NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

ANT 4312

Spring 2006

Place: Davis Hall 219 - Mondays and Wednesdays - 11:00 - 12:15

Email: arthurj@stpt.usf.edu

Office: Davis Hall 270

Phone: (727)553-4960

Office Hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 9:00 - 10:00, or by appointment

Material not on the outline but presented in class may appear on the exam and you will be responsible for it. You also should take notes during class discussions and on the posted question sheet for films. All material from lectures, discussions, films, and readings is potential material to be included on the exam.

In addition, proper classroom etiquette requires that you abstain from talking, reading, or leaving the class early (without first notifying me before class). It is very distracting to other students and to the professor.

Readings should be completed before class on the day assigned on the syllabus below.

An Introduction to Native North America by Mark Q. Sutton, 2nd Edition, 2004, Pearson Education, Inc.

Articles: See Course Outline

COURSE DESCRIPTION

North American Indians is a general introductory survey course to Native American cultures. The course will focus on two main goals: (1) to understand the importance of Native American cultures to the larger North American community; and (2) to explore and distinguish the different impacts that have caused the dramatic cultural changes that have occurred over the last several centuries. We will investigate and contrast the different Native American cultures throughout North American, providing a general overview and understanding of North American Indians. The course will focus on topics that are affecting Native American cultures today, such as repatriation, environmental pollution, land rights, gaming, etc. The course will cover the traditional life-ways of different societies and how they have changed in the last two centuries.

During the semester, there will be two non-cumulative EXAMS (100 points each) covering material from lectures, assigned readings, discussions, and films presented in class.

Format: The first exam will be a take home exam consisting of essay questions. The second exam will be a multiple choice exam taken in class.

Make-up Policy - Except for medical reasons or official university business, there will be no late exams. All make-up exams will be essay exams.

PRESENTATIONS AND PAPERS

Every student is required to write a short paper and give a short 10-15 minute presentation focusing on one of the issues listed below in the course outline.

PRESENTATION DAY REQUIREMENTS

1. Presentations are given in class on the day listed on the syllabus for your topic, no exceptions are allowed without proper medical or official university excuse.

2. A 10-15 minute well organized presentation in class - be sure to state your name and paper topic when you begin your presentation. It is NOT necessary to give us all the details from the paper--just a summary of the important points. It is best to use overheads, power point slides, or handouts to illustrate your point.

3. In class, turn in a detailed outline of your paper with a thesis sentence and a complete bibliography. Please include your email address above your outline and I will send you an email with comments concerning your outline, thesis, and bibliography. It is in your best interest to consider the comments given when writing or revising your paper. Your paper will be due in class one week from the day of your presentation (see course outline).

PAPER REQUIREMENTS: CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED OUTLINE FOR CLASS PAPER

The presentation and paper are 1/3 of your course grade. You will be graded on your presentation (15 points), content (25 points), format/organization (20 points), style/grammar (20 points), and in text references and bibliography (20 points).

GRADING

1. Your grade will be based on the average of your two non-cumulative exams (200 points each) and your oral presentation/paper (100 points). Hence, to determine your grade I will divide your three scores (up to 300 points) by 3 for your average. If at the end of the semester the class average is below 75, I will curve the final grade. I will not curve each exam individually.

2. Class participation and discussion is mandatory. I will deduct 10 points from your final grade if you do not attend class and do not participate in class discussions.

Grades without a curve will be assigned according to the following scale and grades: A 100-90, B+ 89-86, B 85-83, B-82-80, C+ 79-76, C 75-73, C- 72-70, D+ 69-66, D 65-63, D- 62-60, and E below 60.

COURSE POLICIES
1. ACCOMMODATIONS: Any student with a disability documented with the Office of
Student Disability Services, who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the
impact of a disability, should meet with the instructor privately during the first week of
class to discuss accommodations. A letter from the Office of Student Disability Services
must accompany the request. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Office of
Student Disability Services to document disabilities and coordinate reasonable
accommodations. The Office of Student Disability Services is located in Terrace 301 and
can be reached by phone at 873-4990. The office’s website address is <www.sds.usf.edu>.
2. EXAMS:
a. Cheating of any form is absolutely not tolerated. It is your responsibility to read
and understand the university’s policy on academic dishonesty
(http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0203/adadap.htm). By enrolling in this course,
you agree to follow university policy on this matter. Any student caught cheating
will receive an automatic grade of “FF” for the course. (see below)
b. There will be no make-up exams except under the following conditions: i) a
documented medical emergency requiring hospitalization; and ii) major religious
observances that necessitate absence from class. In the case of the latter, the
student must present notice in writing to the instructor during the first week of the
course.
3. PLAGIARISM: USF has an account with an automated plagiarism detection service,
which allows instructors to submit student assignments to be checked for plagiarism. I,
the instructor, reserve the right to submit assignments to this detection system and/or
have you submit your papers electronically via Blackboard, which automatically submits
papers to the plagiarism detection service. Assignments are compared with a huge
database of journal articles, web articles, and previously submitted papers. The instructor
receives a report showing exactly how a student’s paper/poster was plagiarized. For more
information, go to www.safeassignment.com. Any student who plagiarizes will receive
an automatic grade of “FF” for the course.
4. ACADEMIC DISRUPTION: Academic disruption is defined as “acts or works of a
student in a classroom or teaching environment which in the reasonable estimation of a
faculty member (a) directs attention from the academic matters at hand, such as noisy
distractions; persistent, disrespectful or abusive interruptions of lecture, exam or
academic discussions, or (b) presents a danger to the health, safety, or well being of the
faculty member or students” [http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0405/adadap.htm].
Policies regarding disruption are covered in the University catalogue and the Student
Code of Conduct. The instructor will follow these policies.

Extra Credit

One question (worth 3 points) will be given on each of the two tests for a total of 6 points counting toward extra credit. In addition, throughout the semester the Anthropology Club will have guest lecturers come to campus and give talks. If you attend a talk and write a one page summary of the lecture, I will give you 3 points for each lecture attended. Extra credit points will count toward each individual exam grade and averaged as such. They will NOT be added on to your final course grade.

                                                                COURSE OUTLINE

Check out the following web sites for information on anthropological topics:

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA ST. PETERSBURG DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY

http://www.stpt.usf.edu/arthurj/STPTANTHRO/stptanthropology.html

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA TAMPA - DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY: http://www.cas.usf.edu/anthropology/index.html

SOCIETY OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY: http://www.saa.org

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: http://www.aaanet.org/index.htm

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES & ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDIES:

http://www.cwis.org/wwwvl/indig-vl.htm