Anthropology

The discipline of archaeology involves the study of past societies, their practices and behaviors deduced by the analysis and interpretation of their material remains. It is therefore our only access to the three million years of human history before writing. This course is an introduction to method and theory in anthropological archaeology, with consideration of selected case studies. The course begins with an introduction to the history of the discipline and then focuses on archaeological methods and theory to provide a background to the practice of archaeology. Students will learn concepts, methods and techniques required in archaeological excavation and the analysis of material remains. They will have the opportunity to research and discuss problems in anthropological archaeology. The latter half of the course will take the students through a review of some of the major archaeological discoveries of modern times. This will provide a unique opportunity to review past surveys and excavations and to evaluate and critique past efforts in light of current archaeological theory and practice. 4 SH. CC: Social Interactions.

This course is an anthropological introduction to public culture in the U.S. It takes public culture to be: a public circulation of sensibilities, identities, dreams, styles, discourses, and forms of power; and a way of life enacted and given form in the practices of everyday life and in institutions, laws, social movements, physical and social spaces, and expressive forms. Students will be introduced to key terms and theories in contemporary anthropology and their application in the study of representation; historical imagination; gender, sexuality, and identity politics; and nationalism, citizenship, and globalization. 4 SH. CC: Diversity, Social Interactions, Writing Intensive.

This course is an introduction to the field of anthropology. Specifically, the course introduces students to the ways in which anthropologists have thought about and investigated human diversity. We inquire into what it is that makes us human; the unique role culture plays in our humanity; the relationships of culture, language, and biology; and how anthropologists have studied material culture in past and present civilizations using the tools and theoretical paradigms of archaeology. Students explore these questions through the study of ethnographies and a textbook. 4 SH. CC: Diversity, Social Interactions.

ANTH 200 offers a study of selected topics that vary on student and professor interests. This course is well-positioned for multi-disciplinary subjects, including the anthropology of development, multi-species ethnographies, and health and medicine studies, for example. 4 SH.

Examines anthropological concepts of magic, witchcraft, and religion in a cross-cultural context. Drawing on ethnography, anthropological theory, history, and film, the class explores the nature of magic, witchcraft, and religion; the relations among them; and the ways in which they interact with other social formations, for example gender, politics, and economics. Countries studied have included South Africa, India, Haiti, and the U.S. Same as RELI-220. 4 SH. CC: Diversity, Social Interactions.

Exploration of key understandings and discourses about war and the intersection of anthropology and violent conflict. The course begins with an introduction to anthropological theory and methods, then examines the role of anthropology in both understanding and responding to war and violent conflict, and then turns its attention to literature and materials drawn or arising from current wars and violent conflicts in the world. The course focuses on popular and scholarly materials addressing current conflicts, including texts, journal and magazine articles, documentary and ethnographic films, television and popular films, and newspapers. The course seeks to understand how we understand war and what role it plays in cultural practice. Prerequisite: ANTH-162 or SOCI-101 or instructor’s permission. 4 SH. CC: Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive.

This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to the histories and cultures of the indigenous peoples north of Mexico. Topics to be considered include cultural diversity, colonial history and federal Indian policy, land use patterns, identity and ethnicity, myth and ritual, contemporary issues, representations of Native Americans in the dominant culture, and the role of cultural revitalization and innovation in the negotiation of contemporary community survival. Course readings represent a variety of perspectives, including historical, ethnographic, ecological, and literary. Prerequisite: ANTH-162, ANTH-152, or SOCI-101 or instructor’s permission. 4 SH. CC: Diversity.

