This applied anthropology course is a cross-cultural study of urbanization, urbanism, and human problems associated with metropolitan environments. Major emphasis is given to the ethnography of city life and its relationship to the practical applications of urban research, especially in the contexts of globalization and neoliberalism. Selected readings from recent, book-length urban ethnographies written by anthropologists will be used as models for presenting coherent and readable syntheses of theory, methods, and analysis of various urban issues and experiences of urban life. Documentary videos carefully selected to illustrate the diversity of urban life and culture will also be viewed and critically analyzed. Integral to the goals of this course is a 15-hour service-learning component, which will provide the fieldwork context for students to conduct their own urban ethnographic research in the Tampa Bay area. Reading assignments, learning assessments, and service-learning projects will be used to allow students to develop an array of knowledge, skills, and understandings necessary for doing applied urban anthropology and community engaged research.

The discipline of anthropology uses global, comparative, and historical perspectives to study the biological and cultural diversity of human beings in all times and places. Ethnographic fieldwork methods, including participant observation and conversational interviews, allow anthropologists to understand the experiences and perspectives of real people as they go about living and making meaning out of their everyday lives in specific social worlds that have been produced, and are reproduced, through particular economic systems and political structures of power and governance. Anthropologists traditionally lived in and studied small scale societies in faraway places, but as the world is becoming increasingly urbanized and globalized, more anthropologists are turning their attention to the study of the political, economic, historical, and social complexities of contemporary urban life and culture in major metropolitan areas, in which the forces of globalization and localization have a concentrated impact.

Processes of ever-expanding and intensifying movements of people, means of production, goods, money, ideologies, ideas, information, images, and media across national borders, as well as the political restructuring of globally interconnected economies under neoliberal principles, have resulted in rapidly changing migratory and urban demographic patterns; more frequent interaction in local contexts between people from different social and cultural backgrounds; the concentration of wealth in middle class suburbs, gated communities, and the fortified enclaves of the upper class elite; and the spread of poverty and misery among marginalized ethnoracial populations and exploited classes of laborers living in inner city ghettos and sprawling urban slums. By using anthropological perspectives, critical theory, and ethnographic fieldwork methods, urban anthropologists can study how the forces of globalizing capitalism and neoliberalism are impacting human life and culture in the built environments of urban places and spaces. Additionally, urban anthropologists can analyze the extent to which political organizing and activism among marginalized populations in localized urban contexts can create viable and socially transformative alternatives to the dominant forms of spatialized governance and inequality. More importantly, applied urban anthropologists can work with local community organizations as well as with national and transnational social movements to develop and implement programs, projects, and policies that address urban problems from a social justice perspective and aim to decrease the social disparities and inequalities produced by particular urban configurations of local and global power and class stratification.

This course will survey recent ethnographic research on the topics most relevant to understanding urban life and culture in the neoliberal and globalizing world of today:

• ethnohistorical approaches to urban ethnic relations;
• the politics and cultures of public spaces and places;
• gentrification, housing, and neoliberal urban development;
• architecture, urban design, and everyday socio-cultural life;
• blackness, whiteness, and class stratification in urban contexts;
• fear and security, urban crime, and class segregation;
• indigenous peoples, citizenship, and urban organizing;
• rural to urban migration and socio-political marginalization;
• children and youth living in a street situation;
• immigrant labor, urban poverty, and transnational spaces;
• urban spatialization of memory and heritage; and
• environmental racism and urban activism.

As a service-learning course, students will be required to do service with a nonprofit organization, school, or government agency in the Tampa Bay area. Service-learning is a philosophy of education that asserts that students can achieve course learning goals and retain course content in more profound and lasting ways through experiential learning in real world contexts. Service-learning typically takes place in the context of charitable community development work or a social change project. Service-learning benefits the community and is directly linked to course curriculum, content, and goals. It entails ongoing self-reflection exercises through which students reflect on the social context of the learning process, analyze their own relationships to other people and the world, challenge their own assumptions about social problems and issues, and cultivate a more committed sense of civic responsibility and ethical sense of personal agency. This course fosters service-learning for social justice rather than for mere charity or “doing good” for its own sake. Students will be encouraged to actively pursue social justice service-learning projects that aim to: increase critical awareness of forms of oppression; understand the economic and political causes of social inequalities and problems; strive to reduce disparities and resolve social problems through theoretically informed actions deliberated with community partners; increase democratic participation in political decision making; give value to multiple perspectives and cultural diversity; and combat prejudice and negative stereotypes about human differences. As such, social justice service-learning supports students in realizing their own role as potential or actual agents of positive social transformation and in reducing the extent to which they contribute to the social reproduction of oppression and inequality.

COURSE GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND EXPECTATIONS

This course emphasizes critical thinking and inquiry. In keeping with the learning objectives of the Foundations of Knowledge and Learning Core Curriculum at USF, this course emphasizes inquiry as the means of developing complex intellectual skills that enable students to become critical thinkers, concerned citizens, successful professionals, and reflective people who throughout their lives are aware of, understand, and engage with the complexities and challenges that our global realities require.
Students who successfully complete all course requirements will:

• gain a solid understanding of the basic concepts, issues, and perspectives of urban anthropology;
• develop a general understanding of anthropological theories and methods of producing knowledge;
• become familiar with outstanding examples of recent ethnographies of urban life and culture written by anthropologists;
• learn what anthropologists can contribute to the study of urbanization, urbanism, urban life and culture by conducting ethnographic field research in the context of a service-learning project with a local nonprofit organization, school, or government agency concerned with urban issues; and
• learn how to use anthropological approaches, theories, concepts, and research methods to describe, explain, and propose recommendations for solving urban problems.

