Culture and Personality

Daily Schedule -- Fall 1999

001 LEC 10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. TTh
Cina 214

Assigned Readings Summary Welcome Course Summary Syllabus Spring 2001 Calendar Assignments Summary CPforum Exams Stereogram of the Week from Magic Eye©

Day	Date	Class Topics and Assignments Except for most of the video materials, actual presentation will likely vary from this schedule, including the date for the midsemester exam.
Week 01		Week: 01 . 02 . 03 . 04 . 05 . 06 . 07 . 08 . 09 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 Day: | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Midsemester Exam | | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Final Exam |
(01)	Tues. 07 Sept. 1999	Question: "What do I already know about Culture and Personality?" Introductions by participants Overview of course WorldWide Web HomePage: Welcome Page Syllabus Special Facilities Office Hours Textbook Course Summary CPforum Daily Class Schedule Assignments Summary Times to Remember Exam Information Short article(s) NA Introduction to Anthropology and Culture and Personality CPforum Assignments: At a minimum of once a week post a meaningful message on the class discussion on-line chat board located at CPforum. At least one topic of your weekly posting(s) should be related to the class topic(s) of the week. (I.e., in Week 02, for example, you should discuss a topic related to what is happening in class during Week 02.) At the very end of the semester, i.e., in Week 15, post a course evaluation of the class itself. WorldWide Web Assignment: Log on to the course WorldWide WebHomePage and look over the remainder of this Daily Reading and Class Material Schedule. Its URL (Web Address) is: http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/troufs/anth4616/cpreadsc.html (The easiest way to get to the class HomePage from the UMD HomePage is to add a ~troufs and then click on "Prehistoric Cultures.") Reading Assignment: All readings are from the textbook: Human Behavior in Global Perspective: An Introduction to Cross-Culutural Psychology, Second Edition, by Marshall H. Segall, Pierre R. Dasen, John W. Berry, and Ype H. Portinga (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999). You should usually read the assignments prior to consideration of their related topics in class. If you have read the texts prior to presentation of the materials in class, you will more easily keep track of what is going on. If you have any difficulty with either the terms or with any of the various topics, stop by my office and I'll go over the materials with you. However, please do not wait day before the quiz or exam. Read "Preface," pp. ix-xi Read Ch. 1, "The Sociocultural Nature of Human Beings," pp. 1-12
(02)	Thurs. 09 Sept. 1999	The Nature of Anthropology The main characteristics of anthropology include: culture: as a primary concept comparative methods: as major approaches to the study of human behavior development and structure wholism: or the study of "humankind" as a whole, as a primary goal of anthropology The approach used in this class emphasizes the "wholistic" anthropological view which combines observations of "culture" and behavior with considerations of the physical and developmental aspects of humans. Recommendations on studying for this course "The Sociocultural Nature of Human Beings" (Brief Overvierview) Film: Talk to the Animals (M 151, 14 min.) Videotape: Chimp Talk (VC 3479, 14 min.) Linguistics: phonemics (The study of basic sounds.) phonetics (The study of sound units.) morphemics (The study of how sound units combine to form "words.") syntatics (The study of rules of sentence and phrase structures.) semantics (The study of meaning.) Discussion of Case Study #1 Topic: Current Issues in Culture and Personality Studies Details below Due Day 09 (Unexcused late Case Study papers will result in a loss of 2% of the final course grade.) WorldWide Web Assignment: Case Study #1: Current Issues in Culture and Personality Studies First of all, have a look at (1) the "Other WebSites" course page for Culture and Personality studies, and (2) the Texas A & M WebSite Anthropology in the News. Scroll through the site, noting, in general, the of items that are being reported in the area of Culture and Personality. "Kinds of items" includes things like people in the news, new