Course Language:
English
Course Coordinator:
Courses given by:
Course Objectives:
To provide a general introduction to the writing, reading, and critical-thinking skills that students will require to succeed in Anthropology at the undergraduate level.
Course Content:
See below.
Course Methodology:
1: Lecture, 2: Question-Answer, 3: Discussion
Course Evaluation Methods:
A: Testing B: Practice C: Homework
Vertical Tabs
Course Learning Outcomes
| Learning Outcomes |
Program Learning Outcomes
|
Teaching Methods | Assessment Methods |
| 1. Develop the ability to write effective essays. | 4,10 | 1,2,3,5 | A, D |
| 2. Understand how to evaluate and use the primary and secondary sources. | 4,7,10 | 1,2,3,5 | A, D |
| 3. Demonstrate linkages between ideas. | 4,10 | 1,2,3,5 | A, D |
| 4. Practice constructing arguments and structuring reasoning. | 4,10 | 1,2,3,5 | A, D |
| 5. Critically analyze and question data, fostering informed and skeptical attitudes towards its usage. | 4,7,10 | 1,2,3,5 | A, D |
| 6. Demonstrate logical, persuasive and credible communication skills | 10 | 1,2,3,5 | A, D |
| 7. Recognize basic concepts, theoretical perspectives and historical development of anthropology. | 1 | 1,2,3,5 | A, D |
Course Flow
| COURSE CONTENT | ||
| Week | Topic | Study Materials |
| 1 | In this first session students will be given guidelines on what to expect in the coming 13 weeks. You will be instructed on how to prepare for classes and quizzes, and how to prepare your essay plan. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 2 | Use this time to: (1) thoroughly read the material relating to undergraduate study skills provided in the Week 1 Course Information folder on Dropbox; (2) review the two core texts for this course, Margraff Turley’s (2016) Writing essays. A Guide for Students in English and the Humanities and Swatridge’s (2014) Oxford Guide to Effective Argument and Critical Thinking. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 3 | This session covers the writing of essay introductions and the process of arguing a case. You will then read and debate a text exploring frontiers between hunters and farmers, radically different ways of being in the world, and some of the reasons for the frequently destructive encounters across them. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 4 | This week you will learn: (1) how to structure the all-important middle part of the undergraduate essay; (2) improve your clarity of thought and communication. You will then be exposed to a primary text relating to 1930s Sinai, which we will discuss in the context of identifying bias, prejudice and racism in the anthropological record. Problems associated with uncritical use of unilinear models of cultural evolution will also be introduced. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 5 | This session continues our look at the middle section of the undergraduate essay, focusing on the mechanics of linking sentences, paragraphs, ideas and sections to create an integrated, polished argument. We will also look in more detail at how to use your sources and evaluate critical orthodoxies. The session concludes with a student-led seminar on Alan Sokal’s infamous spoof article, Trangressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity. How good are you at recognising nonsense dressed up as postmodernist theory? | Provided as .pdf files |
| 6 | University holiday. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 7 | It is not enough simply to sprinkle a few sources over your work as an afterthought (‘fairy dust’); you need to truly understand them. This session looks at the risks of: (1) misrepresenting others’ claims; (2) confusing causes and effects; (3) drawing conclusions from history; (4) appealing to emotion rather than reason. You will also learn how to conclude your essay in style. You will then return to themes first encountered in Weeks 2 and 3, with a critical reading of part of Patrick Brantlinger’s Dark Vanishings - an unsettling exposé of the so-called extinction discourse in anthropology. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 8 | This week focuses on: (1) how you might support your argument using examples, facts and numbers; (2) how to use grammar and punctuation to best effect in your essays. We then consider the hostile book review as an example of critical analysis in action. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 9 | This session examines the vexing question of writing style and how to improve it. It goes on to consider what we can be sure about when assessing evidence critically, and what might just be wishful thinking. There is a difference! The session concludes with a look at the extent to which differences of academic culture may lead different people to very different conclusions, even on the strength of exactly the same evidence. