Anthropology Course Discriptions

Course Descriptions

* Course fulfills General Education Requirement (GER)
+ Course approved to fulfill the Writing Requirement (please see specific semester course atlas to see whether course is currently offered as a Writing Requirement)

Introductory Courses
101. Introductory to Anthropology.*
140. Evolutionary Anthropology.*
190. Freshman Seminar in Anthropology*.
204. Introduction to Archaeology.
Foundation Courses
200. Foundations of Behavior*.
201. Concepts and Methods in Biological Anthropology.*
202. Concepts and Methods in Cultural Anthropology.+
203. Foundations of Linguistics.
Topical Area Courses
210. Human Biology: A Life Cycle Approach.*
230. Medical Anthropology.+
240. Language and Culture.+
250. Anthropology of Today's World: Special Topics.
260. Psychological Anthropology.
270. Quantitative Methods for Anthropologists.
World Area Courses
(Please see Course Atlas for World Area Courses currently offered)
150. Cultures of the Middle East*.
150. Cultures of Latin America.*
150. Cultures of Africa.*
150. Cultures of Mediterranean Europe.*
150. Cultures of Melanesia.*
150. Cultures of Asia.*
150. Cultures of Melanesia.*
150. Anthropology of the Jews.*
150. Cultures of the Caribbean.*
Evolution and Behavior Courses
301. Sex and Evolution.
302. Primate Behavior and Ecology.
303. Modern Human Origins.
305. The Human Brain.
306. Primate Mating Strategies.+
307. Human Evolution.
308. Evolution of Social Behavior.
309. Seminar in Primate Behavior.
310. Communication in Primates.
Human Biology Courses
311. Nutritional Anthropology.
312. Human Skeletal Biology.
313. Human Development in Biocultural Perspective.
314. Race and Racism: Myths and Realities.
315. Behavior Ecology of Child Care.
316. Evolution of Human Brain and Mind.
317. Human Social Neuroscience.
Human Sexuality and Gender Courses
321. Anthropology of Human Reproduction.
322. Sexuality, Society, and Culture.
323. Sex Differences: Biological Bases.
324. Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective.
325. Language, Gender, and Sexuality.
328. Women, Religion and Ethnography.+
Medical Anthropology Courses
331. Cross-Cultural Issues in Mental Health.
332. International Health: An Anthropological Perspective.
333. Disease and Human Behavior.
334. Evolutionary Medicine.
335. Women's Health: Anthropological and Feminist Perspective.
336. Anthropology of Emerging Disease.+
337. Religion, Health and Healing.
338. Global Health: Biosocial Model.
Language and Culture Courses
340R. Topics in Sociolinguistics. +
341. Communication, Technology, and Culture.
342. Media and Culture.
343. African Popular Culture.
Politics, Economics, and Globalization Courses
351. Sustainable Development: Anthropological Perspectives.+
352. Globalization and Transnational Culture.+
353. Economic Anthropology.
355. Food, Culture, and Political Economy.
357. Socioecology of Pastoral Peoples.
Symbolic and Psychological Anthropology Courses
361. Symbolic Anthropology.
362. Anthropology of Religion.
363. Ritual: Its Nature and Culture.
366. Ritual and Shakespeare.
367. Play, Sport, and Ritual.
Ethnicity, Culture and Identity Courses
371. Anthropology of African Americans.
372. Ethnographic Writing.
373. Global Cities, Local Futures.
Ecology and Conservation
381. Primate Conservation.
382. Ecological Context of Human Evolution.
383. Primate Evolution and Extinction.
Seminars, Theory, Methods, and Research Courses
385/386/387. Special Topics in Anthropology.
397R. Directed Readings.
400. Great Ideas in Anthropology.
402. Research Seminar in Biological Anthropology.
403. Research Seminar in Cultural Anthropology.
415. Methods in Biological Anthropology.
445. Methods in Cultural Anthropology.
495A. Honors Research I.
495B. Honors Research II.+
497R. Undergraduate Research.

101. Introduction to Anthropology.*
Survey of the human species: biocultural evolution, prehistory, language and comparative social and cultural systems. (Satisfies General Education Requirement III.)
