The following extra credit options will be worth 5 points added to any test grade. You may complete up to 3 assignments per semester (5 points on each of two tests, 5 points on the final). Assignments must be done well in order to receive full credit. Papers should be 2 to 3 pages long, have normal, 1" margins, 10- to 12-point font, and double-spaced paragraphs. I will take off points for excessive spelling and/or grammatical errors. As these are not research papers, feel free to comment about what you learned and how your own culture or beliefs differ.

These options are due by May 12, 2003, before you begin the final.

1. Medical Anthropology - Visit the permanent exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of History entitled Health and Healing Experiences in North Carolina. Write a 2- to 3-page paper summarizing the exhibit and addressing the following questions:

• How has healing changed over time? Do you think this is related to changes in physical health, or to culture/society?
• Name some different kinds of environments in which you would need healthcare and how they differ in place and time (e.g. Civil War battlefield, modern children's hospital, 1920's drug store, care during the polio epidemic)
• Mention any cultural differences you saw in access to health care or desire to seek health care. (For example, do African-Americans seek health care less often than Caucasians because they have lower incomes or because of a cultural bias?)
• Emma Dupree, an African-American herbalist, gained attention of North Carolina physicians and medical anthropologists throughout her life. Briefly recount her work and offer an explanation as to why anthropologists were interested in her life.

2. "Primitive" Art - Visit the special exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Art entitled Accent on Africa: Recent Acquisitions of African Art. This exhibit runs from April 6 to August 10, so be sure to visit before the end of the semester. Write a 2- to 3-page paper summarizing what you learned from the exhibit. Think about the following questions:

• What genres of art did you see? Are there any kinds specific to Africa, or are art styles cultural universals?
• What is meant by the term "primitive" art? Do you think the art that you saw was primitive?
• Could you discern any difference between older (more traditional) and contemporary objects, such as clothing? If so, why do you think this difference exists?
• What was your favorite piece in the exhibit? Why?

3. Primate Culture? - Do primates have culture? Take a tour of the Duke Primate Center (tours can be scheduled Monday through Friday 8:30am to 3pm and Saturday 8:30am to 1pm - $4 with college ID) and write a 2- to 3-page report about your visit.

• What kinds of animals did you see?
• What are the distinguishing features of lemurs? Of primates? How are they physically different from humans?
• Is there any research being done at the Primate Center about material culture or social behavior?
• What kinds of behaviors did you observe? Which of these are more primate-like, and which are human-like?
• Do primates have culture or not? Explain your reasoning.

4. Art in Context - Visit one (or both--visiting both counts as 2 assignments or 10 points) of the exhibitions currently at the Ackland Art Museum on the UNC - Chapel Hill campus.

• Buddhist Art and Ritual from Nepal and Tibet - This exhibit runs only through February 2003, so go see it early.
  • What is the context of this exhibit of Buddhist art?
  • What do you think this art represents?
  • What kinds of objects did you see? Portraits, mobiles, sculpture, etc.
  • How are religion and art intermixed?
  • What did you learn from viewing art of a different culture and/or religion?
  • What was the strangest object you saw? Describe it and its function.
• Journey into the Past: Ancient Mediterranean Art in Context - January 26 - March 23, 2003. You might want to view it and the Buddhist art exhibit at the same time
  • What kinds of objects did you see? Portraits, mobiles, sculpture, etc.
  • What is the context of this exhibit of Mediterranean art?
  • Focus on one or two objects--describe them and what they mean in their cultural context. (I.e., what was their function, or what did their owner think they meant?)
  • If you did see the Buddhist art as well, how does Mediterranean art differ? In what ways are the two arts similar? Do you feel a particular connection to one or the other? Why?
  • What was the strangest object you saw? Describe it and its function.

