversity Emphasis

Human groups throughout the world face many of the same fundamental problems, but they approach and solve these problems in different ways. Emphasizing the study of small-scale societies, this course will use film, fiction and ethnographies to explore universal themes in relation to diverse cultural contexts. Perspectives on language, "race" and culture would first be introduced. Then, three or four culture areas would form the basis for discussion of such themes as love, sexuality, gender roles and family, war and aggression, success and achievement, spirituality, language and cultural change.

Instruction

The objectives listed point to a realm of knowledge and understanding that students

should gain from the 100X course. There is considerable latitude in how these and

related topics may be addressed. Key concepts that might be explored include, but are not limited, to the lists below, which are extrapolated from the above Objectives.

A. Motivated, perceiving, and problem-solving individual

Paths to cooperation: major techniques of social influence through which people are induced to cooperate with a request; nepotism, reciprocal altruism, coercion
Emotions: as evolved behavioral motivators; as communicative frame; expressed in linguistic markings
Decision-making: Wason selection task/cheater detection, prisoner’s dilemma; utilitarian principles; goal-oriented versus value-oriented
Illness as a biocultural experience
Attitudes toward gender, sexuality, ethnicity, social status: gender bias and sexism; homophobia; racist ideas; religious bias; bias toward physical appearance; class aspersions
Cultural variation in artistic expression: art and identity; form and function
Culturally variable conceptions of time: clash of calendars; queueing and waiting

B. Socialization and enculturation

Social conformity and patterning: groupthink; ritual conformity; explanation by causation (Tinbergen’s principles): ultimate, phylogenetic, proximate, and ontogenetic causes; explanation by common circumstances; mechanical and organic solidarity
Enskilment and social practice: habit and habitus
Social environment and social relations: hierarchical arrangement of ethnic identities and affiliations; the phenomenon of outvoting; secrecy
Influence of genetic and environmental influences on development of personality, intelligence, attitudes
Sociocultural change: core-periphery dynamics, revitalization, syncretism; historical patterns or schemata; narrative differences in historical accounts

C. Social class, social role, ethnicity, race affecting individual behavior in society

Status differentiation and identity: Kin/role ranking, ascribed and achieved status, claims of common origin (ethnicity), claims of common descent (clan and lineage), moieties, section systems.
Race as a social construct
Role confusion, ambiguity, conflict

D. Role of symbol systems, language

Mythic understanding of the world
Organizational or political use of symbols
Linguistic codifications of reality (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)
Linguistic expressions of status or domination
Presentation of self and group using symbolic identity markers

E. Social institutions in cross cultural perspective

Family in cross-cultural perspective: kinship terms, marriage rules, residence rules changing nature of the Family as a Social Institution •Religion in cross-cultural perspective: conflict over ritual differences; concepts of spirituality; ritual as means to create shared understanding
Economic practices: gifts and reciprocity, redistribution, market exchange; concepts of property;
Polity: egalitarian, ranked, and stratified societies in comparison; modes and mechanisms of domination;
Organizations: Nature of bureaucracy; voluntary associations; pledged groups; total institutions

Assessment

This assessment tool, developed for ANTH 100X, Fall 2003, builds on the approach to assessment previously developed by David Koester in cooperation with other ANTH 100X instructors (see www.faculty.uaf.edu/ffdck/assets/100xGuidelines.pdf).

In the past, assessment has been approached using a qualitative exercise administered at the end of the semester, done by students as a take-home assignment, the results of which were converted into a quantitative measure. The goal of revising this approach is to provide a simpler and more reliable assessment tool that can be implemented with reasonable ease by all ANTH 100X instructors and that will produce measurable, uniform, and comparable results across all sections of the course.

Procedure

To accomplish this, we are now using a quantitative assessment tool, namely, a multiple choice quiz that can be administered in class, rather than as a take-home assignment. In order to measure the progress students make as a result of their experience in the course, an identical quiz will be administered both at the start of the semester and at the end of the semester (pre-test/post-test model). The difference in the aggregate results can then be measured, thereby providing some indication of the success of the course in meeting core curriculum objectives. The quizzes are treated as an entrance/exit survey of student opinion.

The questions developed for this assessment were drawn from the Core Curriculum Objectives as proposed in August 1990. One question has been developed for each of the five areas listed under the objectives.