finds, current controversies discussed, new methods explained, old things reinterpreted, unusual and / or special events noted, and things like that. After you have had a look at these sites write a paragraph or two about what you found. If one or more of the subjects sounds interesting to you, or the "headline" doesn't make sense to you, click on it and have a look. After you have had a look at these sites, write a paragraph or two about what you found. This will be the "Introduction" to your first Case Study. For this Case Study -- and all of the Case Studies -- you may also use traditional library materials, and, where appropriate, interviews and videotapes. So have a look at one or more of the daily papers to see what they're reporting. Next, pick one of those items or trends and explore it in greater depth. If you are looking at Anthropology in the News those items listed with several entries grouped together are usually the easiest ones to do. You will need to have a section summarizing all of the Current Issues as represented in "Other WebSites" course page for Culture and Personality studies and Anthropology in the News, and other sites that you find by surfing the web for materials related to those appearing in the "Other WebSites" course page for Culture and Personality studies and Anthropology in the News. Also have a look at Ethos: The Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology You can introduce summary and your analysis of it in the "Introduction" to your first Case Study. Try surfing the web by searching with the "Search Engines" button found on all of the course WebPages. Or use the search engines found on the course Search Engines Page. The keywords listed below will also help you get started with this part of the project. Hint: When you do a search on an item that has more than one word, like "culture and personality," click on the "phrase" button of the search engine -- otherwise it will search out everything with "culture" and everything with "personality," and the list of "hits" could get quite large. (I once got more than a quarter million hits on one search.) For the second section of your paper you will need to pick one of those trends or discoveries and explore it in greater depth. keywords: culture and personality, personality, modal personality, basic personality, psychological anthropology, cognitive anthropology, national character, ethnoscience, ethnosemantics, language and culture, cross cultural psychology, cross cultural psychiatry, cultural psychology, life history, projective tests, perception, cognition, motivation, evolutionary psychology, emic / etic, acculturation, dream analysis, cross cultural psychiatry, unobtrusive measures, abnormal behavior, abnormal psychology, altered states of conscience, spirit possession Use the PCforum to discuss your paper with others in the class. You may work on any or all Case Studies in a small group (3 - 5 people), but when you do that you need to first check with the instructor. On day (04) you will be required to find and translate at least one foreign language source AltaVista Translation Service (which is found at the top of each class WebPage). You might want to start that part of the project now. If you are not familiar with foreign languages, use the Language Identifier WebPage to help you figure out a WebPage's language. Language Identifier identifies more than a dozen languages: 1. English, 2. French, 3. Spanish, 4. German, 5. Italian, 6. Dutch, 7. Afrikaans, 8. Norwegian, 9. Danish, 10. Swedish, 11. Portuguese, 12. Icelandic, and 13. Latin. Or use Xerox's "Language Identifier." Due on or before Day (09). (Unexcused late Case Study papers will result in a loss of 2% of the final course grade.) Suggestion: Don't put off the Web Assignments. The web doesn't always work when you want it to. See the "Preparing the Final Draft" section of the Sociology - Anthropology -Criminology - Humanities / Classics Writing Guide to see the details of what your Case Study report should look like when you hand it in. Basically, it should look like this: Case Study #1: [Title] Current Issues in Culture and Personality Studies: A Brief Review Introduction Put your paragraph(s) summarizing your list of current issues, and your analysis here. Put a transitional statement here about your discussion / analysis that follows. Body Describe