I. What is Anthropology?
A. Cultural, biological, and archaeology subfields
B. Anthropological research methods and ethics
C. Characteristics of culture and society
D. Ethnography, emic and etic views, cultural
relativism/cultural romanticism
II. What Is an Anthropological Film?
A. Film as visual ethnography
B. Differences between written and filmed ethnographies
C. Can film convey abstract thought?
D. Problems of conceptualization, translation, and
communication of ideas
III. Films about the Human Past
A. Early hominids: Human origins
1. Review scientific information and show documentary
2. Review how early hominids are viewed in popular culture
a. Example of possible films: Missing link, 2001: A Space
Odyssey, Quest for Fire, Cave Man
1. Review scientific information
2. Review how Neanderthals are viewed in popular culture
a. Examples: cartoons, Clan of the Cave Bear
1. Review scientific information
2. Review how human origins are viewed in popular culture
a. Examples: One Million Years, B.C., Flintstones
D. Humans almost everywhere
IV. The Practice of Archaeology
A. The early years of archaeology
1. Method and theory of early archaeologists
B. Egypt and archaeologists
a. Science versus popular culture
3. Examples of movies: Valley of the Kings, The Mummy series of
movies, The Curse of King Tut's Tomb, Death on the Nile
V. Archaeologists and Anthropologists in the Movies
A. Scientific method and theoretical approaches to archaeology
B. Ethics and archaeology
C. Examples of movies: Indiana Jones: Lost Ark or Last Crusade,
Stargate, Timeline, The Last of the Dog Men, Tomb Raider
VI. Understanding Culture
A. What is culture and how it is studied
B. Ethics and anthropology
1. Examples of movies: Little Big Man (cultural anthropology
and history); The Gods Must Be Crazy (globalism and culture
clash); Last of the Dog Men (anthropologist as protector);
Krippendorf's Tribe (anthropology
VII. Fact Versus Fiction: The Impact of Popular Culture on
Understanding Prehistory and Other Cultures
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