2024 Faculty Courses Liberal arts and basic science courses Humanities and social science courses
Cultural Anthropology C
- Academic unit or major
- Humanities and social science courses
- Instructor(s)
- Maho Isono
- Class Format
- Lecture (Face-to-face)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 3-4 Mon / 3-4 Thu
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- LAH.H303
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2024
- Offered quarter
- 2Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 14, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
The body is an essential aspect of human existence, from birth to death. However, what exactly is the body? Why do people go on diets or remove body hair? Furthermore, illness and death are inevitable companions to our physical selves. How have humans historically confronted and coped with these realities? In this course, students will learn about the basic anthropological perspective on the body, illness, and death. Each group will be asked to write a novel that predicts the ideal body of the 21st century based on this perspective. A model novel will be provided during the lecture.
Course description and aims
1. Cultivating the ability to analyze the body, illness, and death using cultural anthropological theories is the focus of this text.
2. This text is already well-written and meets the desired characteristics. No changes are necessary.
Keywords
Body, Sickness, Preventive medicine, Technology
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
This course utilizes theories from cultural anthropology and medical anthropology to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the human body and illness. The perspectives of cultural anthropology will be explored, and each group will create a novel on the theme of the ideal body in the 21st century.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Introduction: The Ideal Body in the 21st Century | Read a novel about the ideal body in the 21 st century |
| Class 2 | What is the body? (1) | Consider how your perception of your own or others' bodies may have changed before and during the Covid-19 crisis |
| Class 3 | What is the body? (2) | Consider how one's own body is influenced by the bodies of others. |
| Class 4 | Body modification (1) | Compare and contrast bodily transformations in rites of passage, such as tooth extraction or tattooing, with those resulting from dieting. |
| Class 5 | Body modification (2) | Make a list of three examples where the boundary between technology and the body is blurred. |
| Class 6 | Critique (1) | Work as a group on the first draft of a novel. |
| Class 7 | What is sickness? | Think about moments in your life when you or others around you have felt ill. |
| Class 8 | Treatmens & Healings | Make a detailed list of the actions you take when you feel ill |
| Class 9 | Preventive medicine | Consider what changes occur in our lives when the scope of our disease expands |
| Class 10 | Critique (2) | Work as a group on a second draft of a novel |
| Class 11 | Death (1) | Think about why people have funerals |
| Class 12 | Death (2) | Reflect on what it mean to you to live with a deceased person |
| Class 13 | Group work | Work as a group to complete the third draft of the novel |
| Class 14 | Critique (3) | Finish the final draft of the novel |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Materials will be distributed as required during the lecture.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Materials will be distributed as required during the lecture.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Evaluation will be based on the interim report (the first and the second draft) and the final presentation. The assessment will focus on the thought process that led to the final draft, rather than the completion of the novel itself. To ensure a fair evaluation of each group member's contribution, each member will be required to submit an evaluation sheet separately.
Related courses
- LAH.H103 ： Cultural Anthropology A
- LAH.H203 ： Cultural Anthropology B
- LAH.S446 ： Essence of Humanities and Social Sciences55:Cultural Anthropology
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course. The instructor expects active student participation.
Other
Depending on the number of students and their level of understanding, the syllabus can be modified.