Samuel G. Collins
Li?318A, x3199
scollins@towson.edu
www.towson.edu/~scollins

Office Hours:
Mondays, 3:15-4:15 p.m.
Wednesdays, 3:15-4:15 p.m.
Fridays, 1?3 p.m.
 
class description:
At its inception in the late 18h century, American Studies included the search for the purported Anational character@ of the newly formed United States.  AWhat then is the American, this new man?@ asked de Crèvecoeur in 1782.  Later commentators looked to immigration, Athe frontier,@ individualism and adaptability as essential, national characteristics.  Today, of course, AAmerican exceptionalism@ could just as easily be defined through negative qualities.  The United States is, as of 2003, the most obese country and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases; among industrialized countries, the U.S. shows the largest gap between rich and poor, has the highest number of uninsured people and executes the most prisoners.  Per capita, gun-related deaths in the U.S. exceed Brazil and Mexico, are approximately twice that of Northern Ireland, three times that of France and fourteen times that of England (Associated Press, 4/171998).

However, a truly anthropological understanding is inimical to such essentialist definitions of culture, whether critical or self-aggrandizing.  Instead, this course considers the United States as a concatenation of real and imagined geographies crossed by overlapping networks of immigration, globalization and transnationalism.  That is, the United States is more than the sum of its geopolitical borders; it exists in the practices and experiences of people and institutions abroad as well as within the U.S., in the proliferation of global culture, in the impact of U.S. foreign policy, in the resentments and aspirations of a world population variously impacted by the AAmerican century.@

Rather than some ontological project defining national character, this class will approach the anthropology of American culture through the metaphor of movement.  Starting from an ethnography of life and work in Silicon Valley as indexical of global culture and life in a post-Fordist, global economy, we turn to the experience of West African entrepreneurial immigrants in New York as they negotiate a space for success and survival in a hostile city.  Finally, we follow the American abroad in a novel about culture shock and Japan that, by presenting the stereotypical experience of an American confounded by the complexities of Japan, questions whether or not the U.S. is truly Aglobalized@ at all.  If cosmopolitanism is a  Adynamic of mutual transformation@ (Michel Feher), then what would a United States truly transformed by immigration, globalism and cultural difference look like?
 
In a class where every student is a potential expert on some facet of American life, I expect everyone to participate enthusiastically.  After all, the answers to these perplexing questions could just as easily emerge from our discussions.

required readings:
The following texts are available in the campus bookstore:

Backer, Sara (2001).  American Fuji.  New York: Berkley Publishing.

English-Lueck, J.A.  (2002).  Cultures@Silicon Valley.  Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

Stoller, Paul (2002).  Money Has No Smell: the Africanization of New York City.  Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

graded assignments:

attendance
Attendance in this course is required.  Here's how it works: students begin the course with an "A" in attendance but, for each class missed, lose a "grade step" (e.g., A to A?, A? to B+).  However: each student can miss two "grace classes" before being penalized.

homework (periodic)
At various moments throughout the semester, I will assign homework based on class readings, films or special discussions.  Students may complete the homework for credit on the midterm or final examination.

midterm exam (March 12)
The midterm exam will test both your knowledge and understanding with a battery of multiple choice, "True?False" and short answer questions.

final exam (May 15)
The final exam will test your intellectual probity through an in?class essay.
 
Essay (Due April 30)
Students will choose between three projects (research, ethnographic observation and media study) and write an essay based on the material they=ve gathered.

class grading:
Attendance: 20%
Homework: credit on examinations
Midterm Exam:25%
Essay: 30%
Final Exam:  25%

 
class schedule:

1st Week  Introduction to the course and explanation of syllabus.
(1/27-1/29) What is Anthropology?
 
2nd Week  Anthropology and the U.S.
(2/3?2/5)  Assigned Reading: English-Lueck, pp. 1-44
February 3: Last day to add/ last day to drop without a >W=

3rd Week  Post-Fordism and Information Society
(2/10-2/12)  Assigned Reading: English-Lueck, pp. 45-102
Film: Office Space (1999)

4th Week  Race, Inequality and Diversity
(2/17-2/19)  Assigned Reading: English-Lueck, 103-133
Film: Secrets of Silicon Valley

5th Week  The New Immigration
(2/24?2/26)  Assigned Reading: English-Lueck, 134-166
Stoller, pp. vii-27

6th Week  Globalization, Nationalism
(3/3?3/5)  Film: The Boxer (2000)
Assigned Reading: English-Lueck, pp. 167-182
Stoller, pp. 29-63

7th Week  The Global City
(3/10-3/12)  March 12: Midterm Examination
Assigned Reading: Stoller, 64-120

8th Week  Cities and Cosmopolitanism
(3/17?3/19) Assigned Reading: Stoller, pp. 121-143

9th Week  Spring Break
(3/24?3/26)

10th Week Global Culture/ Mass Culture
(3/31?4/2) Assigned Reading: Stoller, pp. 176-182
April 5: Last day to withdraw with a >W=

11th Week  The U.S. Abroad
(4/7?4/9)  Assigned Reading: Backer, pp. 1-75

12th Week Cultural Imperialism, Cultural Resistance
(4/14?4/16) Assigned Reading: Backer, pp. 75-157
 
Film: TBA
13th Week Universalism, Pluralism and Cosmopolitanism
(4/21?4/23) Assigned Reading: Backer, pp. 157-237

14th Week Postmodernism and the Future
(4/28-4/30) April 30: Essays Due
Assigned Reading: Backer, pp. 238-343

15th Week Utopia, Dystopia and the Technological Sublime
(5/5?5/7) Assigned Reading: Backer, pp. 343-404
   Film: The Kiss You Gave Me (2000)

16th Week Review for Final Exam
(5/12?5/14) May 12: Last Day of Classes
Final Examination: May 14, 3-5:00 p.m.

notes
1.  Although exams and graded work will remain as stated above, I may have to change different readings or films on the syllabus throughout the semester.  I will, in any case, try to give you ample warning of any syllabus changes.
2. Each student is required to sign a contract indicating his/her understanding of the University=s rules regarding cheating and plagiarism (Towson University Undergraduate Catalog, Appendix F).  Neither will be tolerated in my class and will result in a flunking grade.
3. Students with learning disabilities should register at the Disability Support Services Office.

explanation of grading
Consistent with University policy, the following grades will be assigned according to the designated criteria:
A: A superior performance surpassing assigned work in unique and novel ways and
integrating diverse ideas from a wide range of sources in addition to those discussed in  class.
A-
B+
B: Excellent work surpassing the expectations of the assignment and demonstrating initiative
and a willingness to move beyond the basic requirements of the assigned work.
B-
C+
C: Satisfactory work meeting all basic requirements of the assignment.
C-
D+
D: Work in some way less than satisfactory.  Although conforming to basic requirements in
some way, the completed work is nevertheless not a coherent response to the
assignment.
F: A profoundly unsatisfactory performance which doesn't meet
the intent of the assignment at any level.