Currently Offered Courses - Spring 2019
Anthropology was first envisioned as a holistic discipline, combining insights from the study of human anatomy and evolution, research on material remains of human settlements, and the analysis of social interaction in language and other cultural practices. Following this tradition, this course explores the questions about where humans came from, how societies live and communicate, and why human cultural groups vary.
Presents the fundamental areas of anthropological analysis through a series of comparative cases that emphasize social and cultural relations in global contexts. Directs attention to the anthropological history of global empires and colonial states, their cultural exchanges, and contemporary studies of culture, society, and globalization.
Explores recent theoretical, methodological, and thematic developments in historical archaeology in North America and the Caribbean. The temporal coverage is 1500-1900 AD. Examines how historical archaeologists use artifactual, documentary and oral history evidence in interpreting the past, and how historical archaeology can contribute to our understanding of the ways by which material culture can be used to study race, class, gender, and ethnic identities. Same as AFRO 106.
Same as PHIL 109, REL 109, and SOC 109. See REL 109.
Examines the ways in which the ancient past has been interpreted, appropriated, represented, used, and misused for a variety of reasons by political parties, national governments, and religious and ethnic groups living in the present.
Introduction to the anthropological study of contemporary human societies; emphasis on the comparative study of social organization, interpersonal relations, cultural ecology, and processes of sociocultural change, but also includes some consideration of the method and theory of ethnographic field research.
Past and present evolution of the human species and population and individual biological variation; topics include genetic principles relevant to human evolution, primate phylogeny and behavior, fossil evidence for human evolution, and the origin and significance of biological diversity in modern humans. Prerequisite: ANTH 102 or ANTH 143; or an introductory life sciences course; or consent of instructor.
History and theory underlying methods used in forensic science. Topics include the courtroom, the units of a crime laboratory, methods of securing and investigating a crime scene, and the analysis of evidence collected from a crime scene such as blood, fibers, hair and fingerprints.
Forensic science is the application of science to the law and encompasses a wide variety of scientific disciplines. This course introduces students to general laboratory practice, molecular biology and DNA analysis skill that are commonly used by forensic DNA scientists. Students will learn using a “hands-on” and interactive approach with many of the same tools used by professional forensic DNA scientists. Prerequisite: ANTH 246.
Principles of modern evolutionary theory are applied to medical problems. Topics include: transmission, pathogen strategies, symptoms and spectrum of disease, evolution of virulence, concept of cause, antimicrobial resistance, emerging diseases, stress and adaptation, nutrition, diachronic overview of changing patterns of human disease, and ecological factors.
Examines the intersections of culture and language. Topics include the definition of language; the cultural shaping of narrative; how different linguistic systems guide speakers to think differently about the world; and how ideologies about language relate to beliefs about the nation, modernity, race, and gender. Credit is not given for both ANTH 270 and ANTH 271.
Course is identical to ANTH 270 except for the additional writing component. Credit is not given for both ANTH 271 and ANTH 270. Prerequisite: Completion of campus Composition I general education requirement.
Introduction to concepts and social aspects of health, illness, and curing in different cultures. Considers concepts of interaction between folk and modern medicine in developing nations and delivery of health care as an international social problem. Prerequisite: ANTH 230 or ANTH 260, or consent of instructor.
Supervised reading and research on anthropological topics chosen by the student with staff approval. Especially (but not exclusively) for students who are preparing for a summer field-work project, or who have some justifiable reason for doing independent study, but who do not qualify for the honors (departmental distinction) courses. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing; 12 hours in anthropology; consent of instructor. May not be taken concurrently with ANTH 391 or ANTH 495.
Topics are given on a one-time only, experimental basis. Faculty offer special topics in their areas of expertise that provide an opportunity for undergraduates to be exposed to some of the most current developments in faculty research. May be repeated.
Same as CHLH 407, KIN 407, and REHB 407. See CHLH 407.
Addresses issues of the theoretical divide between the humanities and the social sciences, the unique authority of the scholar/author, and the invisibility of the reader in producing scholarly texts. Focusing on the ways in which scholars are also authors, we explore current debates by reading a selection of contemporary anthropological texts (and some prescient precursors) that boldly experiment with how ethnography is written. Students will experiment with several ethnographic writing styles. This course is designed for advanced undergraduate anthropology students and graduate students in cultural anthropology, writing studies, and education. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: Undergraduate students should have already taken at least one 300-level course in cultural anthropology, and graduate students in cultural anthropology, writing studies, and education. Other students should contact the instructor.
