Course Description

This year's First Year Program asks the question, "With so many claims of what is true and good, how then shall we live?" In the fall semester, we will consider how perceptions of truth and knowledge relate to culture. Is truth, like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? How much does what we know depend on who we are and where we find ourselves, in terms of culture, social status, race, ethnicity, gender, class, or political system? As globalization leads to an increased sense of connectedness, but also of conflict, around the world, it is more important than ever that we consider how human beings who share so much can sometimes see the world in such very different ways.This course will consider questions of knowledge, truth, objectivity, religion, and science cross-culturally from an anthropological perspective. We will explore how attempts to understand different viewpoints, particularly those from cultures other than those with which we personally identify, might challenge or reinforce our perspectives on the world. Topics include depictions of cultural difference in National Geographic, sexual practices in Samoa, medicine and the body, socialism and history, and Islamic practices of veiling.

Syllabus

Study GuideQuestions; Journal and Essay Topics

Announcements: Will be posted here as necessary

For more information, contact: aleshkow@holycross.edu