Australian aborigines visit Franklin ParkProgram focuses of the culture of Australian aborigines. Host David Crippens introduces Dighton Spooner's interview with Gulpilil (and other aborigines visiting Boston) on music, ceremonies, instruments, costuming, and the requirements for the cultural survival of Australia's aboriginal people. Interviews touch upon offers from European companies to purchase tribal lands, Australia's attempts to restore native culture, Australian rules governing 'mixed blood,' the impact of African American leaders on Australia, the creative forces behind aboriginal cultures, and the effects of European repression on native cultural tradition. Additional program segments include footage of aborigines applying body paints of clay and charcoal and performing tribal dances in Boston's Franklin Park, the 'Historical Minute' with Georgia State Representative Julian Bond, 'Bookbeat,' 'Commentary' by professor and historian A.B. Spellman on the differences between Third World and western cultures, and segment interludes with Sheryl Bibbs and Louis Wilson (of the musical group Mandrill). Produced by Marita Rivero. Directed by Conrad White.

Seminar focuses on core issues and approaches in anthropological theory and method. Studies theoretical frameworks for the analysis and integration of material from other subjects in cultural anthropology. Subject provides instruction and practice in writing and revision whereby students produce one paper that is appropriate for publication or as a proposal for funding. This course introduces students to some of the major social theories and debates that inspire and inform anthropological analysis. Over the course of the semester, we will investigate a range of theoretical propositions concerning such topics as agency, structure, subjectivity, history, social change, power, culture, and the politics of representation. Ultimately, all theories can be read as statements about human beings and the worlds they create and inhabit. We will approach each theoretical perspective or proposition on three levels: (1) in terms of its analytical or explanatory power for understanding human behavior and the social world; (2) in the context of the social and historical circumstances in which they were produced; and (3) as contributions to ongoing dialogues and debate.

Footage of Australian aborigines applying body paints of clay and charcoal and performing tribal dances in Boston's Franklin Park. Includes African American children interacting with the aborigines as they try to learn how to use the didgeridoo.

In this course the conquest and colonization of the Americas is considered, with special attention to the struggles of native peoples in Guatemala, Canada, Brazil, Panama, and colonial New England. In two segments of the course-one devoted to the Jesuit missionization of the Huron in the 1630s, the other to struggles between the government of Panama and the Kuna between 1900 and 1925-students examine primary documents such as letters, reports, and court records, to draw their own conclusions. Attention focuses on how we know about and represent past eras and other peoples, as well as on the history of struggles between native Americans and Europeans.

Barbara Barrow speaks with Russell Peters, President of the Mashpee Tribal Council, about the history of the Mashpee District in Massachusetts.

Students examine the anthropological perspective of human culture, including such institutions as kinship, politics, and religion, and evaluate the interrelationship between culture, environment and biology. Students explore the effects of globalization on culture while developing critical thinking skills through the application of essential anthropological approaches, theories, and methods.

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Creation of the Mashpee District in 1685. Program focuses on the August, 1976 lawsuit filed by the Wampanoag Indians of Massachusetts against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in an effort to reclaim lands sold from 1763 to 1870 without Congressional approval. Host Barbara Barrow speaks with guest Russell Peters, President of the Mashpee Tribal Council, about the problems the council is having regaining tribal lands, when was the lands were taken, when the council decided to file suit, how Peters feels about the claim that Wampanoag marriages with Black and white Americans has diluted their culture and claim to lands, if Mashpee becoming a town gave Native Americans the power to sell their own land (as they did willingly, according to Barrow), and what will happen to the people who are living in Mashpee who feel they own their land and houses. Additional segments include the 'Say Brother News' with reporters Leah Fletcher, Eric Sampedro, Justina Chu, and WNAC TV arts critic Tanya Hart, the 'Third World Connection' (which discusses the intermarriage of African Americans and Native Americans, and their historical bond, is discussed), and the 'Community Calendar.' Produced by Barbara Barrow. Directed by Conrad White.

Explores connections between what we eat and who we are through cross-cultural study of how personal identities and social groups are formed via food production, preparation, and consumption. Organized around critical discussion of what makes "good" food good (healthy, authentic, ethical, etc.). Uses anthropological and literary classics as well as recent writing and films on the politics of food and agriculture.

This unit is an introduction to the study of material culture. It asks why we should study things and outlines some basic approaches to studying objects.