The objectives and expectations for this course meet many learning objectives identified in USF’s Foundations of Knowledge and Learning Core Curriculum. Through the assigned readings and videos, learning assessments, writing assignments, classroom discussions, and fieldwork activities, students will have opportunities to demonstrate:

• a critical understanding of the local and global economic and political processes that historically influence and define human differences, cultural diversity, and social disparities in urban contexts;
• a critical understanding of how such differences, diversity, and disparities have influenced the relative rights and responsibilities (e.g., issues of social justice, discrimination, and exploitation) accorded to individuals and groups within urban contexts, and how the decisions and actions of individuals and groups in positions of power can affect the everyday urban lives of millions of people;
• a critical understanding of the theories that can explain how these differences might affect the ways in which an individual or a group experiences and interprets the urban world, as well as how their resulting decisions and actions might affect urban and natural environments; and
• a critical understanding of local and global processes that reveal culturally different ways of pursuing a meaningful life, and of how such differences affect urban environments.

Students in this course will be expected to:

• analyze cultural beliefs and make sound judgments about the evidence (or lack thereof) that supports them;
• write well-organized, well-developed essays that reflect appropriate use of language;
• deliver well-organized, well-developed oral presentations that reflect appropriate use of language and technology consistent with assignment objectives;
• improve critical thinking and analytical abilities, including the capacities to engage in inductive and deductive thinking and quantitative reasoning, and to construct sound arguments;
• demonstrate an understanding of how theories and models are used as unifying principles that help us understand natural, social, and organizational phenomena, make predictions, and solve problems;
• improve information literacy skills including: identifying appropriate questions, problems, or issues; determining appropriate sources of information; locating and evaluating necessary information; and analyzing, synthesizing, and applying the knowledge gained; and
• pursue intellectual development that emphasizes active involvement in the learning process.

Students will also be expected to meet the following service-learning objectives:

• learn how to develop respectful, meaningful, collaborative, and mutually beneficial partnerships with community groups and members;
• understand the service-learning experience in the context of the larger social issues being studied though this course;
• demonstrate the ability to transfer knowledge between the classroom and service-learning setting;
• develop critical self-reflection as a means of analyzing the efficacy and potential of personal and group agency; and
• cultivate a more committed sense of civic responsibility and ethical sense of personal agency.

COURSE CONTENT AND REQUIRED READINGS

The content of this course consists primarily of (1) introductory and selected narrative chapters from recent ethnographies that provide in-depth anthropological study of particular urban issues in cities around the globe, (2) short journal articles on specific topics relevant to understanding urban issues in Tampa, FL, and (3) supplementary material presented by the Instructor during class lectures and discussions. Students are also required to search for and read research literature relevant to their service-learning based ethnographic fieldwork projects (see below). Additional readings may be assigned based on student interest and requests.

The ethnographic readings are available online through Blackboard (see below). The authors of these readings are all professional anthropologists. These readings were chosen based on narrative readability and the inclusion of multiple voices and perspectives of real people from differing urban contexts. Additionally, these selected readings are taken from ethnographies that were published during the last ten years and that describe, explain, and understand urban life and culture within the context of globalization and neoliberalism. All other assigned readings are also available online through Blackboard.

Students are required to have completed all assigned readings by the date indicated on the course schedule. Bring the day’s assigned readings and your notes from the readings to class so that you will be prepared for the discussion or activities that the readings may involve.

ANTHROPOLOGICAL VIDEOS

The objective of watching anthropological videos is to offer you a way to “experience” other cultures and the work of anthropologists without the expense of actually having to take you on a global field trip. The videos are an integral part of this course, and you are expected to watch the videos carefully, attentively, and critically. Some videos will elaborate on the topics we cover in readings and presentations; others will enhance your understanding of urban anthropology by introducing new material.

We will watch a video or several video clips almost every class meeting, and it is your responsibility to attend class in order to see the videos when they are shown. A list and schedule of the videos is available on Blackboard under “Videos.” Many of the videos are available online or in Media Resources located on the 1st floor of the library. You therefore have the opportunity to watch a video more than once.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

The purpose of our class discussions is to provide you with opportunities to practice critical thinking in peer group settings, to engage you in issue-centered exercises and problems, and to construct a friendly, dialogical space in which the multiple perspectives you each bring to the class can be expressed. Given the diversity of the USF student population, but depending on the backgrounds of individual students who enroll in this course, each class meeting will provide structured opportunities for critical discussion and reflection among students from different cultural, “racial,” ethnic, class, and gender backgrounds. In each class meeting, we will be challenged to examine our own opinions and perspectives regarding the differences and similarities between urban lives and cultures, and asked to account for these differences and similarities by applying anthropological concepts, understandings, and explanations.

The success of each class meeting depends on your active participation. You should come to class prepared to participate in discussions by having completed the assigned readings, fieldwork activities, and service-learning. Arrive promptly at or before 12:30 pm and do not leave early. You must attend every class meeting. Exceptions will be made only for health or other major emergencies.

Attendance will be taken each class meeting. This means that there is a total of 30 class meetings for which you will be awarded 5 points each meeting for attendance and participation, for a total of 150 points. Attendance and participation count for 10% of your final grade. Students who anticipate the necessity of being absent from class due to a major religious observance must present a written notice to the Instructor by the end of the second week of the semester.

