161. Introduction to Biological Anthropology. (4).
(NS).
The course explores the biological basis for variation in human
morphology, physiology, and behavior across different modern populations
around the world, and through human evolutionary history. Major
topics discussed are evolutionary theory, genetics, human adaptation, primate and human behavior, and the human fossil record. No special
knowledge is required or assumed. Cost:2 WL:2
362. Problems of Race. Sophomore standing.
(3). (NS).
The subject matter covered in this course is different from but
complementary to that covered in Anthropology 347 which is more
concerned with race relations. Anthropology 362, on the other
hand, addresses itself to two main problem areas where race is
concerned: (1) the common concept of race has an inadequate foundation
in biology and must be dispensed with before we can make sense
out of the very real aspects of human biological variation. This
portion of the course treats the dimensions of human biological
differences that can be traced according to selective force distributions
and their changes through time. These will be contrasted with the biological traits that show regional clustering but which
have no adaptive value and cannot therefore be hierarchically
arranged. (2) If the common concept of race has an inadequate
biological base, how did we get stuck with our generally held
assumptions when it would appear that they owe more to folklore than to biology? This portion of the course deals principally
with the history of the race concept. All the material covered
by the course will be dealt with in lecture. Supplementary readings
will be suggested from time to time, along with specific sections
in the assigned texts. Texts: A.R.Frisancho, HUMAN ADAPTATION;
C.L.Brace, THE STAGES OF HUMAN EVOLUTION. Lecture outlines
(syllabus) and C.L.Brace, RACE IS A FOUR LETTER WORD
will be available at Kinko's copying. Cost:2 WL:3/4 (Brace)
398. Honors in Biological Anthropology. Senior
standing and permission of instructor. (3). (Excl). (INDEPENDENT).
May be elected for credit twice.
Seniors who choose to enter the Honors program undertake a senior
project under the supervision of a member of the faculty. Most
often this takes the form of an original paper of greater scope than is possible in an ordinary term paper, and it gives the student
experience in conducting and writing up his or her own research.
Students who are interested in joining the senior Honors program
should consult with the departmental Honors adviser for biological
anthropology, Frank Livingstone. Previous participation in the
college Honors program is not a prerequisite for joining the senior
Honors program. (Livingstone)
461. Genetic Basis of Human Evolution. Anthro.
161 or the equivalent, and junior standing; or permission of instructor.
(3). (Excl).
The application of genetic theory and data to the interpretation
of the course of human evolution. The data include variation both
among human populations and among humans and their close primate
relatives. Reconciliation of the genetic data with various views
of the fossil record will also be considered. Lectures and course
pack. Grade based on midterm and final exam. (Livingstone)
469.Topics in Biological Anthropology. Permission
of instructor. (2-4). (Excl).
SECTION 001: SIMULATION OF GENETIC SYSTEMS. The use of computer
simulation to interpret patterns of genetic variation in human
populations. Variations considered include the hemoglobin alpha
and beta change loci, G6PD deficiency, and other deleterious genes
found in high frequencies in some human populations. (Livingstone)
565. Evolution of Genus Homo. Anthro.
365 or 466 or the equivalent. Primarily for students concentrating
in biological anthropology. (3). (Excl).
Evolution of Homo Sapiens from its Australopithecine ancestor, and the appearance of modern humans and their races are the focus
of this course. Topics include the hunter/gather adaptation and the early Pleistocene origin of Homo sapiens, habitation of the
world and the origin of races; the "Eve" theory of modern
human origins; the fate of the European Neanderthals. Three hours
of lecture, two hours of scheduled laboratory, and a 3rd unscheduled
hour required weekly. There is a midterm, final, and term paper.
Cost:2 WL:4 (Wolpoff)
Courses are arranged by groups: Introductory Courses, Ethnology-Regional Courses, Ethnology-Theory/Method, Ethnology-Topical Courses, Linguistics, Archaeology, and Museum and Reading and Research Courses.
Introductory Courses
101. Introduction to Anthropology. Primarily for
freshmen and sophomores. No credit granted to those who have completed
or are enrolled in 222 or 426. (4). (SS).
