Course Atlas Fall 2006 | Department of Anthropology |Emory University

Undergraduate Courses
Graduate Courses


Undergraduate Courses:

Anthropology 101-000: Introduction to Anthropology

WF 10:40-11:30 Max: 125 Shore

Content: How can one field encompass both the study of human evolution and human religious practices? The field of Anthropology presents probably the most encompassing vision of what it means to be human. Anthropology is the study of human nature through the study of human variation. Anthropologists are interested in both biological and cultural variations among human populations, and how these variations emerged. This course presents an introduction to the full spectrum of Anthropology, and we will approach the discipline as an integrated bio-cultural study of human evolution and human adaptation. Through lectures, readings and a film series, the course will consider the four main subfields that comprise Anthropology: Biological Anthropology, Archeology, Cultural Anthropology and Anthropological Linguistics. Rather than treating all these subfields as separate branches of Anthropology, this course will emphasize an integrated and coherent framework that makes sense of the scope and diversity of this fascinating discipline.

Grades will be based upon the best total of two out of three exams. Students will be able to earn extra credit points by attending films and extra lectures and writing summary reports.

Texts:


Anthropology 150-000: World Area Courses: Cultures of Africa [AFS 150]

MWF 3:00-3:50 Max: 25/10 Mathis

Content: This course is an introduction to the diverse societies, cultures and conditions of Sub-Saharan African peoples. We engage with three levels of representation: ethnographic, literary and filmic. We develop a critical understanding of the sociocultural processes that underpin African conditions and social change. Finally, we develop an awareness of our historical relationship to Africa as well as to the challenges posed by Africa's contemporary crises and its meanings in today's world. These all contribute to our developing a critical multicultural literacy that we can use in our everyday life. Readings from ethnography, life history, history and African novels. Extensive use of visual material includes maps, photographs, ethnographic film, African directed feature films.

Texts: TBA


Anthropology 150-001: World Area Courses: Cultures of Southeast Asia [ASIA 150]

TTH 4:00-5:15 Max: 25/10 MacLean

Content: This course will introduce students to a wide range of anthropological theories regarding space—both as a category of analysis and as a means of producing and bounding competing forms of cultural difference. Particular emphasis will be placed on the relationship between space, place, and personhood in the context of Southeast Asia--an immensely diverse region that features an array of hierarchical and egalitarian social systems. A comparative approach to these concerns raises important epistemological as well as methodological questions about how "regions" should be drawn and why "nation-states" were and remain especially problematic categories for organizing difference in Southeast Asia. Case studies will be used throughout most of the course to ask how our understandings of Southeast Asia change when other categories besides state-centric ones are used? Towards this end, the cases will examine different kinds of migrant populations (e.g. monks, pirates, insurgents, NGO networks, sex workers, and temporary workers) and cross-border phenomena challenge the very concepts commonly used to define regions

Texts: TBA


Anthropology 150-002: World Area Courses: Cultures of Latin America [LAS 270]

TTH 2:30-3:45 Max: 25/10 Nugent

Content: In the popular imagination, Latin America is regarded as a region of grinding poverty, revolutionary extremists and military dictators, of debt-ridden economies, degraded environments and indigenous uprisings, of exuberant, hybrid cultures and religious conservatism. In this course we look critically at these stereotypical understandings. Beginning with the European Conquest, we trace the historical development of the region’s economic, social and political structures, of its social movements and cultural beliefs. Special emphasis is placed on the dynamics of the contemporary period—on the increasing scope and power of the world economy and institutions of global governance (from NGOs to the World Bank to the IMF), and on the emergence of alternative forms of democracy, citizenship and nationhood, and of novel expressions of gender, race and religion.

Texts:


Anthropology 190S-00P: Freshmen Seminar: Through the Looking Glass: Anthropology Looks at American Culture

MWF 2:00-2:50 Max: 17 Shore

Course: Does the United States have a distinct culture? Or does the complexity and ethnic diversity of our country make it impossible to identify a distinctively American culture. In this class we will turn the anthropological lens to look at ourselves and see if we can identify an American "national character" and a set of recognizable patterns that make up American culture. We will study American culture by looking at some older classic accounts of American culture by foreign observers (Alexis de Tocqueville and Geoffrey Gorer). We will also look at a number of American institutions (e.g., race relations, the American University, the American family, American political institutions and baseball) to see what they reveal about the way Americans organize their lives. In addition to works by social scientists, we will study several American films and plays which reveal significant aspects of the American cultural landscape. Grades will be based on several class papers and a research report.