READINGS BLOGS

In order to prepare for class discussions on Mondays, you will submit a 250-word paragraph of written text prior to each Monday class meeting. These paragraphs will be submitted via Blackboard as blog entries and will be based on the ethnographic readings, which are selections from book-length urban ethnographies and are intended to offer a comparative, cross-cultural perspective from which to view urban issues and aspects of urban life across the globe. More detailed instructions about the ethnographic readings blogs can be found on the Blackboard course site. Each student will submit 6 ethnographic readings blogs. Each blog is worth 25 points for a total of 150 points (or 10% of your final grade). There are 12 ethnographic readings in total.

Students will be divided into two groups at the beginning of the semester. The two groups will alternate each week in submitting blog entries so that every student in both groups does a total of 6 blogs, one every other week. All students in both groups will be equally responsible for participating in seminar-style discussions about the readings during Monday classes.
In order to prepare for class discussions on Wednesdays, you will submit a 250-word paragraph of written text prior to each Wednesday class meeting. These paragraphs will be submitted via Blackboard as blog entries and will be based on the journal articles on specific topics relevant to understanding urban issues in Tampa. More detailed instructions about the journal article blogs can be found on the Blackboard course site. Each student will submit 6 journal article blogs. Each blog is worth 25 points for a total of 150 points (or 10% of your final grade). There are 12 journal article readings in total.

Students will be divided into two groups at the beginning of the semester. The two groups will alternate each week in submitting blog entries so that every student in both groups does a total of 6 blogs, one every other week. All students in both groups will be equally responsible for participating in seminar-style discussions about the readings during Wednesday classes.

SERVICE-LEARNING

This course requires that you spend time outside of class conducting urban ethnographic field research in the context of service-learning with a locally operating nonprofit organization, school, or governmental agency concerned with some issue regarding urban life and culture. This can be done with an organization near the USF campus or in the Tampa Bay area, although students will be encouraged to do service-learning with an organization in the Sulphur Springs neighborhood, which is about a fifteen minute drive from the USF campus. There are 15 service-learning hours required. You will do service-learning at least one hour a week beginning with the week of January 25 and ending with the week of April 19th; during three of these weeks you will need to do at least two hours of service in order to accumulate all 15 hours. Service-learning hours will be logged in Blackboard on a weekly basis. Each hour is worth 10 points for a total of 150 points (or 10% of your final grade).

You are permitted—indeed, encouraged—to work together on the urban ethnographic research project with other students if they are also working with you at the same service-learning site. The final product of your research will be a deliverable (see below) that you will present to your community partner.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND COMMUNITY BASED RESEARCH

You will be strongly encouraged, though not required, to do service-learning in Sulphur Springs, a neighborhood close to the USF campus and in which the Instructor and his faculty mentor Dr. Susan Greenbaum have been conducting research and other projects for a number of years (Dr. Greenbaum since 1999, the Instructor since 2007). Other USF faculty and students have also been conducting research, offering service-learning courses, operating nonprofit organizations, and directing or advising various kinds of community based projects in Sulphur Springs. This involvement includes Dr. Antoinette Jackson (Anthropology), Robin Jones (Geography), and others, who have developed community engaged partnerships with a variety of organizations, schools, and agencies in Sulphur Springs over the years. The long-term community engagement of these faculty have created ongoing community based research projects in which students can easily participate in a more structured, coherent way and with stronger implications for social action. A descriptive inventory of organizations, schools, and agencies operating in Sulphur Springs will be provided at the beginning of the semester. Furthermore, the Instructor will send out a “request for proposals” to all these entities prior to the commencement of the semester, soliciting proposals for service-learning opportunities and community based research projects.

The Instructor serves as executive director of one of these organizations, the Moses House, and has several service-learning research projects already set up for teams of students to work on. Students who do service with the Moses House will conduct research projects on housing and neighborhood life issues affecting families and children living in Sulphur Springs, especially families who have been relocated to Sulphur Springs following the demolition of Tampa Public Housing complexes in East Tampa and elsewhere. Students will develop community engaged research projects on specific topics of concern that have already been identified by residents of Sulphur Springs. Some of the specific problems that will be addressed include landlord absenteeism, housing conditions, affordable housing, mortgage foreclosures, and various issues surrounding youth recreational and cultural activities in the neighborhood. These projects will be conducted in Sulphur Springs, and students will work in teams with Moses House youth participants to conduct ethnographic research that explores the housing and neighborhood life issues mentioned above. Service activities include collaborating with the Moses House president on the conceptualization and execution of research projects, developing mentoring relationships with at-risk youth, and teaching ethnographic research methods and anthropological concepts to Moses House youth researchers. Service-learning activity meetings will be held at the North Tampa Community Center and the Sulphur Springs Resource Center. The research and service-learning that will be done through this project will be documented through various forms of digital media, including photography, video, and blogs. In addition, this project will form part of the basis of a video documentary about housing conditions and neighborhood life in Sulphur Springs.

FIELDWORK JOURNAL BLOGS (NOTES AND REFLECTIONS)

During your service-learning, you will inevitably meet and talk with members of different social classes and ethnic backgrounds about the urban issues that are affecting their everyday lives. By listening to the multiple voices and perspectives of real people from particular urban contexts, you will be better able to describe, explain, and understand the diversity of urban life and culture. The purpose of the fieldwork journal blogs are for you to demonstrate how specific topics, issues, and aspects of urban life and culture that you learn about through service-learning can be understood anthropologically by applying some of the relevant anthropological knowledge, perspectives, theories, and methods you learn about through the course content and readings. For the fieldwork journal blogs, you will (1) record descriptive observations about the social, organizational, and urban contexts in which you do your service-learning and research, (2) write critical reflections on what you are learning through open-ended conversational interviews and focused observations, and (3) analyze the connections between the course content and what you learn through your fieldwork research and service-learning.