and discuss your views on current issues in culture and personality studies. Use some form of organizational structure. The "Journalist's Questions," Who,What, When, Where, How and Why are often helpful. Or use a simple outline like, "There are ten important issues currently at the center of focus in Culture and Personality studies. First. . . . Modern-day studies seem to overlook two historically important topics. One of these. . . ." Use the Paradigm Online Writing Assistant if you do not have much experience writing college papers. Conclusions Put your conclusions here. Name page number References Your "References" or "Works Cited" information should go on a separate page. See "Citing Electronic or Internet Resources" for information on how to cite items from the web. Reading Assignment: Ch. 1, "The Sociocultural Nature of Human Beings," pp. 12-24
Week 02		Week: 01 . 02 . 03 . 04 . 05 . 06 . 07 . 08 . 09 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 Day: | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Midsemester Exam | | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Final Exam |
(03)	Tues. 14 Sept. 1999	Review of Case Study #1 Assignment Videotape: "Culture and Personality," Faces of Culture Series, Part 5 [aka "Psychological Anthropology."] (VC 146442.1) Terms / Concepts: acculturation (H. Barnett, et al) enculturation (Melville J. Herskovits) education habituation / imitation national character (Ruth Benedict) values / beliefs / attitudes deviance, "normal" / "abnormal" "illness" Individuals: Ruth Benedict Margaret Mead F. L. K. Hsu Notes: culture : society : : personality : individual WorldWide Web Assignment: Log on the web and continue getting materials for your paper. Use keywords from Day (02), or explore the web on your own. Reading Assignment: Ch. 2, "Cross-Cultural Research: Scope and Methods," pp. 25-37
(04)	Thurs. 16 Sept. 1999	Discussion of today's WWW assignment to translate a foreign-language WebSite Discussion of papers (Picking a Topic) Basic Terms in Culture and Personality Studies (intro.) In-class work on Case Study #1 WorldWide Web Assignment: Translate at least one foreign language web site using the AltaVista Translation Service found at the top of each class web page. If you are not familiar with foreign languages, use the Language Identifier WebPage to help you figure out a WebPage's language. Language Identifier identifies more than a dozen languages: 1. English, 2. French, 3. Spanish, 4. German, 5. Italian, 6. Dutch, 7. Afrikaans, 8. Norwegian, 9. Danish, 10. Swedish, 11. Portuguese, 12. Icelandic, and 13. Latin. Or use Xerox's "Language Identifier." Write a rough draft of Case Study #1. Reading Assignment: Ch. 2, "Cross-Cultural Research: Scope and Methods," pp. 37-52
	Mon. 20 Sept. 1999	End of second week -- last day to change grading option or cancel a course and not have it recorded on your transcripts. No fall registrations accepted after this date. Last day to add classes.
	Mon. 20 Sept. 1999	Yom Kippur holiday, classes in session.
Week 03		Week: 01 . 02 . 03 . 04 . 05 . 06 . 07 . 08 . 09 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 Day: | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Midsemester Exam | | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Final Exam |
(05)	Tues. 21 Sept. 1999	Basic Terms in Culture and Personality Studies (cont.): A CP Glossary in Historical Context "Cross-Cultural Research: Scope and Methods" (intro.) WorldWide Web Assignment: Check the web or the library one more time for information to fill in the gaps in your paper. Revise your rough draft, incorporating new materials. Reading Assignment: Ch. 3, "Human Development and Informal Education," 53-78
(06)	Thurs. 23 Sept. 1999	"Cross-Cultural Research: Scope and Methods" (cont.) "Human Development and Informal Education" WorldWide Web Assignment: Finish final draft of Dase Study #1, Current Issues in Culture and Personality Studies to hand in on or before Day (07). Reading Assignment: Ch. 3, "Human Development and Informal Education," 78-93
Week 04		Week: 01 . 02 . 03 . 04 . 05 . 06 . 07 . 08 . 09 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 Day: | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Midsemester Exam | | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Final Exam |