Texts:

Particulars: Freshman Only; Satisfies GER Requirement


Anthropology 190S-01P: Freshman Seminar: Reading the Bones of the Ancient Dead

TTH 11:30-12:45 Max: 15 Armelegos

Content: Dead men (and women) do tell tales. We will use the methods of Paleopathology (the study of disease in prehistory) to reveal patterns of trauma, nutritional disease, evidence of antibiotic use, infections, markers of activity found on the human skeleton. You will learn the essentials of skeletal biology such as the determination of age, sex, stature, pathology, and activity markers by "hands-on" examination of the human skeleton. The pattern of pathological indicators will be used to reconstruct how our ancestors lived and died. Patterns of disease are not a matter of chance but reflect the culture and environment in which we live. You do not need to have a background in science.  An incredible curiosity, the deductive ability of a detective and the tenacity of a scientist are required.  A case study approach will be used. Readings will be available on-line. You will be required to write six one page reports and a term paper on an issue raised in the class research.     

Text: TBA


Anthropology 190S-02P: Freshman Seminar: Living Across Cultures

W 2:00-4:00 Max: 18 Knauft

Content: This freshmen seminar explores what it is like to live in alternative cultural environments, including in foreign countries, amid the cultural diversity of the U.S., and in the experience of migrant or diasporic communities here and abroad. The course combines reading and classroom exposure to different cultural experiences with independent projects through which students experience some of the international diversity of the metropolitan Atlanta area and on campus.

Following a general overview concerning cultural diversity and contemporary social change, the course considers the following issues and themes: (a) cultural diversity in Western and non-Western societies; (b) migration and diasporic experience; (c) the international world of Atlanta; (d) the future of global experience; (e) the life of contemporary peoples and cultures in: (i) Melanesia; (ii) Africa; (iii) Asia; (iv) Latin America.

Texts:

Particulars: No prerequisites required; Freshmen only. Evaluation based on reading quizzes, reflection papers, participation and either a final exam or research project.


Anthropology 201-000: Concepts & Methods in Biological Anthropology

TTH 10:00-11:15 Max: 100 Lampl

Students must enroll in a lab section:
Lab Sections: Freed
201L-A: Monday 2:30-5:30
201L-B: Tuesday 2:30-5:30
201L-C: Wednesday 2:30-5:30
201L-D: Thursday 2:30-5:30

Content: Biological Anthropology offers a broad perspective for studying the adaptation and evolution of the human species. Lectures and laboratory examine the role of evolutionary theory in biological anthropology, and study such topics as primate biology and behavior, primate evolution, the fossil evidence for human evolution, history of race and racism, genetic evidence for biological variability, physiological evidence for adaptation to climate and altitude, the role of infectious disease in human evolution, the role of nutrition and dietary preferences in human evolution, and the nature of life. We will discuss the evidence used to interpret human adaptation in the past. How do anthropologists interpret behavior from an artifact of fossil remains? Why do some biochemists search for our ancestral "Eve"? What can we learn about ourselves from the study of nonhuman primates? Does evolutionary biology tell us anything about human behavior? The course emphasizes the integration of a biological and cultural approach to the study of variability in Homo sapiens.

Texts: TBA

Particulars: There will be two hourly exams and a final. In addition, quizzes will be given in the laboratory sections at regular intervals.


Anthropology 202-000: Concepts & Methods in Cultural Anthropology

TTH 11:30-12:45 Max: 35 Lacy

Content: How might Cultural Anthropology help us understand our lives, our communities, and our world in the 21 st century? In this course we explore the work of cultural anthropologists to create an inclusive understanding of some of the specific concepts and methods that have shaped our discipline and our world. Through a historical review of innovative research methods and fieldwork we will re-imagine key anthropological concepts including race, poverty, development, inequality, and knowledge and belief systems. We will apply anthropological methods and ideas as part of a local ethnography project which will challenge students to envision a Cultural Anthropology for the 21 st century

Texts:

Particulars: Coursework will include two exams, a term paper, and full participation in a class project (a local ethnography).


