Students will prepare a 1,500-word (maximum) research proposal related to some aspect of the course content. The proposal will have the following parts: Problem statement, review of the literature, methods to be used, and significance. The problem to be investigated need not be anthropological or even social scientific. It does not have to be related to the Constitution Interview Project. It could grow out of the humanities or parts of the natural sciences related to course content, as well anthropology and the other social sciences. For other parts of the sciences, it may be possible to craft proposals designed to investigate the state of that science in another part of the world today, or the cultural background to that science — for example, the development of Mesopotamian astronomy in relation to contemporary astronomy; or ethnobotany among New Guinea peoples in relation to contemporary pharmaceutical research. The same could be done with engineering or educational or architectural research. Proposals regarding business in other parts of the world, or comparative legal or educational systems, would also be appropriate. Detailed guidelines can be found on the Course website. This assignment will count for 25% of your final grade. TOPICS OF THE COURSE (Up to your discretion to choose the topic and I will send over the necessary resources from the course) Part I: Models for Organizing the World 1. Population 2. Languages and language families 3. Religions 4. Migrations 5. Peoples and Nations 6. Culture Areas 7. Subsistence Patterns Part II: Introduction to Areas of the World 8. Europe 9. Middle East/Near East 10. Africa 11. South and Central Asia 12. East and Southeast Asia 13. The New World 14. Oceania (Extra topic)
