Undergraduate Courses
Graduate Courses
MWF 10:40-11:30 MAX: 100 Lacy
Content: In this introduction to Anthropology we will survey the four fields which comprise this diverse, multi-disciplinary science. Anthropologists employ a wide-range of methods to explore what it means to be human. Biological Anthropologists study human evolution and biological adaptation; Archaeologists study prehistoric societies and sociocultural evolution; Sociocultural Anthropologists bring a comparative approach to the study of society and culture; Linguistic Anthropologists study the evolution of human language systems. Over the course of the semester, we will explore how anthropology helps us understand ourselves, our histories, and our world. This course presents students with the opportunity to learn how each of the sub-fields of anthropology contribute to our understanding of the human condition.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: 2 mid-course exams, map assignments, response papers, course journal, final exam.
MWF 3:00-3:50 MAX: 25 [ANT 150]/10 [AFS 150] Lacy
Content: To explore the great diversity of the numerous cultural traditions of Africa, we begin with the historiography of Africa from the dawn of humankind to creation of modern African nations. Then we will turn to regional case studies, African literature, film, and music to further explore several cultural traditions from the continent. In the final part of the course students will conduct original research on the cultural dynamics of critical issues facing contemporary Africans. The objective of this course is to introduce students to the rich diversity of African cultural traditions, and to equip students with the African Studies and Anthropology research skills necessary for further explorations into the Cultures of Africa.
Texts:TBA.
Particulars: 2 mid-course exams, 3 map tests, 1 book review, research paper & presentation.
TTH 4:00-5:15 MAX: 35 Baykal
Content: This course is designed as an advanced introduction to the Middle East. It covers the anthropological research that has been conducted in the Middle East to provide students with the cultural knowledge necessary to understand and interpret contemporary social, political and economic dynamics of the region. Some discussion will be devoted to nearby Muslim societies of Central Asia. The first half of the course will cover the history and culture of the region, with a special emphasis on the changes and resistance to change in the early 20th century. The second half of the course will cover contemporary topics such as gender, kinship and social organization, urban-rural distinctions, commodification, politics and religion.
Texts:
Other required readings will be available in a course pack (on Reserves Direct).
Particulars: Coursework will include a midterm exam, a term paper, and a final.
TTH 2:30-3:45 MAX: 15 Konner
Content: This is a new course designed to help students think about biological concepts in basic mathematical terms. The course is suitable for students who have had the usual math in high school, perhaps but not necessarily including basic calculus. We will explore how the concepts you learned in those courses help to illuminate ideas in all branches of the life sciences. If you are very advanced in math you will be bored with the math in this class, but you might be interested in the biological applications. Among the subjects we will look at are why elephants and mice have such different feet, how bees communicate the position of honey, how pigeons home, how populations of bacteria and people grow, why brain size evolves more slowly than body size, how infectious diseases spread, how people in a given society die off, why future evolution can’t be predicted, and how blood flows. I hope this will be a course that will help students with mild-to-moderate math phobias get over them. There will be homework problems weekly, but class participation —effort and helpfulness, not accuracy--will account for 30 percent of the grade. In homework as in class, effort and showing your work will count for much more than the right answer. We will work our way through a book called Introduction to Mathematics for Life Scientists (3rd edition), by Edward Batschelet, but we probably won’t get to the end of it. You can get an idea of what the course is about by looking at this book on Amazon.com (“Look Inside”), except the course will be easier than the book. We will explore problems together. In principle, we will follow the Harkness method developed at Phillips Exeter Academy (no, I didn’t go there, I went to a big-city public high school) and now widely used. You can learn more about it by visiting http://www.exeter.edu/admissions/147_harkness.aspx. I think we’ll have fun.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only.
