Introduction to Anthropology is a general education course designed to assist students in the development of critical life skills. One of the goals of this assignment is to assess student competence for each of these objectives:
I. Written and Oral Communication: Develop effective skills in written communication, including the creation of well-organized messages, and critical analysis of others’ messages
II. Critical Analysis and Reasoning: Formulate conclusions about the relationship between economic and cultural globalization and social change
III. Information Literacy: Find, evaluate, use and cite academic resources in the discipline of anthropology
IV. Local and Global Diversity: Categorize types of social inequality including caste, class, race, ethnicity, and gender
V. Personal and Professional Ethics: Identify the ethical obligations and professional standards of conduct that apply to cultural anthropological research
ASSIGNMENT:
Audience: Other cultural anthropology students
Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to have students demonstrate an understanding of social inequality as it is manifested in different cultural settings.
Most societies have systems of social inequality that result in people having differential access to property, power and prestige. Anthropological research has demonstrated that the most common forms of social inequality are based on sex, race/ethnicity, caste and socioeconomic class.
Directions:
Choose two specific cultural examples of the kinds of social inequality listed above and describe how the lives of individuals are affected by the types of inequality you have identified. Both examples must be drawn from the cultures discussed in the class materials.
- For both of your examples, identify and describe the social, economic, political or global conditions you believe to be most responsible for maintaining these examples of social inequality over time.
- Do you believe anthropologists are or are not ethically obligated to try to find ways to eliminate social inequality in other cultures?
ASSIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS:
- Minimum 4-5pages typed in Times New Roman 12-pt font, double-spaced with 1” margins. The Works Cited/References page is not included in the assigned page length.
- MLA or APAstyle format and documentation for parenthetical citations and a Works Cited/References page.
- Minimum of 3peer-reviewed secondary sources that must include assigned course materials, but may also include other academic materials from the library databases.
- Utilize library databases to locate appropriate sources.
