Reg. #20694
Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 12:00-12:50pm
190 Norton
Dr. Irene Ketonen-Keating
This class is a general introduction to the field of anthropology, the study of humanity. It is designed to pique your interest in the broad diversity of human behavior and lifestyles across the world and throughout time. This course will take a look at our four major subfields - archaeology, linguistic anthropology, physical anthropology, and cultural anthropology - and include discussions on our youngest subfield, applied anthropology.
APY 105LEC-A
Reg. #16034
Tuesday/Thursday 11:00-12:20
228 Natural Sciences Complex
Dr. Meghana Joshi
APY 105LEC-B
Reg.#23016
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 2:00-2:50
216 Natural Sciences Complex
Staff TBD
What is culture and how does it affect our understanding of the world and the ways we behave? How do cultural anthropologists approach the study of human societies and what methods do they use to do research? These are some of the questions that we will examine in this class. The course introduces students to ethnographic methods and theories of cultural anthropology. The aim is to enhance our knowledge of our own culture and of other cultures around the world. All majors are welcome.
APY 107LEC-A
Reg. #15726
Tuesday/Thursday 3:30-4:50pm
355 Academic Center
Dr. Stephen Lycett
APY 107LEC-B
Reg. #23017
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 1:00-1:50pm
355 Academic Center
Dr. Stephanie Poindexter
For centuries preceding modern times, our uniqueness as a species was taken as a sign of special creation; we were not seen to be a part of nature. But as knowledge of human evolution, our closeness to other primates, and our adaptations to specific environments emerged, we have taken our place in the animal kingdom. Here, we learn how those insights developed, and about current methods of understanding human origins and the natural forces that have shaped us.
APY 108LEC-A
Reg. #15727
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 11:00-11:50am
216 Natural Sciences Complex
Dr. Albert Fulton
APY 108LEC-B
Reg. #22536
Tuesday/Thursday 11:00am-12:20pm
112 O'Brian
Dr. Colin Quinn
Archaeology is the study of the human past through its material remains. So much evidence of human activity on earth exists outside the realm of written records that archaeology is of primary importance in reconstructing past human life ways. Bridging the gap between the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, archaeologists integrate many types of evidence in order to shed light on the origins of our species, Homo sapiens sapiens and development through time of so many different cultural manifestations. Introduction to Archaeology provides an overview of the methods, theories and models used by archaeologists to better understand past human societies, from the formulation of a research question, through the processes of survey and excavation, to the analysis of data, and the interpretation of the results.
Reg. #15798
Tuesday/Thursday, 12:30-1:50pm
97 Alumni
Dr. Kalliopi Nikolopoulou
In this course, we will investigate mythic and religious traditions of ancient Greece and Rome. Our study of myth and religion will, however, be comparative in emphasis. We will thus have a twofold goal: (1) to encounter the Greco-Roman traditions themselves and (2) through our comparative investigations, to attempt to identify the mythic and religious traditions which the Greeks and especially the more conservative Romans inherited from their Indo-European ancestors. We will also turn our full gaze upon comparative materials, but even as we are engaged in discovering the mythic and religious traditions of the ancient Indic, Iranian Celtic, Germanic and Hittite cultures, we will continue to encounter new materials and motifs from Greece and Rome.
Reg. #23024
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:00-9:50am
354 Academic Center
Dr. Edith Gonzalez
Historical archaeology studies material culture, in combination with written documents and oral history, to piece together a clearer and fuller understanding of culture and society. Students of this course will learn how to interpret artifacts and archival materials and how these can both conflict and complement one another in research of the past. The course is “New World” focused and students will analyze multiple data types and assess their usefulness in reconstructing historical change in the Americas and the Caribbean during the colonial age. Historical archaeology can contribute to our understanding of the history of identity - be it race, class, gender, or ethnicity - and how this history affects us today. The class will also evaluate the merit of pseudo-archaeological phenomena in television, film, and other media.
