Assignment Instructions
Assignment 2: Be An Anthropologist
Mini ethnography
Due:
11:55pm ET on Sunday of Week 5
Purpose:The goal of this exercise is to observe a ‘cultural scene’ as an anthropologist would (i.e. based on everything you have learned in the course to-date). The student will analyze their observations in terms of themes from the subfield of cultural anthropology such as how it helps frame our societies (family lifestyle lineage language and communication) and in some ways its evolution.
Description:Culture as we have discussed in our readings is an incredible advantage that has allowed humans to enter almost every niche in nature. The development and maintenance of culture is what sets humans apart from other species. Culture varies by time and location. For this assignment students will be observing a particular setting for 25 minutes writing up your observations and then analyzing them. Listen to APUS anthropologist Donna Rosh give you some pointers for people-watching as an anthropologist(or read thescript).
Directions for 4-6 page Assignment:
What is an anthropological concept? Anthropological conceptsare anthropological terms and ideas. Examples of some that we’ve studied include: ethnocentrism ethnicity reciprocity kinship language and communication.You should not use this exact list of four concepts and expect them to fit your observation scene. You may of course use others – depending on what concepts are relevant to your observation. Lists of additional key concepts can be found in Lessons in the Lesson Overview section. We also have two examples to share with you from APUS anthropologists- one from Jennifer Cramer’s fieldwork inThe Gambiaand one from James Turner’s fieldwork inMexico.
One commonmisstepis to applythe four subfields of anthropology or to apply the four parts of the definition of culture.
Disclaimer
Originality of attachments will be verified by Turnitin. Both you and your instructor will receive the results.
Writing Expectations
All written submissions should be submitted usingAPA formatting. In part this includes: