Courses and Syllabi
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.
Anthropology Spring 2023
Undergraduate
Overview of major ideas and approaches to the study of cultures around the world. Surveys kinship, social organization, political economy, religious beliefs, language and other aspects of non-Western cultures. Limited to three attempts.
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8 Sections Currently Scheduled »
Introduction to archaeology. Explores the ways in which the archaeological record contributes to issues and debates about the human past and present, as well as the lab and field methods used for understanding archaeological remains. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Introduction to world prehistory. Begins with the biological, cultural, and technological evolution of the human species during a period known as the Paleolithic, followed by a consideration of developments following the end of the last Ice Age, focusing primarily on the origins of agriculture and the rise of complex societies around the globe. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Uses an evolutionary perspective to introduce students to the study of humans and non-human primates as biological organisms. The course will analyze the genetic and environmental bases for modern human biological variation, understand primate behavior and biological relationships, and reconstruct the fossil record. Discussions about prehistoric skeletal remains will emphasize biological responses to changes in subsistence and social structure. Limited to three attempts.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Explores how human beings across cultures have historically expressed social anxieties through references to the one particular manifestation of the undead: zombies, figures representing a state in which human beings are animate and affective in the world around them, but lack consciousness or free will. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Examines the anthropological literature on East Asian cultures (such as China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan). Includes particular attention to social and cultural changes in people’s everyday life associated with modernization, development, and movements. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Deepens knowledge of genome technologies, the history of genome research, and how genomics has contributed to our understanding of humanity past and present. Considers how different paradigms of evolutionary thought have influenced the field and how forces of evolution act to shape genome variation in humans. Considers the central role of genomics in the both the rise of and resistance to race science, and how an anthropological perspective is essential to gain a fuller understanding of the social and political dimensions of genome science. Provides hands-on training of laboratory techniques for generating, analyzing, and interpreting human genome data and contextualizes these methods within historical and ethical frameworks. Traces how genome scientists have used these techniques to better understand human evolution, population history, health, and biodiversity. Evaluates the power of genome science to impact questions of human agency, kinship, identity, ancestry, and belonging. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Explores the fossil evidence for human and primate evolution. Exposes students to evidence for the origins of mammals and primates, and to discussions of human evolution. Uses human fossils as tools to understand evolutionary relationships (phylogenetics), behavior, functional anatomy, and broader adaptation. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Examines relationships among environment, culture, and human behavior with an emphasis on cultural ecological explanations in mainly non-Western contexts. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Provides an introduction to the field of paleopathology which involves
identification of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains, and
reconstruction of the natural history and co-evolution of disease with humans.
Covers the differential diagnosis and history of infectious pathogens, skeletal
trauma, oral diseases, metabolic abnormalities, developmental defects, and more. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Explores the contributions that archaeology can make to the study of climate change, past and present. Emphasizes the methods and theories used by archaeologists to reconstruct past environments and to evaluate the nature of human responses to climate change. Explores cases in which climate change has been evoked as a causal mechanism for human biological and behavioral change (spanning from the origins of the human lineage to the collapse of civilizations), while also addressing the ways in which archaeological data can contribute to dialogue about the changes in climate we are experiencing today and how climate change is impacting the preservation of cultural heritage. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Introduction to the anthropology of work, technology, and society, with emphasis on information technology. Covers general conceptual issues of information technology and also involves specific practical exercises with computers, their operating systems, the logic of automated production, databases, and web-based communication. Attention also directed to social and ethical issues raised by contemporary information technology. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Topic of contemporary interest in anthropology, focusing on social science topics of interest. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Second of a two-course sequence that reviews major theoretical traditions and schools of thought in anthropology. Notes: Required for anthropology majors and usually taken as a senior seminar. Limited to three attempts.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Supervised project in applying anthropology in relevant settings including public and historical archaeology, developmental anthropology, museums, non-profit organizations, advocacy, communications, or consulting organizations. Notes: Students must complete 45 hours of work at the internship site for each credit. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 6 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Topic of contemporary interest in anthropology, focusing on social science topics of interest. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 18 credits.
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2 Sections Currently Scheduled
Graduate
Examines contemporary theorists of anthropology, covering ongoing debates over epistemology and the multiple strands that inform anthropological theory and practice. May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Provides an introduction to the field of paleopathology which involves identification of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains, and reconstruction of the natural history and co-evolution of disease with humans. Covers the differential diagnosis and history of infectious pathogens such as tuberculosis and syphilis, skeletal trauma, oral diseases, metabolic abnormalities neoplasms developmental defects joint disease and more. May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Explores the contributions that archaeology can make to the study of climate change, past and present. Emphasizes the methods and theories used by archaeologists to reconstruct past environments and to evaluate the nature of human responses to climate change. Explores cases in which climate change has been evoked as a causal mechanism for human biological and behavioral change (spanning from the origins of the human lineage to the collapse of civilizations), while also addressing the ways in which archaeological data can contribute to dialogue about the changes in climate we are experiencing today and how climate change is impacting the preservation of cultural heritage. May not be repeated for credit.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Explores current issues and debates in anthropology. Equivalent to ANTH 699.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Reviews and examines major research methods commonly employed in cultural anthropological field study, with emphasis on ethnographic research design and the use of standard ethnographic techniques. Includes practice in designing ethnographic research project and using ethnographic methods and techniques in a field setting. Equivalent to ANTH 586.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
All internships must be approved by faculty advisor to ensure suitability to the student's course of study. Introduction to applied anthropology through approved work and study at a museum, institute, agency, or other approved site. May be repeated within the term for a maximum 6 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
Capstone research project conducted under the supervision of a faculty project director and project evaluation committee. Project should be a substantial contribution to anthropological knowledge and is in lieu of a thesis. Notes: Students must initially enroll for a minimum of 3 credits of ANTH 796 and maintain continuous enrollment in 796 until project is submitted. A maximum of 6 credits of ANTH 796 may be applied to the degree. May be repeated within the degree for a maximum 12 credits.
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1 Section Currently Scheduled
