Anthropology 162: NWW: Caribbean “Others” Dr. Epple
General: During the section of the course entitled The Cultural World of Trinidadian East Indians you will be expected to assume an East Indian identity: you will have an East Indian name; you will be part of an East Indian family living in an East Indian village in Trinidad; you will learn and practice some of the cultural patterns of East Indians, including learning and using appropriate kinship terms, getting married or assisting in the arranging of marriages, participating in appropriate celebrations and festivals, and others. Some of your preparation for these activities will require you to read, write and prepare materials outside of class (as homework); much of the preparation, however, will take place during class meetings where you will spend considerable time working in small groups. These activities will also result in the preparation of written materials. It is absolutely vital that you attend every class session during this period, that you arrive at class on time and prepared, and that you participate in the group activities. Failure to do these things will result in a lower grade for this segment of the course.
Specific Instructions for Journal: As a way of organizing the various parts of this segment of the course and as a way of documenting what you have done, you will be required to construct and submit a journal containing the items indicated below. The journal will be used to help determine your grade for this segment of the course. Your grade on the journal will be based on its thoroughness, accuracy, presentation and creativity.
Your journal must include the following:
· A cover sheet indicating your name (your American name), course title and section number, semester, and a list of the contents of the journal.
· A completed copy of the East Indian Identity and Terms of Address form.
· A kinship diagram showing members of your family, their names, and terms of address used by you for them.
· A copy of your village profile, budgets, and house picture.
· A map of your village.
· A list of marriage types, rules and factors affecting the choice of marriage partners (include stamped draft).
· A summary of the marriage negotiations engaged in by your family, the choices made and outcomes, and copies of the marriage timelines or chronologies.
· A kinship diagram showing your family following the conclusion of the marriages (with proper kin terms).
· A copy of the information on East Indians which you printed off the internet with a commentary attached.
· A copy of the text and dialog for the skit you participated in on “patterned behaviors” (include stamped draft).
· A report on your family’s celebration of Diwali, including any “puja”.
· Your personal reflection on your experience of being East Indian. This must be in essay form and should be substantive in the inclusion of references to the activities engaged in and the lessons learned about being from an “other” culture. Be sure to use appropriate words and terms from the East Indian language. What you are trying to show here is that you have mastered and understand the culture of the East Indians of Trinidad. Expected minimum length is 4-5 pages. This essay must be submitted to www.TurnItIn.com by the time you submit your journal.
Refer to the Calendar of Classes to determine class dates and due date for the Journal.