Scientists are often taught that the skills they need are confined to conducting research in the lab, the field, or the observatory. Yet science is also a human endeavor. If scientists are not taught this lesson, mistakes can be made that have real implications for people's lives, for scientific progress, and for who gets to be a scientist. Therefore this course will introduce 1) a brief history of Western and non-Western science, 2) the influences of social categories and oppressions on scientific advancement, 3) the incentive and reward structure of science, and 4) stories of scientists who have chosen to walk a brave path in the way they conduct and disseminate their research. We will engage in a mix of ethnographic and case study work and bring interpretive and systematic analysis to bear on what it means to be a scientist. The ultimate goal of the course is to provide a substantive, rigorous, and broad introduction to the culture of science, and how that culture affects the people of science, its practice, and its process.
Covers major concepts and debates in the study of legal anthropology: the way in which different societies understand justice, practice law, engage or violate human rights, adjudicate responsibility. We examine the foundations of different legal systems, the cultural categories that different societies use to determine the meaning of justice, guilt, innocence, and the variations in systems for both preventing and punishing crime. In addition, we will consider the cultures of law as a profession. How do lawyers learn to read and see the world differently? How do Courts create their own cultural norms and social contexts in ways that impact how all of us receive due process? Finally we explore the relationship between state power, rule of law and democracy. Is there and should there be a role for politics in the law?
ANTH 368 - 'America' in the World
Study of the lure and rejection of the U.S. around the world, by drawing on long-standing anthropological approaches to the histories of peoplehood, selfhood, and otherness. Examines the historical, political, cultural, economic, and social context of both anti- and pro-Americanism, in various parts of the globe.
ANTH 403 - Women in Muslim Societies
Examination of gender ideologies and social realities affecting the lives of women in various Muslim countries.