TTH 10:00-11:15 MAX: 10 [ANT 200]/130[NBB 201] Gouzoules/Konner
Content: This course presents an introduction to evolutionary processes and biological bases of behavior. Lectures and readings will be organized around a developmental and life history perspective and will emphasize the importance of context in biological mechanisms and the interaction of social life, behavior, and cognition. Examples drawn especially from humans and nonhuman primates will be used to place human behavior in the context of other species and to illustrate the dual inheritance of biology and culture in our species. Topics covered will include: evolutionary mechanisms, adaptation, phylogenetic constraints, neural and neuroendocrine mechanisms of behavior, life history theory, developmental programs, principles of allometry, sexual selection and alternative reproductive strategies, social bonds and socialization, and the cognitive bases of social interaction in humans and non-humans.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: Grade will be based on two hourly exams and a final. Prerequisite: Biology 141.
TTH 11:30-12:45 MAX: 100 Kingston
Students must enroll in a lab section:
201-LA1: M 2:30-5:30 MAX: 25 Freed
201-LB1: T 2:30-5:30 MAX: 25 Freed
201-LC1: W 2:30-5:30 MAX: 25 Freed
201-LD1: TH 2:30-5:30 MAX: 25 Freed
Content: Biological Anthropology offers a broad perspective for studying the adaptation and evolution of the human species. Lectures and laboratory sessions examine the role of evolutionary theory in biological anthropology, focusing on such topics as primate biology and behavior, primate evolution, the fossil evidence for human evolution, genetic evidence for biological variability, physiological evidence for adaptation to diverse environments, the role of nutrition and dietary preferences in human evolution, the biological basis for modern human behavior, and the transition to modern lifestyles. We will discuss the evidence used to interpret human adaptation in the past. How do anthropologists interpret behavior from an artifact or fossil remains? Why do some biochemists search for our ancestral ”Eve”? What can we learn about ourselves from the study of nonhuman primates? What can evolutionary biology tell us about human behavior? We then shift this evolutionary and adaptive perspective to fundamental aspects of the human species, beginning with human adaptability and plasticity and continuing with population differences in heritable adaptation to food resources, climate and disease. Armed with this deeper understanding of human variation, we will examine critical and often controversial topics such as biological insights into diet and health, race and racism, sexual behavior, stress, cooperation and violence.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: TBA.
TTH 11:30-12:45 MAX: 35 Ozawa-de Silva
Content: This course will explore key concepts and methods in cultural anthropology. We will discuss theoretical issues related to the field, study ethnographic method, and read various ethnographies of different societies, countries and local people living in these places. Students will learn both theoretical knowledge in anthropology and practical experience in ethnographic analysis through class lectures, discussion, written papers, viewing and analyzing ethnographic films, and original ethnographic research. Students are expected to read texts thoroughly and critically before class and bring at least two questions for discussion. Class discussion and presentations will be crucial in earning skills for critical analysis. This course will provide students with a foundation for pursuing other more advanced anthropology courses and is therefore suited for those whose major or minor is anthropology.
Texts: Several books to be assigned. Selected journal articles and chapters.
Particulars: This course requires intensive participation from students which includes class discussion and presentations. A mini-ethnography will be conducted as a part of the class. There will also be several papers, a mid-term exam, and a final project based upon the ethnography.
MWF 10:40-11:30 MAX: 35 Nugent
Content: An introduction to cultural anthropology that provides the foundation for the anthropology major and minor. Students will learn key concepts and approaches in anthropology, read and discuss ethnographies about people living in a number of different countries, view and analyze ethnographic films, and learn about anthropological field methods. Through critical discussion, class presentations, and exams, students will develop their knowledge and skills in anthropology. Students are expected to participate actively in seminar-style classes.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: TBA.
TTH 1:00-2:15 MAX 8 [ANTH 203]/ 12 [LING 201] Tuten
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:
Recommended:
Particulars: Grades will be based on attendance and participation, weekly homework assignments, 3 quizzes, and a final exam
TTH 1:00-2:15 MAX: 100 Rilling
Content: Human biology from conception to senescence. Principles of evolution and genetics relevant to the life cycle. Fetal development, birth, brain growth in infancy and early childhood, hormonal bases of gender, physical growth, puberty, adolescence, adult sexuality, pregnancy, birth (mother's viewpoint), lactation, physical and mental health and disease in adulthood, menopause, aging, senescence, death. Comparative examples from other species and other cultures. All aspects of growth and development will be considered, but somewhat greater emphasis will be given to neurological and neuroendocrine functions underlying behavior and reproduction.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: This course should serve as an introduction to human biology for students in disciplines outside biology. There are no prerequisites, but a year of high school biology is desirable. A willingness to work hard is essential. It should be viewed as comparable in difficulty to a basic college biology course, but with emphasis on the human life cycle that should make it particularly relevant to students who may anticipate no further training in biology.
