Anthropology
Michale L. Zukosky, Chair and Director
program web page
Degrees
Minor–Anthropology
Minor–Archaeology
Minor–Medical Anthropology
Required courses in these programs of study may have prerequisites. Reference the course description section for clarification.
Undergraduate Programs
Anthropology—offered here as a major or a minor in either general anthropology or archaeology—offers students the opportunity to broaden their understanding of peoples and cultures of the world, both today and in the past. The four-field approach asks students to consider the biological, cultural, prehistoric/historic, and linguistic aspects of the human condition. Then students put that knowledge to work by doing independent research under faculty supervision. Specifically, the Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology is designed to meet the needs of students who want to:
- broaden their undergraduate exposure to other peoples and cultures of leading to work in fields like social work and human services, law and forensics, as well as business and other occupations interacting with ethnically diverse populations or international agencies and companies;
- prepare for graduate studies in Anthropology in applied masters programs (to work as an archaeologist or applied anthropologist) or PhD programs;
- or prepare for work as an archaeological technician, as a Peace Corps volunteer, or in other opportunities around the world.
Anthropology also has a research unit, Archaeological and Historical Services, where students can volunteer and some internships may be arranged both with AHS and other entities. The department has a number of physical facilities available for student use, including laboratory space for physical anthropology and archaeology, a GIS laboratory, and space to collaborate with peers.
Optional Requirements for Anthropology
Anthropology students who plan to become candidates for advanced degrees are advised to complete two years of a foreign language and a course in statistics.
Anthropology Courses
ANTR 201. GLOBAL CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS. 5 Credits.
Satisfies: a BACR for social sciences.
This course examines the flow of people, goods, images, ideas and knowledge that across borders of all kinds with greater rapidity and consistency in our increasingly interconnected world. Students will deepen their understanding of and expand their exposure to cultural beliefs, traditions, practices and values from communities throughout the world. The course will consider the role that culture plays in some of the major social, political, economic and religious tensions and conflicts.
ANTR 202. HUMAN EVOLUTION. 5 Credits.
Satisfies: a BACR for natural science.
This course examines the biological process of evolution as it applies to humans and their recent ancestors; it does not debate the existence of evolutionary processes. Students learn about major events in human evolution and key fossil evidence that reflects them, including the development of bipedalism, increase in size and complexity of the human brain,increasing use of cultural solutions to respond to biological pressures, and nature and extent of ongoing human microevolution.
ANTR 203. LANGUAGE AND HUMAN BEING. 5 Credits.
Satisfies: a BACR for humanities and arts.
This course explores the importance of language for understanding human beings. Studying language and its diversity allows us to better appreciate different cultures by giving us a sense of how people view the world differently. In the analysis of language, we learn about interpretation and philosophically-rich inquiry. This course explores several different cultures through the lens of language and the interpretive problems that anthropologists face in trying to understand them.
ANTR 204. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE. 5 Credits.
Satisfies: a BACR for natural science.
Archaeology provides a useful case study for the practical application of natural science knowledge in support of the needs of disciplines both within and without the broader natural sciences. Students explore the archaeological sciences of remote sensing and probabilistic surveying, radiometric and isotope dating, fauna/floral analysis, climate reconstruction and change, reconstruction of subsistence patterns and population health, mortality and movements among others.
ANTR 266. GENDER, HEALTH AND MARGINALIZATION. 5 Credits.
Cross-listed: DSST 266, GWSS 266.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 201 or equivalent.
Satisfies: a BACR for social sciences.
This interdisciplinary course explores personal, social, and political concerns regarding gender and health, including public health practice, epidemiological research, health policy, and access to health services. It includes discussion of health and reproductive justice activism.
ANTR 296. EXPERIMENTAL COURSE. 1-5 Credits.
Experimental Course.
ANTR 299. DIRECTED STUDIES. 1-15 Credits.
Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Directed Studies.
ANTR 301. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 201.
This course examines major concepts, theories and methods in cultural anthropology. Students explore how anthropologists analyze and interpret different cultural practices that manifest in an individual’s everyday life. By using ethnographic case studies of communities from throughout the world, the course addresses issues of identity, family, kinship, gender, race, class, ritual, belief and expression.
