Master of Arts

Degree Requirements

A student must complete a minimum of 24 semester hours of graduate course work including the four "Approaches" courses: Anthropology 403 (Approaches in Cultural Anthropology), Anthropology 404 (Approaches to Linguistics), Anthropology 405 (Approaches in Physical Anthropology), and Anthropology 406 (Approaches in Archaeology). All student must pass the final examinations in these courses with a grade of B- or better. The faculty recommends that all students take Anthropology 501 (History of Anthropological Thought).

Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Requirements

A minimum of sixteen graduate courses (48 credits) is required for the Ph.D. Students desiring to take courses for credit outside of the department may do so with the approval of their adviser. Students are encouraged to take or audit additional courses relevant to their interests. Anthropology 991-992 (Dissertation Research) may not be counted toward fulfillment of the minimum course requirements, nor taken before the student is advanced to candidacy. A graduate student may take no more than three undergraduate courses (courses numbered below 400) for graduate credit. This may be done only with the prior approval of their adviser, the course's instructor, and the Dean of the Graduate School with the understanding that the instructor will impose graduate level standards.

Reasonable Academic Progress

The Department recommends the following progression of work for all students admitted into the Ph.D. program:

• Incoming students are assigned a provisional advisor. They are free to remain with their advisor or choose another after becoming familiar with department faculty and their interests. By the end of the first year, students should formalize their choice by filling out a department form.
• By the end of the third year, usually during the sixth semester, students should be prepared to take the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. The written examination will be organized by the examination committee and will cover three topics previously agreed upon by the student and the examination committee. This will be followed two to four weeks later by an oral examination.
• Students must pass two technical skills examinations before taking the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. These examinations will be given at regularly scheduled times during the academic year. Students should contact the Graduate Chair to make arrangements.

Course Descriptions -Anthropology

403. Approaches in Cultural Anthropology. (3 s.h.)

Examination of the major theoretical debates that have informed cultural anthropology by analyzing how these perspectives have shaped the development of the ethnographic form. Topics include: structural-functionalism, professional and symbolic approaches, political economy, gender theory and post-structuralism.

404. Approaches in Linguistics. (3 s.h.)

Overview of theoretical and methodological approaches employed in the analysis of the intersections among language, thought, culture, and social structure. Views language as a form of cognitive, social, and cultural behavior, embedded in social action, and interconnected with the processes of social, cultural, material, and educational reproduction. Review of traditions in language study and the foundations of linguistic anthropology and examines major approaches employed in the anthropological study of linguistic and communicative practices. Spoken language remains the focus of the course; its relationship with other modes of communication will be explored. Four major functions of language examined in detail, viz. (1) as a means of communication; (2) as a commodity of value; (3) as a means of production; and (4) as a medium of power.

405. Approaches in Physical Anthropology. (3 s.h.)

Survey of theories and methodologies used in physical anthropology. Development of physical anthropological theory and practice, genetics, hominid evolution, human population variation, primate history and ethnology, ecology, demography, and physiological anthropology.

406. Approaches in Archaeology (3 s.h.)

Explication of contemporary theoretical perspectives in archaeology, relation with broader intellectual and social movements, and implications. Examines relation between theory and practice, investigating how human history, development of ancient societies, as revealed in the archaeological record, is constructed in terms of distinctive theories of society.

408. Approaches to the Anthropology of Visual Communication. (3 s.h.)

General introduction to the Anthropology of Visual Communication. The course has a survey approach; the theoretical overview is grounded in a perspective that applies concepts of culture to processes of visual communication.

409. Topics in the Anthropology of Visual Communication. (3 s.h.)

Examination of an anthropological approach to the study of the uses of the body, space, and the built environment, film, photographic, and television theories of construction and reception, art and aesthetics, cyberspace, and museums.

411. Teaching of Anthropology. (3 s.h.)

Methods and problems in the teaching of college level introductory anthropology. Introduction to professional membership in an academic community and applying anthropological teaching in non-academic contexts. Required for all anthropology teaching assistants.

412. Medical Anthropology. (3 s.h.)

Examines biocultural and sociocultural approaches to the understanding of multiplex human experiences of health, disease, and affliction. Introduction to the major theoretical schools and critical issues of contemporary medical anthropology. Explores six topical areas: biocultural perspectives on disease and health; ethnomedicine; medical pluralism; medicine and social control; international health development; and the relationships between culture/ society and scientific biomedical representations.

415. Anthropology and Social Policy. (3 s.h.)

Examines "applied" domain and different ways of "using" anthropological knowledge, ranging from critiques of international and federal social policies as products of the state and private interests to participative anthropology that moves toward political action and empowerment, to working for the state and private corporate centers as a way to make a living. Evaluates the efficacy of different types of work for progressive social change and examines the possibilities of how to make our research matter more in relation to major public issues.

501. History of Anthropological Theory. (3 s.h.)

Clarifies various intellectual currents in contemporary anthropology, their relationships to intellectual and social developments, and debates in the broader society. Concerned with the development of anthropological thought as it has been shaped by Western society and the emergence of various intellectual tendencies. Surveys the antecedents of anthropology in the major intellectual currents of the early modern era and its crystallization during the Age of Revolution. Focuses in detail on what happened after the social sciences were professionalized in the late 19th century.

507. Semiotics of Language and Visual Media. (3 s.h.)

Cross-cultural comparative studies of verbal, written, visual, and materials signs and symbols in literate and nonliterate societies and their uses and functions in storing, retrieving, and transmitting knowledge, while also reflecting, transmitting, and maintaining the users' cultural values and patterns of relationships. Special attention given to the idea that communicative signs and symbols provide more than referential and indexical functions; they are also a system of values and a medium of power. Provides (1) critical examination of the development of theories about the relationship between verbal, written, visual, and material symbols, and (2) ideology, power, and political hegemony. Theories and ideas tested on selected case studies, including cases originally not subjected directly to semiotic analysis.

510. Fieldwork in Ethnography. (3 s.h.)

Considers the methodology employed and the problems encountered in conducting ethnographic fieldwork. Each student will be expected to design and carry out a local field project.

513. Seminar in Cultural Anthropology. (3 s.h.)

A seminar oriented to specific research issues. Topics vary from semester to semester.

516. Reading Ethnography. (3 s.h.)

Devoted to reading and discussing a wide range of classic and contemporary ethnographies with the goals of: (1) illustrating the ways in which ethnographies have contributed to the development of anthropological theories; (2) providing some coverage of major cultural traditions or culture areas outside of Europe; (3) discussing how ethnographies can be used in undergraduate teaching; and (4) analyzing how the ethnographic process has changed in the postmodern, postcolonial world.

520. Field Session in Archaeology. (3 s.h.)

Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

Techniques and concepts of field archaeology. Students will be expected to spend the greatest part of the session in the field during the excavation of a prehistoric occupation site.

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