Category Archives: Discussion questions

In this week’s readings we encountered some marriage patterns from other cultures that are markedly different than traditional American marriage patterns. The article “Polyandry: When Brothers Share a Wife” gave us the example of a typical household in Tibet with … Continue reading →

Anthropologists use the term “poetics” to refer to all manner of creative self-expression. Since how we express ourselves is based on our sense of self and identity, you can learn a lot about what people in another culture think about … Continue reading →

Imagine that you are dead and your loved ones are preparing to bury you in the ground. What do you think those surviving you will put in your grave with you? How will they express who you are and their … Continue reading →

This week’s class was kind of all over the map as we touched on economic anthropology in the form of the unforgettable “Ongka’s Big Moka” and a short discussion of capitalism. Now’s your chance to have a say on the … Continue reading →

Now that you have some idea about the various ways in which one can study language, what do you want to know? Here are some ideas to get you thinking. Are there points made in class, either in lecture or … Continue reading →

This blog post is for you. Leave your questions in the comments section. Here’s some suggestions just to get you started: What do you want to know about human evolution? Now that you’ve studied evolutionary theory, what do you need … Continue reading →