CQF: Concepts & Questions Forum: Anth 150

Anthropology brings many new ideas and ways of looking at the world to most students. This forum provides
you an opportunity to explore the course materials and the world around you as you develop your
anthropological perspective. Discussing and applying new concepts will aid you in understanding and
remembering them.

When learning a new area of study, it is essential to learn the concepts that are the foundation of that subject. A
concept is “an abstract idea generalized from particular instances.” http://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/concept You will be learning all sorts of new concepts such as culture, historical
particularism, cultural relativity and polygyny. Asking questions as you grapple with new ideas is an important
part of the process too.

This forum is completely focused on the course material. There is a CQF for each of the 13 Topics. Study the
course materials and base your posts on these. Do not use anything from the internet or other outside sources.
This means you may NOT use information from sources outside the course materials even with a reference.
The goal is to explore the concepts as they are presented in this course. I’m not looking for the perfect
definition—the goal is for you to read and develop an understanding and then to put that understanding in your
own words. If you need some assistance or clarification, I’ll respond to your post to help you out. Errors do not
affect your grade which is based on the process of working with the concept. I recommend choosing a concept
you are not quite sure of and testing out your understanding in your post.

Some of these words have meanings in everyday use that are different from the anthropological meaning.
Giving the everyday meaning does not meet the requirements for this forum. Always study the text book before
you post on a concept. If your definition is unrelated to the anthropological definition of the concept you will
earn a zero for the post.

Every post must be completely in your own words. Do not use phrases and sentences from the course materials.
We can all read the provided materials—the goal of this forum is for you to process that information and
present it in your own words. I know this can be challenging—try explaining it out loud to someone before you
write the post.

Quantity and Length:

• The basic requirement for this forum is to post on ONE Concept. When you click on the CQF for the
topic you will see a series of threads that I have started, each one for a different concept or question.
You will choose a concept and post one or more times about it.
• Posts should be one or two paragraphs ranging from 75 to 150 words. If you do not meet the 75 word
minimum, the penalty is 5 pts. Generally you are not penalized for going over the limit but if you
consistently go way over the limit it will result in a loss of points.
• If you have a question or comment about another concept listed on this forum, just reply to that
concept’s thread with your question or comment. Start such a post with “Question:” or “Comment:” so I
know it’s not the post you want graded. See below for more information on this type of post.

Due Date: These posts must be completed by 11 p.m. of the final day of the topic.
This forum is designed to be part of the study process, so posting early in the topic period will aid that process.
If you post early and wish to add something to your concept illustration or elaborate on it or correct it after
you’ve learned more, simply reply to your post. I generally will reply to any post done in the first 3 days of the
topic, IF there is a needed correction or clarification. If you post early and do not get a response, it means your
post is fine 😊
Content: Posts on the concept threads should focus on understanding and applying the concept. You may start
by putting the definition of the concept IN YOUR OWN WORDS, as long as someone else has not already
posted the definition. A post that primarily repeats the definition without significantly adding to it will not
receive full points. Clarifying or adding to a definition is a good thing to do. Copying the definition or part of
the definition from the text will result in a zero. Using an application or illustration that the text uses will result
in 5 points off. If that’s the only thing in your post then you will have earned a zero for the post. The main goal
will be to discuss what the concept is, why it is important and how to apply it to understanding our cultural
world. Your post must reflect what Guest (your text book author) says about the concept. If it does not reflect
the text book discussion I will assume you’re using unreferenced information from another source—this is
plagiarism and plagiarism results in an F for the course.

Ways to meet the content requirements (generally doing one of these or possibly two is enough):
• Putting the definition completely in your own words (if that has not already been done)
• Giving different examples to illustrate it
• Comparing/contrasting it to another concept
• Connecting it to another idea we’ve learned
• Relating it to a previous topic, including specific required articles or videos from those previous topics.
• Exploring how the concept helps you deepen your understanding of something in culture.

Recommendation: If you are not sure about a concept, post on that one—that way you’ll get feedback that can
help your understanding. If you post on the last day, there is no time for this process to take place.

Use Bloom’s Taxonomy of thinking skills, focusing on applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating, to help
you discuss the concept. If you are unfamiliar with Bloom, click on the Bloom’s Taxonomy icon on the
Syllabus and Instructions organizer page for a quick overview.