Your fieldwork blogs will be more interesting and visually appealing if you include photographic images. Therefore, if possible, keep a photographic record of your service-learning and field research activities, and post selected images with your fieldwork notes.

There are 12 fieldwork blogs. The first fieldwork blog is due the week of January 25 and the last one is due the week of April 21. Each is worth 37.5 points for a total of 450 points (or 30% of your final grade). More detailed instructions about the fieldwork notes and reflections blogs can be found on the Blackboard course site.

DELIVERABLE TO COMMUNITY PARTNER

At the conclusion of your community based research project, which will be conducted at your service-learning site, your community partner will be expecting you to deliver a final product (or “deliverable”). By the third or fourth week of your service-learning, you should negotiate with your community partners about what your deliverable to them will be. Agree to a deliverable that is realistic and actually doable within a three month time span. Do not be overly ambitious and do not promise to “save the world.” If you work as a student group, you ought to be able to offer more than if you were working as an individual. Your deliverable may take a number of different forms or formats, and it may include an action plan or require that your community partners, future service-learning students, or future volunteers continue some aspects of the project beyond the end of the semester. The Instructor will provide guidance about community partner deliverables throughout the semester.

The deliverable is worth 225 points (or 15% of your final grade) and will be peer-evaluated, that is, graded by your own classmates. More detailed instructions about the final product for your community partner can be found on the Blackboard course site.

IN-CLASS FINAL PRESENTATION

During the last week of the semester, students will share highlights from their research projects and deliverables. This will give students the opportunity to learn about, and learn from, the community based research projects conducted by their classmates. The in-class presentation of highlights from research projects and deliverables is worth 75 points (or 5% of your final grade).

COMMUNITY PRESENTATION

At the end of the semester, students will participate in a public event in which they present their research findings to the community. The location, date, and time of the community presentation will be announced during the semester as soon as the details have been confirmed. The community presentation is worth 75 points (or 5% of your final grade).

COURSE REFLECTIONS FINAL ESSAY

The final exam for this course is a self-reflection essay (4-5 double-spaced pages or 1000-1250 words). The objectives of the final reflective essay are for you to review, summarize, and reflect on what you have learned about urban applied anthropology during the course of the semester by doing service-learning based field research. The final essay is therefore part course summary and part critical reflection, and its purpose is twofold: (1) it allows you to demonstrate that you comprehend the “big picture” regarding anthropological approaches to understanding the diversity of urban life and culture, and (2) it allows you to demonstrate that you can critically reflect on the significance of the contexts and processes involved in your own experiential learning. The course reflections final essay should include a short synopsis of the research findings from your service-learning fieldwork project and explain how what you learned through this course helped you to arrive at those results.

Specific guidelines regarding the format and requirements for the final reflective essay will be distributed during the semester. One component of the final paper assignment is to review your class notes and blog postings (on the readings and your fieldwork) from the entire semester, so be sure to keep these. The final reflective essay is worth 75 points (or 5% of your final grade).

MONDAY WEDNESDAY
January 11

• introduction to course
• introduction to urban anthropology January 13
• “I read the syllabus” assignment due
• community partners in Sulphur Springs
• service-learning and community based research
• student service-learning and research groups

January 18

• NO CLASS: Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

January 20

• read Hathaway & Kuzin (2007), “Engaging Ethnography: Student Engagement as a Means for Creating Change” prior to class
• post a blog on Hathaway & Kuzin (2007) by 11:00 am
• discuss readings
• discuss preparations for service-learning and fieldwork

January 25

Ethnohistorical Approaches to Urban Ethnic Relations

• read introduction and selected chapters from More than Black: Afro-Cubans in Tampa by Susan D. Greenbaum prior to class
• post a blog on More than Black by 11:00 am
• discuss More than Black readings during class

January 27

• make initial contact with community partner and begin service-learning
• post a fieldwork journal blog on initial meeting with community partner by 4:00 pm
• ethnographer self-awareness exercise due by 11:00 am
• discuss ethnographer self-awareness exercise

February 1

Politics and Cultures of Public Spaces and Places

• read introduction and selected chapters from On the Plaza: The Politics of Public Space and Culture by Setha M. Low prior to class
• post a blog on On the Plaza by 11:00 am
• discuss On the Plaza readings during class

February 3

• read Beckett & Herbert (2009a), “Toward Banishment: The Transformation of Urban Social Control” and (2009b), “The Social Geographies of Banishment” (chapters 2 and 3 from Banished: The New Social Control in Urban America)
• post a blog on Beckett & Herbert (2009a; 2009b) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class

February 8

Gentrification, Housing, and Neoliberal Urban Development

• read introduction and selected chapters from Barrio Dreams: Puerto Ricans, Latinos, and the Neoliberal City by Arlene M. Dávila prior to class
• post a blog on Barrio Dreams by 11:00 am
• discuss Barrio Dreams readings during class

