ANTH 107 Tentative Course Schedule (exams, lecture topics, and readings)
| Week/ Lecture Date |
Exams;
Lecture Topic
|
Readings
You can access electronic copies of assigned readings found on the
UCSB Library's electronic reserves [ERes] by going to http://eres.library.ucsb.edu/
You will need to use the course number and password: Course Number
= ANTH 107 ERes Password = *contact instructor
|
Week 1
January 5
|
An introduction to Psychological Anthropology |
Read: Pinker (2002). Blank Slate. pp.5-13, 30-41
|
Week 2
January 12
|
Development and Social Psychology |
Read: Bugental (2000). Acquistion of the
Algorithms of Social Life.
Read: Flinn and Ward (2005). Ontogeny and Evolution
of the Social Child.
Read: Tooby & Cosmides (1990). On the Universality
of Human Nature.
|
Week 3
January 19
|
No Class |
|
Week 4
January 26
|
Psychology, Animal Intelligence, and Selection |
Read: Hare et al. (2005). Social Cognitive
Evolution in Captive Foxes. Read: Brosnan (2006).
Nonhuman Species' Reactions to Inequity.
Read: Bekoff, M. (2000) Animal emotions: exploring
passionate natures.
|
Week 5
February 2
|
Problem solving, Decision, and Rationality |
Read: Gigerenzer (2000). Ecological Intelligence
Read: Malinowski (1954) Magic, Science, Religion
Read: Excerpt from Frazer, J. 1911. The Golden
Bough, 3rd edition. London: Macmillan.
|
Week 6
February 9
|
MIDTERM Fiction, Make-believe, Superstition
|
Read: Mar, R.A. and Oatley, K. 2008. The
function of fiction is the abstraction and simulation of social
experience. Perspectives on psychological science. 3(3):173-192
Read: Beck, J. and Forstmeier, W. 2007. Supersition
and belief as inevitable by-products of an adaptive learning strategy.
Human Nature 18(1):35-46.
Read: Foster, K.R. and Kokko, H. 2008. The evolution
of superstitious and superstition-like behaviour. Proceedings
of the Royal Society B
|
Week 7
February 16
|
No Class |
Read: Religion Explained Chapters 4, 5 &
6;
4: why gods and spirits
5: why do gods and spirits matter
6: why is religion about death
|
Week 8
February 23
|
Seeing things |
Read: Svoboda (2007). Faces, Faces Everywhere.
Read: Whitson, J.A., and Galinsky, A.D. 2008.
Lacking control increases illusory pattern perception. Science.
322:115-117.
|
Week 9
March 2
|
Rituals |
Read: Boyer, Pascal, & Lienard, Pierre
(2006) Why Ritualized Behavior? Precaution Systems and Action-Parsing
in Developmental, Pathological and Cultural Rituals Behavioral and
Brain Sciences 29: 1-56. Read: Sosis, R. (2004).
The adaptive value of religious ritual. American Scientist 92
(March-April):166-172
Read: Alcorta, C.S. and Sosis, R. (2004). Ritual,
Emotion, and Sacred Symbols: the evolution of religion as an adaptive
complex.
|
Week 10
March 9
|
Beliefs |
Read: Religion Explained Chapters 7,8, &
9
7: why rituals
8: why doctrines, exclusion, and violence
9: why belief
|
March 18th
|
Final exam |
7:30-10:30 p.m. |
|