Courses

Courses

Fall 2007 Courses

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Anthropology

020. Fantastic Archaeology
A MacEachern T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55 Sills-207
Chariots of the gods…Refugees from Atlantis…Lost arks…. Archaeology occupies a curious place in the popular imagination, as an academic pursuit but also a highly romanticized—and often fictionalized—quest. Its involuntary association with strange theories and fraudulent hangers-on may thus not be too surprising. Students examine a variety of the weird and wonderful ideas that inhabit the fringes of the discipline, and thus come to an understanding of what archaeology is through analysis of what it is not.

101. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Sunil Goonasekera T 8:30 - 9:55, TH 8:30 - 9:55 Sills-Smith Auditorium
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. Introduction to World Prehistory
A MacEachern M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55 Sills-Smith Auditorium
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.

201. Anthropological Research
Krista Van Vleet T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25 Sills-205
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.

203. History of Anthropological Theory
Pamela Ballinger T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55 Sills-117
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.

206. The Archaeology of Gender and Ethnicity
Leslie Shaw M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55 Sills-117
Explores the lives 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.

210. Global Sexualities, Local Desires
Krista Van Vleet T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25 Hubbard-22
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.

223. Religion and Political Violence in South Asia
Sunil Goonasekera T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25 Searles-126
Religion is a universal phenomenon that touches, if not dominates, daily life and is a force that can compel people to be both perpetrators and victims of violence. Sociological and anthropological studies point to social, political, economic, cultural, legal and psychological facts that propel individuals and groups to use violence and justify its use by bringing violence into a religious context. Seeks to understand the relationship between religion and violence and the causes and effects of that relationship. Specifically addresses these issues in South Asian cultural systems.

231. Native Peoples and Cultures of Arctic America
Susan Kaplan M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25 Sills-207
For thousands of years, Inuit, Native American Indian, and Aleut peoples lived in the Arctic regions of North America as hunters, gatherers, and fishermen, harvesting resources from the sea, rivers, and land. The characteristics of Arctic ecosystems and how they are being affected by climate change are examined. The social, economic, political, and religious lives of various Arctic-dwelling peoples are explored in an effort to understand how people have adapted to this dynamic environment and to contact with various Western groups.

252. Made in Italy: Anthropology of Modern Italy
Pamela Ballinger T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55 Sills-107
Examines society and culture in contemporary Italy, focusing on debates over what it means to be “Italian.” First examines historical projects concerned with “making Italians” ranging from the Risorgimento (Italian unification) to fascism to the triumph of consumer culture after World War II, then turns to both continuities and transformations in socio-cultural practices in Italy today. Topics covered include food, social practices such as the “passeggiata” (or promenading), the commodification of Italian identity through things like fashion and tourism, the strength of local and regional identities, and the North/South divide. Particular attention is paid to the politics of immigration, as a country that long exported labor now becomes a site of immigration.

Sociology

010. Racism
H. Partridge W 1:00 - 3:55 Banister-106
Examines issues of racism in the United States, with attention to the social psychology of racism, its history, its relationship to social structure, and its ethical and moral implications. Note: This course counts toward the major and minor in gender and women’s studies.

014. America in the 1970s
Seth Ovadia T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55 Kanbar Hall-109
A sociological exploration of some of the major events and trends of the 1970s in the United States. Students use a variety of sources to develop an understanding of the social forces that shaped American lives then and how those forces continue to influence American life today.

101. Introduction to Sociology
Nancy Riley T 8:30 - 9:55, TH 8:30 - 9:55 Searles-315
The major perspectives of sociology. Application of the scientific method to sociological theory and to current social issues. Theories ranging from social determinism to free will are considered, including the work of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Merton, and others. Attention is given to such concepts as role, status, society, culture, institution, personality, social organization, the dynamics of change, the social roots of behavior and attitudes, social control, deviance, socialization, and the dialectical relationship between individual and society.

101. Introduction to Sociology
None None M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55 VAC-Kresge Auditorium
The major perspectives of sociology. Application of the scientific method to sociological theory and to current social issues. Theories ranging from social determinism to free will are considered, including the work of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Merton, and others. Attention is given to such concepts as role, status, society, culture, institution, personality, social organization, the dynamics of change, the social roots of behavior and attitudes, social control, deviance, socialization, and the dialectical relationship between individual and society.

208. Race and Ethnicity
Seth Ovadia T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55 Banister-106
The social and cultural meaning of race and ethnicity, with emphasis on the politics of events and processes in contemporary America. Analysis of the causes and consequences of prejudice and discrimination. Examination of the relationships between race and class. Comparisons among racial and ethnic minorities in the United States.

211. Classics of Sociological Theory
Susan Bell M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55 Mass-McKeen Study
An analysis of selected works by the founders of modern sociology. Particular emphasis is given to understanding differing approaches to sociological analysis through detailed textual interpretation. Works by Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and selected others are read.

215. Criminology and Criminal Justice
Janet Lohmann M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55 Hubbard-Conference Room West
Focuses on crime and corrections in the United States, with some cross-national comparisons. Examines the problematic character of the definition of “crime.” Explores empirical research on the character, distribution, and correlates of criminal behavior, and interprets this research in the light of social structural, cultural, and social psychological theories of crime causation. Discusses the implications of the nature and causes of crime for law enforcement and the administration of justice. Surveys the varied ways in which prisons and correctional programs are organized and assesses research about their effectiveness.

220. Class, Labor, and Power
Joe Bandy T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25 Mass-Faculty Room
An examination of social class and the corresponding structures of labor, status, and power in the United States. Surveys a variety of sociological perspectives and applies them to analyze class inequality, labor relations, and social policy. Topics include class stratification, class identity, poverty, corporate power, consumption, labor movements, and the social impacts of new technology and trade.

224. Global Health Matters
Susan Bell M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55 Mass-Faculty Room
Introduces students to international health, healing, and medicine from individual experiences in local contexts to global practices. Locates health and health care within particular cultural, social, historical, and political circumstances. How do these diverse forces shape the organization of health care providers and systems of health care delivery? How do these forces influence people’s symptoms, health beliefs, utilization of health care and interactions with health care providers? How are local practices of health and health care linked to large-scale social and economic structures? Topics include structural violence; global pharmaceuticals; the commodification of bodies, organ trafficking and organ transplantation; pregnancy and reproduction.

225. Globalization and Social Change
Joe Bandy T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55 Mass-Faculty Room
Focuses on social theories related to the international economy and its current restructuring. Explores the impact of globalization on the lives of working people, on the global division of labor, on human rights, on gender inequality, and on the natural environment. Examines the modern history of economic development, and the many social conflicts and resistance movements they have sparked. Touches upon various world regions and their unique positions in the global economy, including Latin America and East Asia.

312. Resistance and Accommodation: Comparative Perspectives on Gender
Nancy Riley T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55 Mass-McKeen Study
In societies across the world, many face discrimination and oppression because of gender stratification and because of inequalities that arise from both local norms and expectations and from societal-level and even global-level forces. In response to the inequities they face, people have found ways to live in, accommodate, challenge, and change those inequalities. Examines gender inequalities and the ways that those in different communities and societies have reacted to them. As part of the course, each student conducts a major research project on an issue of gender.

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