February 10

• read Greenbaum et al. (2008), “Deconcentration and Social Capital: Contradictions of a Poverty Alleviation Policy” and Greenbaum (2008), “Poverty and the Willful Destruction of Social Capital: Displacement and Dispossession in African American Communities” prior to class
• post a blog on Greenbaum et al. (2008) and Greenbaum (2008) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class

February 15

Architecture, Urban Design, and Everyday Socio-Cultural Life

• read introduction and selected chapters from The Modernist City: An Anthropological Critique of Brasília by James Holston prior to class
• post a blog on The Modernist City by 11:00 am
• discuss The Modernist City readings during class

February 17

• read Ruiz (2007), “Sulphur Springs Community Profile and Land Analysis” and Patton (2004), “Multiple Worlds on Oakland’s Streets: Social Practice and the Built Environment” prior to class
• post a blog on Ruiz (2007) and Patton (2004) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class
• begin negotiating deliverable to community partner

February 22

Blackness and Class Stratification in Urban Contexts

• read introduction and selected chapters from Catching Hell in the City of Angels: Life and Meanings of Blackness in South Central Los Angeles by João H. Costa Vargas prior to class
• post a blog on Catching Hell in the City of Angels by 11:00 am
• discuss Catching Hell in the City of Angels readings during class

February 24

• read Wellman (2009), “Reconfiguring the Color Line: Racializing Inner-City Youth and Rearticulating Class Hierarchy in Black America”
• post a blog on Wellman (2009) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class

March 1

Whiteness and Class Stratification in Urban Contexts

• read introduction and selected chapters from Racial Situations: Class Predicaments of Whiteness in Detroit by John Hartigan prior to class
• post a blog on Racial Situations by 11:00 am
• discuss Racial Situations readings during class

March 3

• read Low (2009), “Maintaining Whiteness: The Fear of Others and Niceness”
• post a blog on Low (2009) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class

March 8

• NO CLASS: Spring Break

March 10

• NO CLASS: Spring Break

March 15

Fear, Urban Crime, and Class Segregation

• read introduction and selected chapters from City of Walls: Crime, Segregation, and Citizenship in São Paulo by Teresa P. R. Caldeira prior to class
• post a blog on City of Walls by 11:00 am
• discuss City of Walls readings during class

March 17

• read Macek (2006), selected chapters from Urban Nightmares: The Media, the Right, and the Moral Panic Over the City prior to class
• post a blog on Macek (2006) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class

March 22

Indigenous Peoples, Citizenship, and Urban Organizing

• read introduction and selected chapters from El Alto, Rebel City: Self and Citizenship in Andean Bolivia by Sian Lazar prior to class
• post a blog on El Alto, Rebel City by 11:00 am
• discuss El Alto, Rebel City readings during class

March 24

• NO CLASS MEETING: Instructor will be at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am

March 29

Children and Youth Living in a Street Situation

• read introduction and selected chapters from Sleeping Rough in Port-au-Prince: An Ethnography of Street Children and Violence in Haiti by J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat prior to class
• post a blog on Sleeping Rough by 11:00 am
• discuss Sleeping Rough readings during class

March 31

• read Lyon-Callo (2004a) and (2004b), “Medicalizing Homelessness” and “Shelter Statistics and the Silencing of Systemic Concerns” (chapters 2 and 3 from Inequality, Poverty, and Neoliberal Governance: Activist Ethnography in the Homeless Sheltering Industry) prior to class
• post a blog on Lyon-Callo (2004a; 2004b)
• post a fieldwork journal blog
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class

April 5

Immigrant Labor, Urban Poverty, and Transnational Spaces

• read introduction and selected chapters from Janitors, Street Vendors, and Activists: The Lives of Mexican Immigrants in Silicon Valley by Christian Zlolniski prior to class
• post a blog on Janitors, Street Vendors, and Activists by 11:00 am
• discuss Janitors, Street Vendors, and Activists readings during class

April 7

• read Williams (2004), “Pummeling the Poor” (chapter 5 from Debt for Sale: A Social History of the Credit Trap) and Lyon-Callo & Hyatt (2003), “The Neoliberal State and the Depoliticization Of Poverty: Activist Anthropology And ‘Ethnography From Below’” prior to class
• post a blog on Williams (2004) and Lyon-Callo & Hyatt (2003) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class

April 12

Urban Spatialization of Memory and Heritage

• read introduction and selected chapters from The Politics of Heritage from Madras to Chennai by Mary Elizabeth Hancock prior to class
• post a blog on The Politics of Heritage by 11:00 am
• discuss The Politics of Heritage readings during class

April 14

• read Greenbaum et al. (1998), “Central Avenue Legacies: African American Heritage in Tampa, Florida,” Jackson (2009), “Conducting Heritage Research and Practicing Heritage Resource Management on a Community Level—Negotiating Contested Historicity,” and Jackson (2010), “Changing Ideas about Heritage and Heritage Management in Historically Segregated Communities,” prior to class
• post a blog on Greenbaum et al. (1998), Jackson (2009), and Jackson (2010) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class

April 19

Environmental Racism and Urban Activism

• read introduction and selected chapters from Polluted Promises: Environmental Racism and the Search for Justice in a Southern Town by Melissa Checker prior to class
• post a blog on Polluted Promises by 11:00 am
• discuss Polluted Promises readings during class

April 21

• read and Rodriguez (2003), “Invoking Fannie Lou Hamer: Research, Ethnography and Activism in Low-Income Communities” and Schensul (2005), “Strengthening Communities through Research Partnerships for Social Change: Perspectives from the Institute for Community Research” prior to class
• post a blog on Rodriguez (2003) and Schensul (2005) by 11:00 am
• post a fieldwork journal blog by 11:00 am
• discuss readings, service-learning, and fieldwork during class
• end service-learning

