Anthropology 110: Spring 2016

Final Paper Assignment

 

Instructions: Pick one of the questions below and answer it in a 3-5 page essay. Your essay should include:

 

• A clearly supported argument that answers your chosen question and provides a focus for your essay. Your argument must be supported by specific examples from The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. I recommend that you include at least 4 direct quotes from the book in your essay. (10 points)
• Two terms, ideas, or examples from other parts of our course (assigned readings, films, lecture) that help you to support and explain your argument. (10 points)
• Clear, concise, and correct writing and citation practice. Because all texts come from class you do not need to include a bibliography. But you must site the texts you are discussing by using in-text citations (see below for more details). (10 points)

 

You essay is due to me in electronic form (Microsoft word file) by email ([email protected]) on 04/28 at 11:59 pm. Late papers will automatically be marked down one half-grade for each day late. Papers more than one week late will not be accepted. I will read and comment upon a rough draft of your final paper if you email it to me by 04/19. You are also welcomed to visit my office hours to discuss your paper at any time. I recommend bringing in a hard copy of your paper for us to discuss.

 

Be sure to:

Include your name and question number answered in the essay.

 

• Type your paper in double-spaced 12 point Times New Roman or a similar font.
• Include page numbers and 1 inch margins.
• Include in-text citations when quoting specific passages in the text.

If the author’s last name is in the sentence, you just need to give the page number, for example: As Fadiman states, “Lia Lee’s parents came to the US twenty years ago” (3).

 

If the author’s name is not in the sentence, include the name along with the page number, for example: Doctor Klein stated, “The Hmong are a refugee community from Laos” (Fadiman, 4).

• Cite material from my lectures in the following manner: (Davis, in lecture).
• Cite the textbook in the following manner: (S & L, 56).

 

We trust that you know what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. Remember that it is okay to discuss the paper with your classmates, but you must write it alone. Turning in work that is not your own is grounds for failure in this class. Please contact me if you have questions.

 

Question 1:

How does the Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down exemplify the techniques of ethnographic research that we have studied in this class? Are there ways in which Fadiman could have improved her methods to be a better anthropologist?

In the answering of your question consider: What is Fadiman’s professional background (consult the back of the book or the internet and then cite the source). What specific methods and techniques did she utilize? Where did she conduct her fieldwork (i.e. hospital, homes, etc.)? How and why might we consider her project ethnographic fieldwork? Are there weaknesses in her approach (if so what are they)? Draw on two additional terms, ideas, or examples from other parts of our course and use them in your answer.

Question 2:

“Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down has been described in terms of a “collision of two cultures.” What might be meant by “collision of two cultures” and why might such a “collision” have occurred?

As you answer this question, draw on specific incidents and examples from The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down as well as two terms, ideas, or examples from other parts of our course. Note: It is not important to describe everything that might be meant by “the collision of two cultures.” Your emphasis should be on exploring and explaining Fadiman’s work.

Question 3:

How did language and communication play a role in shaping what happened to Lia? Does Fadiman point to ways in which communication practices between doctors and patients might be improved?

In answering your question consider: What were the places and settings in which communication failed? How did participants interpret these failures? How might Lia’s case demonstrate the difference between “linguistic competence” and “communicative competence”? Please draw on specific examples from the book and two terms, ideas, or examples from other parts of the course as you answer this question.

Question 4:

What role does ritual play in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down? What does the book teach us about the relationship between ritual, religion, and medical practice?

As you answer the question above consider: Which events in the book might be classified as rituals? Does medical care contain elements of ritual? What do these rituals signify to those who practice them and to those who do not? How does Fadiman interpret the rituals she observes? Draw on two additional terms, ideas, or examples from other parts of our course as you answer this question.

This assignment will comprise 30 points (30 % of your final grade).