This introductory course exposes and explores the structures of
inquiry characteristic of anthropology and surveys the field's
four subdisciplines (biological, archaeological, cultural, and linguistic anthropology), providing a first glimpse of the field's
overall context, history, present status, and importance. The
principal aim of the course is to help students develop a coherent
view of the essential concepts, structures, and intellectual methods that typify the discipline. It stresses unifying principles that
link the subdisciplines and thereby create anthropology's comprehensive, holistic world view. It teaches students various ways of learning
and thinking about the world's many designs for living in time
and space. It prepares them to integrate and interpret information, to evaluate conflicting claims about human nature and diversity, and to think critically. Topics covered include: the nature of
culture, human genetics, evolution, and the fossil record, the
concept of race, primate (monkey and ape) behavior, language and culture, systems of marriage, kinship and family organization, sex-gender roles, economics, politics, and religion in global
perspective, the cultural dimension of economic development and contemporary social change, and the emergence of a world system.
Required readings include an introductory text and two paperbacks.
Lectures and discussion-recitation. Two objective exams (multiple
choice and true or false questions) cover the two halves of the
course. The second exam is given on the last day of class. There
is no final exam and no term paper. Section leaders require quizzes
and, perhaps a short paper. Cost:2 WL:1,3,4 (Fricke)
272/Ling. 272. Language
in Society. Primarily for freshmen and sophomores.
(4). (SS).
What place does language have in everyday life? Do people really
communicate when they speak to each other? How is language used
to reinforce relationships of power, especially along racial, gender, and class lines? How do languages change, and how does
change reflect the structure of society? This course is about the nature of language and the ways in which it reflects and informs
social life. Topics covered include: (1) How and why languages
change; (2) the relationships between speech and social class, race, and gender; (3) the politics of language use in society, including language policy in third-world societies and the "English-only"
movement in the United States; (4) the ways in which language
is used to construct social, cultural, and political "realities"
and the ways these realities are contested as, for example, in the abortion debate. We will try to answer some of these questions
in this course, which is about the nature of language and social
life. The course has no prerequisites except curiosity about the
interrelationships between language and society. Cost:1 WL:1 (Mannheim)
285. Cult Archaeology. (4). (SS).
Cultural archaeology examines claims in the press and on television that cultural achievements by non-Western people are a consequence
of contact with superior beings. The examples will be drawn from the prehistory and contact periods in the New World and the approach
will be a case study using critical thinking as an analytical
method. Claims of contact with beings from outer space, diffusion
of ideas and methods across the Pacific, and pre-Columbian appearance
of Europeans and Africans will be examined. The subjects discussed
include art, architecture, agriculture, social change and cultural
evolution. The goal is for students to learn critical thinking, to understand professional ethics, to appreciate cultural racism
and the harm that it does, and to know what to believe in an imperfect
knowledge arena. The course format is lecture and discussion sections.
Evaluations are based on section exercises, two exams, and participation.
The text is Williams, Fantastic Archaeology and a course
pack. Slides, videos, and museum specimens supplement the course.
(Ford)
Ethnology-Regional Courses
403. Japanese Society and Culture. Anthro. 101, 222, or any Japan course. (4). (Excl).
This is a multi-media course designed to introduce and explore
salient and inter-related themes, probes, and patterns in and of (mostly post-WWII) Japanese society and culture. Our overall
aim is to appreciate the ways in which Japanese women and men, girls and boys (from punks and theater fans to police officers
and office workers) construe, construct, communicate, reproduce, and resist everyday practices and realities. We will also challenge
and transcend parochial stereotypes of Japan, whether they be
of Japanese or Euro-American invention. (Robertson)
404. Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia. Anthro.
101 or 222. (3). (Excl).
This course examines the basic economic, social and cultural characteristics
of Southeast Asian peoples. Major attention is given to the ways
in which peoples of Southeast Asia use their different environments
and adjust to changing economic conditions. Case studies are used
to elaborate the theme of "persistence and change" in
religion, economic activity, social and political organization.
Attention will be given to the demographic, economic and social
impact of current development or "modernization" on
traditional societies. This lecture course will make use of slides, films and readings, both paperbacks and course pack, to extend
case studies to more general patterns for all of Southeast Asia.