Anthropology 202-001: Concepts & Methods in Cultural Anthropology

MWF 12:50-1:40 Max: 35 Baykal

Content: Basic concepts and theories of cultural anthropology and linguistics. Comparative economic and political systems, social organization and the family, belief systems, and modes of communication. Diverse levels of sociocultural complexity from primitive tribes to industrial societies.

Texts: TBA


Anthropology 203-000: Foundations in Linguistics [LING 201]

TTH 1:00-2:15 Max: 5/7 Hary

Content: What is "language" and how do world languages differ? How do linguists investigate the basic building blocks of human languages? This course introduces students to linguistics, the scientific study of human language systems. We will emphasize the fundamentals of descriptive linguistics, the diversity of world languages, and the culturally-specific functions of speech. We will examine speech sounds (the field of phonetics), the sound systems of languages (phonology), word and sentence formation (morphology and syntax), how language expresses meaning (semantics), and how context influences the interpretation of meaning (pragmatics). Additional topics include historical linguistics, language typology, sociolinguistics, and multilingualism. The course is a core course for the Linguistics/Psychology Major and the Linguistics Minor, and should be of interest to students of Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology, Philosophy, English and foreign languages.

Texts:

Particulars: Grades will be based on attendance and participation, weekly homework assignments, 3 quizzes, and a final exam.


Anthropology 305-000: Human Behavioral Biology

MWF 12:50-1:40 Max: 35 Konner

Content: This course is an upper level introduction to the basis of complex human behavior in the brain. We will focus on human brain structure and function with a view toward mastering the anatomy that underlies cognition and emotion. We will give significant attention to the phylogenetic context of human brain evolution, with reference to comparative neuroanatomy of primates, other mammals, and vertebrates. We will then proceed to study the most interesting new model of higher brain function, that of behavioral neurologist Albert Damasio. The overall goal is to master the anatomy underlying higher human capacities, but without losing sight of the ways in which our brain's evolutionary past can inform our understanding of how that brain works now.

Texts:

Particulars: Exams - Three hour-examinations and a cumulative final, all True/False Multiple Choice; Grading - 70 percent for the hour-exams (20+25+25), 30 percent for the final. The third hour exam is optional; Prerequisite - One or more of the following: ANT 210, NBB 201-ANT 200, Psych 103, or Psych 110, or permission of the instruction; Comments - Recommend for strongly motivated students.


Anthropology 328SWR-000: Women, Religion and Ethnography [WS 328SWR, REL 328SWR]

TTh 11:30-12:45 Max: 6/6/6 Flueckiger

Content: Primary sources in this course will be ethnographic studies that have paid particular attention to women's lives and voices. These women's traditions and expressions often expand the boundaries of what has traditionally "counted" in the study of religion. An underlying question of the course will be: how does the study of women and religion from the perspectives of ethnography and women's studies contribute to methodologies for the broader study of religion, particularly the religious experience of other subaltern groups? We will look not only at the content of the ethnographies we read, but we will also examine the ethnographic research and writing processes represented in each ethnography. The course fulfills the writing requirement.

Texts: May Include:

Particulars: Four 3-4 page, informal response papers; final research paper (12-15 pages) and oral presentation.


Anthropology 340RS-000: Special Topics: Language and Social Interaction [LING 340RS]

TTH 11:30am-12:45 Max: 6/6 Tamasi

Content: In this course, we will take an interdisciplinary approach to answer two key questions: 1) How does society affect the way people use language? and 2) How does language affect society? We will begin with a cross-cultural investigation into the social rules that underlie language use within a society. We will use discourse analysis to understand how language has social, expressive, and referential functions that allow us to produce cooperative conversations. We will then explore language attitudes – the perceptions, beliefs, and stereotypes that are commonly attached to language and language use. We will investigate where such attitudes come from, how they are disseminated throughout a society, as well as how they affect our linguistic choices. Finally, we will look at real world applications and outcomes of language attitudes, including language discrimination and linguistic profiling. Students will be introduced to both qualitative and quantitative methods for the elicitation and analysis of data, and will develop their own research projects.

