The College Catalogue

First-Year Seminars

For a full description of first-year seminars, see the First-Year Seminar section.

13 {1013} b. Beyond Pocahontas: Native American Stereotypes. Fall 2012. Kelly Fayard.

[19 {1019} b. Archaeology: Rethinking the Past.]

Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced Courses

101 {1101} b. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Fall 2012. Gregory Beckett. Spring 2013. Kelly Fayard.

Cultural anthropology explores the diversities and commonalities of cultures and societies in an increasingly interconnected world. Introduces students to the significant issues, concepts, theories, and methods in cultural anthropology. Topics may include cultural relativism and ethnocentrism, fieldwork and ethics, symbolism, language, religion and ritual, political and economic systems, family and kinship, gender, class, ethnicity and race, nationalism and transnationalism, and ethnographic representation and validity.

102 {1050} b. Introduction to World Prehistory. Spring 2013. Leslie Shaw.

An introduction to the discipline of archaeology and the studies of human biological and cultural evolution. Among the subjects covered are conflicting theories of human biological evolution, debates over the genetic and cultural bases of human behavior, the expansion of human populations into various ecosystems throughout the world, the domestication of plants and animals, the shift from nomadic to settled village life, and the rise of complex societies and the state.

138 {1057} b - ESD, IP. Everyday Life in India and Pakistan. Spring 2013. Sara Dickey.

Focuses on contemporary life in India and Pakistan by looking at everyday experiences and objects. Explores topics such as teen cyberculture, painted truck designs, romance fiction, AIDS activism, and memories of violence. These seemingly mundane topics offer a window onto larger cultural processes and enable us to examine identities and inequalities of gender, religion, caste, class, ethnicity, and nationality. Sources include ethnographic texts, essays, fiction, government documents, newspapers, popular and documentary films, and YouTube videos. (Same as Asian Studies 138 {1625}.)

201 {2010} b. Anthropological Research. Fall 2012. Kelly Fayard.

Anthropological research methods and perspectives are examined through classic and recent ethnography, statistics and computer literacy, and the student’s own fieldwork experience. Topics include ethics, analytical and methodological techniques, the interpretation of data, and the use and misuse of anthropology.

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101.

[202 {2020} b. Essentials of Archaeology.]

203 {2030} b. History of Anthropological Theory. Fall 2012. Krista Van Vleet.

An examination of the development of various theoretical approaches to the study of culture and society. Anthropology in the United States, Britain, and France is covered from the nineteenth century to the present. Among those considered are Morgan, Tylor, Durkheim, Boas, Malinowski, Mead, Geertz, and Lévi-Strauss.

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101.

206 {2106} b - ESD. The Archaeology of Gender and Ethnicity. Fall 2012. Leslie Shaw.

Explores the lies of “people without history,” using archaeological data and emphasizing gender and ethnicity. Focuses on the Americas, and covers both prehistoric and historic archaeological site research, including Native American and African American examples. The long temporal aspect of archaeological data allows exploration of such issues as how gender inequality developed and how ethnic identity is expressed through material culture. (Same as Africana Studies 206 {2106}.)

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or 102, or permission of the instructor.

210 {2110} b - ESD, IP. Global Sexualities, Local Desires. Fall 2012. Krista Van Vleet.

Explores the variety of practices, performances, and ideologies of sexuality through a cross-cultural perspective. Focusing on contemporary anthropological scholarship on sexuality and gender, asks whether Western conceptions of “sexuality,” “sex,” and “gender” help us understand the lives and desires of people in other social and cultural contexts. Topics may include Brazilian transgendered prostitutes (travestí), intersexuality, and the naturalization of sex; “third gendered” individuals and religion in Native North America, India, and Chile; language and the performance of sexuality by drag queens in the United States; transnationalism and the global construction of “gay” identity in Indonesia; lesbian and gay kinship; AIDS in Cuba and Brazil; and Japanese Takarazuka theater. In addition to ethnographic examples of alternative genders and sexualities (so called “third genders” and non-heterosexual sexualities) in both Western and non-Western contexts, also presents the major theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches used by anthropologists to understand sexuality, and considers how shifts in feminist and queer politics have also required anthropologists to focus on other social differences such as class, race, ethnicity, and post-colonial relations. (Same as Gay and Lesbian Studies 210 {2110} and Gender and Women’s Studies 210 {2210}.)

