ANTHROPOLOGY 101 FINAL PAPER

Part I

In this section, I will examine the state of higher education in America

from an etic perspective. As Crapo (2013) describes it, “etic models invariably

describe each culture in ways that seem alien to its own participants but that

facilitate comparisons between cultures and the discovery of universal principles

in the structure and functioning of cultures” (p.27). In his seminal article entitled

Body Ritual among the Nacirema, Miner (1956) describes aspects of the

“Nacirema” culture from an etic perspective, allowing the reader to gradually

realize that the Nacirema are Americans. It is helpful to examine American

culture from an etic perspective in order to step outside our own experience as

enculturated members of this society. From an etic perspective, American

practices probably seem just as strange or unusual to outsiders as other cultural

practices sometimes appear to us before we understand the cultural context behind

them.

Examining higher education in America from an etic perspective is

instructive. American colleges and universities are considered some of the best in

The following is an example of how to start Part I of this paper. You can use

this as a model to help you write your own paper, but you cannot use this

exact phrasing.

Begin this section with a discussion of what the term etic means and why it is

important to be able to take this perspective. Then apply an etic perspective

to the aspect of culture you have chosen to discuss.

Please note that this example is shorter than what is required for your final

paper and the margins are wider to allow for comments.

Include a section heading here.

Set up a quotation

with a signal phrase,

enclose it within

quotation marks, and

include a citation and

page number.

Include a citation

every time you

paraphrase

information that you

have learned from

your sources. The

majority of

information that you

present in your paper

should be

paraphrased (rather

than quoted) in order

to show your

understanding of the

material.

Introduce your topic

in the first sentence.

the world; however, American students often have to take on staggering debt in a

bid to achieve the “American dream” (U.S. Department of Education, 2012). The

total amount of student loan debt in America is approaching $1.2 trillion (Chopra,

2014). The average graduate in 2014 had approximately $33,000 in student loan

debt, leaving many students hesitant to take on other large debts, such as

mortgages (Izzo, 2014). If the trends continue the way the U.S. Department of

Education (2012) has predicted, by 2016, the cost to attend a public college will

have more than doubled over the past fifteen years. Around the rest of the world,

students protest tuitio n increases that might appear miniscule to Americans. In

London, thousands of protesters marched against tuition increases in England,

which would be capped at a maximum of £9,000 per year (or around $14,500)

(BBC, 2011). Recently, Germany decided to make higher education free to all

students (O’Shaughnessy, 2014). Previously, fees were quite affordable at around

$630 per semester (O’Shaughnessy, 2014).

While Americans enjoy high quality education, the amount of debt they

must incur leaves many critical of the higher education system. Even American

President Obama noted that colleges should find ways to reduce costs (Hudson,

2014). Cultural outsiders, especially Germans, might very well conclude that their

own system of higher education is preferable, and many would likely be surprised

at the lack of protests and activism among American college students.

Remember to include a full reference entry at the end of your paper for each

source you have cited in this section.

Use reputable

statistics and/or

scholarly sources to

support your

assertions.

You only need one

source in addition to

the textbook and the

Miner article for this

section, but you can

include more if you

would like to do so.

It is okay to

occasionally use

reputable news

sources to refer to

current events.

Avoid opinion or

editorial pieces,

however, and focus

on reports of factual

information.

Examine how

outsiders might view

this aspect of

American culture.