Reg. #23322
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10:00-10:50am
97 Alumni
Dr. Erin Chapman
Forensic anthropology is the application of biological anthropology and archaeological principles and techniques to legal investigations. This introductory course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the role of forensic anthropology in the criminal justice system, focusing on the search and recovery of human remains, estimating the biological profile of individuals, assisting with the identification of human remains and skeletal trauma analysis.
Through a combination of lectures and cases studies, students will explore topics such as skeletal biology, osteology, forensic archaeology, human variation, estimating biological parameters, taphonomy, and trauma analysis. The course will also cover the ethical and legal considerations associated with forensic anthropology. Students will explore the various subfields and agencies where forensic anthropologists are employed.
Reg. #18104
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 9:00-9:50am
109 O'Brian
Dr. Frederick Klaits
People in all societies experience illness, but their understandings of the causes of disease and approaches for restoring health differ greatly. This course examines the social and cultural dimensions of health, illness, and healing. Through a variety of case studies, we will learn about the ways medical anthropologists study explanations of disease, experiences of suffering, and the social organization of health care. Western medicine, also called “biomedicine,” will also be an object of our analysis. We will discuss how the delivery of biomedical health care involves particular understandings of the body and appropriate social relationships. Emphasis will also be placed on how the stories that individuals and institutions circulate about human agency in suffering shape people’s convictions about how to care, and for whom to care. The course aims to teach students to think about health, disease, and medicine in national, cross-cultural and global terms.
Reg. #23025
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 11:00-11:50am
354 Academic Center
Dr. Edith Gonzalez
Food, including food production, food preparation, and food consumption, is one of the central activities of human life, culture and society. This course examines the ways in which cultures around the world decide what to eat, how to procure it, prepare it, share it, and eat it, and how these processes are shaped by and reflect underlying cultural and social principles.
Reg. #23026
Tuesday/Thursday 9:30-10:50am
355 Academic Center
Dr. Meghana Joshi
In this class, we focus on how reproduction is shaped by cultural meanings while simultaneously entangled in historical, social, economic and political discussions. Course material includes an analysis of ethnographic fieldwork on topics such as the increasing medicalization of pregnancy and childbirth, the role of authoritative knowledge in creating ‘truths’ about reproduction, the diverse meanings and experiences of pregnancies, governance of reproductive populations, and importantly men’s position in, and their experiences of reproduction. Applying an anthropological perspective, we will learn more about “intimate” life processes in both local and cross-cultural contexts. Specific case studies include examples from North America, Europe and Latin America, and also South Asia.
Reg. #21503
Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 1:00-1:50pm
354 Academic Center
Dr. Albert Fulton
This course explores the impacts of climate and environmental variability on past human societies from an interdisciplinary perspective, as interpreted from the archaeological, historical, and paleoenvironmental records. Multiple case studies will be examined from the perspective of paired climate-environmental change as a key impetus for past human cultural innovation. Implications of past societal responses for present and future climate-change scenarios will also be discussed.
Reg. #23027
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10:00-10:50am
354 Academic Center
Dr. Stephanie Poindexter
In this course, students will learn about the behavior of living primates through an evolutionary and ecological lens. Through lectures, discussion, and student participation, we will uncover the evolutionary implications of the primate diversity we see today and what we can learn about ourselves by studying primates. Topics covered include cultural transmission, reproductive strategies, sexual selection, cooperation, and cognition.
Reg. #17383
Monday, 12:00-2:40pm
322 Clemens
Dr. Erin Chapman
Co-requisite: APY 346: Primate Dissections
This course focuses on studying the differences and similarities in the anatomy of living primates in order to understand the biological relationships of various primate species and the selective adaptations which led to differences in their anatomy. Knowledge of how living primates are adaptive to diverse environments is useful in interpreting the evolutionary history of primate species. By establishing behavioral and morphological correlates paleontologists may better understand how fossil primates may have utilized their environment. Basic to this course is the comparison of the gross anatomy of three closely related primates, e.g. monkeys, apes and humans.
Important Class Note
All students must register for APY 345 lecture and an APY 346 lab section. There are 2 sections of APY 346 offered during Spring 2025.