1. Cultural variation in problem-solving (“Examining the motivated, perceiving and problem solving individual”)

2. Socio-cultural change/Overcoming romanticizing of peoples (“Understanding the processes of socialization and enculturation in cross-cultural perspective, and sociocultural change expressed in the interrelationships among social groups”)

3. Race as a social construct (“Exploring social class, social role, ethnicity, race and related social factors which affect individual behavior in groups, organization and the society at large”)

4. Multivocality / collective meaning of symbols (“Examining the role of symbol systems, including language, in constructing and expressing meaning in different cultures”)

5. Cultural variation in family structure (“Investigating social institutions cross-culturally: the family, religion, education, the economy and the polity”)

ANTH 100X “Entrance Survey”

This is an ungraded, in-class exercise being administered in all sections of ANTH 100X. The purpose of the exercise is to assess that state of your knowledge and understanding of certain key concepts at the start of the course. You will complete an identical exercise at the end of the course to assess how well we did in communicating those key concepts to you. So this is really a test for your instructors, not for you! Please don’t try to guess what you think should be the right answer – the survey is designed so that more than one answer might be possible. What we are interested in is finding out what you genuinely feel at this time.

Circle what you think is the best answer to the questions below:

1. Every society in the world is confronted with the same kinds of problems: how to get food, how to provide shelter, how to sanction the co-habitation of male-female couples, etc. Which of the following describes the best solution to the problem of how to organize and govern society?

A. The democratic nation-state is the best form of government for any society, anywhere in the world, as demonstrated by its wide-ranging success.

B. The ideal form of government for any society varies depending on things like the scale of that society, its cultural traditions, its religious persuasions, etc., and the greatest challenge to nation-states is accommodating pluralism in society.

C. Tribal societies with more egalitarian forms of government are the best because they are more peaceful, provide better stewardship of the environment and more equitable gender relations.

D. Any form of government will work as long as it is based on capitalism, since it is human nature to want to own private property.

2. American society today is very different than it was 100 or even 50 years ago; it has undergone a great deal of social and cultural change. Which of the following best describes the way societies in general undergo change?

A. Non-industrial societies, like those in Third World countries, are very traditional, and therefore they do not change, but remain rooted in the past.

B. All cultures are constantly undergoing change as their members creatively manipulate symbols and experiment with innovations in their practices and traditions.

C. Industrial societies, like the United States, will inevitably assimilate backward societies, because their rate of social and cultural change is so rapid.

D. Primitive societies are changing at a slower pace than industrial societies, and so they preserve a way of life that is similar to that of our own ancestors.

3. Human beings around the world have very different physical appearance – some have very dark skin, while some have very light skin, some have straight, smooth hair and long noses, while some have kinky hair and flat, broad noses, etc. Which of the following statements best describes and explains this phenomenon?

A. Human beings are divided into different races, which are determined by biology, and the race you belong to can influence factors like intelligence, moral character, and motivation to succeed in life.

B. Genetic variation in human populations over thousands of years affects physical appearance, but the idea that humans are divided into different races is a purely social construct.

C. Human beings are divided into races, which are determined by biology, and certain races tend to be inherently superior to others.

D. Genetic variation in human populations over thousands of years affects physical appearance, and has resulted in distinct and separate races.

4. At left is a symbol that is familiar around the world, and has special meaning for U.S. citizens. Which of the following best describes where that meaning comes from?

A. The meaning was created by the artist who designed the symbol.

B. The meaning is determined by the United States government.

C. The meaning is collectively interpreted by those who share a common society and history.

D. U.S. citizens are taught what this symbol means from their childhood.

5. Kinship is a universal aspect of the human experience – everybody has a family, and the family is a key social institution. Which of the following best describes the way the family is structured and functions in society?

A. The family is a biological entity; a true family consists of a mother, a father, and their offspring, and sometimes grandparents of the offspring.

B. The nuclear family is universal and comprises the most “normal” family arrangement, although “broken” families are increasingly common and are a symptom of social ills.

C. Ideas about what constitutes a family are influenced by culture, and there is a great deal of variation in normal, stable family structure around the world.

D. Family structure is a sign of a society’s level of advancement; more advanced cultures have evolved the nuclear family arrangement because it is the most stable form.

ANTH 100X “Exit Survey”

This is an ungraded, in-class exercise being administered in all sections of ANTH 100X. You may recall that you took an identical exercise at the start of the semester, which was meant to assess that state of your knowledge and understanding of certain key concepts at the start of the course. We would now like to assess how well we did in communicating those key concepts to you. This survey is designed so that more than one answer might be possible, but by now you should realize which answer is considered to be the best one from an anthropological perspective. Thanks for helping your anthropology instructors test themselves!

Circle the letter next to what you think is the best answer to the questions below: