ANTHROPOLOGY OF MULTICULTURAL AMERICA
(ANTH 110)

Dr. Kenneth Brook ( brookk@mail.montclair.edu )
Fall 2000


COURSE DESCRIPTION

Tell me and I will forget.
Show me and I will remember
Involve me and I will understand.

Confucius

For this semester, Anthropology of Multicultural America is part of a campus-wide project which uses service-learning methods to engage faculty, students and community leaders in a collaborative effort to resolve a community problem.  At MSU, service learning is defined as a course-based, credit-bearing educational experience in which faculty, students and community leaders participate in an organized service activity that addresses an identified community need.  The course provides students with a context to observe, test, or try out discipline-based concepts, skills and theories.   Students are provided with structured time to reflect on their hands-on experiences in order to enhance a greater understanding of course content and promote a sense of civic responsibility.

I appreciate your willingness to be a "pioneer" in this exciting exploration of an unusual adventure in learning.  The course will primarily focus on:

  1. the uses and applications of anthropological concepts/methods to resolve community problems
  2. the provision of community service to agencies providing services to the elderly in Montclair.  These programs include:  The Gatekeeper Project, Mobile Meals of Essex, Senior Care and Activities Center, and the Van Dyk Manor.


Students are required to provide 2-2 1/2 hours of service per week at one of the agencies working in collaboration with us this semester.  Students will be asked to share their findings and experiences with the entire class.  Classroom activities and community-based experiences will provide us with a greater understanding of how to make change in a local community, the meaning of participatory democracy, and the structure and functioning of Montclair as a community.  In class, we will explore the need for and value of active citizenship in a democratic society.  Furthermore, we will look honestly and critically at both the blessings and banes of life in the United States.   Utilizing anthropological materials, we will examine questions about diversity and equality in American life, especially as they relate to race, ethnicity, gender, age, and class.

Class lectures and assigned readings provide an introduction to the main cultural and social structures of American life.  The United States is a highly complex society composed of a diversity of subcultures (e.g., racial, ethnic, religious, occupational, age), yet based on a cross-cutting set of shared beliefs and behaviors.  Utilizing the methods and analytical skills of anthropology, and other related social sciences, areas of convergence and divergence in values, life-styles, and psychological attributed are analyzed for mainstream, minority and variant cultural patterns in the United States.

The discipline of anthropology has enjoyed a distinguished life investigating far-flung, kin-based, small-scale, exotic, non-literate and technologically-simple societies. Harold Driver has indicated that anthropologists are attracted to the discipline for such reasons as: "a distaste for laboratory procedures, an aversion for quantification, an interest in the exotic and bizarre, a thirst for adventure, and a desire to express one's individuality." We might add to this list, the promulgation of fair play for the downtrodden and the oppressed.

During the last two decades, anthropologists have attempted to obviate their previous neglect of the study of American culture. For a variety of reasons, anthropologists now have written a veritable smorgasbord of domestic ethnographies. These delicacies in the anthropological cuisine include studies of racial and ethnic groups, occupational groups, urban tramps, the homeless, the poor, the elderly, criminals and delinquents, religious groups, hospitals, schools, mental health centers, prisons, asylums, etc.

Former Vice-President Hubert Humphrey once said that "the ultimate moral test of any government is the way it treats three groups of citizens. Those in the dawn of life...our children, those in the shadows of life...our needy, those in the twilight of life...our elderly." These subcultures and subgroups, which exist at the margins of visibility, will be given special attention. It is important to learn their story so we might see ourselves more clearly.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE

Not to know is bad.
Not to want to know is worse.
Not to hope is unthinkable.
Not to care if unforgivable.

Johnetta Cole, President of Spelman College


The principal objectives of this course are:

  1. to learn new knowledge and to develop analytical skills through active participation in organized service experiences that meet a community need;
  2. to integrate academic knowledge acquired in the classroom with knowledge gained through off-campus activities;
  3. to think, write, and talk about knowledge gained as a result of real-life experiences and activities in Montclair;
  4. to foster an enhanced sense of civic responsibility and caring;
  5. to become acquainted with the applications of anthropological theory and insights into contemporary American life and culture.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

But for fate, we - the fortunate and the unfortunate - might have been each other.

President Bill Clinton, 1993 Inaugural Address

  1. ATTENDANCE IS IMPORTANT.  I will monitor your attendance and class participation.  Both the instructor and the class have the right to be informed if you cannot be present for a class meeting.  It is a courtesy for you to inform us in advance (my voice mail number is 973-655-7542) of an anticipated absence and its rationale.
  2. COMPLETION OF ASSIGNED READINGS AND RELATED QUESTIONS.  Readings will be assigned at the beginning of each week.  It is recommended that readings be completed on time so as to increase your understanding of and participation in class discussions.  Your answers to the questions related to the assigned readings must be handed in and will be graded.  It is preferred that your answers be typed and double spaced.
  3. NO EXAMINATIONS will be given in this course.
  4. SERVICE ACTIVITIES IN MONTCLAIR:
    The syllabus indicates the requirements for providing service in an agency in Montclair.  These requirements were established in consultation with the Montclair agencies providing services to the elderly.  After reading the requirements for participation, you must complete a Service Learning Contract form and submit it to me by the end of the second/third week of the semester.  All assignments must be completed properly and on time.

    As you work your way through this course, I hope to see advances in your analytical, social and moral skills and abilities.  Analytical: I expect that you will learn about how the service organization operates within its context, how it impacts on those it serves, understand the structural and cultural causes of social problems, and learn about the mobilization of human and material resources for social change.  Social:  the development of critical thinking and decision-making skills, teamwork, oral and writing skills, problem solving, and leadership.  Moral: become an agent for social justice, how service can be integral to living a life of civic engagement.

REQUIRED BOOKS:

Bellah, Robert, et.al. Habits of the Heart. NY: Harper and Row, 1985
Ritzer, George. The McDonaldization of Society. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Ridge Press, 1997.
Myerhoff, Barbara.  Number Our Days.  NY:  Simon and Schuster.
Liebow, Elliot. Tell Them Who I Am. NY: Penguin Books, 1993.
Newman, Katherine. Falling From Grace. NY: Vintage Books, 1988.
Stack, Carol.  All Our Kin.  NY:  Basic Books.  1974.
Jones, Mary and Abraham, Jay. This is Montclair:  A Community Handbook.   Revised edition.  NJ:  League of Women Voters of Montclair-Glen Ridge Educaiton Fund.  1989. 

GRADING:

  1. Class participation - 10%
  2. Completion of Questions on Assigned Readings - 40%
  3. Service Experience:  Structured Experiential Journal/Supervisor's Report - 50%
    Attendance and participation in service activity sessions (one 2-2 1/2 hour session per day per week)
    Completion of weekly journal assignments
    Submission of supervisor's evaluation

Students must complete all of the assignments in order to receive a passing grade in this course.  Without a reasonable excuse, a later paper will be penalized a letter grade for every day it is late.  The work must still be submitted, however, in order to receive a passing grade for the course.

COURSE OUTLINE:

A. Introduction/objectives:  Service Learning

1. Foundations and principles of Service-Learning
2. Identification of Service-Learning Sites
3. Seleciton of Service-Learning Site
4. A Profile of the Elderly in America
5. Defining and Resolving a Community Problem

B. Introduction to Anthropology

1. Anthropology and American Life and Culture
2. The Anthropological Perspective
3. The Culture Concept
4. The Notion of Cultural Relativism
5. The Concept of Holism
6. Anthropological Research Methods

C. American Culture: An Anthropological View

1. Values and World View
2. Learning to be an American: Home, Work and School
3. Kinship, Marriage, and the Family
4. Science, Technology, and Economics
5. Law and Politics
6. Religion and Magic

D. Cultural and Social Diversity

1. Notions of Subculture and Subgroup
2. Race, Ethnicity and Class
3. Theories of Culture Change and Continuity
4. Implications for the Future

E. Selected Subcultures and Subgroups

1. Ethnic and Racial Subcultures
2. Age and Sex Groupings
3. Occupational Groups
4. Religious Groups
5. Outsiders (e.g., mental patients, the poor, homeless, alcoholics, drug addicts)


OFFICE HOURS:

Please feel free to see me during my office hours, which are Mondays (8-8:50 am), Wednesdays (1-150pm) and Thursdays (10-10:50am), or by appointment -- Dickson Hall, Room 406.

Please do not hesitate to see me during my office hours if you have any problems.  It is not necessary to wait until our regular meeting to deal with problems.  I hope that you have an enjoyable experience and that you learn a lot through this program.

SERVICE LEARNING IN AN AGENCY PROVIDING SERVICES TO THE ELDERLY:

With faculty guidance and agency supervision and training, students will participate in a community-based activity which provides opportunities to work cooperatively with others, to learn new skills, to think critically, to connect prior knowledge to current learning and to reflect on your role as an agent of change.

Journaling is a learning tool.  The purpose is to provide a means for critical reflection upon your out-of-class and in-class experiences.  The goal is to promote both intellectual and personal growth through integration of your personal experiences with knowledge you are gaining in this course.

Find a quiet place as soon as possible after leaving the site and write down some notes which are responses to the questions of the week.  Writing the journal provides a record of your experiences and academic course work.

STRUCTURED EXPERIENTIAL JOURNAL

Directions:  Following the guidelines indicated below, after each service session you are required to reflect on and write about certain aspects of your service learning experience.  These assignments are due weekly.   I will return your journal assignments promptly along with my comments.   Please make a copy of all your journal assignments, because at the last class session of the semester, you must turn in your entire journal along with all my weekly comments and your responses.