Texts: Various articles on electronic reserve.


Particulars: Grading will be based on class participation, several short response papers and/or field assignments, and a final research paper. This course fulfills the GER advanced seminar requirement. There are no prerequisites.


Anthropology 351-000: Sustainable Development: Anthropological Perspectives

TTH 4:00-5:15 Max: 35 Lacy

Content: In the face of unrivaled technological advances and corporate wealth, the persistence of extreme poverty and inequality in our world challenges the very notion of “progress and development.” How do Anthropological perspectives on social change and economic development influence the way people live and work in our 21 st century world? In this course we will explore the idea of “sustainable development” including economic, social, and environmental definitions of sustainability. Our core approach will focus on the theories, values, assumptions, and data of those who practice and/or critique sustainable development. Key themes will include: population growth, common pool resource management, industrial vs. small-scale agriculture, farm labor, migration, political instability, colonialism, and globalization.

Texts:

Particulars: Coursework will include two exams, a term paper, and a group project focusing on sustainable development priorities facing the Emory community.


Anthropology 353-000: Economic Anthropology

MWF 9:35am-10:25 Max: 35 Papavasiliou

Content: What is "the economy?" How do people across the world relate to the material world and to one another? Economic anthropology looks at the ways people organize and understand production, exchange and consumption. It explores the interrelationship between culture and economy, offering new and critical perspectives on contemporary issues such as globalization and development. In this course we will cover foundational concepts and debates that have structured the filed, and approach specific questions central to the discipline, such as rationality, value, markets, money and power from a cross-cultural perspective. We will use both theory and ethnography to explore the ways in which culture connects the mental and the material. Students will have the opportunity to actively engage these perspectives through class discussion and through a final research project relating to their own economic lives.

Texts:


Anthropology 372WR-000: Ethnographic Writing

TTH 1:00-2:15 Max: 15 Spitulnik

Content: This course explores the way that anthropologists write about people, cultures, contexts, and places in the contemporary world. Students will learn to read classical and contemporary ethnographic texts critically for content, method, and style. Students will also produce their own ethnographic texts based on original research projects designed and carried out over the semester. Our questions include: How does the ethnographer vividly convey the textures of life? How is analysis integrated with description? What counts as evidence? What is objectivity in ethnographic writing? Many of the questions and ideas of the course can be applied to other fields such as journalism, sociology, psychology, history, public health, literary studies, and international affairs.

Texts:

Particulars: This is a writing-intensive class.  Grades will be based on class participation, four short papers (2-4 pages each), a fieldnotes journal, and a final ethnographic paper based on original research (approx. 15 pages).

Prerequisite: Previous cultural anthropology course or instructor’s permission.


Anthropology 383S-000: Primate Evolution and Extinction

MWF 11:45-12:35 Max: 18 Freed

Content: This course will focus on the biological processes that have influenced primate anatomy, behavior, distribution, and evolution, as evidenced in the fossil record. Topics discussed will include paleontological methods, paleoecology, functional anatomy, co-evolution, extinction, and interpretations of the primate fossil record. Species to be examined include flowering plants, archaic mammals, and primates other than modern humans. This course is well-suited to those interested in paleontology, primates, human evolution, dental anatomy, geology, and conservation. Previous introductory coursework in biological anthropology, geology, environmental studies, botany, or biology is strongly suggested.

Texts:

Particulars: Two quizzes, three examinations, and participation. This course has both lecture and lab components.


Anthropology 385-002: Special Topics: Education and Culture [EDS 308, AAS 270]

TTH 2:30-3:45 Max: 5/14/5 Rone

Content: This course aims to explore the interface of education and anthropology. Instruction will illuminate the theoretical and methodological frameworks utilized in studying informal and formal processes of education. This course will draw primarily from ethnographic studies of schooling and learning in the United States , but is not limited to this geographic region. Course materials aim to illuminate the complexity and diversity of learning styles, contexts, and communities. Readings will illuminate a diversity of social identities and experiences as informed by ethnicity and race, social class, and gender.