What not to post:

• Repeats of what someone else has said. Do not say you agree and simply restate an idea. If you don’t
have anything new to add, choose another concept to post on.
• The definition of the concept in your own words, IF someone has already done a good job of defining it.
Adding to the definition is a good thing to do, but simply saying the same thing in your own words is
not.
• Opinions without any anthropological content or analysis or opinions without any facts to back them up.
The goal is to work with the concepts to improve your understanding of them and your ability to do
anthropological analysis. Do not ever say, in my opinion, on this forum.
• Examples or illustrations from the articles on the current topic’s AAF. Videos and articles from
previous topics are good things to use.
• Examples or illustrations for the concept that your text uses. Or examples or illustrations that are very
similar to ones that are already posted.
• One-line posts along the lines of “Yes!” or “I agree.” or “Good application.”
• Plagiarized material. Phrases and sentences copied from the text or videos or any other sources
including the web is plagiarism. Put everything in your own words. Do not copy ideas and examples
from the internet or any other source. Plagiarism results in an F for the course—see the syllabus for
my policy and the links in the Orientation Folder on the Home Page to learn more about it. In the last 2
years 10 people flunked this course due to copying information from the internet for a ten point post.
Learn what plagiarism is so you do not end up in the same situation.
• Do not use quotes. The goal is to work with the ideas in your own words. So do not quote, even with a
reference.
Do not post on a concept thread that has 5 or more students already posting on it. It’s hard to avoid directly
repeating or giving similar illustrations when that many students have already posted on a concept. I
recommend threads that have 3 or fewer students already posting.

Earn Bonus Points on Additional Threads: There are 3 bonus points available in each CQF.
1. Posting your required post during the first 3 days of the topic—1 bonus point.
2. Posting on the thread titled “Other Concepts & Questions.” This thread is for concepts or other ideas
in the course materials that do not have their own thread—1 bonus point.
3. Posting on a concept thread other than the one you chose for your required post. This can be a
comment or question and must be 50 words in length. Put a heading of “question” or “comment” so
I know the post is not your primary required post—1 bonus point.

These bonus point posts are ‘carrots’ to get you to actively engage with the content of the topic. Since there are
13 topics, there are a total of 39 possible bonus points just for participating in the process of learning concepts.
This is about 3 percentage points of your total grade. (I will not be bumping up grades even one point because
of these available bonus points.)

Grading: You are required to post on ONE CONCEPT thread of the CQF for a possible 10 points. There are
three primary ways to lose points on this forum: repeating, using examples from the book or other course
materials, or not using anthropology.

Grammar and Spelling: This is a formal discussion forum and writing counts. Compose your posts carefully
and PROOF READ before submitting. Do not use texting abbreviations—some students may not be familiar
with them. Do not type in all capital letters. I don’t worry about occasional typos, but consistent problems will
result in a loss of points.

How To Post: Reply directly to a thread by clicking on the Reply button when you have the post open. To
avoid repeating what another student has posted (and loosing major points), read the complete thread before you
post.

Example post for the concept ‘anthropology’: Anthropology seems to be focused on how humans vary
around the globe and what that means for interactions. Understanding how and why people from different
cultures behave differently seems crucial in the modern world. We all share the same planet and we all need to
understand each other. The opportunity to interact with people from other cultures is common today and being
able to approach those interactions better would benefit me and the world. Perhaps anthropology can help us
understand the roots of terrorism and even end it.
Grading evaluation of this post: This post starts with explaining the concept based on what the book says on
page 8 then explores how we might benefit from it. It is 88 words long which meets the minimum of 75 words.
It would receive 10 pts.

My Participation: I will be participating regularly on the CQF. I will answer questions, add needed
information, ask questions, and elaborate as necessary. Please do not wait for me. It is everyone’s
responsibility to answer questions, add needed information, ask questions and elaborate. Summer semester flies
by and helping each other on the CQF yields more learning for everyone. I recommend reading all new posts on
the CQF each time you are in the course. Most of the time a question that one student has is a question that
many students have, so these discussions will help you learn anthropology. The purpose of doing this
assignment as a forum is to give everyone the opportunity to learn from each other.

If I ask a question in response to your post, anyone may answer it. The goal of questions is to clarify
concepts.
I realize there are a lot of details in these instructions and you may have questions about them. Ask any questions
about these instructions on FYI forum. I recommend rereading these instructions after you have posted a couple
of times.

See you on the forums! ☺