Courses
Anthropology
0403. 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.
0404. Approaches in Linguistic
Anthropology (3 s.h.)
Linguistic anthropology is concerned with the dynamic inter-relationships
among language, culture, and society. This course provides
an overview of theoretical and methodological approaches through
which language can be studied in its social and cultural contexts
as a means of communication as well as a medium of power, a
means of production, and a commodity of value. Language is
regarded as a cultural resource, and communicative practices
are treated as forms of social action that vary significantly
from one place and time to another. The role of language in
sociocultural processes of reproduction and change are examined,
revealing that communicative practices and their social organization
are not just reflections of pre-existing social structures
and cultural patterns, but are in fact constitutive of society
and culture.
0405. 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.
0406. Approaches in Archaeology (3
s.h.)
Examines the methods and theories used in archaeological research
and provides an overview of human history that has been revealed
by archaeological research. Topics covered include the historical
development of archaeology, the nature of archaeological evidence,
measuring and organizing time, analyzing spatial relationships,
interpreting material culture, explanations in archaeology,
hunter-gatherers in prehistory, agricultural origins, origins
of complex societies, historical archaeology, and current trends
in archaeology.
0407. Approaches in Historic
Sites Archaeology (3 s.h.)
Examines the methods and theories used in archaeological research
focused on the colonial and later periods of American history.
0408. 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.
0409. 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.
0411. 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.
0412. 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.
0415. 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.
0501. 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.
0507. Methods in Linguistic
Anthropology (3 s.h.)
Survey of methods and problems in linguistic anthropology.
0509. Language Socialization
and Cultural Reproduction (3 s.h.)
Language socialization research is concerned with the processes
whereby children and other novices, through interactions with
older or otherwise more experienced persons, acquire the knowledge,
orientations, skills, and practices that enable them to function
as (and crucially, to be regarded as) competent members of
their communities. This seminar examines language socialization
and cultural reproduction as both universal and culturally
specific phenomena. Topics explored include theoretical and
methodological approaches to socialization; cross-cultural
variations in ways of teaching and learning; socialization
of children and of other novices; the agency of learners; the
socialization of identities, roles, and statuses; and socialization
processes as a site of innovation and change. Using the resources
of the Linguistic Anthropology Teaching Laboratory, seminar
participants collect, analyze, and present ethnographic audio-video
data from various local settings (schools, churches, community
organizations, workplaces, etc.) in which socialization can
be observed.
0510. 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
0513. Problems in Sociocultural
Anthropology (3 s.h.)
A seminar oriented to specific research issues. Topics vary
from semester to semester.
0515. Theory and Methods in
Cultural Anthropology (3 s.h.)
0516. 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.
0520. 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.
0521. Methods of Archaeology (3
s.h.)
Methods and procedures used in the practice of archaeology
with topical foci varying by semester. Semester long topics
include: cultural resource management; sediments, soils, and
geomorphology in archaeology; pottery analysis; and lithic
analysis. As an example, the lithic analysis focus provides
hands-on experience in analyzing lithic assemblages through
experimental replication of stone tools, experimental use of
stone tools, microscopic analysis of experimental and archaeological
specimens, and classification of lithic assemblages. The first
half of the course consists of laboratory exercises in making,
using, and analyzing stone tools and flaking debris. The second
half of the course is devoted to the conducting of independent
research projects by class members on some aspect of lithic
analysis.
0522. Indigenous Self
Representation and Videography (3
s.h.)
Critically reviews the relationships between ethnographic monographs
and ethnographic film with the indigenous forms of self representation,
film, photography, and art. Primary focus is the new medium
of video generated visual texts. Native, minority, emergent,
and elite texts of various societies will be compared with
each other as well as with similar forms of visual representation
in contemporary western societies
0524. Genetic Basis
of Human Variations (3 s.h.)
Explores the hereditary variation in our species and its special
relationship to disease incidences and susceptibilities. Emphasis
on contrast between adaptations of traditional societies to
infectious disease loads and contemporary societies with degenerative
disease loads, and the genetic susceptibilities concerned.
0525. Biocultural Adaptation
in Human Populations (3 s.h.)
This course explores the manner in which the adaptation concept
has been used in cultural and biological anthropology. Evaluations
of optimization models, thermodynamic models, evolutionary
stable strategy theory, cultural materialism and selection
models are conducted in a seminar format. Discussions will
focus on the extent to which the behavioral and biological
characteristics of human populations can be explained in an "adaptive" context.