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140. Evolutionary Anthropology.*
Issues related to the human condition illustrate principles of evolutionary biology, human variation and behavioral biology. Over-population, disease, pollution, racism, sexism, and violence are analyzed from a biocultural perspective. (Satisfies General Education Requirement II.B.2)
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150. Cultures of the Middle East.*
Anthropological perspectives on the peoples and cultures of the Middle East [LAC 150C; MES 371S]. (Satisfies General Education Requirement V.C.2.)
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150. Cultures of Latin America.*
Ethnographic studies of Latin America from the Conquest to the present. Urban and rural communities, including Mexican Indians, Costa Rican farmers, Brazilian sharecroppers and Colombian barrios. (Satisfies General Education Requirement V.C.2.)
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150. Cultures of Africa *
Examination of culture areas, language distributions and native societies south of the Sahara. Colonialism and modern African issues [AS 252]. (Satisfies General Education Requirement V.C.2.)
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150. Cultures of Mediterranean Europe *
Ethnographic studies of traditional European cultures from isolated peasant societies to urban slums. Adaptations to diverse ecological zones, including western Ireland, Alpine Switzerland, southern Italy, southern Spain, and eastern Europe. (Satisfies General Education Requirement V.C.2.)
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150. Cultures of Melanesia*
Regional comparisons and selected in-depth studies of New Guinea 's 700 diverse tribal populations. Topics addressed include sex/gender, ritual/religion, sorcery/witchcraft, politics/social structure, warfare, and human ecology.
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150. Cultures of Asia*
Ethnographic study of Asia, with particular attention given to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Topics in religion, social structure, and personality addressed. (Satisfies General Education Requirement V.C.2.)
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150. Cultures of Melanesia*
Regional comparisons and selected in-depth studies of New Guinea's 700 diverse tribal populations. Topics addressed include sex/gender, ritual/religion, sorcery/witchcraft, politics/social structure, warfare, and human ecology. (Satisfies General Education Requirement V.C.2.)
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150. Anthropology of the Jews*
Introduction to Jewish populations and cultures within a framework of four fields of general anthropology: biological, archaeology, cultural, and linguistics. (Satisfies General Education Requirement V.C.2.)
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150. Cultures of the Caribbean*
This course surveys the Caribbean region, exploring its vast heterogeneity along cultural, political, and economic lines. Topics include histories of colonialism and plantation agriculture, industrialization, tourism, migration, gender, kinship, race, ethnicity, and creolization within the emergence of contemporary Caribbean cultures [LACS 259]. (Satisfies General Education Requirement V.C.2.)
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190. Freshman Seminar*
Seminar on various anthropological topics. (Satisfies General Education Requirement I.C.1.)
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200. Foundations of Behavior*
An overview of behavioral biology and evolution. The biological bases of behavior are examined in light of evolutionary processes and ecological pressures, emphasizing human and primate examples [NBB 201]. (Satisfies General Education Requirement II.BC.2.)
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201. Concepts and Methods in Biological Anthropology*
Evolution of the human species, fossil populations, human variation, and primate behavior. Techniques of archaeological excavation and analysis, survey of the prehistoric evolution of cultures, contemporary issues in archaeology. Weekly lab in biological anthropology and archaeological methods. (Satisfies General Education Requirement II.B.1.)
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202. Concepts and Methods in Cultural Anthropology+
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.
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203. Foundations of Linguistics
Introduction to the systematic study of human language, surveying the fields of phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, child language acquisition and historical linguistics [LING 201].
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204. Introduction to Archaeology
Principles of archeological analysis and field excavation.
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210. Human Biology: A Life Cycle Approach*
Human biology from conception to senescence, in an evolutionary and cross cultural context, emphasizing neural and neuroendocrine processes underlying behavior and reproduction. Conception, fetal development, birth, infant growth, puberty, pregnancy, adult sexuality and aging. (Satisfies General Education Requirement II.B.2.)
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230. Medical Anthropology+
Comparative study of disease ecology and medical systems of other cultures; roles of disease in human evolution and history; sociocultural factors affecting contemporary world health problems; cultural aspects of ethnomedicine and biomedicine; ethnicity and health care.[SPH 514]
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240. Language and Culture+
Study of language in context, focusing on relations between language and culture, thought, social identity and political process. [LING 330]
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250. Anthropology of Today's World: Ethnographic Perspectives
Course surveys cultural diversity in the contemporary world through current ethnographies from different world areas.