5. Cultural Relativism - Watch a one-hour TV reality program and comment on actions, food, dress, material culture, and other cultural items that you see. TV programs can include: Big Brother, The Osbournes, Joe Millionaire, The Bachelorette, Meet My Folks, Survivor, The Surreal Life, High School Reunion. Pretend you are an American cultural anthropologist, but try to put aside your cultural relativism as you consider at least one of the following questions:

• Comment on what shows like Joe Millionaire, The Bachelor, Meet My Folks, and The Bachelorette say about American culture. If someone from another culture saw these shows, would they get an accurate picture of American courtship?
• Comment on what mundane, everyday actions and objects subjects in shows like Big Brother and The Surreal Life do and use. How are their lives reflective of the larger American culture and daily life? How are they different, especially in the case of the celebrities on The Surreal Life?
• Comment on the phenomenon of high school reunions. What do they mean and what part do they play in American culture? Do you think this show accurately portrays what high school reunions are like? What Americans are like? How do the people on the show play into their old high school roles, or break out of their stereotyped high school role?
• If you have an old episode of Survivor, comment on whether or not American culture survives in a completely different environment. What changes to culture do the castaways need to make? What stays the same in regard to material and social culture?
• In general, comment on what someone unfamiliar with American culture would think about any of these shows. What would someone unfamiliar with the larger Western culture think? Which actions/objects would they not understand or have different uses for?
• Pretend you are a cultural anthropologist from a non-Western culture. Describe at least one action (brushing teeth, using a flush-toilet, courtship ritual, etc.) as an anthropologist would.

6. Folklore -

• Research an urban legend at www.snopes.com or www.urbanlegends.com. Briefly explain the legend? What makes you think it is a legend and not real? Why do you think this legend exists in our culture? Does it exist in other cultures in the same form or in a different form? Write about two to three pages analyzing the urban legend. Some suggestions for urban legends to research include:
  • Organ thieves - people who steal your kidneys and leave you in an ice bath.
  • If an instructor fails to show up on time for class, students have to wait 15 minutes before leaving.
  • School requires all students to pass a swim test.
  • Your fingernails and toenails continue to grow after death.
  • If your college roommate dies, you'll get a 4.0.
• Research a North Carolina ghost story. You can start at: http://ncghosts.batcave.net/. Visit if you have time, and write two to three pages explaining the myth or legend - its origin, function, sightings, etc. Some suggestions include:
  • Peter Dromgoole's castle, Chapel Hill
  • Devil's Tramping Ground, Chatham County
  • Pactolus Lights, Greenville
  • Acid Park, Wilson
  • Brown Mountain Lights, Caldwell County

7. Native Ethnography - Rent and watch the movie Atanarjuat - The Fast Runner (172 minutes), an Inuit movie about a native Inuit legend. Write 2-3 pages about the plot of the film and what you thought of it. Some questions to consider include:

• How does the movie depict the living conditions of Eskimos?
• How do Inuit go about their daily lives, procuring food, getting involved in social relationships, etc.?
• How is the Inuit life different from your own? How is it similar?
• This movie was made by native Inuit about themselves. How does this movie compare to other foreign films you've seen, or to other ethnographic films you've seen in class?

8. Native American Culture - UNC-CH will host an American Indian Stickball Match on Saturday, March 22, at 9am. This will take place at Hooker Field (across from the cemetery on South Road near Carmichael Auditorium on campus).

The exhibition game will involve the Paint Town Stickball Team from Cherokee, North Carolina and the Flying Rats from Athens, Georgia. Jerry Wolfe from the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, an expert on traditional stickball and a 2002 North Carolina Heritage Award recipient, will accompany the players to offer commentary and answer questions. Admission is free.

Stickball, the forerunner of modern lacrosse, is an ancient game that southeastern Indians called the "little brother to war." Requiring many of the same skills and rituals as war, stickball historically settled disputes between towns and sometimes between tribes. The game is nowadays played with teams of ten players, each using two wooden sticks similar to lacrosse sticks. Like the modern version, the object of the game is to score goals with a ball. It is a bruising contact sport, played in bare feet and without pads. More information on stickball can be found on the Flying Rats' web site.

Write 2-3 pages about the game and what you thought of it. Some questions to consider include:

• How is stickball different from lacrosse?
• What did you learn about Native Americans?
• Explain what moves or methods are probably common to both stickball and warfare.

9. Linguistics - The UNC-CH Department of Linguistics is holding a colloquium for undergraduate and graduate students on Saturday, April 5 from 9am to 5pm in Dey Hall (4th Floor, Toy Lounge) on the UNC campus. It is free and open to the public. Click here for the schedule of talks and times. If you're interested in this, you can go see two or three talks, or go listen to the keynote speaker. You don't have to attend the entire colloquium to get credit for this assignment.