Students will critique specific models and the way they have
been applied to groups living in stressful environments.
0526. Methods in Physical
Anthropology (3 s.h.)
Methodological training for graduate students in physical anthropology
and the Biocultural adaptation program. Topics include population
genetics and demography, osteology, energy flow models, and
human physiology.
0527. Physiol Basis
in Human Var. (3 s.h.)
0528. Theory and Methods
In Cultures and Comm. (3 s.h.)
0532. Anthropological
Photography (3 s.h.)
A review of the major photographic styles used for anthropological
photography, and analysis of the role of photography in anthropology.
0533. Anthropology
and Film (3 s.h.)
Critical examination of the ethnographic/anthropological film
literature. A number of filmmakers (Vertov, Rouche, Marker,
MacDougall, and Deren) will be explored in detail. The purpose
is to explore the possibility of an anthropological cinema.
The seminar is primarily designed for advanced undergraduates
in the visual anthropology track and graduate students in the
anthropology of visual communication program.
0534. Anthropological
Problems in Visual Production (3
s.h.)
Concentrates on the development of production skills and the
application of more complex techniques in the making of anthropologically
significant visual texts. These techniques demonstrate why
different methods and strategies are appropriate when films
and other visual texts pursue different objectives.
0536. Anthropology
in Feature Films (3 s.h.)
An examination of how Hollywood feature films treat topics,
themes and people familiar to anthropological scholarship.
A constructivist position is applied to mass communicated imagery,
media socialization, stereotype formation and maintenance,
themes of representation as related to viewer response theory,
genre demand characteristics, social construction of credibility
and "otherness."
0538. The Anthropology
of Public Culture (3 s.h.)
Explores museums, exhibitions, galleries and festivals as a
form of public culture. Activities include critical reading
of relevant literature and an examination of films, CD-ROM's,
Internet web sites as well as field trips to local institutions.
0548. Marxist Perspectives
in Anthropology (3 s.h.)
Concerned with the theoretical and methodological contributions
of Marxist thought to the study and understanding of the structure,
development, and transformation of human societies. In addition
to selected works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, materials
relating to recent development theories are studied in relation
to anthropology and its place in the modern world.
0549. Social and Cultural
Change (3 s.h.)
Examines alternative theories of society and explanations of
change and development: (1) to expose the network of assumptions
underlying various theories of change and to investigate their
implications, (2) to show the commonality of social thought
in different societies and to challenge notions about the uniqueness
of Western thought, (3) to examine selected instances of historical
change and transformation: alternate roads of socioeconomic
development, and the colonial encounter and decolonization.
0555. Gender Theory (3
s.h.)
Explores anthropological literature on gender as a means of
exposing the hidden assumptions about power, language, and
gender that inform anthropological theory. Theoretical critiques
of this literature will be used to reassess anthropology and
to generate a systematic approach to the study of gender.
0561. Contemporary
Perspectives in Urban Anthropology (3
s.h.)
Examines the development of urban anthropology from the early
debates of the 1970s to redefinitions in the 1980s. The emerging
paradigm of intensive studies of local social processes within
larger macrostructural contexts is the focus.
0570. Comparative Early
Civilizations (3 s.h.)
Comparative analysis of the rise of civilizations (state-based
societies). Examines archaeological and historical information
to investigate the transformation of kin-organized communities
into class-stratified societies with state machines. Considers
the internal dynamics of kin-organized communities with food-producing
economies and the capacity to produce surplus goods and labor
as well as the foundational role they play in the rise of states.
Explores the contradictions and developmental potential of
tributary states.
0571. Seminar in Northeastern
Prehistory (3 s.h.)
The archaeology and prehistory of the native peoples of the
Middle Atlantic Region are examined in detail, and in the broader
context of cultural developments in the Northeast and Eastern
Woodlands of the United States. Although the seminar employs
cultural historical periods as a way to present information,
cultural diversity across time and space are emphasized. Basic
descriptive data dealing with prehistoric cultures are presented,
as well as the variety of interpretations of native lifeways
upon which they are based. Included in the course is information
derived from cultural resource management studies, the results
of which are infrequently published.
0580. Seminar in Evolutionary
Biology (3 s.h.)