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260. Psychological Anthropology
Cultural influences on personality development; culture and personality theory, and problems in cross-cultural psychological research.
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270. Quantitative Methods for Anthropologists
The aim of this course is to show how anthropologists (biological, cultural, and archaeologists) structure their research hypotheses, organize their data, select and run statistics, and describe their written results and discussions.
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301. Sex and Evolution
Application of principles of evolutionary biology to animal reproductive strategies and their application to modern humans. A review of cross-cultural sexual practices and occurrence of commonalities is included.
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302. Primate Behavior and Ecology
This course surveys the social behavior, behavioral ecology, and adaptations of nonhuman primate species, the extant prosimians, monkeys, and apes.
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303. Modern Human Origins
This course will examine the origins of modern humans, their unique cultural abilities, and their relationships to more archaic beings such as Neanderthals. What makes us human and how this evolved will be explored in French and English literature. [Languages across the Curriculum 303C]
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305. The Human Brain
Prerequisite: Anthropology 201 or Anthropology 210 or Biology 142. This course introduces biological principles and findings relevant to the understanding of behavior, especially social behavior. The phylogenetic range of the course will be as wide as is appropriate to elucidate a given principle, but the focus will be on the human species. The approach will be to bring evolutionary, physiological, and developmental principles to bear on a given question about behavior.
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306. Primate Mating Strategies+
Prerequisite: Anthropology 302. Comparative study of primate mating strategies and sexual behavior.
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307. Human Evolution
This class aims to integrate data and theory from genetics, geology, and paleoanthropological evidence. Opposing theories regarding the interpretation of data will be the focus of student evaluation.
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308. Evolution of Social Behavior
Prerequisite: Anthropology 201 or Biology 142. Application of evolutionary theory to social behavior of a variety of animals, including humans.
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309. Seminar in Primate Behavior
Prerequisite: Anthropology 101, 201 or 210. Relationship between ecology and individual and social behavior, dominance relations, intelligence, and communication.
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310. Communication in Primates
This course examines human as well as non-human primate communication systems from an evolutionary perspective. Topics covered include signal structure and function, information content of signals, honesty, deceit, and the evolution of language in humans [NBB 470].
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311. Nutritional Anthropology
Introduction to the evolution, diversity, and social significance of human diet and nutrition [AFS 311].
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312. Human Skeletal Biology
This course focuses on theory and method for understanding variation in prehistoric skeletal populations. Determination of age and sex activity, disease and demography will be undertaken.
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313. Human Development in Biocultural Perspective
This course examines theories of development and applies them to analysis of human anatomy in several dimensions: biological, behavioral, psychological, and sociocultural. Cross-cultural case studies allow exploration of the dynamic interplay of biology and society in human development.
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314. Race and Racism: Myths and Realities
The social construction of race relies on differences that lack biological significance. The social and biological cast of racism from the continued entrenched concept of race in America is considered.
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315. Behavioral Ecology of Child Care
Explores the variety of forms childcare can take, and examines human family formation and cross-cultural patterns of childcare. Employs perspectives including anthropology, zoology, nutrition, and international health to explore the evolved needs of children and parents.
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316. Evolution of Human Brain and Mind
This course is concerned with identifying evolutionary modifications of the human brain that support modern human cognitive and emotional specializations.
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317. Human Social Neuroscience
Neurobiological substrates supporting human social cognition and behavior. Review and sythesis of relevant research in neuropsychology, psychiatry, neuroimaging and experimental animal research [NBB 317].
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321. Anthropology of Human Reproduction
This course examines biological, cultural and behavioral determinants of human fertility and emphasizes interaction of sociocultural context with biology in reproduction and sexuality. Further topics: infertility, deviance, demographic transition, and population policy.
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322. Sexuality, Society, and Culture*
This course is an introduction to the study of same-sex desire, behavior and identity across cultures and through time. It demonstrates the ways in which forms of sexuality are interconnected with other axes of difference such as gender, race, and class. Questions posed include the following: Is homosexuality biologically determined? Or is "homosexuality" a social role created only by some Western societies? Can we say that Socrates was "gay"? Did Native American societies have more than two genders? [WS 322; IDS 315]. (Satisfies General Education Requirement III.)