This course is designed to develop students’ competence as social researchers. We will cover both theoretical issues -like the epistemology and ethics of qualitative research – and practical ones – the nuts and bolts of the research process, from data collection to analysis. The course will focus on the connection between researchers’ theoretical goals and the practical resources and constraints of the research process. Students will be trained in some of the common forms of qualitative social research: ethnography, interviews, content analysis, case studies, and the comparative method. Students will also be required to employ qualitative methods to collect and analyze original data, both for (near weekly) short written assignments and a 15-20 page final research paper. Prerequisites: sophomore standing and at least one introductory course in sociology and anthropology. Same as SOCI-235. 4 SH. CC: Ethics Intensive, Writing Intensive.

This course will explore key interrelationships between museums, anthropology and the practices of representation. Students will be introduced to the history of museums and will also be given the analytical tools to read museums and exhibitions as cultural texts. The course focuses on the production and meanings of public museums and other exhibitionary spaces. We will pay close attention to issues of representation in anthropological and other arenas, to how museums communicate information about cultural-historical processes and events,and to the formation of ethnographic and other subjects. While anthropology and museum studies are the course’s focus, we will not restrict our readings to those disciplines and modes of representation alone but will consider other disciplinary perspectives and offerings. Prerequisite: sophomore standing and ANTH-162 or SOCI-101 or instructor’s permission. 4 SH. CC: Interdisciplinary, Team Intensive.

This course is intended to introduce students to common methods used in quantitative social science research. It is intended to help us conceptualize a research problem and how to collect evidence to address that research problem. Students will learn how to conduct basic quantitative social science research, evaluate relevant evidence, and determine the best method to be used based on theoretical and practical considerations. The course would also focus attention on such issues such as the time dimension, sampling design and ethical issues when conducting quantitative social research. Finally we use SPSS and series of datasets to test and demonstrate our knowledge of the respective statistical procedures. Upon completion of this course, students should be better able to critically evaluate the quantitative research they encounter in their social science coursework and in the mass media, as well as being able to design a basic quantitative research project. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. Same as SOCI-245. 4 SH. CC: Ethics Intensive.

Intermediate study of selected topics. Topics vary and depend on student and instructor interest. Possibilities include the anthropology of modernity, cross-cultural perspectives on gender and sexuality, and drugs and culture. Prerequisite: SOCI-101, ANTH-162, or permission of the instructor. 2-4 SH.

Considers the nature of belonging in the world today. Who is “at home?” Who is displaced/out of place? Begins with theories of the nation and anthropological research on national communities and nation-building, then turns to a consideration of those considered outsiders to the nation-state, i.e., diasporic, transnational, and refugee communities. Addresses culture as it is formed by the globalization of capital, commodities, media, literacy, and international political and religious movements. Topics covered may include Jewish, Palestinian, African, and Chinese diasporas, refugees in Tanzania and in Europe, and Indian intellectuals in the U.S. Prerequisite: ANTH-162, SOCI-333, or instructor’s permission. 4 SH. CC: Writing Intensive.

What is the proper relation between the state and its citizens? Should states merely ensure the basic safety of citizens, or should they somehow promote their well-being? How should decisions about what constitutes safety or well-being be made? Through a study of regulation, this course considers how economics, politics, ethics, and aesthics inform life in modern liberal democracies. We begin by establishing a theoretical framework for our study and then turn to four instances in which states seek to intervene in or regulate the lives of citizens, namely the economy, drugs, food, and sex. We will examine issues such as the recent financial meltdown, medical marijunana, food safety, and Internet pornography. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. 4 SH. CC: Interdisciplinary, and Social Interactions.

Using anthropological approaches to the study of food, this course examines the meanings and uses of various Jewish cuisines as they developed in diverse regions and historical periods. We will consider the laws of kashrut and their modern interpretations, the social history of traditional Jewish foods, the literary development of Jewish cookbooks and literary and cinematic representations of Jewish cuisines and dining. Underlying our study will be questions concerning how class, gender, faith, ethnicity, aesthetics and politics inform Jewish foodways. Because cooking and eating are frequently done in the company of others, much of our work will be collaborative. Same as JWST-312. 4 SH. CC: Diversity, Team Intensive.

