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College of Liberal Arts

Dean's Office, 12th floor
Anderson Hall,
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122


www.temple.edu/CLA

Degree Programs: isc.temple.edu/grad/Programs/
lagrid.htm

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African-American Studies
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Anthropology
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Criminal Justice
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English
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Geography and Urban Studies
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History
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Master of Liberal Arts
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Philosophy
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Political Science
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Psychology
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Religion
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Sociology
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Spanish
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521. Methods of Archaeology. (3 s.h.)

Methods and procedures used in the practice of archaeology with topical foci varying by semester. In the past, for example, the course has focused on heritage management - how governments manage evidence of the past cultural resources on behalf of the public - emphasizing practice in North America, legislation, state and federal review procedures, the phased approach to archaeological and historical research, proposal writing, and interaction with clients. Majority of funding and job opportunities worldwide falls under heritage management.

 

522. 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.

 

524. 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.

525. 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.

526. 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.

532. 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.

 

533. 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.

 

534. Approaches in the Production of Ethnographic Film. (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.

 

536. 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."

 

538. 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.

 

548. 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.

 

549. 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.

 

555. 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.

 

561. 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.

 

570. 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.

580. 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.

 

591. Sociolinguistics. (3 s.h.)

Interdisciplinary study of the intersection between language and social structure, focusing on the role of language in the processes by which societies and social groups reproduce themselves socially, culturally, and materially. Language (spoken and written), images (still and dynamic) and related forms of communicative practice are viewed not simply as "tests" but also as commodities of value, as a means of production, and as power. Language remains the focus of the course; its relationship to other modes of communication is explored, paying particular attention to the sociolinguistics of visual communication. The ultimate goal of the course is to develop a framework theory.

598-599. Independent Study. (variable credit)

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.

 

613. 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.

 

623. Problems in Archaeology. (3 s.h.)

Consideration of special theoretical and methodological problems in archaeology. Topical and area emphasis varies by semester.

 

648. 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.

 

660. 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.

 

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