April 26

• final presentations

April 28

• final presentations

May 3

May 5

• COURSE REFLECTIONS ESSAY DUE BY 5:00 PM

Other Readings
Spradley, James. 2000[1970]. “You Owe Yourself a Drunk” (optional text)
**There will also be readings and other resources posted online which you can access via Blackboard

Course Objectives and Learning/Service Learning Expectations

• Examine American culture from an anthropological perspective
• Identify the relation between ideals of American culture and people‘s diverse realities as Americans develop strategies and tools for researching American culture on a community and neighborhood level apply research tools and strategies for studying American culture to addressing specific research
• Questions and needs as defined and articulated by the designated community partner develop a portrait of American culture and/or an American cultural experience as an ethnographic and/or ethnohistorical research paper for public presentation.

In this course we will examine American culture from an anthropological perspective. The aim of the course will be to develop profiles of American culture that reflect everyday realities of living in America
as articulated by specific community partners engaged in researching social-cultural; social-economic; and/or social-historical issues specific to their communities. Various sources will be consulted and methods used in formulating community specific profiles and portraits of American culture including readings, films, archival research, ethnographic fieldwork, ethnographic interview, and personal experiences. Throughout this process and our analysis we will strive to research, examine, and interpret American culture‘ in a way that juxtaposes our ideals and assumptions regarding what America‘ is against the many diverse experiences of Americans as articulated on a community level.

At the conclusion of the course, students will produce a final research project including a research paper and presentation profiling an aspect of American culture from an anthropological perspective as derived
through active participation in a community partner defined and mutually agreed upon cultural research and/or historic preservation project in a designated community (i.e., the Tampa Bay area community of Sulphur Springs). The expectation is that in completing this exercise in researching and studying American culture on a community level, students will take important insights into whatever profession they go on to pursue in the future. Additionally and equally important, at the conclusion of this course, community partners will be able to advance their articulated cultural research and historic preservation agenda in specific and quantifiable ways. Overall, my desire is that this course will be a win-win for both students and community partners.

Service Learning as an Applied/Directed Research Project
This is course is being conducted as a service learning as a directed research project. Students will be partnered with a lead researcher (i.e., faculty and/student mentor) and will participate in an ongoing community cultural heritage research or historic preservation project This approach focuses on teaching students to critically analyze American culture from an anthropological perspective through classroom learning and through direct application of qualitative research methods, such as ethnographic and ethnohistorical research. Students work with a designated Community Partner and are expected to actively participate in helping the community conduct research and/or implement specific research initiatives as defined by the community partner. Projects could include but are not limited to:

1. Sulphur Springs Heritage Project – active participation in an ongoing community and heritage research project including: collecting oral histories using a range of ethnographic techniques and audio visual options; creating multi-media educational materials; participating in community heritage preservation meetings &activities; website design; collecting and preserving historic photographs; participating in historic building designation fieldwork, and doing library & other archival research in support of the Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center. *Student research will be directed by: Dr. Antoinette Jackson (USF), Dr. Susan Greenbaum (USF), and tbd graduate student researchers/mentors. Community partner, Mrs. Norma Robinson will define and review the research products as service learning deliverables.
2. Collaborative Research and Community Empowerment—active participation in community partner directed research projects focused on heritage preservation and quality of life activities through folk art and youth programs; capacity building activities; and community engagement and empowerment initiatives s aimed at facilitating cohesion among diverse population segments (i.e., DARE). Alternatively, students may participate in community heritage research projects, including conducting ethnographic and ethnohistorial research outside the Tampa Bay area as defined/determined by the Instructor and designated Community Partner.

What other kinds of activities do you envision?
Tampa has a rich and varied history consisting of many cultures and cultural influences. Much of Tampa‘s history and heritage remains to be researched, documented, and/or preserved. Join us as we work directly with the the Sulphur Springs Museum and Heritage Center as they lead their community in a variety of heritage research and preservation activities. This project will give students a chance to:

1. Participate in a community project;
2. Learn about American culture from an anthropological perspective
3. Potentially earn research dollars through the Office of Undergraduate Research;
4. Gain qualitative research methods experience and
5. Apply research skills and knowledge to helping address Community partner defined/articulated research needs.

Possible activities include: collecting oral histories and interviewing long term residents of the historically African American community of Spring Hill—a neighborhood of historic Sulphur Springs, Florida which remains to be documented and included in the history and heritage of Tampa in the public forum using previously collected ethnographic and oral history data to create multi-media educational materials including website and/or curriculum design perusing historic and/or private photo collections in order to find and catalog historic photographs of significance to the community searching old newspapers, city directories, and census data records to help build previously undocumented profiles of Sulphur Springs and/or communitiesparticipating in historic building designation fieldwork by finding, researching, and cataloging buildings/houses/churches with possible historic significance working with GIS experts to create community maps and cultural resource inventory profiles participating in heritage preservation and quality of life activities through folk art and youth programs developing grant proposals.
1) Class Participation (25%)

• Lead at least one class discussion
• In-class exercises
• Field trip(s)
• Attendance
• Readings/film reviews – tbd by instructor
• Extra Credit

2) Final project paper plus presentation (50%)

• Final written research paper
• Public delivery/presentation of final project research paper and deliverable to community/community partner