(07)	Tues. 28 Sept. 1999	This week we're essentially going to do historical background, and have a look at some basic terms / concepts as presented in three videotapes: Videotape: "Everything is Relatives: William Rivers" (VC 1759, 52 min.) [From the Strangers Abroad series] Cultures: Todas (India) polyandry the "bow and arrow ceremony" (pater vs. genitor) cross-cousin marriage infant marriage (2 - 3 years of age) village exogamy dairy shrines sacred (notions of "purity" dominate their lives) Sites: Murray Island, Torres Straits (off the southern coast of New Guinea; Papuans) Egypt Melanesia (cultural "area") Terms / Concepts: "The Geneological Method" "informant" = "respondent" moiety (composed of 15 clans) "kin" / "affines" Individuals: Sir James Frazer (The Golden Bough) Alfred Cort Haddon Sir Edmund Leach W.H.R. Rivers examined mental characteristics by examing their senses, starting with visual perception Hypothesis: Differencs in color perception might run in families. This led to "The Geneological Method." was one of the first anthropologists to study seriously the idea of morality ("there is no word for adultery in Toda." Grafton Elliot Smith (1871-1937) "heliolithic theory" Notes: Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to the Torres Straits first time a team of experts set out to study various aspects of a culture attempted to understand "naked culture in its own setting" wanted to study the "mental characteristics of the native," of "the lower orders of creation" mental capacity of the natives was though to be inferior ("concrete" vs "abstract") took some of the first anthropological cine footage ever to be shot recorded audio cylender recordings Book of Common Prayer, "Table of Kindred and Affinity" Pidgin English Question: What about the Sydney Opera House? You should have by now picked out an area to work on for your paper and looked at some sources of information. If you are still having trouble, page through the text, and/or the journals listed above. If that does not work, stop in and talk with me. WorldWide Web Assignment: Log on the web and continue getting materials for your paper. Explore the web on your own. Reading Assignment: Ch. 4, "Perceptual and Cognitive Processes," 94-107
(08)	Thurs. 30 Sept. 1999	Videotape: "Coming of Age: Margaret Mead" (VC 1755, 52 min.) [From the Strangers Abroad series] Cultures / Sites: Polynesia, American Samoa, Taû Coming of Age in Samoa, 1928 Admirality Islands New Guinea, Manus, Pere Village Growing Up in New Guinea, 1930 New Guinea, Sepik River, Arapesh, Mundugumor Sex and Temperament, 1935 Bali Trance and Dance in Bali (film) Terms / Concepts: cultural change / social change enculturation field work participant observation life cycle childhood / child rearing adolescence male / female roles rites of passage "nature / nurture debate" "Culture and Personality School" tabu Individuals: Margaret Mead: archival film footage, biography Franz Boas Ruth Benedict Reo Fortune Gregory Bateson ("National Character School") Dr. Benjamin Spock (Baby and Child Care) Rhoda Metraux (with Margaret Mead,The Study of Culture at a Distance, 1953) Notes: photographic essay "Balinese character" pidgin English American Troops in a British Community, 1945 Publications: see above WorldWide Web Assignment: Log on the web and continue getting materials for your paper. Explore the web on your own. Reading Assignment: Ch. 4, "Perceptual and Cognitive Processes," 107-125
Week 05		Week: 01 . 02 . 03 . 04 . 05 . 06 . 07 . 08 . 09 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 Day: | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Midsemester Exam | | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Final Exam |
(09)	Tues. 05 Oct. 1999	Videotape: Margaret Mead in Samoa Margaret Mead / Derek Freeman controversy (VC 1314, 51 min.) Cultures / Sites: Polynesia Samoa Terms / Concepts: "nature vs. nurture" debatae Individuals: Margaret Mead Derek Freeman Catherine Bateson Franz Boas Ruth Benedict Robin Fox Laura Nader Publications: Coming of Age in Samoa -- Margaret Mead Margaret Mead and Samoa -- Derek Freeman Quest for the Real Samoa -- Lowell Holmes Notes: Discussion of Case Study #2, on a figure in Culture and Personality studies Topic: a figure in Culture and Personality studies Details below Due Day 17 (Unexcused late Case Study papers will result in a loss of 2% of the final course grade.) Pick one or two