Courses

Identifies genetic, anatomical, physiological, social, and behavioral characteristics humans share with other mammals and primates. Explores how these characteristics are influenced by modern culture. Prereq., ANTH 2010 or equivalent. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: natural science. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Examines culture and politics in Africa through works by anthropologists and historians, as well as novels, films, and journalistic accounts. Special attention is devoted to the ways in which various African cultures have creatively and resiliently responded to the slave trade, European colonialism, and post-colonialism. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

A broad overview, focusing on Mexico and Guatemala. Major topics include ethnohistory, indigenous and mestizo peoples, and contemporary problems and issues. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Surveys traditional island cultures and contemporary changes in the Pacific, focusing on how the Pacific Islands were first settled, some of the great anthropologists who studied the islanders, and how current environmental changes, such as global warming, threaten the future existence of the islands. Restricted to juniors/seniors. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Historical and contemporary aspects of American life are considered from an anthropological perspective. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: United States context.

Focuses on gender, that is, the making of men and women, and how gender is culturally constructed in different societies. Gender describes many areas of behavior, feelings, thoughts, and fantasies that cannot be understood as primarily biologically produced. Sexuality and sexual systems are sometimes viewed as products of particular genderizing practices, but recent theories suggest that sexual systems themselves constitute gender. Prereq., ANTH 2100. Similar to WMST 2080. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Deals with the history and anthropology of selected west African societies in the period before the imposition of European colonial rule. Same as HIST 3218.

Explores universal components of religion, as inferred from religions of the world, ranging from smaller-scale oral to larger-scale literate traditions. Restricted to sophomores/juniors/seniors. Same as ETHN 3301. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Surveys ways of deriving meaning from anthropological data by numerical means, including but not confined to basic statistical procedures. Prereqs., ANTH 2010 and 2020. Same as ANTH 5000. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Special topics in cultural and physical anthropology, as well as archaeology. Check with the department for semester offerings. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Restricted to Junior or Senior Anthropology Majors only. Same as ANTH 5020. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

This courses traces the development of Anthropology and museums in America from late 19th century to present day. Students are encouraged to: explore museum theory and practice; think critically about the history of relations among Native Americans, Anthropology, and museums; consider the legacy of collecting and challenges of representing others; and, examine the interplay of Anthropology, material culture, and colonialism. ANTH 4045, ANTH 5045, and MUSM 5045 are the same course. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Explores topics in Jewish anthropology. Course will use the lens of anthropological inquiry to explore, discover and analyze different concepts within Jewish culture. Topics explored will include customs, religious practices, languages, ethnic and regional subdivisions, occupations, social composition, and folklore. Courses will explore fundamental questions about the definition of Jewish identity, practices and communities. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior). ANTH 4050 and JWST 4050 are the same course. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Overview of the evolution of human diet and ecological and cultural factors shaping modern diets. Introduces fundamentals of nutrition and analysis of nutritional status. Analyzes ecological, social, and cultural factors leading to hunger and undernutrition, as well as biological and behavioral consequences of undernutrition. Prereqs., ANTH 2010 and 2020, or EBIO 1210 and 1220, or EBIO 1030 and 1040. Same as ANTH 5060. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Provides laboratory-based research experience in selected areas of biological anthropology. Research designs, methods and applications will be used to develop research skills. Students will read original research papers and carry out a research project of their own design. Area of emphasis within biological anthropology will depend on instructor. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Prereqs., ANTH 2010 and 2020. Recommended prereqs., ANTH 2030, 2040, and 4000. Restricted to juniors/seniors. Same as ANTH 5070.

Detailed consideration of the fossil evidence for human evolution. Covers the discovery of important fossils and interpretations; descriptive information about the fossils; and data and theory from Pleistocene studies relating to ecology, ecological and behavioral data on modern apes, and molecular studies that have bearing on the study of human evolution. Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Junior or Senior). Prereqs., ANTH 2010 or 2020, or EBIO 1210 or 1220. Same as ANTH 5110. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Selected topics in physical anthropology emphasizing faculty specialties. Topics may include population genetics and its application to understanding modern human diversity, human population biology, and primate ecology and evolution. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Prereq., ANTH 2010 or 2020, or EBIO 1210 or 1220. Same as ANTH 5120. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

A detailed study of the cultures of prehistoric Greece, the Cycladic Islands, and Crete, their art and archaeology, and their history within the broader context of the eastern Mediterranean, from earliest human settlement to the collapse of the Bronze Age at about 1100 B.C.E. Emphasis is on palace states. Same as ARTH/CLAS 4129, ANTH 5129.

Detailed study of the human skeleton with special attention to health and demographic conditions in prehistoric cultures and the evaluation of physical characteristics and genetic relationships of prehistoric populations. Prereqs., ANTH 2010, 2020, and 4000. Restricted to juniors and seniors. Same as ANTH 5130.

Discusses role of human populations in local ecosystems, factors affecting population growth, and human adaptability to environmental stress. Detailed consideration of case studies of small-scale societies in different ecosystems. Prereqs., ANTH 2010 and 2020, or EBIO 1210 and 1220. Same as ANTH 5150. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Focuses on the fossil record of nonhominoid primates.Special emphasis placed on delineating the origins of the order Primates, the origins of the primate semiorders Strepsirhini and Haplorhini, and the adaptations of extinct primates in light of our understanding of the modern primate adaptive radiations. Prereqs., ANTH 2010 or EBIO 1210. Same as ANTH 5170. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Students read, discuss, and write critical evaluations of contemporary publications in anthropology. Identifies basic themes that inform major anthropological perspectives. Students then bring these perspectives to bear on issues currently facing the human species. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Restricted to junior or senior Anthropology majors only. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Explores the prehistory of the American Southwest from the earliest entry of humans into the area to the Spanish entrada. Focuses on important themes in cultural development: the adoption of agricultural strategies, sedentism, population aggregation, population movement, and social complexity. Prereq., ANTH 2200. Same as ANTH 5210. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Examines the archaeology of Mexico from the initial peopling of the Americas to the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire. Studies origins of complex societies; ancient Mexican cities, states, and empires; religion and politics; trade and interaction; ecology and economy; and social organization. Prereq., ANTH 2200. Restricted to juniors or seniors. Same as ANTH 5220. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Begins with the environment and describes the earliest inhabitants and the Olmec civilization, then shifts to the earliest Maya and the emergence and collapse of classic Maya civilization. Compares and contrasts the societies of lower Central America. Prereq., ANTH2200. Same as ANTH 5224. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).

Applies geological principles and instruments to help solve archaeological problems. The focus is on site formation processes, soils, stratigraphy, environments, dating, remote sensing, and geophysical exploration. Environmental and ethical considerations are included. Prereq., ANTH 2200. Same as ANTH 5240. Prerequisites: Restricted to students with 57-180 credits (Juniors or Seniors).