MWF 9:35-10:25 MAX: 35 Barlett
Content: This new course will explore the debates and issues surrounding the emerging goal of a sustainable food system for Emory University. Using both scientific and popular texts, fieldtrips, and original research, students will examine our conventional food system and evaluate alternatives. The course will look at food production (incl. industrial organic, local small-scale, and methods in between), distribution (grocery chains, Whole Foods, farmers markets, CSAs), and changing consumer tastes (Slow Food, seasonality, the “taste revolution”). The health implications of diet choice (both for humans and natural systems) and the experiences of workers will be linked to global implications. The specific focus of this “Anthropology of Today’s World” will be the hard choices and important opportunities we face as Emory seeks to foster a sustainable food system for the Southeast.
Texts:
There will also be a packet of readings.
Particulars: Students will demonstrate learning through 2-3 essay exams, a series of reflection papers, and 1-2 research papers (some involving team research) and will be responsible for organizing a campus Sustainable Food Fair in April.
MWF 12:50-1:40 MAX: 18 Whitten
Content: This course will focus on primate mating behavior from the perspectives of sexual selection, evolution, and ecology. Mating systems and patterns of sexual activity in a variety of primate species will be reviewed and compared in light of current theories on intrasexual competition and mate choice. Genetic success will be compared to evidence for mating success and mate selection. Alternative strategies and tactics will be compared within and among species.
Texts:
Journal articles and book chapters
Particulars:Prerequisite: ANT 302 or by permission of instructor. Requires a prior class in primate behavior and some familiarity with concepts of animal behavior and evolutionary theory.
GER information:this course satisfies both the undergraduate writing and the post-freshman semina rrequirements.
The course will be taught as a seminar format. Theory and patterns of behavior are conveyed through discussion of assigned readings. Attendance and participation in discussions are required. Requirements include several oral presentations on assigned readings, a 15 page term paper, and reaction papers. Grades:
TTH 10:00-11:15 MAX: 18 Freed
Content: This course will focus on ecological relationships among primates and their communities. Specifically, students will be introduced to current discussions about social structure, habitat use, polyspecific associations, plant-primate interactions, and predator-prey relationships. Overall, this course will attempt to generate an understanding and appreciation of the diverse adaptive strategies employed by nonhuman primates.
Texts:
Particulars: Grading will be based on: class participation (15%), Midterm exam (25%), Final exam (35%), and project (25%). Although this course deals specifically with nonhuman primate behavior, students focused on environmental studies, cultural anthropology, and animal behavior should find this course of interest.
MWF 10:40-12:35 MAX: 12 Armelagos
Content: Skeletal remains are a silent witness to the past. The analysis of skeletal populations has been used to determine the impact of the transition of agriculture on health (it resulted in an increase in infectious and nutritional diseases) and to measure the biological cost of slavery that has been obscured from historical records. In this class, you will receive thorough instruction in the practical and theoretical foundation of human skeletal biology. You will learn basic human skeletal anatomy, the forensic techniques for identifying fragmentary remains, methods for determining the sex and age at death of a skeleton, the diseases such as arthritis, trauma, neoplasms, nutritional deficiency and osteoporosis that affect the skeleton (paleopathology). Methods for determining population structure (paleodemography), histological and chemical techniques, morphology and human activity will also be studied. Student’s projects will involve the analysis of some aspect of the biology of a skeletal population.
Texts: Tim White and Peter A. Folken's, Human Osteology Academic Press.
Particulars: By permission only. There will be weekly practical quizzes for the first nine weeks. A short term paper in the style of a publishable article will be required. The paper must include original research on a skeletal indicator. The results will be presented to the class as a poster session or as a paper in a simulated meeting during last week of class. You will be expected to maintain a laboratory notebook. Grade will be determined by weekly quizzes (40%), term paper (45%), and poster or presentation (15%). The class hours will be used for lecture, demonstration and quizzes.