Students are required to take either the midterm or final examination, and may also do a research paper or annotated bibliography. (Gosling)
411/CAAS 422. African Culture.
Junior standing or permission of the instructor.
(3). (Excl).
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to and familiarize them with the nature and dynamics of the unity and diversity of
pre-colonial sub-Saharan African cultures and societies. The focus
is on INSTITUTIONAL characteristics. Topics covered include: ecology
and environment; the distribution of races and peoples; economic
institutions; kinship and marriage; political legal institutions;
religious, magical, and witchcraft beliefs and practices; music/dance
and the arts. Grades are based on three take-home papers and contributions
to class discussions. Films and slides. Cost:1 WL:4 (Owusu)
421. The Immigrant Community in North American Society.
Anthro. 101, 222, or junior standing. (3). (Excl).
The class consists of an anthropological approach to the history
of the later immigration to the United States and Canada, the
formation, acculturation and preservance of immigrant communities, and the nature of ethnic boundaries and interethnic relations
in American society. Specific topics to be covered include: assimilation, bilingualism, stereotyping and discrimination, ethnic associations
including the ethnic church, ethnic media, the ethnic family and household, ethnic politics, ethnic labor and the revitalization
of ethnic subcultures. The course will take a seminar format, supplemented by relevant audio-visual materials and some lectures.
Class requirements include several short papers, some of which
will be based on ethnographic fieldwork, and one exam. (Lockwood)
Ethnology-Theory/Method
447. Culture, Racism, and Human Nature. Two courses
in the social sciences. (3). (Excl).
This course examines the possible origins of culture to understand the unique behavior and historical development of HOMO SAPIENS.
It reviews the theories of Freud, Jung, Levi-Strauss and others
who have attempted to comprehend that origin and development.
The course will trace the salient features of human history and contemporary modernity to discuss and explain the nature of humans.
The understanding of the nature of humans and their development
will enable the students to comprehend, explain, and resolve racism, part of a pan-human phenomenon. Is racism fundamental to the character
of human culture? Is racism, like modernity and its other social
problems, a characteristic of civilization? These are some of the questions with which students will wrestle. The course will
suggest that many of our modern social problems have a common
generation – the nature of human culture. That would suggest that the solutions will require a social transformation in the
character of human culture. These examinations of human culture
will require us to return to the discussions of Leslie White (culture
is autonomous) and Alfred Kroeber (culture is superorganic) to
determine the possibilities of social transformations that contemporary
society may require. Cost:2 WL:3 (Williams)
Ethnology-Topical Courses
331. Family, Work and Power. One course in anthropology. (3).
(Excl).
Ethnographic analysis provides a set of intellectual and practical
tools to define and answer questions about the implications of
economic and social change in readings and actual situations.
You will learn to identify and debate the patterns of loyalty, authority and conflict established by specific relations in families
and work places in industrial, peasant and kin-based societies.
Students consolidate their introductory course in general or cultural
anthropology with concrete and useful analytic and investigative
skills that also prepare them for more specific advanced courses.
Readings follow the unifying themes of residence, production, ownership, exchange and historical change through authors with
different backgrounds and approaches, in order to stimulate debate
over alternative interpretations. Small fieldwork exercises build
understanding of the potential and limits of authors' research
techniques. Evaluation is based on three short essays and three
fieldwork reports. Cost:3 WL:2 (Clark)
356. Topics in Ethnology. Anthro. 101.
(3). (Excl). May be repeated for a total of six credits.
Section 001. For Winter Term, 1992, this section is jointly
offered with Religion 380.
Section 002. Gender Consciousness and Social Change: Gender
and Power in Latin America. For Winter Term, 1992, this section
is jointly offered with Women's
Studies 343.001. (Koreck)
399. Honors in Cultural Anthropology. Senior
standing and permission of instructor. (3). (Excl). (INDEPENDENT).
May be repeated for credit with permission of concentration adviser.