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323. Sex Differences: Biological Bases
Examination of the biological bases of sex differences and their development.
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324. Women in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Cross-cultural study of gender and women's lives in diverse cultures, including the United States; comparative study of work, child-rearing, power, politics, religion, and prestige [WS 340].
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325. Language, Gender, and Sexuality
Cross-cultural examination of how language reflects, maintains, and constructs gender identities [LING 333; WS 333].
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328. Women, Religion, and Ethnography
Cross-cultural ethnographic study of women's religious lives, including ritual and leadership roles, forms and contexts of religious expression, and negotiations between dominant cultural representations and women's self-representations [REL 328; WS 328].
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331. Cross-Cultural Issues in Mental Health
Focuses on cultural approaches to mental health and illness. Topics include alcoholism, depression, schizophrenia, and the culture-bound syndromes.
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332. International Health: An Anthropological Perspective
Cultural, epidemiological, historical, and economic analyses of the health problems of contemporary third-world societies. Emphasizes the socioeconomic complexity of problems and the need for culturally and technologically appropriate solutions [IH 557].
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333. Disease and Human Behavior
Biological and cultural adaptations to disease, role of specific diseases in evolution, social epidemiological patterns related to culture, contemporary issues in disease control and economic development. Considers a variety of diseases including malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, and malnutrition.
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334. Evolutionary Medicine
Survey of the application of Darwinian evolutionary principles to human vulnerability to a variety of diseases (e.g. cancer, depression, atherosclerosis). The evolution of defenses against disease is reviewed.
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335. Women's Health: Anthropological and Feminist Perspective
Exploration of issues pertaining to women's bodies and health, juxtaposing Western women's health problems with those faced by women in the non-Western (i.e. developing) world. The disciplinary/analytical perspectives of medical anthropology and feminist scholarship will be compared [WS 335].
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336. Anthropology of Emerging Disease+
Disease emerges as humans disrupt their environment, exposing them to novel pathogens. Students will examine this pattern from the Paleolithic to the present pattern of globalization of antibiotic-resistant pathogens.
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337. Religion, Health and Healing
This class explores issues such as what makes for a healthy "self" or person, the role of religious practices and belief in healing, and the relationship of body and mind.
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338. Global Health: Biosocial Model
Prerequisite: GHCS 102 (Introduction to Global Health). This theory-practice-learning course concerns the contemporary global landscape of challenges to physical and mental health, and engages biosocial approaches to both explaining and tackling these challenges.
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340R. Topics in Sociolinguistics+
Studies relations between language and society, relations between language and sociocultural context. Topics may include: language variation, dialects, registers, and styles; language attitudes; speech communities; multilingualism; and verbal interaction [LING 340R].
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341. Communication, Technology, and Culture
Examines the social, cultural, and linguistic features of modern media technologies and explores their implications for far-reaching transformations in the ways we talk, think and interact [LING 334].
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342. Media and Culture
Explores the sociocultural dynamics of media institutions and the everyday use of different media in diverse societies.
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343. African Popular Culture
Students will think critically about African popular culture as a means through which people reflect on diverse issues in their lives [AFS 370; IDS 370].
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351. Sustainable Development: Anthropological Perspectives+
Anthropological perspectives on social change and economic development in the Third World today. Population growth, agricultural development, political instability, colonialism, imperialism, and urban problems in cultural context.
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352. Globalization and Transnational Culture+
This course explores the changing shape of the global economy and its relationship to "local" culture and gendered identities. Through transnational flows of capital, labor, tourism, media, consumer goods, etc., students will study local cultural practices and question whether a global economy implies global culture [WS 342].
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353. Economic Anthropology
The cross-cultural study of traditional markets and exchange patterns, social relations surrounding production, and urban diverse patterns of consumption. Western economic theory contrasted with other approaches to the study of economic customs.
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355. Food, Culture, and Political Economy
Prerequisite: Anthropology 101. Food plays a central role in the biocultural adaptation of human population. The politics and economy of food will be studied from an evolutionary perspective, from foraging to industrial societies.
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357. Socioecology of Pastoral Peoples
History, culture, ecology, and politics of pastoral nomads, with special reference to sub-Saharan Africa.
