ANTH Courses for Fall 2026
Please click on the course title for more information.
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ANTH 101 01 - Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology
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Course: |
ANTH 101 - 01 |
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Title: |
Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
A comparative approach to the concept of culture and an analysis of how culture structures the worlds we live in. The course examines human societies from their tribal beginnings to the postindustrial age. We will consider the development of various types of social organization and their significance based on family and kinship, economics, politics, and religion. |
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Prerequisite(s): |
None. |
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Notes: |
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Distribution(s): |
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Instructors: |
Aalyia Sadruddin |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Pendleton East 127 Case Method Room - TF 11:20 AM - 12:35 PM |
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ANTH 103 01 - Introduction to Archaeology
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Course: |
ANTH 103 - 01 |
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Title: |
Introduction to Archaeology |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
A survey of the development of archaeology. The methods and techniques of archaeology are presented through an analysis of excavations, non-invasive surveys, and recovered artifacts. Case studies span the globe with special emphasis give to projects based in the Mediterranean and New England. Students are introduced to techniques for reconstructing the past from material remains. The course includes a field trip to a neighboring archaeological site. |
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Prerequisite(s): |
None |
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Notes: |
Wendy Judge Paulson '69 Ecology of Place Living Laboratory course. This course does not satisfy the Natural and Physical Sciences Laboratory requirement. |
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Distribution(s): |
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Cross Listed Courses: |
CLCV 103 01 - Introduction to Archaeology
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Instructors: |
Bryan Burns |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Founders 120 Lecture Hall - TF 12:45 PM - 2:00 PM |
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ANTH 205 01 - Anthropology Methods and Project Design
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Course: |
ANTH 205 - 01 |
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Title: |
Anthropology Methods and Project Design |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
This course is intended to provide a theoretical framework as to how anthropologists construct questions, design research strategies, and produce anthropological knowledge. Students will discuss and explore major framing questions for anthropological methods while pursuing an independent project of their choice. Working with a faculty advisor, students will engage in independent research, while using the class as a workshop and discussion environment to refine their project. Students will be exposed to issues of positionality, ethical obligations in research, mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, and writing for specific audiences. This course is required of all anthropology majors and will provide a bridge between introductory and advanced courses. |
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Prerequisite(s): |
ANTH 101, or permission of the instructor. |
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Notes: |
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Distribution(s): |
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Instructors: |
Justin Armstrong |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Margaret Clapp Library 379 Seminar Room - MR 9:55 AM - 11:10 AM |
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ANTH 209 01 - Forensic Anthropology
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Course: |
ANTH 209 - 01 |
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Title: |
Forensic Anthropology |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
The identification of human remains for criminological and political purposes is widespread. This course explores issues in the identification and interpretation of human bones including methods for determining sex, age, stature, and ancestry as well as for identifying pathologies and anomalies. The course will pay particular attention to those anatomical elements, both soft tissue and bones, that aid in the reconstruction of individuals and their life history. In addition, the course explores search and recovery techniques, crime-scene analysis, the use of DNA in solving crimes, and the role of forensic anthropology in the investigation of mass fatalities from both accidents and human rights violations. |
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Prerequisite(s): |
None |
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Notes: |
Does not fulfill the laboratory requirement. |
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Distribution(s): |
Natural and Physical Sciences |
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Instructors: |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Pendleton East 239 Amphitheater Classroom - TF 11:20 AM - 12:35 PM |
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ANTH 220 01 - Epidemics and Pandemics: Biopolitics, and disparities in historical and cultural perspective
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Course: |
ANTH 220 - 01 |
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Title: |
Epidemics and Pandemics: Biopolitics, and disparities in historical and cultural perspective |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
The course will examine epidemics and pandemics and how they shape society and culture. It will explore catastrophic disease events such as the 4th century BC Ancient Greek plague, the Black Death of Medieval Europe, the European infectious diseases that killed native populations of the Americas, the Spanish flu of 1918, the AIDS/HIV epidemic in the late 20th century, and the present-day coronavirus pandemic. Key questions that will guide the course are: 1. Who holds the bio-political power to guide the population through the danger of widespread morbidity, and how is this power used and/or abused? 2. What kind of socioeconomic, gender, ethnic ,and racial disparities are perpetuated and constructed in times of disease? 3. How do individual political entities cooperate and coordinate in their efforts to curtail disease? 4. How is the rhetoric of “war” employed to describe epidemic and pandemic diseases? 5. What are the effects of actual war, violence, and genocide that often follow epidemics? 6. What are the uses and the limitations of international public health organizations in addressing pandemics? |
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Prerequisite(s): |
None |
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Notes: |
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Distribution(s): |
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Cross Listed Courses: |
PEAC 220 01 - Epidemics and Pandemics: Biopolitics, and disparities in historical and cultural perspective
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Instructors: |
Anastasia Karakasidou |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Pendleton East 139 Case Method Room - M 6:30 PM - 9:10 PM |
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ANTH 236 01 - Divine Madness: Dreams, Visions, Hallucinations
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Course: |
ANTH 236 - 01 |
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Title: |
Divine Madness: Dreams, Visions, Hallucinations |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