writers in the area of culture and personality and write a paper summarizing and discussing their contributions to the field. You may pick your own individual(s). Suggestions include, but are not limited to, the following: Victor Barnouw, Gregory Bateson, Ruth Benedict, Brent Berlin (and Paul Kay), Franz Boas, Cora Du Bois, Derek Freeman, Sigmund Freud, Geoffrey Gorer, A. Irving Hallowell, Francis L. K. Hsu, Abram Kardiner, Clyde Kluckhohn, Florence Kluckhohn, Richard Kluckhohn, Weston La Barre, Lucien Lávy-Bruhl, Claude Lávy-Strauss, Ralph Linton, Margaret Mead, George P. Murdock, W. H. R. Rivers, Edward Sapir, Marshall H. Segall, Melford E. Spiro, Julian Steward, Sir Edward B. Tylor, Leslie White, John W. M. Whiting (and Whiting and Irvin L. Child) Also check the "Individuals" listed on the Other WebSites Page. WorldWide Web Assignment: Due: Case Study #1 (Web Assignment #1) Start thinking about Case Study #2, on a figure in Culture and Personality studies. Reading Assignment: Ch. 5, "Alternative Views on Human Competence: General Intelligence and Genetic Epistemology," 126-145
(10)	Thurs. 07 Oct. 1999	"Perceptual and Cognitive Processes" For your paper narrow and state subject area in terms of a problem or assertion if possible. Prepare a bibliography of at least four items, and state problem in one or two sentences. Have bibliography and problem statement okayed. Discussion of Case Study #2 WorldWide Web Assignment: TBA Research Case Study #2 Reading Assignment: Ch. 5, "Alternative Views on Human Competence: General Intelligence and Genetic Epistemology," 145-170
Week 06		Week: 01 . 02 . 03 . 04 . 05 . 06 . 07 . 08 . 09 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 Day: | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Midsemester Exam | | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | Final Exam |
(11)	Tues. 12 Oct. 1999	Discussion of Midsemester Examination Discussion of papers (Narrowing subject area) For your paper hand in a one- or two-sentence statement of what you have found out so far, and five reasons (bits of evidence) why you think the statement is credible. Discussion of Case Study #2 WorldWide Web Assignment: Check the web or the library one more time for information to fill in the gaps in your paper. Revise your rough draft, incorporating new materials. Reading Assignment: Ch. 6, "Everyday Cognition," pp. 171-184
(12)	Thurs. 14 Oct. 1999	Videotape: Stranger in the Mirror: An Examination of Visual Agnosia (VC 2464, 60 min.) [From NOVA. ] Cultures: English American Sites: Terms / Concepts: primary visual cortex visual association cortex conscious and unconscious "levels" the film uses "knowledge" (what does that mean?) Individuals: Paul Broca ("Broca's area" of the brain) Phineas Gage Publications: The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat : And Other Clinical Tales -- Oliver W. Sacks Notes: context gives meaning to visual detail recognizing pattern is important We attach names to things. "When something has a name, it means that one has a perception category for the item, and that gives it meaning. . . . The name gives structure and order to the [perceptual] world." 19th century brain injury to Phineas P. Gage led to personality change ("no longer Gage") The English man could recognize individual letters [on signs], but couldn't read the words. The Birmingham analysis sought (1) to check "recognition" (but the Englishman could see and could even copy by drawing the picture of the bird); their (2) second question was could the patient find a name for the item (but the Englishman knew the names and the definitions). Larry does not have recognition at a conscious level, but he does have recognition at an unconscious level. There is a difference between having conscious knowledge of something, and having unconscious knowledge of something. cognition perception sensory vision hearing touch taste smell extra - sensory ? conception Cf., "Foundations of Cultural Knowledge," in Culture and Cognition: Rules, Maps, and Plans (San Francisco, CA: Chandler, 1972), pp. 3-38.

Footnote to the Quarter

"The mark of the new evolution which sweeps us along is that unlearning and learning anew have already become as important to survival as learning used to be. What people know is far less important than their capacity for modifying or discarding what they think they know."