302. Ecology and Culture. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Nine credits in anthropology and junior standing.
This seminar focuses on the question, why do cultures change? Taking ethnographic and archaeological examples of foragers, herders and farmers, the class will examine the relationship between environmental change, human population growth, technological change, the organization of the economy, and the exercise of power.
304. Anthropology of Development. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology including 200 and 201 as a pre- or co-requisite or permission of instructor.
Third world and indigenous peoples are being incorporated more fully into the modern world system by means of processes generally labeled as “development.” Through an examination of several cases, this course will analyze the economic, political, cultural, demographic, and ecological impacts of this process.
306. Anthropology of Religion. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology including 200 and 201 as a prerequisite or co-requisite or permission of instructor.
This course explores theoretical debates in anthropology concerning religion. In doing so, it addresses both the issue of general theories of religion and their applicability in specific cultural contexts .
308. Urban Anthropology. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology including 200 and 201 as a prerequisite or co-requisite or permission of instructor.
An introduction to cities in historical and global perspective, this course examines urban origins, theories of development of pre-industrial cities, transformations of urban life in the industrial revolution, and the interplay of race, ethnicity, class and gender in contemporary cities around the world. Final focus is on U.S. centers and forms of cultural and economic integration that mark all settlements in the contemporary global arena.
309. Psychological Anthropology. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Nine credits in anthropology, including 201 or 240 or 260. ++
This course examines the major theoretical movements in the field of psychological anthropology by surveying four major issues in the field: the relationship of phylogeny and ontogeny; motivation, personality, and mental illness; ethnopsychologies; and cognition. In all four, the central theme is the relationship of culture to behavior or thought.
320. Contemporary Anthropological Theory. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology including 200 and 201 as a prerequisite or co-requisite or permission of instructor.
This course provides an overview of contemporary anthropological theory, including symbolic, interpretive, Marxist, poststructuralist, postmodern, feminist and historical anthropology. We will read articles by leading theorists and ethnographies, which utilize contemporary theory.++
330. Seminar in Cultural Anthropology. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology including 200 and 201 as a pre- or co-requisite or permission of instructor.
This is an advanced seminar course focusing on a topic in cultural anthropology that is not covered in one of the standing courses listed above. The specific topic will be announced in the course list published by the department prior to the beginning of each semester. The course may be repeated provided the topic is not the same.
332. Anthropology of Memory. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology, including 200 and 201 as prerequisites or corequisites or permission of instructor.
Our memories are central to who we are. Although we generally think about remembering as something that happens in our minds, even our most personal recollections are shaped through social interactions and practices. Moreover, nations, communities, families, and other social groups also memorialize the past as part of the process by which present-day identities are debated and consolidated. This course will examine connections between individual and collective memory and the processes through which representations of the past are produced and challenged. We will pay special attention to the media of memory—including visual images, rituals, oral histories, monuments, and landscapes—that shape how the past is recalled and selectively forgotten. Whose memories are heard, and whose are silenced? How do the politics of the present affect our memories of the past? Students will be introduced to a range of approaches scholars in anthropology and other disciplines use to analyze the interplay of personal and cultural memory and the relationship between power, memory, and forgetting. In addition to reading, students will gain hands-on experience in conducting interviews, workshopping proposals, designing a memorial, and other exercises that we will do in class.
340. Archaeological Method and Theory. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology, including 240 and at least one course numbered 241 to 259, and junior standing.
In this seminar, students will examine the theories that have guided archaeological research, and the methods developed to pursue these goals.
342. Origins of Complex Society. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Nine credits in anthropology, including at least two courses numbered 200 or higher.
This course examines the appearance and development of institutionalized inequalities, and the major forms of political organization humans have devised. Proposed explanations for these phenomena will be evaluated against ethnographic and archaeological examples of complex societies.
350. Seminar in Archaeology. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology including at least one course numbered 240 to 259 and junior standing.
This is an advanced course focusing on a topic in archaeology that is not covered in one of the standing courses listed above. The specific topic will be announced in the course list published by the department prior to the beginning of each semester. The course may be repeated provided the topic is not the same.
354. Time. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: ANTH 101 or 103, and 6 credits of courses which satisfy the Analyzing Social Structures PLAS requirement, 3 credits of Culture and Values, and 3 credits of Natural Science. The exploration of human understanding and experience of time from multiple perspectives including the social sciences, philosophy, literature, and the natural sciences.
361, 361W. Human Variation. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Anthropology 260 or two college biology courses and junior standing.
Humans live in a greater variety of environments than any other animal. This course will examine the ways in which humans adapt biologically and culturally to different environments, and how this adaptation has produced the biological variation seen in contemporary human populations. Major topics to be covered include human growth, nutritional variation, disease, and adaptations to climatic stresses such as heat, cold, high altitude and solar radiation.
362. Human Paleontology. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Anthropology 260 or two college biology courses and junior standing.