SECTION 001. This Honors course sequence in cultural anthropology
is designed for undergraduate anthropology concentrators who are
specializing in cultural anthropology and have applied for senior
Honors in the Department of Anthropology. This course is divided
into two parts. In the Fall term, the students will meet once
a week in seminar to read and discuss a selection of significant
monographs and papers in ethnology, and a selection of writings
on fieldwork methods and research strategies in ethnology. This
seminar provides background for the students to define their own
senior Honors thesis project. By the end of the term, the students
will have decided on a project, and begun preliminary work on
it. In consultation with the Honors advisor the student may request
any member of the Anthropology Department to serve as a main thesis
advisor or second reader. In the Winter term, the students will
convene periodically in seminar with the Honors advisor to discuss their research projects and get feedback from the group, as well
as staying in contact with the Honors advisor and second reader.
By the end of the term, each student should have completed the
research and write-up for their thesis so that they can make a
formal summary presentation of it for the group. Original field
research or library work may be used for Honors projects. (Diamond)
SECTION 002. This Honors course sequence in archaeology is designed for undergraduate anthropology concentrators who are specializing in archaeology and who have applied for senior Honors in the Department of Anthropology. This course is divided into two parts. In the Fall term, the students will meet once a week to define research problems in archaeology, to discuss the construction of analytical and mathematical models appropriate for archaeology, and to analyze methods and procedures for solving problems. This seminar provides background which enables students to define a senior Honors thesis project. The second part of the course sequence begins once a thesis topic is selected. Each student in consultation with the Honors advisor may request any Department of Anthropology faculty member to serve as a thesis advisor. Periodically Honors students convene to discuss together their research progress. At the end of the second term of the Honors sequence, each student writes an Honors thesis and presents a seminar summarizing the project and its conclusions. Original field research, library sources, or collections in the Museum of Anthropology may be used for Honors projects. Prior excavation or archaeological laboratory experience is not required for participation. (Ford)
439. Economic Anthropology and Development. Junior
standing or permission of instructor. (3). (Excl).
This course introduces students to economic anthropology and development
in rural, village-based, tribal, peasant, urbanizing and industrializing
societies and cultures of the Third World: Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Middle East. The FIRST PART reviews the
nature of economic anthropology, its scope, objectives, basic
concepts, theories and methods of investigation. It discusses
economic anthropology as it relates to conventional/development
economics. The SECOND PART examines anthropological (social science)
perspectives on development and underdevelopment: progress, modernization, acculturation, socioeconomic growth, etc. The THIRD PART is concerned
with specifc case studies of problems of Third World development
and underdevelopment: rural/urban poverty and inequality; women
and development; international migration; etc. The course CONCLUDES
with an overview of global issues in Third World development and underdevelopment. The course is recommended for anthropology concentrators
and all students with serious interest in comparative cultures
and Third World development and underdevelopment. Junior standing
or permission of instructor. Lecture/discussion format. Films
shown in class when available. Final grades based on three take-home
papers and contributions to class discussion. Basic texts: Lucy
Mair, ANTHROPOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT; Polly Hill, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
ON TRIAL. [Cost:1] [WL:4] (Owusu)
450/ABS 496/Relig. 404. Comparative Religion: Logos
and Liturgy. Upperclass standing and permission of
instructor. (3). (Excl). May be repeated with permission for a
total of 6 credits.
See Religion 404. (Rappaport)
453/CAAS 454. African-American
Culture. One introductory course in the social sciences.
(3). (Excl).
The purpose of this course is to examine the African American
as one example of how humans live. It will place distinctive Black
behavior within its social context and its history. Because the
focus of the course will be distinctive Black behavioral styles
our attention will be directed toward the poor urban African American.
But that attention requires a discussion of American society and the history of human development. This lecture-seminar course
will have one major library project and one project for each student
and presentations of their findings. The course will suggest some
solutions to some African American dilemmas – the underclass, urban gangs, addictions, unemployment, and single-parent families.
Those suggestions will require a serious examination of contemporary
American society and the nature of modern man (humans). How do
we become this and how can we change? (Williams)
457. The Film and Other Visual Media in Anthropology.
Anthro. 101, 222, or permission of instructor. (3).
(Excl).