Texts:

Particulars: Grading will be based on attendance and participation, a series of assignments, a mid-term exam, and a major research project.


Anthropology 385-003: Special Topics: Gender and Sexuality in Southeast Asia

TTH 2:30-3:45 Max: 35 Peletz

Content: This course offers anthropological and historical perspectives on the societies and cultures of Southeast Asia, a region that includes the countries of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This world area has long been known for the relatively high status of women and a good deal of pluralism with respect to gender and sexuality; we will be looking at these dynamics in some depth. Initial readings and discussions concern culture, power, and the everyday lives of men and women in the early modern era (c. 15th-18th centuries); we will proceed to examine the reproduction and transformation of structures of gender and sexuality in the context of colonialism and agrarian change. Subsequent sections of the course deal with the contemporary ("late modern") period. The focus here is on the political economy of kinship and gender; the politics of race, nationalism, heterosexuality, and same-sex relations; transgendered practices and identities; and selected theoretical debates bearing on the ways in which these and other phenomena are keyed to Southeast Asians' experiences, understandings, and representations of modernity.

Texts:

Particulars: Gradeswill be based on: (a) class participation (15%), which presupposes consistent attendance and being prepared to discuss assigned readings; (b) a map quiz (5%); (c) an in-class midterm (20%); (d) a take-home essay assignment or research paper of approximately 15 pages, due at the end of the semester (30%); and (e) a final exam, on the date scheduled by the Registrar (30%).


Anthropology 385-004: Special Topics: Ethnography of Postsocialism

MWF 10:40-11:30 Max: 26 Baykal

Content: This course explores everyday experiences under socialism and postsocialism in Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union. We will review how socialist policies affected cultures of these areas and examine the social, political and cultural transformations propelled by the collapse of state socialism. The questions we will address include: How does history and memory affect postsocialist identities? How did nationality policies of the former regimes shape the current territorial disputes and conflicts among different ethnic groups? How did socialism transform gender roles? What are the postsocialist changes? How did market reform and privatization influence social organization? What are the effects of international aid? How are NGOs received by local people? Why has the decline of socialist regimes been marked by economic and political uncertainty and widespread impoverishment? The course will focus on continuities as well as postsocialist change.

Texts:


Anthropology 385S-001: Special Topics: Human Social Neuroscience [NBB 470S]

MWF 2:00-2:50 Max: 10/25 Rilling

Content: As primates, we are unusually social mammals and devote extensive cognitive effort and resources to managing and maintaining social relationships. Indeed, the need to interact skillfully with others may well have been one of the key selective pressures shaping the evolution of human brain and mind. There has been a recent explosion of research aimed at elucidating the neurobiological substrates that support human social cognition and behavior. This course will review and synthesize this growing body of research coming out of the fields of neuropsychology, psychiatry, neuroimaging and experimental animal research.

Texts:

Particulars: Grades will be based on several announced quizzes, class presentations and participation, and a final paper in the form of a research proposal.


Anthropology 385SWR-000: Special Topics: Food and Taboo [IDS 385SWR, HIST 385SWR]

M 2:00-4:00 / W 2:00-3:00 Max: 2/2/2 Gilman

Content: This two-semester course will provide students with the scholarly methods of doing cultural and medical historical research and the tools to present this material to a general audience.  The content of the course will be the global history of dieting from religious rituals practices in the ancient world to contemporary medical theories and practices.  The end product of the course will be a collaborative volume on the history of dieting which has been commissioned by a major publisher.  This course will demand real research, real writing, and will have a real product.

Particulars: Taught as a graduate seminar Mondays 1-4 (undergraduates 2-4pm); with an addition section for undergraduates on Wednesday 2-3pm.  Undergraduates will have three hours a week instruction. It is expected that students will want to take the second semester (Spring) after taking this course in the Fall.

