Required Texts
(available for purchase at the campus bookstore or on reserve at the library):
Don Kulick. 1998. Travesti: Sex, Gender, and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Anne Allison. 1994. Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure, and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Lila Abu-Lughod. 1986 / 2000. Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society. Berkeley: UC Press ** Be sure to buy the later 2000 edition.
All other readings will be available as pdfs on the course syllabus page.
Discussion Questions
The most regular assignment in this course should take no more than six minutes a week: By 12 noon the day our class meets, every student must email me one open-ended discussion question that directly concerns each of the readings or films assigned for that day. These questions should not be inquiries for more factual information. One quick way to decide if you have generated a discussion question is to ask yourself if you could find the answer to your question by searching the internet. If you could – if you are asking for facts – then it is not a discussion question. The course website has examples of discussion questions. Your questions will ultimately be posted there as well, for other students to consider as they think and write. All questions will be graded on a credit / no credit basis, which means as long as you turn something in on time, you will receive full credit. If you are assigned chapters from a book, turn in one question for each chapter. You should turn in one question for each film as well.
I ask you to send me your questions because I am interested in what has made you think, what you think deserves more attention, or what is puzzling. More generally, rather than asking you to take reading quizzes (or threatening you with them!) I want to reinforce the idea that we should all be generating questions as we read, rather than looking for the "right" answers. Please take this opportunity to be creative. Don't be afraid to ask big questions, but keep that day's readings in mind.
Your questions must be sent to anth2590questions [at] gmail.com
Attendance
Students are expected to attend all class meetings, and be prepared to think, talk, and reflect in them. I will make all lecture presentations available on the course website, and will also record all the course lectures and discussions. If you miss class you will be able to find the lecture presentation and audio file on the course website. However, please be aware that your participation in class is a very large portion of your final grade (25%), and that the recording might not pick up all the voices in discussion. If you do not come to class and make an effort to contribute to the conversation, and yet do all the other assignments perfectly, you will receive a C as a final grade.
Office Hours and Consultations
I am always happy to talk with you, via email or in person. Please come to my office hours, and bring your ideas, musings, and / or rough drafts. I believe writing and learning are long-term processes and I will reward students who take this seriously. I am happy to consider revisions or second drafts of writing assignments, as long as students spend mental energy substantially reconsidering what they write. If you turn in a revised draft, you must submit your original paper (the graded copy) with it.
Luddite policy
Despite being a firm believer (and user) of technology, I have a strict policy against laptops and cell phones during our class meetings. Students are not permitted to use laptops to take notes – for reasons I outline on the course website, I believe we all learn better with fewer distractions and, unfortunately, laptops are a huge distraction. If you have a special circumstance that makes your laptop necessary for learning, please come and talk with me about it.
That said, I expect all students to bring their reading to class. If you want to bring it on an e-reader, you are welcome. Not bringing the reading to class will significantly reduce your participation grade.
The Discomfort Caused by Anthropology
It is quite possible that things we read, watch, or discuss in this course might make you uncomfortable. Although I am certainly not trying to shock you, the course materials include people with very different beliefs and experiences. Throughout our time together, I ask two things of you: 1) Without overly censoring yourself, please be respectful of other people; 2) If and when you feel uncomfortable, please take time to reflect on your own reactions, rather than taking "discomfort" as a given. Feel free to talk with me at any point.