Anthropology Degree

ANTH 171. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. 3 Credits.

Examination of diversity and similarities across contemporary world societies. Topics: fieldwork and ethnographic description; theoretical approaches; communication/human language; interrelationships between environment, technology, social and political organization and worldview; sociocultural change; applied anthropology. Films and case studies illustrate intricacies of culture and how an anthropological perspective provides insights about our own society/culture. F,S.

ANTH 172. Introduction to Archaeology. 3 Credits.

This course looks at how we investigate past cultures using the artifacts that people have left behind. What questions do archaeologists ask about the past?How do archaeologists find and record archaeological sites? What field and laboratory techniques are used to collect evidence and gather data, and how do these methods work? How do we interpret and understand the past using archaeological hypotheses, explanations, models and theories? Case studies will be drawn from different regions, cultures, and time periods to illustrate course concepts. F,S.

ANTH 350. Cultural Experience: Ethnography. 3 Credits.

Introduction to recording and presenting descriptions of world cultures. Time will be spent reading already-produced ethnographies, watching ethnographic films, and comparing these to similar descriptive products, while wrestling with issues that arise such as race, identity, gender, power, status, and control. Students will also learn the steps needed to pose research questions and conduct fieldwork in cultural anthropology and will analyze ethical research issues and other challenges related to ethnographic research. On demand.

ANTH 360. Environmental Change & Culture. 3 Credits.

This course uses an anthropological lens to understand how humans have responded to and/or caused environmental changes and how differing cultural values and behaviors have shaped this relationship. By the end of the course students should be able to (1) explore how power and privilege impact us and others and how this relates to race, ethnicity, cultural identity, economic class, and environmental discrimination and (2) use wordview as a tool to understand different cultural responses to environmental challenges. Present and past cultural examples from around the world are examined to provide background for class discussions and exploration of hot topics and challenges that currently face us and how this relates to our diverse beliefs and levels of local and global power. F, odd years.

HIST 310. Monuments, Museums and Memory. 3 Credits.

How should we remember our history? How do museums and public monuments influence our understanding of the past? Explore these questions through case studies and extended role-playing games. On demand.