ANTR 303. LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
This course explores the human condition through the study of language in real-life social contexts. It explores language’s relationship to various forms of human action, as a constitutive feature of the building of human communities, and as a differentiating factor within human communities associated with stratification and inequality. Topics include performance, identity, and literacy. Basic ethnographic methods in the study of language-in-action will also be discussed.
ANTR 310. IDENTITY, ETHNICITY AND NATIONALISM. 5 Credits.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course explores cross-cultural questions of human social organization and its impacts on human self-understanding. It engages the study of self-identity, ethnic and other social identities, ethno-nationalism throughout the world to better understand how individuals and communities establish collective cohesion, create notions of group solidarity and organize politically. Finally, the course explores the consequences of building community on identity and its impact on human difference.
ANTR 311. POVERTY, INEQUALITY AND SOCIETY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 201.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–diversity.
This course explores the nature of poverty and structural inequality in communities throughout the world. The course traces the historical development of gaps in power and privilege among people and communities that results in poverty, economic oppression, and social, political and economic inequality.
ANTR 312. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENT. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course explores the nature of globalization as both a historical phenomenon and contemporary reality. The course will address how increasingly rapid sociocultural change around the world has led to an array of movements that are dissatisfied with and opposed to globalization. The course will examine how resistance to globalization has led to ethnic, nationalist and class-based collective social, political and economic actions throughout the world.
ANTR 313. IMMIGRANT AMERICA. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–diversity.
International migration is reshaping politics, economics, and sociocultural landscapes in the United States. This course examines the newest immigrants in the U.S.—those arriving after 1965—and their U.S. born children. The prevailing trend and pattern of incorporation and multiculturalism will be discussed. Theories of migration, transnationalism, and integration will be examined, along with immigration policy in the U.S.
ANTR 321. MULTICULTURALISM IN ASIA. 5 Credits.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course is an introductory survey of various Asian societies and cultural communities. The course explores the geography, cultural history, and contemporary diversity of people in Asia by focusing on a number of case studies of indigenous and immigrant minority groups and their distinct social experience.
ANTR 322. ANTHROPOLOGY OF LATIN AMERICA. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing; ENGL 201 or equivalent.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course is an introductory survey of contemporary cultures of Central and South America, including both aboriginal and peasant societies. Emphasis is placed on the merging and clashing of European, Indian and African, rich and poor and the continuing character of these conflicts into the present.
ANTR 325. ANTHROPOLOGY & AMERICAN INDIANS. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–diversity.
In this course, students develop an understanding of some of the core issues and arguments that continue to shape the relationships between American Indian communities, peoples, spaces, academics, and the discipline of Anthropology. Students will survey Native peoples of the Plateau, examine the varied relationships of these Native peoples and Anthropology, and analyze postcolonial Anthropology and the contributions of American Indian scholars in the discipline.
ANTR 329. ANTHROPOLOGY ABROAD. 1-10 Credits.
Notes: students must arrange their enrollment in this course with the department chair or program director.
This course is only available to those students participating in a study abroad opportunity and seeking to either earn university credits for study abroad or transfer credits to university from another institution’s program.
ANTR 330. ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: junior standing.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
This course analyzes and contrasts the relationship between different human populations, their cultural practices, and the natural environment. The course discusses how both political and economic forces shape cultural practices, the relationship of capitalism and state formation to the natural environment, maladaptation and environmental problems, such as global climate change.
ANTR 332. ANTHROPOLOGY OF GENDER. 5 Credits.
Cross-listed: GWSS 332.
Pre-requisites: ENGL 201 or equivalent.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–diversity.
This course examines notions of sex and gender from a cross-cultural perspective. Material covered includes understandings of gender, third genders, human sexuality and the gendered nature of activities in both non-Western and Western societies.
ANTR 340. ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD AND NUTRITION. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
This course considers cultural and social significance of food by exploring the diverse ways in which people and communities across the world embed meaning in the types of foods consumed, the manner in which food is prepared and the ways in which meals are served. Topics may include hunger, malnutrition and famine, food security and food sovereignty, dietary patterns, commodification of foods and food-related social movements.
ANTR 342. MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–global studies.
The course introduces students to cross-cultural perspectives and critical theories in anthropological studies of medicine. Special attention is given to diverse ways of understanding bodies, illnesses, and therapeutic practices in our changing world. Specifically, it compares non-medical models of disease causality and healing with biomedical establishments, and examines how social and technological inequalities shape health and health outcomes.