MWF 2:00-2:50 Nugent
Content: Race is a socially defined rather than biologically given group perception used by individuals to simultaneously differentiate themselves from and associate themselves with others. The specific form taken by this process of differentiation/association, however, depends in crucial ways on the socio-economic, political and historical context. This course begins by introducing students to the main varieties of theory that attempt to explain race, including the notion that both are social and not biological entities. It then applies the principles derived from the first section (concerning socio-economic and historical context) to understanding the historical development of racial interaction and tension in the United States.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: TBA.
TTH 2:30-3:45 MAX: 25 [ANT 337]/ 10 [REL 385R] Ozawa-de Silva
Content:Religion, therapy, healing, and spirituality are important concepts being studied across a wide range of disciplines. The view that therapy is scientific and rational, whereas religion is unscientific, irrational, and therefore primitive, has increasingly come under question. Far from dying out, the number and memberships of religions have been increasing, and attempts have been made to bridge the gap between religion and therapy. Hospitals, scientists and psychologists have increasingly been paying attention to religion, religious rituals, and religious personnel as an important part of healing and therapy, while increasing deaths due to chronic illnesses have revealed the limits of biomedicine, with the result that more and more people are considering the importance of spirituality, healing, and alternative medicine.
This class explores issues such as how to understand health, what makes for a healthy “self” or person, the role of religious practice and belief in healing, and the relationship of body and mind, by using different frameworks such as anthropology, sociology, biomedicine, western psychology, and Buddhism.
Texts:
Particulars: Class discussion and presentation are important aspects of this class and students are expected to actively participate in discussion and lead discussion based on assigned readings. There will be several papers, a mid-term exam, and a final project.
TTH 1:00-2:15 MAX: 18 Freed
Content: Most nonhuman primates have become severely threatened, often due to the activities of surrounding human populations. Although many groups have tried to conserve areas of biological interest, few programs have actually reversed the process of extinction in nonhuman primates. The aim of this course is to study the effects of ever-changing habitats on the evolution, behavior, and ecology of primates. In this course, students discuss the local human and biological impact of conservation programs that affect primate communities throughout the world, including: Morocco, West Africa, East Africa, Gabon, Congo, South Africa, Madagascar, India, Japan, Southeast Asia, Central America, and South America. This course will survey how conservation researchers apply methods from: primate ecology and behavior, tropical ecology, paleontology, archaeology, satellite imagery, and cultural anthropology. Among the topics to be discussed are: primate/plant interactions, forest fragmentation, historical perspectives on conservation and land use, agroforestry, ecotourism, ethnography, disease, and re-introductions of nonhuman primates.
Texts:
Assorted readings are from project reports, new texts, and the following journals: Human Ecology, Evolutionary Anthropology, Conservation Biology, Biotropica, and Development and Change.
Particulars: Class participation, two six-page take-home essays, one oral project, one written report.
TTH 1:00-2:15 MAX: 8 [ANT 385]/ 10 [LAS 385] Krupa
Content:Latin American notions of “race” have always drawn as much upon culture, gender, class, and space (to name a few) as on biology. Many Latin Americans have changed their “race” many times over the course of their lifetime. How can a study of Latin America’s very particular racial formations challenge our own assumptions about what “race” is and how it works? How can such rigid forms of exclusion and violence be premised on such a slippery conceptual basis? In this course we will work through these questions by exploring “race” in Latin America from a number of different angles, at once unpacking its social construction (as an “idea” imposed upon bodies) and uncovering how it has become a very powerful material and political force (as a “social fact”) in real world Latin American contexts. Key sites of attention will include: early colonial debates about the ‘species’ character of Indians; changing discourses of “blood” and sexuality in the colonies; the centrality of ‘race-mixing’ to nation-building and nationalist projects; the shifting meaning of ‘blackness’ in the Caribbean; the importance of race-thinking in cold war agendas; and the critical refashioning of racial identities within anti-establishment political struggles of today.