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS

Week 1

Before you begin your service-learning experience, write an entry in yourjournal that discusses your expectations.

  1. How come you chose the site that you did and any prior experiences that may have influenced your decision?
  2. Describe what you think the service agency will be like?
  3. Describe what you think the clients will be like?
  4. What do you think you will do and what do yo hope to get out of the experience, not only in terms of this specific course but also in terms of your own development?
  5. What are some of your anxieties or concerns about undertaking this project?

Week 2

  1. What did you do on the first day?  Who did you work with?  What activities did you engage in?  What materials/resources did you use?
  2. How was the experience consistent with or different from your expectations?  Explain
  3. How did you feel about your first day participating in the Agency?
  4. Detail your assigned responsibilities and main tasks at the agency.
  5. Describe are the issues that this service agency addresses.  Detail the organization's mission, major goals and beliefs.

Week 3

  1. Describe the people you work with.
  2. Describe the physical space of the agency.  Who occupies which physical spaces?   Where is it located?  What sort of neighborhood is it in?  What short of street is it on?  Describe in detail what you see, hear, and smell.
  3. Describe the skills, knowledge, values, and abilities you bring to the agency.
  4. How did you feel about your second day's participation in service learning?
  5. What do you believe are the causes of these community needs?

Week 4

  1. Describe, in detail, your activities this week.
  2. Are you receiving adequate training, supervision, and information to be effective at the Agency?  Explain.
  3. Describe the major programs or activities which the agency uses to achieve its goals?   What are the resources the agency uses to achieve its goals (e.g., financial, volunteer, material, other)?  Describe the schedule of activities at the agency the day, week, etc.
  4. Detail the relationship between two ideas you learned in class and/or from the assigned readings which are applicable to your service-learning experience.
  5. Did anything surprise you?  If so, what?
  6. Describe what you did at the site this week that made you feel that you made a difference?   How come?

Week 5

  1. Discuss the most positive thing that happened in your service experience this week?
  2. Discuss the most difficult and most satisfying aspects of your work?  How come?
  3. How do the elderly at the site react to you?
  4. How do others working at the site react to your participation in the agency?
  5. How is your service experience relevant to the readings and discussions in class?   Be specific.
  6. Whose political and economic interests are served by the agency?

Week 6

  1. Can you detect a point of view of the workers at the agency toward the elderly?  Be specific.
  2. Describe the structure and organization of the agency?  Who is responsible for doing which tasks?
  3. How has your understanding of the elderly and the way an agency works to provide a service to elderly changed as a result of your participation in this project?
  4. What moral good does your agency provide?

Week 7

  1. How is your service-learning experience related to your classroom work?
  2. Describe what has been most challenging or difficult about your service-learning experience?   What have you learned from the experience?
  3. Are there any themes evident in what you witness and hear?
  4. Describe the person or activity you find interesting or challenging in your project?

Week 8

  1. Can you detect a point of view of the workers at the agency toward the elderly?  Be specific.
  2. How does the structure and organization of the agency and the values expressed by workers at the agency impact on the elderly (e.g., sense of values, social action, assumptions about social issues and individuals, mission)?
  3. Describe the kinds of conflicts that are present and how are these conflicts resolved?
  4. Can you compare/contrast your service-learning experience with anything that you have experienced, read about, or imagined?  Be specific.

Week 9

  1. Describe the specific tasks that you work on this week.  Are they any different from what you have been doing?  If so, how?
  2. Do you feel that you are making a difference?  If YES: What leads you to this conclusion?  If NO:  What leads you to this conclusion?
  3. In what ways are situations in your service-learning experience reinforced or illustrated by academic work in the classroom (i.e., discussion, lecture, reading)?

Week 10

  1. From your experience in the agency, what works well?  Detail.  What changes/improvements would you make?
  2. Describe the major things you have learned in working with the elderly?
  3. Describe the major things you have learned working with the staff in the agency?
  4. In what ways did your experience in service-learning enable you to use your acquired knowledge?
  5. Has your service learning experience changed your attitudes, values or beliefs in any way?  Explain.

Week 11

  1. Summarize your service experience.
  2. Detail the five (5) major things you have learned from your service-learning experience?
  3. What have you learned about yourself from the service-learning experience?

Week 12

  1. Describe the aspects of this course (i.e., readings, assignments, speakers, in class activities) were most helpful to you in fulfilling your responsibilities at the agency?
  2. If you were to revise this course, what changes would you make?
  3. How does your service experience connect to your long-term goals?
  4. Imagine that you are in the position of a powerful politician or business leader.   What would you do to solve the problem?  What specific steps would you take?   Whose help would you enlist?

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