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or Sociology 101, or permission of the instructor.

[213 {2112} b. Fantastic Archaeology.]

214 {2114} b. Politics and Power. Spring 2013. Greg Beckett.

Introduces the significant issues, concepts, theories, and methods in political anthropology. Explores the major theoretical and ethnographic approaches to the study of politics and power in various social and historical contexts. Introduces foundational approaches in the anthropology of politics, recent transformations in political anthropology, and various methods of studying politics ethnographically. Topics include non-state-based relations of rule and authority; colonialism and imperialism; the nation-state; law and administration; bureaucracy; decolonization and the postcolonial state; rituals of rule and symbolic forms of power; nongovernmental organizations; and human rights.

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or permission of the instructor.

[221 {2222} b - ESD. The Rise of Civilization.]

224 {2723} b - ESD. Religion and Globalization in the Andes. Spring 2013. Krista Van Vleet.

Explores the ways various religious beliefs and practices have intersected at particular historical moments, using the Andean region as an exemplary case. Examples from pre-Columbian and Inca, Spanish colonial, and contemporary republican periods highlight the continuities and transformations in local and global religious institutions and the significance of religion to political-economic and social relationships. Uses scholarly readings in anthropology, archaeology, and history as well as novels and films to introduce anthropological theories of religion and globalization; analyze local cosmologies, rituals, and conceptions of the sacred alongside institutionalized global religions such as Catholicism and evangelical Protestanism; social, economic, and political processes. (Same as Latin American Studies 223 {2724}.)

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or 102 or permission of the instructor.

227 {2227} c - ESD, VPA. Protest Music. Spring 2014. Judith Casselberry.

Focuses on the ways black people have experienced twentieth-century events. Examines social, economic, and political catalysts for processes of protest music production across genres including gospel, blues, folk, soul, funk, rock, reggae, and rap. Analysis of musical and extra-musical elements’ style, form, production, lyrics, intent, reception, commodification, mass-media, and the Internet. Explores ways in which people experience, identify, and propose solutions to poverty, segregation, oppressive working conditions, incarceration, sexual exploitation, violence, and war. (Same as Africana Studies 228 {2228} and Music 227 {2592}.)

[229 {2828} b. Maya Archaeology and Ethnohistory. (Same as Latin American Studies 229 {2729}.)]

230 {2230} b - ESD. Language, Identity, and Power. Spring 2013. Krista Van Vleet.

What place does language have in everyday life? How are identities produced and perceived in personal and social interactions? How is language used to reinforce, challenge, or reconfigure relationships of power? Approaches the study of language as a social and historical reality that emerges in the interactions of individuals. Using examples from a variety of social and cultural contexts, discusses the relationship between language, culture, and thought; structure and agency; language and social inequality; language acquisition and socialization; multilingualism and multiculturalism; verbal art and performance. Considers how aspects of an individual’s identity such as gender, race, ethnicity, class, age, and sexual orientation articulate in social and linguistic interactions.

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or Sociology 101, or permission of the instructor.

232 {2601} b - ESD, IP. Bollywood, Kollywood, and Beyond: Indian Cinema and Society. Fall 2012. Sara Dickey.

Explores Indian films, film consumption, and film industries since 1947. Focuses on mainstream cinema in different regions of India, with some attention to the impact of popular film conventions on art cinema and documentary. Topics include the narrative and aesthetic conventions of Indian films, film magazines, fan clubs, cinema and electoral politics, stigmas on acting, filmmakers and filmmaking, rituals of film watching, and audience interpretations of movies. The production, consumption, and content of Indian cinema are examined in social, cultural, and political contexts, particularly with an eye to their relationships to class, gender, and nationalism. Attendance at weekly evening screenings is required. (Same as Asian Studies 247 {2561}.)

Prerequisite: One of the following: Anthropology 101, Sociology 101, Film Studies 101 or 202, one course in Asian studies; or permission of the instructor.

[233 {2533} b - ESD, IP. Peoples and Cultures of Africa. (Same as Africana Studies 233 {2233}.)]

235 {2350} b - ESD. Not Just Cowboys and Indians: Examining Native Americans in Film and Media Beyond Hollywood. Spring 2013. Kelly Fayard.