Texts: A diversity of historical and contemporary sources will be used to explore the construction and implementation of racial ideologies in Latin America and to understand the experiences of people living in societies structured by them.
Particulars: No outside research required. Students will be required to submit short writing assignments related to the readings and to take two examinations.
TTH 1:00-2:15 MAX:5[ANTH 385]/14 [EDS 308]/ 5 [AAS 270] 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: Possible texts include:
Particulars: Grading will be based on attendance and participation, a series of assignments, a mid-term exam, and a major research project.
MWF 12:50-1:40 MAX: 20 [ANT 385]/40 [GHCS 102] Brown
Content: This introductory core course to the minor in "Global Health Culture and Society" will introduce students to the complex causes of health problems in both low and high-income countries throughout the world, as well as the basic strategies of public health programs aimed at their solution. The course explores the different disciplines within public health, the basic concepts of population health and epidemiology, the history of epidemiologic transitions, the history and scope of international health programs, the primary health issues in developing and developed countries, social determinants of health, future challenges to global health improvements, and interdisciplinary approaches to understanding health issues. Students will learn fundamentals of epidemiological methods central to public health research and programs. A substantial focus will be on the intersection of poverty and disease, and the necessity of understanding global health problems in the context of their historical, ecological, cultural, and political-economic contexts. The course will emphasize health problems including infectious diseases (malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS), undernutrition and obesity, reproductive health and family planning, mental health, refugee health, violence and war relief.
Texts:
And scientific articles posted on Blackboard.
Particulars: Class participation, blackboard participation, midterm and final exams, 3 short papers.
TTH 1:00-2:15 MAX: 35 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 do 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 is the decline of socialist regimes marked by economic and political uncertainty and widespread impoverishment? The course will focus on continuities as well as postsocialist change.
Texts:
Other required readings will be available in a course pack.
Particulars: TBA.
MWF 9:35-10:25 MAX:5 [ANT 385S-00p]/ 5 [NBB 470S] Lampl
Content: This is a research seminar utilizing investigative cases to explore the intersection of genomics, the environment and lifestyle/behavior as it pertains to human health. We will take a developmental perspective with the aim of understanding how generic processes shape human physiology over the lifespan.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: Students will be expected to actively engage in topical areas each week, participating in class discussion, presentation and active interchange of ideas. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor.
MWF 11:45-12:35 MAX: 18 Turner
Content: As humans, why do we eat what we do? Did we evolve to eat certain things in particular, and have we, as a species, always eaten similar things? Diet has played and continues to play a major role in the health, social behavior and overall fitness of our species, which makes it a critical area of anthropological study. This course will explore the evolution of human dietary patterns, interweaving archaeology, human biology, developmental psychology and nutritional anthropology into an inclusive picture of human dietary adaptation. Using this evolutionary anthropological lens, we will then examine human diets in the modern world.
Texts: Required readings, both articles and book chapters, will be available to download from the online reserves at the Woodruff library.
Particulars: No prerequisites; class participation (25% of overall grade), substantial reading, several written assignments and group activities. A final paper constitutes 35% of the overall grade. .
TTH 11:30-12:45 MAX: 18 Worthman
Content: This course surveys the global landscape of challenges to physical and mental health that confront us today, and traces the emergence of biosocial approaches to both explaining and tackling these challenges. A major goal for the class is to develop student skills for navigating the current global health situation in the light of theory and practice in public health and biomedicine, as well as global economics, ecology, and resource availability. To accomplish these aims we will cover five recent insights and emerging dynamics in global health, and critically apply them in a series of case studies. Class assignments will take the form of exercises for which students will consult, evaluate, and integrate multiple information resources to assess the state of our knowledge and write reports and analyses. Information resources specialists will contribute training and guidance throughout the course.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: Prerequisite – Anthropology 230 or 332. Exams – none. Papers – Seven case study analyses, ranging from 2-6 pp.