Anthropology 397R-00P: Directed Reading

By permission only. Obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology. Faculty


Anthropology 495A-00P: Honors Research I

By permission only. Gouzoules


Anthropology 497R-00P: Directed Research

By permission only. Obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology. Faculty


Graduate Courses:

Anthropology 501-00P: History of Anthropological Thought

W 3:00-6:00 Max: 15 Peletz

Content: This course focuses on the history of anthropological theory, beginning with the founding figures of the 19 th century (such as Tylor and Morgan) and continuing through the present (Bourdieu, Foucault, Sahlins, Ortner, Ong, etc). Along the way we will examine important traditions in early and mid-20 th-century American anthropology, British Social Anthropology, and French structuralism (represented by Margaret Mead, E.E. Evans-Pritchard, and Claude Levi-Strauss, respectively) as well as the emergence of paradigms that helped define the discipline in the second half of the 20 th century, such as the cultural materialism of Marvin Harris and the symbolic/interpretive anthropology pioneered by Clifford Geertz and Victor Turner. In addition to critically examining the strengths and weaknesses of the dominant perspectives and paradigms in the history of the discipline, we will explore the contributions that anthropology can make to our understanding of contemporary societies and cultures and processes of modernity and globalization generally. One of the objectives of the course is thus to help students develop an understanding of anthropology’s relevance in the 21 st century.

Texts: Required readings will most likely include the following texts, all of which are available in paperback versions. Please note that we will read selectively in some of these books and that some of them are quite short (Sahlins, for example, is only 72 pages!)

Course Grade: Twenty to twenty-five percent of your grade will be based on the quality of your class participation. The remainder of your grade will be based on your written work, which will consist of two essays, each of approximately 10-15 pages, and a take-home final exam.

Particulars: The success of the seminar depends on the commitment and contributions of all its members; therefore, your attendance at all class meetings is mandatory, as is your participation in discussions of assigned readings. Students will be asked to lead discussions of selected readings and to give other brief presentations on topics selected in consultation with the instructor


Anthropology 504-00P: Culture, Ecology, and Economy

TTH 10:00-11:15 Max: 15 Barlett

Content: Cultural anthropology has for fifty years been addressing some of the critical issues of our time, such as environmental deterioration, globalization, alternative views of modernity, population growth, consumption, and critical perspectives on "development." This course will trace the history of work in ecological anthropology and evolutionary approaches, economic anthropology and political economy, and consumption studies and development theory as we read a series of classic and newer ethnographic and theoretical works. The course will bring past work in the field into dialogue with current dilemmas of sustainability, bioregionalism, and alternative food systems and will include attention to gendered analysis, household decision-making and strategies, and methodological issues of ethnography in urban and rural settings. Students will have an opportunity to pursue a research project related to their own interests.

Readings:  

Particulars: Oral and written demonstration of understanding of course materials and creative use of those materials in reflection pages, one integrative essay, and a major research paper engaging course materials with an ethnographic problem or region of student’s choice.


Anthropology 505-00P: Primate Ecology and Social Organization

TTH 2:30-3:45 Max: 15 Whitten

Content: The goals of this course are 1) to provide an overview of the major research traditions and methods in primatology; and 2) to investigate the contribution and limitations of a cross-disciplinary perspective by examining the application of primatological approaches, research, and theory to other areas of anthropology. Emphasis will be placed on critical analysis of models and theoretical constructs, hypothesis testing and research methodology, and the origins and applications of primatological research. Topics to be covered include: the influence of views of human nature on primatological research and theory; the roles of phylogeny, ecology, and individual strategies in the origin and evolution of primate societies; the competing and cooperative relations and strategies of males and females; and the limits and evolution of primate intelligence.

 Texts:

Particulars: Requires participation in discussions, presentations of reading material, several reaction papers, and a term paper.


Anthropology 585: Medical Anthropology

M 10:00-1:00 Max: 15 Ozawa-de Silva

Course: This course is designed as an introduction to medical anthropology. The course is organized thematically and examines some of the important issues in contemporary medical anthropology, including: Illness, disease and sickness; illness as metaphor of socio-cultural distress; the process of medicalization; current paradigm shift in biomedicine; culture-bound syndromes; "naturalizing" processes; contestation for medical legitimacy in plural societies; non-western medical systems; body and mind in illness and healing; cross-cultural psychiatric anthropology; infectious disease and inequality; power/knowledge and medical practices; and ambiguity in death and dying in the era of high technology. This course will explore the role of medicine in our society, how anthropological analysis can be applicable in understanding the complexity of human conditions such as health, illness and sickness, physical and mental pain, suffering, death and dying.

