Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Social Inquiry and Analysis

Students completing an associate degree at Portland Community College will be able to apply methods of inquiry and analysis to examine social contexts and the diversity of human thought and experience.

General education philosophy statement

Philosophy Statement

According to the Oregon Community Colleges Handbook and Planning Guide, ” an introductory course in the social sciences should be broad in scope”. Courses may also focus on specialized or interdisciplinary subjects as long as there is “substantial course content locating the subject in the broader context of the discipline (s)”. Besides gaining knowledge in a discipline specific area, students also benefit from learning knowledge that either serves as a foundation for discipline specific coursework, or provides exposure to educational concepts, theories or experiences that are key to promoting overall student success in the classroom, the workplace or in their personal lives. The course can be considered a specialty course that prepares students for more advanced or discipline specific coursework in anthropology. It also introduces non-majors to key educational concepts, theories or experiences that help promote student success in the classroom, support their activities in the workplace, or lead them to becoming more culturally aware and responsible members of society.

The course content for this course meets the guidelines of the Oregon AAOT by asking students to apply analytical skills to social phenomena in order to understand human behavior, and apply knowledge and experience gained to foster personal growth and better appreciate the diverse social world in which we live. This course also meets the requirements for the Social Analysis and Inquiry Rubric for Portland Community College.

The study of anthropology encompasses literally everything about human life. Anthropologists are interested in discovering where, why and when humans first appeared on earth, as well as understanding how human societies have developed or changed over time. In order to achieve these goals, anthropologists often draw on the knowledge, theories and research methodology of other disciplines such as genetics, biology, history, politics and economics. Anthropology also seeks to be a holistic, comparative and practical discipline. Anthropologists study differences and similarities among all societies in the world past and present. In addition to identifying features which many societies share, this comparative research highlights the vast diversity of human experience and expression. How individuals are impacted by their culture or how individuals impact their culture is a prime concern. While anthropologists traditionally concentrated on the study of indigenous cultures, today many researchers are investigating the values, social organization, politics, economics or technology of contemporary societies. Because the scope of anthropology is so broad, the discipline has been broken down into four different sub-fields. These sub-fields are: biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology. PCC students planning to pursue a major in anthropology at four year colleges and universities are expected to take classes in all four sub-fields and specialized courses in each area. The anthropology program at PCC provides students with a broad range of introductory anthropology classes which focus on foundational survey courses in the four sub-fields (ATH 101-104) as well as other courses that focus on more advanced or specialized topics, such as sex and culture, race, language and culture in the U.S., introduction to Medical Anthropology, food and culture in the U.S., or Comparative Cultures.

This course builds on information taught in introductory anthropology classes and examines indigenous and contemporary shamanism from an anthropological perspective. The role of the shaman as a leader, mediator and healer and agent of social change is discussed. Topics covered in the class include the prehistoric origins of shamanism, the relationship between religion and shamanism, shamanic initiation, colonialism and its impact on shamans and shamanic communities, shamanic concepts of health, illness and healing.