TTH 4:00-5:15 MAX: 12 [ANT 385]/ 6 [ASIA 370S] MacLean
Content: This course will introduce students to a range of anthropological theories regarding violence, culture, and identity. This course is divided into two main parts. The first part focuses on the conceptual issues relevant to the course, whereas the second part explores them in cultural and historical context via a series of case studies drawn from conflict zones in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe. Possible topics include studies of (auto-) genocide, “communal” conflict, ethnic separatism and counter-insurgency, sectarian strife, and class struggle as well as efforts to attain justice for the dead and the living via tribunals, reconciliation commissions, and memory projects (museums, shrines, films, etc.). Readings and assignments are intended to encourage critical discussion and to challenge our preconceived notions concerning the relationship different forms of violence have to cultural beliefs and practices as well as the kinds of identity that result over time. Discussion will also explore some of the ethical and methodological dilemmas that arise for survivors and researchers alike. There are no formal prerequisites for this course, but students should have a strong interest in the topic and be able to discuss the materials, which will sometimes contain graphic images and descriptions of violence, maturely.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: TBA.
MWF 12:50-1:40 MAX: 8 [ANT 385S-003]/ 12 [LING 385S-000] Gordon
Content: This course provides an introduction to the study of intercultural communication. The course explores how language use varies by culture; linguistic causes of cross-cultural misunderstandings; the role of rhythm, prosody, and nonverbal behavior in miscommunication; factors influencing conversational style; the interrelationship between ways of speaking and identity; how language use relates to cultural and ethnic stereotypes; the negotiation of power and solidarity in intercultural communication; and the real-world consequences that intercultural discourse and miscommunication can have. The course introduces linguistic approaches to intercultural communication, with a focus on interactional sociolinguistics. Readings examine numerous case studies of intercultural encounters. Assignments encourage students to apply concepts covered in the course to everyday interactions.
Texts:
Articles on electronic reserve.
Particulars: Grading will be based on participation, weekly field notes, several short assignments, a midterm, and a final exam.Class activities include lecture, discussion in whole-class and small-group formats, and data analysis activities. Students will keep a field journal, and have the opportunity to carry out small-scale research projects and short assignments in which they explore the implications of intercultural differences in their own lives and test the approaches discussed. There will be a midterm and a final exam.
M 1:00-4:00 MAX: 2 [ANT 385SWR]/2[IDS 385SWR]/2[HIST 385SWR] 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 context of the course will be the global history of dieting from religious rituals practiced 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 Wednesdays 2-3pm. Undergraduates will have three hours a week instruction. Students taking the second semester (Spring) will have to have taken the fall course or need special permission.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only.
MAX: 999 Gouzoules
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only.
M 12:00-3:00 MAX: 15 Kratz
Content: This course examines how power relations shape and take form through social interaction and explores the diverse cultural resources and understandings involved in these processes. As a graduate core course, it covers basic concepts and modes of analysis in cultural anthropology by considering different sites and sources of power in social life. Ethnographic case studies will be included. Some familiarity with cultural anthropology or similar background is highly desirable, but not required. As the course will take an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, students from other departments are encouraged to enroll. The course may include lectures from visiting scholars.
Texts: Readings are still to be confirmed. Material might include:
Particulars: Engaged participation, careful critical reading, short reaction papers, longer papers.By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
TTH 2:30-4:00 MAX: 15 Worthman
Content: The course provides a comprehensive overview of human biology as practiced in anthropology. It applies ecological and adaptationist perspectives to examine the interactions of social and biological factors in determining the causes and consequences of human variation, particularly in the production of differential well-being and experience. The perspective is used as a lens to examine human development, reproduction, energetics, stress and disease, and social change and health.
Texts: E.P. Widmaier, H. Raff, K.T. Strang. Vander’s Human Physiology. New York: McGraw Hill.
Weekly articles from multiple primary and secondary sources.
