Week 2

Context
This plan was submitted in the second week of class for A Wealth of Thought: Franz Boas on Native American Art, a selected collection of writings by Franz Boas that was compiled by art historian Aldona Jonaitis. The theme for this week was culture.

Comments
Below I have included the big questions that I asked in my plan before class. I was curious as to why this book was chosen as our first introduction to "culture." I also wondered about Boas's contributions to anthropology and folklore and how each of us in the class might be affected by him in our current and future research.

Because this was the first plan we submitted, I presented personal goals alongside more class-oriented goals. Consequently, there is little reference to the actual material in the text. Later weeks reflect more quotes and citations, as per the feedback I received on this first submission.

Plan
1. What do others think about diffusionism/diffusion theories?

2. How can we reconcile some of the perceived oppositions between evolution/science and anthropology/ethnography? 3. What were some of the pros/cons of being assigned this particular book?

4. Is art alone too limiting? What might this particular approach/focus leave out? 5. How might Boas's writings shape how we conduct our own research?