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 10 | Effective use of quotations, footnotes and bibliographies is an essential part of tertiary-level critical analysis, to say nothing of being your guardian angel with regard to that most heinous of academic crimes: plagiarism. In this session, you’ll cover these topics in detail, before moving on to a reflective discussion about how conscious or subconscious bias might - if unacknowledged - lead you to express an ill-considered, subjective opinion or prejudice. This week’s case study returns to the anthropological mainstream with a look at whether human skills, such as the construction of elaborate artefacts, can truly be said to differ from those of animals. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 11 | This session focuses on a couple of frequently neglected skills: how to use a library and how to get the most out of secondary sources. We will also look at the oversimplification of arguments, with the aim of empowering you to avoid doing just that. The session concludes with a student-led seminar on humanity’s multifaceted exchanges with nature, considering them from the perspective of introductory economic anthropology. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 12 | Tutorial week. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 13 | This week we’ll look briefly at the undergraduate dissertation and how to ensure that your argument hangs together. Contradicting yourself or making incompatible claims is definitely not for winners! Together we’ll then begin a two-session in-depth critical analysis of the nature of occupation at one of Turkey’s best-known and most spectacular Neolithic sites: Göbekli Tepe. | Provided as .pdf files |
| 14 | In this final session of the course, we’ll consider the all-important questions of: (1) how to lay out a developed argument; (2) how to lay out a developed argument under time pressure - in other words, how to write exam essays! We will then complete our two-session critical analysis of the nature of occupation at Göbekli Tepe, before concluding the course with a summary of the recommendations for effective argument that you’ve learned this semester. | Provided as .pdf files |
Recommended Sources
| RECOMMENDED SOURCES | |
| Textbook |
Marggraf Turley, R. 2016. Writing essays. A guide for students in English and the humanities. 2nd edition. London and New York: Routledge.
Swatridge, C. 2014. Oxford guide to effective argument and critical thinking. Oxford: Oxford University Press. |
| Additional Resources | |
Material Sharing
| MATERIAL SHARING | |
| Documents | YULearn |
| Presentation | YULearn |
| Exams | YULearn |
Assessment
| ASSESSMENT | ||
| In-Term Studies | Number | Percentage |
| Assignment | 5 | 50 |
| Final Exam | 1 | 50 |
| Total | 100 | |
| CONTRIBUTION OF FINAL EXAMINATION TO OVERALL GRADE | 50 | |
| CONTRIBUTION OF IN-TERM STUDIES TO OVERALL GRADE | 50 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Course’s Contribution to Program
| COURSE'S CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM | ||||||
| No | Program Learning Outcomes | Contribution | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1 | Acquires the basic terms, theoretical point of views and the historical evolution of anthropology. | X | ||||
| 2 | Gains insight into the subfields of anthropology and the unique methods and applications of these fields. | X | ||||
| 3 | Possess knowledge about conducting ethnographic study, which is the basic research method of anthropology, and designs fieldwork accordingly. | X | ||||
| 4 | Formulates questions and evaluates research findings through analytical, critical and creative thinking by utilizing the knowledge and skills of anthropology. | X | ||||
| 5 | Demonstrates adherence to scientific and ethical values in fieldwork and academic research and acts in accordance with these values. | X | ||||
| 6 | Identifies social problems and develops social projects using anthropological theory and research methods. | X | ||||
| 7 | Effectively utilizes current databases, information resources, and information technologies. | X | ||||
| 8 | Designs interdisciplinary studies and participates in study groups by integrating disciplines alongside anthropology. | X | ||||
| 9 | Exhibits social awareness and responsibility, approaching individual and cultural diversities with impartiality. |
X |
||||
| 10 | Acquires the ability to think, read, write and orally express English at an academic level. | X | ||||
ECTS
| ECTS ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD BY THE COURSE DESCRIPTION | |||
| Activities | Quantity |
Duration (Hour) |
Total Workload (Hour) |
| Course Duration (Including the exam week: 14 x Total course hours) | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice) | 14 | 3 | 42 |
| Assignments | 5 | 5 | 25 |
| Final Exam | 1 | 25 | 25 |
| Total Workload | 135 | ||
| Total Workload / 25 (h) | 5,34 | ||
| ECTS Credit of the Course | 5 | ||