Macalester Moodle

This course is an introduction to a particular method of ethnographic data collection known as Ethnoscience. This is not the only method that anthropologists use, and not all anthropologists use it. It is, however, ideally suited to the research requirements of the undergraduate classroom: the need to complete a high quality research project in the course of a single semester. The aim of ethnoscience is to determine how different societies classify and categorize their worlds, and how these systems of classification provide them with guidelines for behavior and a framework to interpret experience. Ethnoscience thus seeks to elicit in a systematic and replicable way the native categories or folk terms of a culture, and to show how these terms (symbols) relate to each other in a system of meaning. Drawing on the interviewing techniques of ethnoscience, this course provides students with an opportunity to develop skills in the area of ethnographic field interviewing—a methodological staple of the discipline of anthropology and the domain of qualitative research. Students will develop these skills in the context of a field research project, which they initiate. The course revolves around generating, analyzing and reporting the data from this project. The interactive format provides weekly opportunities for students to develop and polish their oral presentation skills.

Students will explore the development of clothing from ancient civilizations to the present. We will consider global influences that shaped changing styles and engage critical thinking with regards to the functions of dress in socio-political contexts, cross-cultural influences, identity expression, and as an art form. As we study the history of dress, we will consider who tells these stories, who is represented and who is absent in them, and how do we know this information.

We will use Moodle primarily for keeping track of grades. Your work will be submitted to the Google Drive instead of Moodle. Please check there for schedules.

This course is an introduction to qualitative research methods used in sociology to understand the social structures behind people’s actions by conducting systematic participant observation and analysis. We will focus our attention on ethnography and in-depth interviewing (or ethnographic interviewing). In case you would like to learn other qualitative research methods such as visual analysis, text analysis, or focus groups, I will be happy to guide your reading outside of class.

In most sociology classes, we read scholars’ research. In this case, we will learn how to use qualitative research methods and conduct our research in the Macalester – Groveland neighborhood in St. Paul. Each of the group projects will compose a mosaic of the neighborhood where Macalester College is located, including campus locations and the “Macalester bubble.” The thread that will connect your research is the concept “racial grammar” (Bonilla-Silva 2012). By using the same concept, you will learn how to employ theory to analyze empirical data and make an argument. Thus, this course provides you with an opportunity to learn how to collect information and interpret the information. Further, as we will work in small groups throughout the semester, you will hone your group and collaborative skills.

Furthermore, conducting qualitative research often requires a great deal of discussion of the problems, joys, and challenges one faces in the field, which broadens our base of knowledge. We need to listen, devise strategies, and learn about ways others react to similar events or situations we may encounter in the field. Therefore, please feel free to bring up any issues you are experiencing in conducting your research.

East Asia encompasses the incredibly varied modern states of China, Japan, and Korea. In many ways, it is a difficulty and arbitrary geographic distinction rather than any sort of a unified cultural or political unit. However, in some ways it is also a useful distinction, and it is these aspects which we will focus on. Students will gain a broad‐based historical and cultural understanding of East Asia in its global context, beginning with the origins of this culture, and including its inter‐regional connections and its encounters with the West. In this way, this course addresses the preconception that East Asia existed unchanged until the arrival of Europeans. The theme of this course is “Contact and Change,” which will afford an opportunity to examine two of the principal challenges facing historians: accounting for change and understanding people and societies separated from us by space and time.

Symbolic logic is the formal study of reasoning, inference, and proof. This course will focus on deductive logic, including the formal analysis of statements and arguments, sentential and quantified logics, formal semantics, and logical proofs. We will also explore some philosophical questions about logic (e.g., is there only one correct system of logic?) as well as philosophical issues arising within our study of logic.

During this course, you will:

1. master concepts and technical vocabulary that will enable you to think clearly about arguments;
2. become proficient at translating sentences from English into formal languages;
3. master basic techniques for testing arguments for validity;
4. develop your pattern recognition skills, which will permit you to tell good arguments and reasoning patterns from bad ones; and
5. explore philosophical questions about logic as well as other philosophical issues arising within our study of logic.

To the average reader, the field of publishing can seem somewhat opaque. How does a novel go from scribbled notes to finished paperback? What goes into editing, printing, and marketing a short story collection? This course will aim to shed light on this exciting field through a combination of readings, talks with local publishing professionals, in-class discussion, and hands-on work. We will learn about publishing by tracing the literary work from the hands of the author, through the processes of acquisition, editing, production, marketing, and distribution, and into the hands of the reader. Additional topics will include recent trends in technology, magazine and book editing, and the roles of the literary agent, the independent publisher, and the book reviewer. We will take advantage of the extraordinary publishing resources in the Twin Cities through guest speakers and field trips. Assignments will include writing brief book reviews, presenting publisher profiles, editing projects, and writing a final paper on publishing issues. This course is designed for readers who want to know how the magazine or book they’re holding got into their hands, for writers who want to know what happens when they send their works to publishers, and for those interested in publishing as a future career.

Since the invention of film, audiences have been fascinated by fantastic depictions of the Middle Ages on screen. Audiences love escaping into mysterious worlds of adventure with kings, warriors, and princesses. But how much do these movies really have to do with the historical Middle Ages? Do they illuminate truths or manufacture lies? Was this time period really as exciting, romantic, and dangerous as we imagine? In this class, we will dive into medieval movies and use actual historical sources to see how “accurate” the movies are. In the end, we will find out what modern movies say not just about medieval societies, but how they are actually a mirror for modern-day viewers.

As a First-Year Course, this class will familiarize you with college-level materials and methods, including seminar discussions and written analysis. The class will also introduce you to various resources on campus, from health services to tech rentals.

Learning Outcomes:
Develop analytical skills and critical vocabulary using film and text
Generate profound ideas using community knowledge-weaving
Learn how the Middle Ages get translated for modern audiences
Demonstrate understanding in analytic writing and creative film-making