Supervised participation in biological anthropology research projects; techniques, methods, and procedures discussed and practiced under actual field or laboratory working conditions. Normally taken concurrently with ANTH 445. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary. Usually offered in the summer session only. Prerequisite: ANTH 240 or equivalent; consent of instructor.
Analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and organization of field and laboratory data in biological anthropology; preparation of written reports on research. May be taken concurrently with ANTH 444 or subsequently. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary. Usually offered in the summer session only. Prerequisite: ANTH 240 or equivalent; consent of instructor.
Human skeletal and dental remains form the basis for research in both bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. We will examine the bases for making inferences about individual skeletons and past populations, with particular emphasis placed on paleodemography, reconstruction of diet, paleopathology, and biological distance analysis. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ANTH 347.
Participation in archaeological excavations; techniques, methods, and procedures discussed and practiced under actual working conditions. Normally taken concurrently with ANTH 455. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary. Usually offered in the summer session only. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Laboratory work including processing, classifying, dating, interpretation, evaluation, and preparation of written reports of archaeological research. May be taken concurrently with ANTH 454 or subsequently. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite: ANTH 102 or consent of instructor.
Introduction to the Ancient Maya of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. Evaluates theories that account for the rise and fall of Classic (c. A.D. 250-950) Maya rulership. Excavation data, inconography, and inscriptions are used to reconstruct political and social organization, ideology, subsistence activities, and inter-regional interactions. 3 undergraduate hours. 3 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ANTH 105.
A foundational introduction to museology consisting of a critical examination of the history and social life of museums and how museums have been studied by scholars in a range of academic disciplines. Includes visits to campus and local museums. Same as ARTH 462 and LA 472. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
Social hierarchies in a variety of cultural contexts; industrial societies and the process of industrialization; looks at other social forms for the purposes of comparison. A variety of social theories will be discussed and compared through ethnographic studies. 4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ANTH 103 and ANTH 230 or graduate standing.
Overview of theoretical perspectives and methodologies in linguistic anthropology, including sociolinguistics, ethnography of communication, performance and poetics, discursive practices, and structural analyses. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. Prerequisite: ANTH 230 or ANTH 270 and preferably both.
The second of a two-term individual study and research project for those students who are candidates for departmental distinction in anthropology. 2 to 4 undergraduate hours. No graduate credit. Prerequisite: Senior standing; 3.25 GPA in anthropology; and consent of instructor. May not be taken concurrently with ANTH 390.
Supervised participation in field research in ethnography, ethnology, linguistics, or social anthropology; techniques, methods, and procedures discussed and practiced under actual working conditions. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary. Usually offered in the summer session only. Prerequisite: ANTH 230; some knowledge of the language of the area concerned; consent of instructor. Normally taken concurrently with ANTH 497.
Analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and organization of field data in cultural anthropology; preparation of written reports on research in ethnography, ethnology, linguistics, or social anthropology. May be taken concurrently with ANTH 496 or subsequently. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite: ANTH 230; some knowledge of the language of the area concerned; consent of instructor.
Research seminar on specialized topics in anthropology. 4 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
Examines anthropological theories and methods for understanding systems of body movement and performance in cultural contexts. Explores the study of everyday skills as well as the expressive complexities of dances, gestural systems, sacred and secular ritual, sign languages, sports, theater, and martial arts. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
Examines patterns of behavior archaeologists associate with complex societies and seeks to understand if and how these behaviors generate and/or reflect cultural complexity; theoretical literature and case studies discussed. Major topics include chiefdoms, settlement pattern analysis, and ideology. Prerequisite: Graduate student standing.
Individual guidance in intensive readings in the literature of one or more subdivisions of the field of anthropology, selected in consultation with the adviser in accordance with the needs and interest of the student. May be repeated in the same or separate semesters as topics vary. Prerequisite: One semester of graduate work in anthropology; consent of advisor.
Supervised individual investigation or study of a topic not covered by regular courses. The topic selected by the student and the proposed plan of study are approved by the adviser and the staff member who supervises the work. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
