Syllabus for

INDIANS OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

ANTH 3430 Spring 2003

M W F 11:15-12:05 Room G20 Baldwin Hall

Instructor: Felice Wyndham

Office Location: Room G40, Baldwin Hall. (Enter from lower back parking lot, through the Labs of Ethnobiology door. My office is the first on the left).

Office Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 12:05-1:00pm and by appointment

Email Address: fwyndham@uga.edu You may also leave messages for me at the Anthropology Department front desk or under my office door. Phone: 583-0497

Teaching Assistant: Juana Camacho (camachoj@uga.edu; office hours: Baldwin 105A 11am-12 MWF)

Course Description: This course offers an introductory survey of past and present indigenous cultures of Mexico and Central America. We begin with pre-Columbian cultures, then consider the major transformations during the period of European colonialism. The second part of the course is devoted to ethnographies of contemporary cultures with particular attention to issues of cultural resistance, gender, resource rights and religion. The overall goal is for students to gain familiarity with the diversity of indigenous Mesoamerica and to understand how indigenous peoples in the region have persisted, changed, and negotiated in political, economic and social contexts. Students should have taken at least one introductory anthropology course. This course counts as a Culture Area Requirement. This course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

Course Requirements: There will be two exams, three quizzes and a research paper required for this course. Make-up exams will be given only to students with legitimate documented excuses, at a time decided on by the student and instructor. The instructor must be notified in advance of the missed exam. No make-ups for quizzes will be given for any reason. The research paper must be handed in before or at the beginning of the class period of the day on which it is due. Your participation in class discussions is important for the success of the class as a whole and to ensure that you get the most out of the time we are all devoting to the course. Participation will be credited to you in cases of borderline grades.

All academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty”(go to the website http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/academic_honesty/culture_honesty). Each student is responsible for informing themselves about these standards before performing any academic work.

Books for the course: The following books may be purchased at the UGA bookstore or elsewhere

· The Legacy of Mesoamerica: History and Culture of a Native American Civilization by R. M. Carmack, J. Gasco and G. H. Gossen (referred to below as Mesoamerica)

· Mayan Visions: the Quest for Autonomy in an Age of Globalization by J. C. Nash (Visions)

Reading Assignments: Readings are assigned on a weekly basis, and should be completed by the Monday of the week indicated. Each Friday class will include time for class discussion of the topics covered during the week; ALL readings must be done by this time. Readings marked TBA below will be assigned via WebCT and available to read or download from the library reserves website.

TOPICS	Dates	Readings
Course Introduction & Orientation	10 Jan	Mesoamerica pp. ix-xvi
Introduction to Middle America	13-17 Jan	Mesoamerica ch. 1 and 8
Mesoamerican World System	22-24 Jan	Mesoamerica ch. 2 and 9
Mesoamerican World System	27-31 Jan	Mesoamerica ch. 3 and 10
Maya and Aztecs	3-7 Feb	TBA; Mesoamerica ch. 11 and 12
Colonial Transformations	10-14 Feb	Mesoamerica ch. 4 and 5
Middle America in the Post-Colonial Era	17-19 Feb	Mesoamerica ch 6 and7
MIDTERM EXAM	21 Feb
Indigenous peoples of NW Mexico	24-28 Feb	TBA; Research Prospectus Due 28th
Indigenous peoples of NW Mexico	3-7 Mar	TBA
Indigenous peoples of central Mexico	10-14 Mar	TBA
SPRING BREAK	17-21 Mar
Indigenous peoples of southern Mexico	24-28 Mar	TBA; Visions ch 2,3
Indigenous peoples of southern Mexico	31 Mar-4 Apr	Visions ch 4,5; Student Research Due 4th
Indigenous peoples of central America	7-11 Apr	TBA
Indigenous peoples of central America	14-18 Apr	TBA
Current Issues in Middle America	21-25 Apr	TBA; Visions ch 1,6
Synthesis & Student Presentations	28-30 Apr	TBA
FINAL EXAM (tentative)	1 May

Your Grade for the course will be based on the following:

Midterm Exam 20%

Final Exam (comprehensive) 35%

Research Assignment 30%

3 Pop Quizzes (5 each) 15%

100 points

A cumulative score of 90-100=A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 60-69=D; 59 and below=F.

Extra Credit: Extra Credit assignments will be offered periodically throughout the semester for a total possible 15 extra points. These assignments will be given on Fridays and will be due on the next Friday. Students are encouraged to submit ideas to the instructor for possible extra credit assignments (though whether or not they are used remains at the discretion of the instructor).