Explores key interrelationships between image-making and ethnographic discovery and representation. Students are introduced to the history of ethnographic film and photography, and are also given the analytical tools to read popular films and photographs as cultural texts. The course focuses on the production, representation and use of images to communicate information about cultural-historical processes, events, and subjects. Prerequisite: ANTH-162, SOCI-101, or instructor’s permission. 4 SH.

This class will build a theoretical base in the anthropology of tourism from which to engage key questions about tourism: How does “tourism” frame our daily experiences? Our collective sense of self and other? ANTH 323 draws on student GO experiences, both completed and anticipated, as well as other domestic and international tourism experiences. The course also depends on students thinking “through” field methodologies — seeing, writing, interpreting and storytelling — as ways to engage tourism and tourist practices. Students are recommended but not required to complete ANTH-162 or SOCI-101. Prerequisite: junior standing. 4 SH. CC:Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive

A comparative study of family and kinship. Covers the structures and functions of family and kinship in different cultures. Emphasizes historical and contemporary changes in knowledge and practice focused on family, marriage, procreation, and kinship in the United States, with particular emphasis on the cultural construction of kinship, the naturalization of identity and difference, the politics of recognition, and new reproductive technologies. Prerequisite: ANTH-162 or SOCI-101. Same as SOCI-341. 4 SH. CC: Diversity Intensive, Writing Intensive.

This course examines religious beliefs, practices, and ways of life that have come to be labled “fundamentalist.” This course attends in particular to their emergence in the modern world and the ways in which they critically engage secular convictions about morality, aesthetics, and epistemology. The focus of the course is on Protestant fundamentalism and the Islamic Revival, but, depending on student interest, the class may also consider ultra-orthodox Judaism or Hindu nationalism. Prerequisite: One of the following: ANTH-162, ANTH-220, SOCI-101, SOCI-102, a 100-level religious studies course, or instructor’s permission. Same as RELI-360. 4 SH. CC: Diversity Intensive, Social Interactions, Writing Intensive.

Surveys major anthropological theories (e.g., evolutionism, functionalism, structuralism, symbolism, and post-modernism) and theorists (e.g., Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Levi-Strauss, Geertz, and Clifford). Examines how ideas about culture have changed over time. Takes a critical perspective by locating both theories and theorists within national and historical frameworks. Prerequisite: ANTH-162. 4 SH. CC: Historical Perspectives.

Focuses on race and ethnic relations in contemporary society and popular understandings of race and ethnicity in the United States. Explores the boundaries and markers for membership in an ethnic, racial, or minority group. Specifically, this course regards race as a social construct that has significance for structural opportunities, experiences, worldviews, and conceptions of self and others. The course investigates the designations “race,” “ethnicity,” and “minorities,” and locates them in foundational and current tensions concerning power and identity. Prerequisite: ANTH-162 or SOCI-101. Same as SOCI-413. 4 SH. CC: Diversity, Social Interactions, Writing Intensive.

Reseach workshop which fulfills the capstone requirement for majors. Prerequisites: ANTH/SOCI-235 or ANTH/SOCI-245 and two courses in anthropology or sociology, at least one of which has been taken at the 300-level or above. SOCI-311 or ANTH-400 recommended. 4 SH. Capstone.

Supervised readings and writings in advanced fields of anthropological study. Prerequisites: ANTH-162, three courses in anthropology, a minimum GPA of 3.0 in departmental courses and instructor’s permission. 1-4 SH. Capstone. May fulfill the capstone requirement with permission of the department head and when taken for at least 2 semester hours. Students not majoring or minoring in sociology or anthropology who wish to use ANTH-501 for their capstone must also have successfully completed ANTH/SOCI-235 or ANTH/SOCI-245, receiving a C- or higher.

Individual work for qualified students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Supervised readings and writings in advanced fields of anthropological study.

Individual student work in an appropriate setting. Open only when positions are available. 1-8 SH.