Begins with an examination of the influence Hollywood has had on dominant images of Native Americans. Examines the construction of these images, their consumption, and their influence. Compares these non-Native films with images constructed by Native filmmakers. Analyzes popular films such as Dances with Wolves, Little Big Man, Last of the Mohicans, among others, in contrast to Native films such as Smoke Signals, Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner), and Reel Injun, along with Internet media from a variety of sources to tease out stereotypes and differences. (Same as Film Studies 235 {2350}.)

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or Sociology 101, or permission of the instructor.

[237 {2737} b - ESD, IP. Family, Gender, and Sexuality in Latin America. (Same as Gender and Women’s Studies 237 {2237} and Latin American Studies 237 {2737}.)]

[238 {2729} b - IP. Culture and Power in the Andes. (Same as Latin American Studies 238 {2738}.)]

[240 {2840} b - ESD. Contemporary Issues of Native North America.]

[245 {2245} b - ESD, IP. We are Family: Anthropological Understandings of Kinship.]

254 {2254} b. Understanding Crisis: Anthropological Perspectives on Emergency. Spring 2013. Greg Beckett.

Introduces cross-cultural and historical perspectives on crisis. Focuses on the relationship between modern systems of continuity and order and the experience of discontinuity and disorder. Examines the various meanings that communities and individuals give to crises, disasters, and emergencies. Considers a variety of cultural and historical cases from around the world. Topics may include illness and disease; natural disasters; industrial accidents; human insecurity and vulnerability; crises of meaning; law and disorder; social breakdown; state failure; civil war; and military and humanitarian intervention.

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or Sociology 101, or permission of the instructor.

271 {2711} b. The Caribbean in the Atlantic World. Fall 2012. Greg Beckett.

An introduction to the cultures and societies of the Caribbean, focusing on the historical changes that have accompanied the European “discovery” of the region and its integration into the wider Atlantic world. Focuses on the culture, history, and political economy of Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba, among other cases. Topics include European conquest and colonialism; the trans-Atlantic slave trade; the sugar plantation; creolization and the creation of new languages, cultures, and religions; revolution and resistance to colonial and imperial domination; economic dependency and marginalization; the relation between the Caribbean and the United States; migration; popular culture; and tourism. (Same as Latin American Studies 271 {2711}.)

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or Sociology 101, or permission of the instructor.

272 {2572} b - ESD, IP. Contemporary Arctic Environmental and Cultural Issues. Spring 2013. Susan Kaplan.

Throughout the Arctic, northern peoples face major environmental changes and cultural and economic challenges. Landscapes, icescapes, and seascapes on which communities rely are being transformed, and arctic plants and animals are being affected. Many indigenous groups see these dramatic changes as endangering their health and cultural way of life. Others see a warming Arctic as an opportunity for industrial development. Addressing contemporary issues that concern northern peoples in general and Inuit in particular involves understanding connections between leadership, global environment change, human rights, indigenous cultures, and foreign policies, and being able to work on both a global and local level. (Same as Environmental Studies 272 {2312}.)

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or 102, and Environmental Studies 101; or permission of the instructor.

291–294 {2970–2973} b. Intermediate Independent Study in Anthropology. The Department.

299 {2999} b. Intermediate Collaborative Study in Anthropology. The Department.

310 {3010} b. Contemporary Issues in Anthropology. Spring 2013. Sara Dickey.

Close readings of recent ethnographies and other materials are used to examine current theoretical and methodological developments and concerns in anthropology.

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101, 102, 201, and 203; or permission of the instructor.

321 {3210} b. Animal Planet: Humans and Other Animals. Fall 2012. Susan A. Kaplan.

Cultures around the world maintain different stances about non-human animals. People eat meat or avoid doing so. Religions advocate veneration, fear, or loathing of certain animals. Domesticated animals provide us company, labor, and food. Wild animals are protected, studied, photographed, captured, and hunted. Animals inhabit novels, are featured in art, and adorn merchandise. Students read ethnographies, articles, animal rights literature, and children’s books; study museum collections; and examine animal themes in films and on the Web. Employing anthropological perspectives, students consider what distinguishes humans from other animals, how cultures are defined by peoples’ attitudes about animals, and what might be our moral and ethical responsibilities to other creatures. (Same as Environmental Studies 320 {3920}.)

Prerequisite: Anthropology 101 or 102, and one 200-level course in anthropology; or permission of the instructor.

401–404 {4000–4003} b. Advanced Independent Study and Honors in Anthropology. The Department.

405 {4029} b. Advanced Collaborative Study in Anthropology. The Department.