Students are required to register for 1 lab section (see below)
Location: Labs meet in Spaulding 155 at the times listed below:
LAB A Wednesday, 12:00-3:20pm (Reg.#15743)
LAB B Friday, 12:00-3:20pm (Reg.#15744)
Reg. #23028
Tuesday/Thursday 11:00am-12:20pm
240 Capen
Dr. Noreen von Cramon-Tauabdel
Modern humans are very unusual primates. We have low levels of genetic variation relative to other primates, yet are outwardly quite diverse in our external appearance. This diversity is structured geographically due to the fact that we live on almost every continent on earth. The history of population dispersals, migrations, gene flow, and natural selection have shaped our genetic and phenotypic variation. Here we will explore the empirical reality of modern human population genetic and phenotypic variation and set it in its evolutionary and historical context.
Reg. #21918
Tuesday/Thursday, 12:30-1:50pm
250 Baird
Dr. Stephen Guerra
Introduces the student to music from all over the world, and expands concepts of music in the process. Students learn about different instruments from other cultures and how they influence the music they produce, and explore common features of Asian, European, African, American, and Oceanic music. Students also learn different ways of listening. Designed for non-majors. Requires no musical background. This course is the same as MUS 364 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.
Reg. #23029
Tuesady/Thursday, 11:00am-12:20pm
354 Academic Center
Dr. Ana Mariella Bacigalupo
This course will focus on the spiritual and healing traditions of Native South American people and why this is a central component of our contemporary experience. We will examine the images, forms, and meanings that are common to the spiritual and healing experience of many Native South Americans: concepts of order, time, space, power, destruction, and renewal that allow us to group them together despite their geographical and sociopolitical diversity. We will also analyze some specific ethnographic examples of their manifestation through funerary cannibalism; shamanism; sorcery; animal spirits and metaphors; the use of tobacco, narcotics, and hallucinogens; rituals for healing, fertility, and collective well-being; and the process of syncretism. We will relate each one of these phenomena to the legacy of colonialism, state power, environmental destruction, indigenous activism, and global communities. Classes will consist of lectures, films, and discussions. Students will also create stories and perform myths using the world view, logic, and aesthetic forms of Native South American people.
Reg. #20514
Tuesday/Thursday, 8:00-9:20am
354 Academic Center
Dr. Vasiliki Neofotistos
This course reviews the history of sociocultural anthropology from the late 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century through engagement with major theoretical works that shaped the discipline. We will move chronologically and topically and pay attention to the historical conditions under which anthropological theories emerged. In the process, we will examine how major issues and debates unfolded over time and consider how different personalities, national traditions, and ideologies contributed to the making of the anthropological discipline. Throughout the course, students will learn to apply major theoretical concepts towards an examination of sociocultural problems from the past and the present.
Reg. #23030
Tuesday/Thursday, 2:00-3:20pm
354 Academic Center
Dr. Lacey Carpenter
Today, over half the world's population lives in cities, and that number is predicted to grow in the coming years. Cities have independent origins in many different cultural, social, economic, political, and environmental contexts. In this course, we will compare archaeological case studies from around the world to better understand the range of ways that people have built, maintained, and lived in urban environments throughout human history. We will also discuss how the archaeological study of cities from different cultural contexts can contribute to our understanding of cities today including topics such as sustainability, migration, and housing.
Reg. #23032
Tuesday/Thursday, 3:30-4:50pm
354 Academic Center
Dr. Colin Quinn
Topic - Stuff: Materiality and Inequality
This course on the archaeology of inequality examines the relationship between material culture and systemic inequality. The rampant wealth disparities in the modern world prompt anthropological archaeologists to ask whether inequality is an inescapable component of all societies. Drawing upon the strengths of archaeology – long-term perspectives and the material record – this course traces the development of, and interplay between, material culture and social hierarchy. We will explore a wide range of topics, such as how elites justify their monopolization of power and resources, alternatives to hierarchy in large-scale communities, differential authorities that are not reliant upon accumulation of material wealth, and the role of ritual in negotiating (in)equities. Students will learn different techniques that archaeologists use to identify, quantify, and understand inequalities in past societies.