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361. Symbolic Anthropology
Culture is viewed as distinctive symbolic patterns through which a world view is built. Human behavior as symbolic action; human knowledge as partly a creation of cultural patterns.
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362. Anthropology of Religion
A detailed study of selected primitive religious systems to be complemented by theoretical readings on primitive religion [REL 370].
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363. Ritual: Its Nature and Culture
Survey of the significance and functions of ritual in human life. Ethnographic accounts of sacred ritual followed by more theoretical readings dealing with the structure and function of human ritual, viewed as a special and "primitive" form of communication.
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366. Ritual and Shakespeare
Close reading of selected plays of Shakespeare in which ritual and other performance genres become central issues and problems. Readings in performance theory parallel reading of the plays.
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367. Play, Sport, and Ritual
An examination of the relations among childplay, ritual, and sport as related dimensions of human culture.
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371. Anthropology of African Americans
An exploration of the complexity and diversity of African American culture in the United States from the perspectives of twentieth century anthropologists. Major themes include: (i) the influence of African culture on the populations of the Caribbean and the United States, (ii) the legacy of slavery throughout the Diaspora, and (iii) the extent to which racism and sexism as systems of inequality affect everyday life in African American communities [AAS 371].
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372. Ethnographic Writing
This course is about the writing of fieldwork-based case studies as a central practice of Anthropology. Students learn to read classical and contemporary ethnographic texts critically for content, method and style, as well as to produce ethnographic writing by combining rich description with analysis.
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373. Global Cities, Local Futures
This course examines the way that global processes shape modern cities such as New York, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg and Atlanta. Topics include: global inequality, urban planning, migration, racial segregation, poverty, violence and popular culture. A final research project is on immigrant and refugee settlement in Atlanta.
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381. Primate Conservation
This course reviews the local human and biological impact of conservation programs that affect primate communities in five areas of the world. Students discuss: methods, primate/plant interactions, forest fragmentation, historical perspectives on conservation and land use, agro-forestry, ecotourism, and reintroductions. Students will become more aware of how conservation issues affect behavior and ecology of primates in nature.
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382. Ecological Context of Human Evolution
Adopting an ecological perspective, this class will address the basic question of why and how humans evolved. This will involve a scrutiny of both biotic and abiotic factors that may have influenced the evolution of early hominids in East Africa, including: local and regional climatic change over the last 5 million years, aspects of past hominid ecosystems (such as vertebrate and botanical turnovers), and tectonic upheavals.
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383. Primate Evolution and Extinction
This course focuses on the biological and ecological processes that have influenced primate anatomy, behavior, distribution, evolution, and extinction, as evidenced in the fossil record.
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385/386/387. Special Topics in Anthropology
Credit: 1-4 hours. May be repeated for credit when topic varies. Seminar or lecture series of topics of anthropological concern.
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397R. Directed Readings
Credit: 1-4 hours. Consultation with faculty prior to registration required.
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400. Great Ideas in Anthropology
Prerequisite: Anthropology 202. Intellectual history of anthropology and major theories of culture. Scientific and philosophical approaches to the study of human diversity.
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402. Research Seminar in Biological Anthropology
Advanced seminar on selected topics pertaining to current research questions in biological anthropology. Seminar format: topics will vary.
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403. Research Seminar in Cultural Anthropology
Advanced seminar on selected topics pertaining to current research questions in cultural anthropology. Seminar format: topics will vary.
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415. Methods in Biological Anthropology
Prerequisite: Anthropology 201. Hypothesis testing and the statistical analysis of data. Theoretical and methodological problems in biological anthropology. The study of human and nonhuman primate skeletal biology, human growth and development, and the observation of nonhuman primates.
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445. Methods in Cultural Anthropology
Prerequisite: Anthropology 202. Design of research strategies for the study of human cultures. Data collection techniques including participant observation, interviewing, and genealogies, hypothesis testing, and the qualitative and quantitative analysis of data.
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495A. Honors Research I
Departmental invitation to Honors Program necessary before registration.
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495B. Honors Research II +
Departmental invitation to Honors Program necessary before registration.
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497R. Undergraduate Research
Credit, 1-4 hours. Consultation with faculty prior to registration required.
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Last Updated March 18, 2008