Course Catalog

SOC200E Cultural Anthropology (3 credits) 9309

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Comparative study of human cultures (past and present): technological, economical, political, religious, kinship and family systems with examples from selected cultures throughout the world. Topics include culture change, worldview and perception, and Christian applications such as cross cultural communication of the gospel. The course will present a Christian perspective on anthropology and an anthropological perspective on Christianity.

LEARNING RESULTS
The learner will be able to:
• Understand and appreciate that Christians are called to be citizens of the world, and as such, we need to understand cultural diversity.
• Understand and apply the basic concepts and principles of cultural anthropology such as ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
• Distinguish between cultural relativism and ethical or moral relativism, while combining cultural relativism with biblical absolutism. Often cultural relativism is used to advocate for increased tolerance of “alternative lifestyles.” The learner in this course will understand that culture defines the situation, but the principles for behavior are found in God’s Word, not within the social situation.
• Reject ethnocentrisms that lead people to accept their own cultures uncritically and to assume that other cultures are evil, uncivilized or of inferior worth. Realize that the Bible is supracultural - it is above all cultures and applies to all cultures (even one’s own). The gospel stands in judgment of all cultures, but its judgments are always redemptive. Moreover, the student will realize that the Bible breaks down barriers of ethnocentrism that divide people into opposing camps.
• Consider the reformation of American culture which in the view of your instructor is in serious moral decline.
• Utilize information from other cultures to illuminate our own culture and thereby aid in our understanding of ourselves, while simultaneously extending our grasp of other ways of life and thus improving our understanding of others in their terms.
• Realize that modern Western sociocultural patterns (lifeways, belief systems, and perspectives) are not necessarily our future.
• Understand culture, its nature, function, diversity, and role in shaping human nature, human experience, and human societies.
• Describe the post-modern culture type in relation to American culture.
• Define and explain various types of worldview as found in different cultures.
• Give examples of worldview themes.
• Define and identify myths and mythology in relationship to worldview values.
• Describe the various dynamics of change in culture over time and to discuss such change in non-evolutionary terms.
• Describe post-modern cultural change in relation to one’s personal life.
• Appreciate the usefulness of anthropological knowledge in the delivery of the gospel to culture groups (especially “unreached people groups”) at home and around the world.
• Understand, appreciate and articulate the relevance of a Christian worldview to cultural anthropology.
• Use the resources provided by the Internet and World-Wide Web, as they provide a window on the world of information outside our region.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS
Cultural Anthropology (2nd edition) by Paul G. Hiebert. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1982. ISBN0-8010-4273-9, paperback.

Cultural Anthropology: A Christian Perspective (2nd edition) by Stephen A. Grunlan and Marvin K. Mayers. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988. ISBN 0-310-36381-0, paperback.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven. Dell Publishing Company, ISBN 0440343690, paperback.

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INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING
The study of cultural anthropology helps to free us from ethnocentric biases and to take everyone’s culture seriously. The Bible also provides a perspective from which to critique human culture. In this course, the learner will combine anthropological insight with Scripture, thus allowing us to see that God uses culture to influence people - their thinking and behavior - in the direction of God’s ideals. In other words, in this course, culture is not studied as an end per se, but as a context and instrument through which God can draw people unto Himself and pour out His blessings upon them. This course is designed to help students prepare for ministry in a cross-cultural setting.

LEARNING DOCUMENTATION
To determine if the course learning results have been attained, students document their learning by submitting the following items:
• Course Journal
• Movie/Video Tape Synopsis and Analysis
• Book Review: I Heard the Owl Call My Name
• Short Paper #1
• Short Paper #2
• Short Paper #3
• Grunlan/Mayers Study Questions
• Midterm Exam
• Final Exam

There are 7 lesson assignments and 2 examinations for this course.

LEARNING EVALUATION
Course Journal 30 points
Movie/Video Analysis 10 points
Midterm Exam 50 points
Book Review 15 points
Short Paper (2 pp) #1 10 points
Short Paper (2 pp) #2 10 points
Short Paper (2 pp) #3 10 points
Grunlan/Mayers Study/Thought Q's 25 points
Final Exam 50 points
Total points 210 points