Human paleontology is a study of the fossil evidence for human evolution. This class will examine morphological diversity of extinct human taxa, to better understand the biological relationships, behaviors, and adaptations of our extinct relatives, and to gain a deeper understanding of when the characteristics defining modern humans emerged.
363. Interpreting the Human Skeleton. 3 hr. lec., 1 hr. lab.; 4 cr.
Prereq.: ANTH 260 or two college level biology courses, ANTH 272, ANTH 103, and junior standing.
An interdisciplinary approach to research on human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts, introducing students to widely accepted methods for reconstructing patterns of subsistence, diet, disease, demography, and physical activity based principally on the analysis of such remains.
368. Evolution and Human Behavior. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: 12 credits in Anthropology, including Anthropology 101 and 102.
This course focuses on two general areas of inquiry that link evolutionary theory with human behavior. The first is the use of behavioral and ecological data from nonhuman primates and modern humans, in concert with evidence from the fossil record, to reconstruct social and ecological evolution in hominins from ca. 5 million years ago to the present. The second is the use of evolutionary theory to elucidate modern human cognition and behavior. This course involves a critical examination of the theory behind these general areas of inquiry as well as the research findings themselves. This is a seminar course that involves reading and discussion of original research in a small classroom setting.
369. Primate Behavior and Ecology. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Anthropology 260 or 262 or two college biology courses and junior standing, or permission of the instructor.
Examination of the behavior and ecology of non-human primates — lemurs, lorises, galagos, tarsiers, monkeys and apes — from a biological and evolutionary perspective. Topics include feeding ecology, predation, socioecology, sexual selection, kin selection, altruism, dominance, life history, reproduction, mating behavior, reproductive strategies, cognition, social intelligence, and communication. The behavioral ecology of primates will also be compared to that of other mammals as a means of seeing how primates fit into their natural world.
370. Seminar in Biological Anthropology. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Twelve credits in anthropology, including at least one course numbered 260-279, and junior standing.
This is an advanced course focusing on a topic in biological anthropology that is not covered in one of the standing courses listed above. The specific topic will be announced in the course list published by the department prior to the beginning of each semester. The course may be repeated provided the topic is not the same.
375. The Human-Primate Interface. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Senior standing.
Exploration of the interface between humans and nonhuman primates from a multidisciplinary perspective. Topics include the behavioral biology and ecology of nonhuman primates; the contribution that nonhuman primates can make to the study of the evolution of social behavior and language in humans; the history of primatology as a science; gender issues in science and primatology; the cultural role of primates in societies past and present; the relationship between humans and animals from a philosophical perspective; and historical, economic, and ecological issues related to nonhuman primate conservation, commensalism, and human-wildlife conflict across the globe.
380. Seminar in Linguistic Anthropology. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: 12 credits in anthropology or linguistics, or by permission of instructor.
This is an advanced course focusing on a topic in linguistic anthropology that is not covered in one of the standing courses listed above. The specific topic will be announced in the course list published by the department prior to the beginning of each semester. The course may be repeated provided the topic is not the same.
388. (ANTH/LCD 388.) Voices of New York. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: 12 credits in anthropology or linguistics, or by permission of instructor.
Immigration has brought hundreds of languages to our city, but what happens to these languages and their speakers once they are here and in contact in New York? What effects do they have on the English spoken here? Is the traditional New York dialect dying out? Is it changing? How distinct is the English of Latinos? East Asian Americans? Africans? South Asians? Do people from different neighborhoods or boroughs speak differently? Which heritage languages are being maintained and which ones are disappearing? Why? How are immigrants’ languages changing? What are the effects of peer-culture such as Hip Hop, Skaters, Geeks, etc. on language? Voices of New York is a seminar for students to explore these questions by conducting their own original research. As they answer their questions, students will learn how to design, conduct, analyze, and present data and conclusions. They will thus gain valuable research skills, which can be applied in other classes as well as in academics, science, government service, and business.
390. Senior Honors Thesis. 3 hr.; 3 cr.
Prereq.: Major in anthropology, junior standing, at least 21 credits completed, a grade point average of 3.5 and departmental permission.
This is our Senior Honors Thesis course. To register for this course, a student must develop an Honors Thesis project and plan with a faculty advisor. Registration is subject to department approval.
395.1 – 395.6. Directed Studies in Anthropology. 1-6 hr.; 1-6 cr.
Prereq.: Anthropology major with at least 24 credits in anthropology and junior standing, or permission of instructor.
This course involves independent research under the supervision of a faculty advisor. It is often taken prior to Anth 390, during the first semester of a student’s Honors Thesis research. To register for this course, students must develop a project and plan in consultation with a faculty advisor. Registration is subject to department approval. No more than 6 credits of Anth 395 are allowed.
397.1 – 397.12. Directed Research in Anthropology. 1-12 hr.; 1-12 cr.
Prereq.: Anthropology major with at least 24 credits in anthropology and junior standing, or permission of instructor.
This course involves collaborative research with a faculty advisor. To register for this course, students must develop a plan in consultation with a faculty advisor. Registration is subject to department approval. No more than 12 credits of Anth 397 are allowed.