This course is designed to promote and improve the use of visual
media for anthropological purposes. We will examine film and its
use in the field, classroom and public showings, as documentary, as art, and as tool of the social scientist. A central concern
will be the making, use and appreciation of ethnographic film, but video-tape, still photography, television, and other media
will be considered and compared. Films shown and discussed will
include early classics and samples of the newest and best of current
film-making, ethnographic films on pre-industrial societies and ethnographic film makers, of anthropologists and of students.
There will be one evening session each week, during which we will
view 1-2 hours of ethnographic films (these will be open to the
public and free of charge). In addition, there will be two class
meetings a week devoted to lectures, discussions and some more
visual materials. A workshop will be arranged (for those who need
it) on video techniques. Class requirements include a midterm
and final examination and a team produced ethnographic video production.
Prerequisites: any introductory course in EITHER cultural anthropology
OR film and television studies. (Lockwood)
458. Topics in Cultural Anthropology. Permission
of instructor. (3). (Excl). May be repeated once for a total of
6 credits.
Section 001: Fieldwork and Cultural Anthropology. Mainly
for graduate students: How does one become a professional (cultural)
anthropologist? This course examines the relation between theory
and practice in several contexts: Choosing a research area and problem. Differences between brief and protracted field-work strategies.
Different kinds of field work (e.g., ethnographic techniques, survey research, rapid assessment). Interdisciplinary and team
research. Analysis (including statistical) and interpretation.
Forms of anthropological writing: dissertation, professional articles
and books, publications aimed at wider audiences (trade, college, policy makers). Careers in academic and applied anthropology.
Course requirements: various written assignments, including a
paper based on each student's career/research interests. (Kottak)
Section 002: Brazil: Anthropological Perspectives. The course surveys ethnographic, ethnological, and sociocultural research on the western hemisphere's second largest nation. The books and articles to be read examine Brazilian national culture, regional variation, and the contributions of Native Americans, Afro-Brazilians, Luso(Portuguese)-Brazilians, and recent immigrants. Topics covered include: race, class, gender, kinship, community, society, state, religion, social change, development, ecology, work, play and the role of the media. Students will read case studies illustrating Brazilian national culture and the various regions. Course requirements: For undergraduates – two exams and short regular assignments based on the reading. For graduates – same as undergraduates, plus a research paper. (Kottak)
Section 003. Latin America: The Colonial Period. For Winter Term, 1992, this course is jointly offered with History 476. (Frye)
459. Inequality in Tribal Societies. Two
courses in ethnology. (3). (Excl).
What is the principal locus of the production of inequality in
human society? This has been an important concern of humanistic
social thought since the Enlightenment. All those who have examined the problem have had recourse to consideration of relatively egalitarian
pre-modern societies in which forms of hierarchy associated with the nation state and industrialized world economy are absent.
These ethnographic cases provide a critical testing ground for
general social theories of inequality because the latter explicitly
or implicitly "predict" the social and economic configuration
of the most egalitarian societies. Both received wisdom and recent theory have emphasized the production and circulation of accumulatable
forms of wealth as the source of inequality. Unequal accumulation
and relations of dependence and indebtedness are seen to follow
inevitably from the sheer presence of wealth (which should thus
be absent in egalitarian societies). The Marxian position holds that all social inequalities are grounded in the dynamics of a
particular mode of production and are either directly generated
by this or built-up upon core relations of inequality that are
so generated. There should then be a one-to-one relation between
economic inequality and social inequality (i.e., differential
prestige, privilege and moral evaluation). Recent elaboration
of this perspective sees social inequality as rooted in the social
relations of production entailed by bridewealth systems in which
senior males gain control over the labor of wives and junior males
by their control of matrimonial goods. The exchange of persons
for persons is also replaced by an exchange of persons for goods
so that accumulation of wealth becomes a precondition for the
reproduction of kin relations. If the evolutionary road to inequality
is paved with bridewealth as this perspective suggests then egalitarian
societies should lack marriage payments, for these are seen as
a central locus for the production of inequality. The course will
examine these issues. It is open to advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Format is part lecture, part seminar. Substantial
term paper required. Cost:2 WL:2 (Kelly)
Linguistics
277/Ling. 277. Literacy. (3). (Excl).
See Linguistics 277.
472/Ling. 409. Language
and Culture. (3). (HU).