Particulars: Classes follow a seminar format, including some structured input from the instructor. Requirements for the course include short (5-7 pp.) analytic papers on 4 of 6 course segments, or a single final paper; and a take-home final.By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
W 1:00-4:00 MAX: 15 Spitulnik
Content: While the practice of ethnography remains one of the distinguishing hallmarks of anthropological method, the “hows” of ethnography are often oversimplified or simply taken for granted. In many cases, methods training, theoretical training, and the conduct of ethnographic fieldwork are viewed as temporally and logically separate activities. There is an increasing recognition, however, that many researchers expect and practice a dialogical relationship between theoretical development, methods refinement, ethnographic documentation, and the particular opportunities and obstacles that arise in actual fieldwork. This course will examine such epistemological and practical issues, as they affect the conduct of fieldwork and the writing of ethnography. Students will be trained in methods of participant-observation; writing, managing and coding fieldnotes; informal interviews; and recording and transcription. We will also read some illustrative ethnographies to engage questions such as: What is the relationship between theory and data? What techniques of narration and data presentation are available to ethnographers? How is analysis integrated with description? What counts as evidence? What is objectivity in ethnographic writing? Course texts include methods handbooks, critical reflections on the practice of ethnography, and illustrative ethnographies. The course will create opportunities for students to bring in their own material to experiment with data management, analysis, and write-up and to gain feedback within a workshop format. Prerequisite: Previous cultural anthropology course or instructor’s permission.
Texts:
Additional readings on reserve.
Particulars:Participation in discussions, ethnography exercises, reaction papers, peer review, presentations of reading material, and a term paper.By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
W 10:00-1:00 MAX: 4 [ANT 585-01P]/4 [WS 585]/ 4 [ENG 798R] Freeman/Bahri
Content: "Globalization" is a concept that has proliferated in both popular and scholarly arenas, describing the increasing intensity of flows of capital, labor, commodities, and ideologies across national borders. Electronic highways, the expansion of jet travel, satellite technology and trade liberalization have made transnational communication and cultural, political, and economic connections closer and faster than ever before. The goal of this course is to interpret these movements and to analyze the meaning and implications of these global processes for people's everyday lives, in particular through the lens of gender. While many other disciplines have analyzed globalization at the macro level, this interdisciplinary course aims to introduce students to globalization at the local level through the media of ethnography, literature and film. We will problematize the global/local; macro/ micro; theory/empiricism; masculine/feminine dualisms that continue to frame much of globalization scholarship.
This new co-taught interdisciplinary course brings ethnography, literature and film as the media through which to interpret systems of globalization. The class will examine the particular challenges of globalization as a focus of study for anthropologists and literary scholars historically committed to a particular 'place' or region, and will explore the relationship between ethnographic and creative cultural texts.
Texts: A selection of literary and ethnographic monographs and films from the following: HighTech and High Heels in the Global Economy, Screening Culture, ViewingPolitics: An Ethnography of Television, Womanhood, and Nation in Postcolonial India, A Small Place, Zenzele, The God of Small Things, Bride and Prejudice, Awara Soup
Particulars: weekly short papers and a final research paper.By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
TH 9:30-12:30 MAX: 3 [ANTH 585] /6 [EDS 774]/3 [LING 585] Rone
Content: The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the core theoretical and methodological traditions in the linguistic anthropology of education. Students are introduced to basic concepts in discourse analysis, semiotics, linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, and the ethnography of communication. Topics include: the nature of the linguistic sign; discourse and power; the linguistic mediation of social identity; language ideologies and the politics of language; power and agency; the influence of language on thought; and indexicality. Ethnographic examples aim to illuminate a diversity of identities, contexts, and communities. Students will engage in data collection and analysis. Techniques of linguistic description, discourse analysis, and transcription are examined through texts and with recordings of naturally occurring speech collected by students.
Texts: Possible Texts Include:
Several readings available through Woodruff Electronic reserves
Particulars: By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
M 1:00- 4:00 MAX: 3 [ANTH 585] /3 [ILA 790] /3 [HIST 585] Gilman
Contents: 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 context of the course will be the global history of dieting from religious rituals practiced 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 Wednesdays 2-3pm. Undergraduates will have three hours a week instruction. Students taking the second semester (Spring) will have to have taken the fall course or need special permission.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars:By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars: By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.
MAX: 999 Faculty
Content: TBA.
Texts: TBA.
Particulars:By permission only. Please obtain form in Room 207 Anthropology.