3) Cultural heritage and/or historic preservation directed research project participation (25%)

• Develop proposal outlining agreed upon final project deliverables with Community partner
• Participate in a qualitative research project/study
• Commit to 6 hour minimum research activity per week with/for community partner (i.e., fieldwork, archival work, ethnographic interview, oral history, participant observation, genealogy/kinship work, …).
• Maintain a research journal
• Turn in weekly field reports (be prepared to share your weekly experiences with the class via the class discussions area of blackboard or during our class discussions)
• Complete final project deliverables per agreed upon proposal

Class Participation

• Written synopsis/analysis of assigned readings (10 pts each)
• Each assigned review should be 1-2 pages (typed and double-spaced) in length. For each review in addition to stating the main point of the article, you should list/discuss specific aspects or traits of American culture described/presented in the article/book and reference at least two other sources in support of your analysis. Conclude your review by providing your opinion of the article (i.e., did the author articulate his/her point clearly and did you agree or disagree).
• No late reviews will be accepted.
• Note: There will be at least 1 mandatory review of either the Lynd or Lassiter reading.

Lead a Class Discussion-15 pts

• Students will be assigned a reading and will be expected to lead the class in a discussion/analysis of the reading at least once. Discussion leaders should come prepared with a written review of the reading, an outline of what you plan to discuss, and at least two questions for the class. Presenters will be allocated a maximum time of 10 min/per reading unless otherwise stated. Note: Everyone is expected to read all assigned readings and come to class with a least 2 prepared questions per reading.
• You may be called upon to pose your question to the class or questions maybe collected prior to the start of class. Additionally, in-class exercises and quizzes will be given at the discretion of the instructor. Be prepared and stay current with the readings.

Field Exercises/trips (10 points each)

• Field exercises/trips will be assigned at the discretion of the instructor and requirements and due dates will be announced in class.

Extra Credit Readings/Projects/ (points vary)

• These will assigned throughout the semester at the discretion of the instructor and requirements and due dates will be announced in class.

Cultural Heritage and/or Historic Preservation Directed Research Project Participation (100 points total)

• This is a mandatory component of this course—a service learning as a directed research exercise. You will not pass the class unless you are actively involved in a directed research project per tasks and deliverables defined by the designated community partner. Your participation in this aspect of the course will be evaluated by the course instructor(s), your assigned mentor, and the designated community partner. You should commit to spending a minimum of 3 hours per week participating in qualitative research activities and/or onsite ethnography and fieldwork specific to your assigned project outside of classroom meetings.

Service Learning and Community Partner defined Deliverables:

• During the first 2 weeks of class, students will develop a project proposal outlining specific project deliverables and a specific research focus per consultation with the community partner or a designated representative. Students will also be instructed on IRB requirements and will take online courses as needed for appropriate certification.

Final project research paper and presentation of Service Learning project deliverable to Community Partner (100 points total)

• This is a mandatory assignment. You will not pass the class unless you complete this assignment. Each student is expected to develop a portrait of American culture or an American cultural experience as an ethnographic or ethnohistorical exercise (i.e., use ethnographic and/or ethnohistorical field methods to collect data for your topic). In this exercise each student will research/profile/interpret/critique an aspect of life in America based on active participation in a community partner defined and mutually agreed upon cultural research and/or historic preservation project in a designated community (i.e., the Tampa Bay area community of Sulphur Springs). Ethnographies read and/or discussed in this course such as Middletown; The Other Side of Middletown, and You Owe Yourself a Drunk, should serve as models.
• At the conclusion of the course students will present the specified and agreed upon project deliverables to the community partner as well as complete an 8-10 page research paper (typed, double-spaced). In addition, each student will be required to give a 15 minute formal presentation of his/her research and project deliverables to the class and community partner in a public forum. This will take place at the conclusion of Summer B session. Students may work in teams, however each student is expected to turn in a paper and participate in the presentation of the project. The format and style of presentation are open. Creativity is encouraged. Student presentation dates will be provided at the start of the semester.

Attendance is required by all for final project presentations and final grade will reflect attendance.

• 6/28 and/or 7/26—Student Presentations of Summer A/B final project deliverables/Public presentations of final projects. [*Note dates are subject to change per discretion of Community partner. Additional details and instructions will be provided at the start of Summer A semester. Students are required to discuss their final research project/proposal with the instructor and/or assigned mentor prior to beginning the research and write-up.
• 8/2—Final project research papers due

COURSE EXPECTATIONS AND ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES
I believe that we are all learners and teachers. Learning involves more than just getting good grades. Learning can also be expressed by how well you use your skills, knowledge, and experiences to educate
those around you. The class is a combination of lecture plus active learning and participation on your part. If you do not want to actively participate in the learning process, then please consider other options.

Lectures and/or class discussions will be based on the scheduled material as outlined in this syllabus. I expect you to read assigned materials before class. Additionally, we will view films and I will use exercises and projects to help illuminate particular concepts. All material presented or assigned in class are considered fair game for testing purposes. Please come to class prepared to listen, to think critically, and to participate.

Weekly Readings and Activities
SUMMER A
Week 1: American Culture from an Anthropological perspective
5/17 Introductions and review of syllabus

• Overview of service learning as a directed research exercise and learning objective concept
• oWhat is culture/what is anthropology of American culture

Analyzing American culture

• Reading: DeVita text-―The American Culture Configuration‖ (by: Holmes and Holmes/Blackboard posting)
• Reading: Middletown book (Introduction + Chapter I- Getting a Living)
• Reading: Blackboard postings of community and project specific materials

Cultural anthropology research tools/methods/ethics – General overview

• Reading: Wolcott (Chapters 1&2)
• Reading: Weinreich article: Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Social Marketing
• Film (opt.)