This course explores anthropological, religious, and psychiatric perspectives on mental health and mental illness, with careful attention to varied constructions of "madness", treatment, and healing across human cultures. We begin with comparative questions: are there universal standards of positive mental and emotional functioning? Are there overall commonalities in approaches to psychic and emotional disturbances? What is the role of spirituality? After considering the history of ‘madness’ in the West, we consider early anthropological and religious models of "madness" elsewhere. We next turn to ritualized therapeutic interventions in small-scale indigenous societies and consider a range of case studies from around the world. We conclude with a unit on culture and mental health in the United States and the ‘globalization” of American models of the psyche |
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Prerequisite(s): |
None. |
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Notes: |
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Distribution(s): |
Religion, Ethics, and Moral Philosophy
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Cross Listed Courses: |
REL 236 01 - Divine Madness: Dreams, Visions, Hallucinations
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Instructors: |
Holly Lynn Walters |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Pendleton East 339 Case Method Room - TF 9:55 AM - 11:10 AM |
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ANTH 254 01 - The Biology of Human Difference
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Course: |
ANTH 254 - 01 |
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Title: |
The Biology of Human Difference |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
How do we account for the many similarities and differences within and between human populations? Axes of human “difference”– sex, gender, race, class, sexuality, nationality – have profound consequences. These differences shape not only group affiliation and identity but have been shaped by colonial and national histories. They shape social structures such as socioeconomic status, professions, work mobility, as well as stereotypes about personal traits and behaviors. The biological sciences have been very important in the history of differences. Scientists have contributed to bolster claims that differences are determined by our biology – such as research on sex and racial differences, notions of the “gay” gene, math abilities, spatial ability etc. Conversely, scientists have also contributed to critiquing claims of difference – challenging the idea that sex, gender, race, sexuality are innate, and immutable. How do we weigh these claims and counterclaims? We will begin with a historical overview of biological studies on “difference” to trace the differing understandings of the “body” and the relationship of the body with identity, behavior and intellectual and social capacity. We will then examine contemporary knowledge on differences of sex, gender, race, class, and sexuality. Using literature from biology, anthropology, feminist studies, history and science studies, we will examine the biological and cultural contexts for our understanding of “difference.” How do we come to describe the human body as we do? What is good data? How do we “know” what we know? The course will give students the tools to analyze scientific studies, to understand the relationship of nature and culture, science and society, biology and politics. |
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Prerequisite(s): |
None. |
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Notes: |
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Distribution(s): |
Natural and Physical Sciences
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Cross Listed Courses: |
WGST 254 01 - The Biology of Human Difference
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Instructors: |
Banu Subramaniam |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Science Center Hub 103 Classroom - T 9:55 AM - 12:35 PM |
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ANTH 301 01 - Advanced Theory in Anthropology
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Course: |
ANTH 301 - 01 |
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Title: |
Advanced Theory in Anthropology |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
This course traces a series of conversations in theory and method in anthropology from a broadly thematic perspective. It provides students with a foundation for situating contemporary anthropology and its many theoretical approaches and debates by tracing the field's historical development. It examines the social context in which various "paradigms" took hold and the extent that they gained traction, were critiqued and discredited, or were reconfigured and reinvigorated. We will explore the development of contemporary theory as internal to the discipline and as a response to changing intellectual climates and social milieus. Our discussions will be aimed at identifying both shifts and continuities in the thematic foci, methodological stance, and guiding concerns of the discipline. |
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Prerequisite(s): |
ANTH 101 and at least one 200 level ANTH course, or permission of the instructor. |
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Notes: |
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Distribution(s): |
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Instructors: |
Susan Ellison |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Pendleton East 430 Seminar Room - R 2:20 PM - 5:00 PM |
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ANTH 333 01 - Seminar: Taking, Keeping, Giving: Anthropologies of Exchange
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Course: |
ANTH 333 - 01 |
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Title: |
Seminar: Taking, Keeping, Giving: Anthropologies of Exchange |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
From giant, immovable stone currency on the Pacific island of Yap to accumulating 'likes' on social media, we occupy a world of exchange where our everyday lives are mediated through the transfer of objects, ideas, and various forms of capital. This seminar examines the cross-cultural understanding of exchange from an anthropological perspective with particular attention paid to gift-giving, social and cultural capital, money, and the transmission of knowledge across space and time. Drawing on the work of Malinowski, Bourdieu, Marx, Mauss, Derrida and many other anthropologists and philosophers, we will unpack the hidden dimensions of taking, keeping and giving as key elements of culture. |
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Prerequisite(s): |
ANTH 101, or permission of the instructor. |
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Notes: |
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Distribution(s): |
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Instructors: |
Justin Armstrong |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Margaret Clapp Library 379 Seminar Room - MR 11:20 AM - 12:35 PM |
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ANTH 344 01 - Care in a Frantic World
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Course: |
ANTH 344 - 01 |
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Title: |
Care in a Frantic World |
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Credit Hours: |
1 |
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Description: |
In this seminar, we engage with key scholarship in medical anthropology to explore the moral, gendered, bureaucratic, and technological complexities of care. Through readings, discussions, and assignments from diverse settings, we challenge simplistic views that reduce care to a warm and fuzzy practice. As we will discover, care often entails darker dimensions: it can be violent, isolating, and painful. Rather than offering a one-sided perspective, our materials invite us to critically examine what it means to care in a world that is becoming increasingly frantic. |
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Prerequisite(s): |
ANTH 101 or WGST 120 or permission of instructor. |
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Notes: |
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Distribution(s): |
Social and Behavioral Analysis |
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Cross Listed Courses: |
WGST 344 01 - Care in a Frantic World
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Instructors: |
Aalyia Sadruddin |
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Meeting Time(s): |
Pendleton East 349 Seminar Room - TF 12:45 PM - 2:00 PM |
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