This module is a republication of the following essay: Frank G. Speck. 1911. Missions in the Creek Nation. Southern Workman 40, no. 4: 206-208. Based on ethnographic field research undertaken in the Creek Nation in 1904, 1905 and 1908, Speck's essay describes the history and consequences of Christian missionary activity among the peoples of the Creek Nation. The essay's wider focus is the nature of native cultural and social change under the uneven and often disruptive effects of contact with non-native people and American economic, political and social institutions. Under U.S. copyright law, this essay is now in the public domain and is being republished on this basis.

The book collects together and republishes a set of essays by Frank G. Speck that were originally issued as separate articles in The Southern Workman. The papers, which were written early in Speck's career, during the period 1907-1911, draw upon his first-hand observations in the Indian and Oklahoma Territories on the eve of Oklahoma statehood. In contrast to his more dispassionate ethnographic writings, which were published in venues read primarily by professional anthropologists and folklorists, these essays were published for a popular audience in the journal of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, an important college serving African American and Native American students. Reflecting the sensibilities of Speck and his anthropological circle at the time, these brief essays are accessible, provocative and sometimes biting in tone and represent the work of a young scholar seeking to develop a public, progressive, critical and engaged stance relative to the social problems faced by the peoples--particularly Native American and African American peoples--of Oklahoma and of the United States more broadly. For modern readers, the essays are little utilized sources for the study of Oklahoma, Freedmen, and Muscogee (Creek) Indian cultural history. They also deepen historical understandings of Speck and his work and enrich scholarly knowledge of early efforts at developing anthropology as a means of cultural critique. Under U.S. copyright law, these essays are now in the public domain and is being republished on this basis.

This module is a republication of the following essay: Frank G. Speck. 1907. Negro and White Exclusion Towns in Indian Territory. Southern Workman 36, no. 8: 430-432. Based on ethnographic field research undertaken in Oklahoma and Indian Territories in 1904 and 1905, Speck's essay describes the racial polarization and violence that was unfolding in the territories at the time of Oklahoma statehood. Under U.S. copyright law, this essay is now in the public domain and is being republished on this basis.

This module is a republication of the following essay: Frank G. Speck. 1908. The Negroes and the Creek Nation. Southern Workman 37, no. 2: 106-110. Based on ethnographic field research undertaken in the Creek Nation, Indian Territory in 1904 and 1905, Speck's essay describes the history and present-day circumstances of the Creek Freedmen and other peoples of African American ancestry then living in the Creek Nation on the eve of Oklahoma Statehood. He generalizes about the status of African American peoples in the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Nations on the basis of his observations among the Creeks and his travels throughout Indian Territory. Under U.S. copyright law, this essay is now in the public domain and is being republished on this basis.

This module is a republication of the following essay: Speck, Frank G. 1909. Notes on Creek Mythology. Southern Workman 38, no. 1: 9-11. Based on ethnographic field research undertaken in the Creek Nation in 1904, 1905, and 1908, Speck's essay describes the major tale types and motifs characterizing the folklore and sacred narratives of the Creek people. Under U.S. copyright law, this essay is now in the public domain and is being republished on this basis.

This module is a republication of the following essay: Frank G. Speck. 1907. Observations in Oklahoma and Indian Territory. Southern Workman 36, no. 1: 23-27. Based on ethnographic field research undertaken in the Oklahoma and Indian Territories in 1904 and 1905, Speck's essay describes a range of environmental and social problems faced by the diverse peoples residing in the territories on the eve of Oklahoma statehood. Under U.S. copyright law, this essay is now in the public domain and is being republished on this basis.

'Blast from the Past' with Cleve Sellers. Program focuses on the culture of Australian aborigines. Host/interviewer Dighton Spooner speaks with Gulpilil and other Australians about music, ceremonies, instruments, costuming, and the requirements for the survival of Australia's aboriginal culture. Interviews touch upon offers from European companies to purchase tribal lands, Australia's attempts to restore its native culture, rules governing 'mixed blood' in Australian government, the impact of African American leaders on Australia, the creative force behind aboriginal cultures, and European repression of native cultural tradition. Additional program segments include two mime performances by Halim Adbur Rashid (Fred Johnson), 'Blast From the Past' (with an interview with Cleve Sellers, member of the Cornell University development staff), 'Information' on college preparatory services, 'Access' (on the services of the Council of Elders, Inc.), the 'Community Calendar,' and 'Commentary' by Producer Marita Rivero. Original air date estimated. Produced by Marita Rivero. Directed by Conrad White.