5/19 Experiencing American Culture

• Reading: A Different Mirror‖ (Chapter 1) by R. Takaki (Blackboard posting)
• Reading: Baker text-Introduction (Blackboard posting)
• Reading: Middletown book (Chapter IV- Using Leisure; Chapter V - Engaging in ReligiousPractices)
• Reading: Blackboard postings of community and project specific materials
• Reading (opt): Middletown book (remaining chapters)
• Reading (opt/EC): Middletown Interviews (online postings)
• Film: (opt.)

Culture and Ethnography. How is it studied and what does the study produce?

• In-class exercise: IRB Exercise/Workshop
• Go to/peruse - http://www.loc.gov/folklife
• Reading: Wolcott (Chapters 3&4—Blackboard posting)

Introduction to Service Learning as a directed research project expectations and requirements

• Meet with Community Partner
• Mentor team introductions

Week 2: An ethnographic look at American culture
5/24 Reading: The Other Side of Middletown (all chapters)

• In-class activity: tbd
• Film (opt)

Research tools

• Read/review: Chapters 1, 2, & 3 from book ―The Ethnographic Interview, by: J. Spradley
• RESEARCHING AMERICAN CULTURE-Summer 2010
• Page 10 of 13
• Read/review: Spradley book (Ethnographic Interview)-Part II, Steps 1-4

5/26 Reading: The Other Side of Middletown (all chapters)

• Reading: Blackboard postings of community and project specific materials
• Film (opt)

Research tools

• Review: Chapters 1, 2, & 3 from book ―The Ethnographic Interview‖ by: J. Spradley
• Review: Spradley book (Ethnographic Interview)-Part II, Steps 1-4
• Reading/review: R. Bernard readings (see blackboard posting): #2 (Participant Observation); #3(Field Notes); #4(Interviews)
• *Lab/Field exercise –Intro to USF Library and/or other archival research tools/resources
• [Special Collections/Sanborn maps/City directories/Census data/…]

Week 3: Our cultural ideals of America and people‘s everyday realities
5/31 NO CLASSES—HOLIDAY

6/2 Reading: ―Emigrants from Erin: Ethnicity and Class within White America‖ by R. Takaki

• Reading: ―White Privilege: UnPacking the Invisible Knapsack‖ -by: P. McIntosh
• Reading: Blackboard postings of community and project specific materials
• Reading (opt/EC): ―Writing a Place in American Life: The Sensibilities of an American-born
• Chinese as Reflected in Life Stories from the Exclusion Era‖ by: Xiao-Hung Yin (online posting)

Research tools

• Review: Spradley book (Ethnographic Interview)-Part II, Steps 1-4
• Review R. Bernard readings—#2 (Participant Observation); #3(Field Notes); #4(Interviews)—(Blackboard posting):
• *Lab/Field exercise –Intro to archival research tools/resources
• [Tour/overview of general library resources/tools/available databases]

Week 4: Researching American culture—qualitative research tools/methods
6/7 Reading: Spradley book (You Owe Yourself a Drunk excerpt) – Blackboard posting

• Reading: Blackboard postings of community and project specific materials

6/9 In-class activity/ open discussion

• Review/discuss final project deliverables and research paper
• Film (opt)

Research tools/ research methods (i.e., ethnographic interview)

• Review: Spradley book (Ethnographic Interview)-Part II, Steps 1-4
• Read/review: Spradley book (Ethnographic Interview)-Part II, Steps 11 and 12
• Read/review: R. Bernard readings (see blackboard posting): #1(Literature Review); #4(Interviews); #5(Questionnaires & Survey Research)
• Reading (s): M. Angrosino readings (see Blackboard posting—optional)
• Reading: US Holocaust Museum Oral History Guidelines (optional)

Lab/Field exercise –Multimedia/Podcast training session

Week 5: Researching American Culture

• 6/14 Readings: to be assigned
• Guest Speaker(s) – tbd
• *Lectures will focus on community based research projects in the Tampa Bay area; Anthropology
• of American Culture; qualitative tools ; ethics; oral history

6/16 Readings: to be assigned

• Guest Speaker (s) – tbd
• *Lectures will focus on community based research projects in the Tampa Bay area; anthropology
• of American culture; qualitative tools ; ethics; oral history

Week 6: Researching American Culture

• 6/21 Service Learning/Final Project research discussion day
• Mentor meetings
• Film (opt)
• Guest Speaker (s) – (opt)

6/23 NO CLASS – Service Learning/Final Project research day

6/25 Summer A Classes end

• Final Papers due—option 1 (*this is first date that students can turn in final project research papers; second and final date is 8/2)

6/28 Public Presentation of Student Summer A/B Final Project deliverables—option 1 [time/location tbd— subject to change per discretion of Community partner]

SUMMER B
Weeks 1-4:
6/28 Summer B starts

6/29 –7/23 Student directed research projects/no formal class meetings/informal meetings with
mentors and instructor

Week 5-6: Summer A/B Final Project Deliverables due
7/26 Student Presentations of Summer A/B Final project deliverables; Public presentations of final
projects—option 2
[*time/location tbd—Note this date is subject to change per discretion of Community partner]

8/2 Final project research papers due

8/6 Summer B ends