In-depth review of the synthetic theory of evolution, and special
topics in evolutionary theory. Emphasis placed on human evolution,
human biocultural adaptation, and evolutionary biology.
0584. Historic Sites
Archaeology (3 s.h.)
Topical focus varying by semester dealing with the archaeology
of colonial and later periods of American history.
0591. Sociolinguistics (3
s.h.)
This seminar examines the relationships among language, social
structure, and social action, focusing on the socioculturally
and linguistically mediated processes through which human groups
reproduce and transform themselves. Language and discourse
(both spoken and written), images (both still and dynamic),
performances, and other communicative forms and practices are
regarded as forms of social action, as a means of production,
and as commodities of value. Particular attention is given
to the ways in which they shape, and are shaped, by relations
of power, at both micro and macro levels of analysis. A primary
goal of this seminar is to develop critical perspectives on
the place of language in contemporary social theory.
0594. Ethnolinguistics (3
s.h.)
0598. Independent Study (1
to 12 s.h.)
Prerequisite: departmental approval.
Special study on a particular aspect of anthropology under
the supervision of an appropriate faculty member. No more than
six semester hours can be counted toward degree requirements.
0599. Independent Study (1
to 12 s.h.)
Prerequisite: departmental approval.
Special study on a particular aspect of anthropology under
the supervision of an appropriate faculty member. No more than
six semester hours can be counted toward degree requirements.
0613. Problems in Ethnology (3
s.h.)
Reading and analysis of key ethnographic texts. Major topics
include: development of ethnography as a genre in the 20th-century;
regional patterns in ethnographic data and their relation to
theory formation; postmodern critiques of ethnography; the
influence of ethnography on other disciplines; and the use
of ethnographics in teaching anthropology.
0623. Problems in Archaeology (3
s.h.)
Consideration of special theoretical and methodological problems
in archaeology. Topical and area emphasis varies by semester.
0635. Seminar in Visual
Anthropology and the Arts (3 s.h.)
A seminar oriented to specific research issues, with topics
varying from semester to semester.
0644. Seminar In Epressive
Cult. (3 s.h.)
0648. Comparative Political
Economy (3 s.h.)
Concerned with developing a more textured understanding of
Marxist political economy and an appreciation of its significance
for informing an anthropological perspective in a period of
intense class and state formation and distinction. Emphasis
varies by semester.
0660. Advanced Research
in Urban Ethnography (3 s.h.)
For students who do research analysis in urban environments
with emphasis on field techniques, research design, and interpretation
data.
0677. Archaeological
Inference (3 s.h.)
Examines the nature of archaeological data, and the relationship
of such data to current archaeological and anthropological
theory. Builds upon the foundation established in ANT 406,
521, and 623, and specifically addresses the issue of how to
operationalize the variety of research strategies in use in
contemporary archaeology.
0691. Master`s Essay (1
to 12 s.h.)
Students who are doing research and writing for their M.A.
thesis should register for this class. Credit does not count
toward either the 24 s.h. requirement for MA or the 48 s.h.
requirement for the Ph.D.
0692. Master's Essay (3
s.h.)
Students who are doing research and writing for their M.A.
thesis should register for this class. Credit does not apply
toward either the 24 s.h. requirement for MA or the 48 s.h.
requirement for the Ph.D.
0712. Quant. Anal.
Anthro. Data (3 s.h.)
0729. Problems in the
Anthropology of Visual Communication (3
s.h.)
Advanced seminar devoted to problematic aspects of visual media,
research, fieldwork, production, exposition of issues central
to relationships of anthropology, media, and visual communication.
Topics vary by semester.
0740. Advanced Seminar
in Social Anthropology (3 s.h.)
Oriented to specific research issues. Topics vary by semester.
0799. Preliminary Exam
Preparation (1-6 s.h.)
Prerequisite: Limited to doctoral students
who have finished course work.
0898. Independent Study (1-12 s.h.)
Prerequisite: prior approval of the department.
Limited to doctoral students. Specialized study and research
under the supervision of a faculty member.
0899. Pre-Dissertation
Research (1-6 s.h.)
Prerequisite: prior approval of the department.
Credits in 899 are intended for students who have completed
their qualifying exams and preparing for field research.
0999. Dissertation
Research (1-6 s.h.)
Only students elevated to candidacy and writing the diissertation should
register for this course.