This course deals with the cultural, experiential, and social
basis of meaning systems as expressed in linguistic structures
and patterns of language use. Topics include color, kinship, flora-fauna, and space-time. There is a double emphasis: on comparisons between
English and "exotic" languages, but also on the multiple
aspects of semantic systems within a language. The course concludes
with analyses of the semantics of special linguistic varieties
such as slang, "ethnic" English, and ritual languages.
(Mannheim)
473/Ling. 473. Ethnopoetics:
Cross-Cultural Approaches to Verbal Art. Two courses
in anthropology, linguistics or literature, or permission of instructor.
(3; 2 in the half-term). (Excl).
How do we understand the verbal art of non-western peoples without
imposing our pre-conceived folk ideas about form, performance, authorship, and textuality? If poetic form, devices and traditions
vary from culture to culture, how can we even hope to understand them? And if we do manage to understand how another culture patterns
its verbal art in performance, how do we translate and represent
it without parodying the other culture? This course will consider
recent and classical efforts by anthropologists, linguists, poets, folklorists, and literary theorists to address these questions
at several levels: First, we will want to develop a method that
allows us to discover the "unsuspected devices and intentions"
in oral traditions, "unsuspected" in that they draw
upon aspects of language that our own traditions by-pass, and "unsuspected" in that they often have been collected
and published without recognizing those devices and intentions.
This forces us to develop a view of language that is adequate
to interpret "oral literatures" as they shape and are
shaped by the cultures of which they are part. What relevance
does such a view of language have for theories of verbal art, text, and performance? Finally, in what ways can it contribute
to reshaping anthropology itself? (Bierwert)
474/Ling. 410. Nonstandard English. (3).
(SS).
See Linguistics 410. (Lippi-Green)
478/Ling. 442. Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Ling.
411 or the equivalent. (3). (Excl).
See Linguistics 442. (Myhill)
578. Monographs in the Ethnography
of Speaking. Anthro. 576, or permission of instructor.
(3). (Excl).
The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with major
works in the ethnography of speaking, ranging from studies that
approach language ethnographically to those that approach ethnography through language. By examining detailed field studies, both classic
and recent, we will consider ways in which ethnographers have
used linguistic evidence to draw inferences about social relations
and cultural patterns, and consider the methodological insights
and problems raised by these studies. By reading monograph-length
studies, we will go beyond programmatic statements to look at the ways in which linguistic insights have been used to develop
fine-grained social analyses, and at the pitfalls encountered
along the way. Prerequisite: Anthropology 576 or two courses in
formal linguistics. Cost:5 WL:1 (Mannheim)
Archaeology
384. Prehistory of Egypt. (3). (SS).
This course provides an anthropological perspective on the sequence
of prehistoric cultures in the Nile Valley from the Lower Stone
Age time (100,000 B.C.) until the death of Tutankhamun (ca. 1340
B.C., in the 18th dynasty). It begins with the earliest evidence
for humans in Egypt and the Sudan, followed by a description of
later Stone Age hunters and gatherers, and the origins of agriculture
in the Nile Valley. A discussion of the Predynastic village sequence
and the rise of the Egyptian state is followed by lectures on
hieroglyphic writing, religion, sociopolitical organization, diet, pyramid building, and mummification. A midterm and final exam
provide the basis for the course grade. (Flannery and Marcus)
386. Early Civilizations. Sophomore standing.
(3). (SS).
EARLY NEW WORLD CIVILIZATIONS. This course considers the ancient
prehistoric civilizations of Middle America and Andean South America.
The primary objective is to show how anthropological archaeologists
attempt to understand the evolution of complex society. The course
begins with a general discussion of cultural evolution, continues
with a general discussion of information from each study area, and concludes with a general consideration of what the archaeological
study of prehistoric civilizations might tell us about the behavior
of modern cultural systems. No special background is assumed.
Students are evaluated on the bases of two in-class exams; a midterm
and a final. The text is the most recent edition of PATTERNS OF
PREHISTORY, by R.J. Wenke (Oxford Press). There will also be a
course pack of relevant journal articles. The primary method of
instruction is lecture, although some in-class discussion is encouraged.
Cost:1 WL:3 (Parsons)
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