Texts:

Particulars: Requirements include class presentations, three written assignments, and a final paper (12-15 pages).


Anthropology 585: Performance and Ethnography in West and South Asia [RLAR 701]

Th 10:00-1:00 Max: 5/7 Flueckiger

Content: This course examines textual and nontextual performative traditions of West and South Asia as they are represented in recent ethnographies. We will examine the ways in which ethnographic and performance studies expand the boundaries of both "who and what counts" in the study of religion. The course will introduce theoretical frameworks and analytic tools from performance studies and ethnography with which to analyze both the traditions under consideration and the ethnographic enterprises of fieldwork and writing. Students will be required to engage in some level of fieldwork (for their major or short paper) focused on performative and/or ritual traditions, depending on their interest. This course is relevant to students interested in ethnographic and performative analyses of ritual, expressive culture, and religious practices.

Texts: May include,

Particulars: Required site visits to Hindu temple and a mosque; a short essay (5-7 pages): a performance analysis [i.e., fieldwork-based]; a research paper.


Anthropology 585: Ethnography of Jews and Muslims: An Experimental Seminar [JS 730R, RLSR 770]

TH 3:00-6:00 Max: 15/15/15 Seeman

Content: Jews have long been the "other within," just as Muslims have been an "other without" of the Western social science tradition. This seminar explores ethnographic representation of both Jews and Muslims with an eye towards fundamental theoretical and methodological questions: (1) How can ethnography be used in the study of literate, highly textual religious traditions like these? (2) What is the role of subject position in the writing of ethnography? (3) Can scholarly and political agendas in the modern Middle East be separated enough to allow new ideas to emerge? (4) What does the study of these two traditions teach us about the ethnographic study of all religion and religious experience? We will read one ethnography each week, focusing both on the intellectual history of the discipline as well as recent developments in the field. Students will write an analytic paper on a topic of their choice.

Texts:


Anthropology 585: Special Topics: Issues in Visual Anthropology [ILA 790, FILM 573]

W 4:00-7:00 Max: 3/6/3 Grimshaw

Content: Visual culture is a relatively new area of academic inquiry, bringing together interests that originate in art history, anthropology, cultural studies, media and communication studies. The conceptual framework and methodological approach of this class will derive from cultural anthropology. Hence emphasis will be placed upon understanding the role of human agency in the production and consumption of visual forms. We will seek to contextualize particular visual practices, while also remaining alert to their location within a broader social and political landscape. Topics to be covered include iconoclasm, cross-cultural painting practices, collection and commoditization, cultures of exhibition and display, popular and scientific photography.

Texts: TBA

Particulars: Assessment will be based upon a small research project and report.


Anthropology 585: Special Topics: Food and Taboo [ILA 790, HIST 585]

M 1:00-4:00 Max: 3/3/3 Gilman

Content: This two-semester course will provide students with the scholarly methods of doing cultural and medical historical research and the tools to present this material to a general audience.  The content of the course will be the global history of dieting from religious rituals practices in the ancient world to contemporary medical theories and practices.  The end product of the course will be a collaborative volume on the history of dieting which has been commissioned by a major publisher.  This course will demand real research, real writing, and will have a real product.

Particulars: Taught as a graduate seminar Mondays 1-4 (undergraduates 2-4pm); with an additional section for undergraduates on Wednesday 2-3pm.  Undergraduates will have three hours a week instruction. NOTE: It is expected that students will want to take the second semester (Spring) after taking this course in the Fall.


Anthropology 797R: Directed Study

By permission only. Obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology. Faculty


Anthropology 798R: Advanced Research

By permission only. Obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology. Faculty


Anthropology 799R: Dissertation Research

By permission only. Obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology. Faculty