Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology

(4 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Why do you behave and believe the way you do? How do people across the room or the globe think and act similarly or differently from you? How do we encounter these similarities and differences in our everyday lives, and what can we make out of them? Social and cultural anthropology asks what makes us human by exploring the similarities and differences among living societies and cultures. Anthropology is not just a collection of fixed theories and ideas; it also provides a way to interpret the world and imagine otherwise. Given the vast scope of its inquiry, anthropological thinking can be applied to a wide array of topics¿ from something as large as climate change and global migration to something as intimate as religious belief or sexual desire. Covering a diverse array of themes, this class offers a general introduction to the field of social and cultural anthropology. Through lectures as well as various activities (e.g., group discussions, interview assignment, etc.), we will examine key terms, ideas, and approaches in the discipline. We will focus especially on how knowledge is produced, such as the question of ethics and positionality in producing anthropological knowledge, the promise and the limitation of ¿objective¿ knowledge, and anthropology¿s role in shaping ideas of culture, race, gender, and science in the contemporary world. Various in-class and take-home activities will be introduced to apply our knowledge to the surrounding environment. Overall, this course aims to help you start developing anthropological perspectives and raise meaningful questions about the world we live in in an ethical and responsible way.