Professor Hsain Ilahiane, 322B Curtiss Hall, 294-6145, hsain@iastate.edu

Class Hours:  TR 2:10-3:30, 306 Curtiss Hall

Office Hours: Wednesday 10-12, or by appointment.

NOTES: 

1.  If you would like a hard copy of the syllabus, I will be more than delighted to provide you with a copy.

2.  Iowa State University complies with the American with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.  Any student who may require an accommodation under such provisions should contact me as soon as possible and no later than the end of the first week of class or as soon as you become aware. No retroactive accommodations will be provided in this class.

Course Content and Objectives:

This course introduces students to the orders of meaning and power that influence human living and working conditions, as well as the capacity of human beings to alter those conditions. This course provides an intensive survey of two major components in cultural anthropology: the dynamics of socio-cultural change, and the conditions under which anthropological knowledge and methods may be used to facilitate change.  The first component covers the first half of the semester, and deals with issues such as the nature of human culture, patterns and processes of cultural change, and theories explaining such changes.  The second half of the course focuses on direct application of anthropological knowledge and techniques in solving practical problems.  It starts with a brief review of the history of applied anthropology.  Specific issues such as natural and cultural resource management, education, poverty, food production and hunger, health and nutrition, over population and economic development will be discussed as case studies. 

The reading load of this course is demanding, and you are responsible for the required readings.  A combination of lectures, readings, films, class discussions and projects will familiarize students with approaches to local and global problems in applied anthropology and the solutions that the discipline has proposed.  Although the course focuses on anthropological knowledge and research techniques, it also explores the concepts, methods, and data from a broad range of disciplines that form the background of anthropological techniques.  In addition, the course considers how the interests of institutions, the character of problems faced by subject populations, and the social identities and ethics of anthropologists, influence applications of scientific theories and methods.

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