ANTR 345. ANTHROPOLOGY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
This course explores cultural aspects of science and technology. Through close readings of ethnographic texts and an exploration of the theoretical frameworks which inform them, the course explores how science and technology function in and across different cultures and societies, and how culture, society, science, and technology shape each other. Special attention is paid to the relationship between observational data and theoretical explanation in ethnographic analysis.
ANTR 350. WORLD ARCHAEOLOGY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
This course provides a global review of archaeology beginning with the appearance of the first hominids (the Australopithecines) through the beginnings of agriculture and the advent of social stratification and culturally complex civilizations. Topics include an overview of human evolution, the first humans and their hunting-gathering lifestyles, the increasing specialization of hunter-gatherers and the dawn of horticulture-agriculture.
ANTR 359. TOPICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: sophomore standing.
This course is a variable topics course exploring current interests and specific research foci in each of the four sub-fields of anthropology. Topics might include anthropological perspectives on contemporary issues; current research interests of specific faculty; further investigation of sub-topics included in large survey courses.
ANTR 401. ANTHROPOLOGY RESEARCH METHODS. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: ANTR 301 and ANTR 303. Prerequisites may be taken concurrently.
This course introduces the core research methods used by anthropologists to gather data for analysis and interpretation of biological and cultural phenomenon. Students gain practical experience in sampling, validity and reliability issues, interviewing techniques and methods of observation among others.
ANTR 408. ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORY. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: ANTR 301.
This course explores the historical development of anthropological theory from its inception to today. Major theoretical paradigms, perspectives and models concerning culture, social structure, history and evolution are addressed. Contemporary topics such as include agency and structure, subjectivity and reflexivity, postmodernism, hegemony, globalization and transnationalism are also addressed.
ANTR 447. FAIR TRADE, COFFEE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE. 2 Credits.
Pre-requisites: ANTR 201 or ANTR 301.
This class explores the Fair Trade movement, using coffee as a lens. Topics include how the Fair Trade system has worked, debate over the Fair Trade system as a social movement and an alternative market.
ANTR 449. ADVANCED TOPICS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY. 5 Credits.
This course is an advanced variable topics course exploring current research foci in cultural anthropology. Topics selected for this course attempt to connect anthropological perspectives and faculty research interests with contemporary issues in cultural anthropology and relevant events and trends in the world. Course is designed for majors seeking more advanced instruction in cultural anthropology.
ANTR 455. ARCHAEOLOGY OF MESOAMERICA. 5 Credits.
Pre-requisites: ANTR 204, ANTR 304; or permission of the instructor.
This course explores the archaeological and ethnohistorical record of peoples from Mexico, Central America, and Western South America.
ANTR 470. SOCIOLINGUISTICS. 3 Credits.
Pre-requisites: ANTR 303 or permission of instructor.
This course explores three interdisciplinary social science approaches to language: how language varies according to different social factors such as class and gender, interactive dimensions of language use in modern institutions such as hospitals and courtrooms, and applications of sociolinguistics to social issues such as multilingualism and language policy. This seminar course is lead by students; class discussions build off students’ presentations on assigned readings.
ANTR 490. SENIOR CAPSTONE ANTHROPOLOGY. 5 Credits.
Satisfies: a university graduation requirement–senior capstone.
This course joins together the diverse sub-fields and eclectic viewpoints of anthropology and its supporting disciplines with the aim of clarifying anthropology's practical uses. Students will share and discuss their inducement research projects with the goal of discovering and articulating the intersections of the various anthropological subfields represented.
ANTR 495. INTERNSHIP. 1-15 Credits.
Pre-requisites: permission of the instructor, department chair and college dean.
Internship.
ANTR 496. EXPERIMENTAL. 1-5 Credits.
Experimental.
ANTR 497. WORKSHOP, SHORT COURSE, CONFERENCE, SEMINAR. 1-5 Credits.
Special short-term programs of varying content, usually involving field work problems.
ANTR 498. SEMINAR. 1-5 Credits.
Seminar.
ANTR 499. DIRECTED STUDY. 1-10 Credits.
Pre-requisites: permission of instructor, department chair and college dean.
Independent study in selected areas of anthropology.
ANTR 600. THESIS. 1-5 Credits.
Thesis.
ANTR 601. RESEARCH REPORT. 1-5 Credits.
Research Report.