*Anthropology 92xr (formerly Anthropology 92r). Research Methods in Museum Collections
Catalog Number: 9029
Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor)
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Special (individual) study of Peabody Museum collections directly supervised by a faculty member and a member of the curatorial staff. Requires a project involving a museum collection and developed in consultation with the supervisors.
Note: Must be taken for a letter grade. Priority given to students in Anthropology and related departments. To enroll, submit a petition form (available on the Anthropology [Archaeology] website), signed by both supervisors and the Head Tutor for Archaeology and including a proposed research agenda, during the term preceding the term of enrollment. See the Head Tutor for Archaeology or members of the Peabody Museum curatorial staff for more information.
*Anthropology 97x. Sophomore Tutorial in Archaeology
Catalog Number: 0400
Jason A. Ur
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
This course will focus on archaeological thinking, the cognitive skeleton of the discipline of archaeology, the principles and the logic that are the foundation of all archaeological conclusions and research. Central to this is an understanding of research design, archaeological theory and interpretation, culture and material culture; as well as an understanding of how to examine and construct an archaeological argument.
Note: Required of all concentrators in Archaeology.
*Anthropology 98xa. Junior Tutorial in Archaeology
Catalog Number: 2959
Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor)
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3.
The junior tutorial provides a background in archaeological method and theory through critical analysis of selected issues and debates particularly focusing on more complex societies. Specific topics include the origins of agriculture and the domestication of animals, the development of complexity and “civilization," post-colonial and historical archaeology, and related ethical and theoretical issues. Weekly readings (drawn from current journal literature), discussions, several short writing assignments.
Note: Required of all concentrators in Archaeology.
*Anthropology 98xb. Junior Tutorial in Archaeology
Catalog Number: 3568
Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This individual tutorial for archaeology students intending to write a senior thesis is normally undertaken with a member of the faculty during the second term of junior year. To enroll, a student must submit a petition form (available from the Anthropology Undergraduate Office, William James 352, or downloadable from the department’s website) with a proposed course plan of study and the tutorial adviser’s signature.
Note: Required of candidates for honors in Archaeology.
*Anthropology 99x (formerly Anthropology 99). Tutorial - Senior Year
Catalog Number: 6656
Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor)
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
Research and writing of the Senior Thesis. Limited to honors candidates. Signature of the faculty adviser required.
[*Anthropology 1020. Archaeology, Politics and Society in South Asia: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 5150 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor)
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30-1.
Focuses on controversies in the interpretation of archaeological remains from northwestern South Asia. Readings in the primary, interpretative, and popular literature and from the press and Internet form the foundation for discussion of such topics as: agricultural origins, the Indus Civilization and its relations to later cultures, the Aryan invasion theory, and the Ayodhya affair. The nature and use of archaeological evidence, logic of academic versus popular discourse, and role of belief form underlying themes.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. May not be taken pass/fail. No auditors permitted. Given in alternate years.
Anthropology 1040. Origins of the Food We Eat
Catalog Number: 1837
Ofer Bar-Yosef and Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor)
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F), at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
Focuses on arguably the most significant transition in the human past, namely, that from hunting-gathering to agriculture and pastoralism. Covers the emergence of cultivation, adoption of plant foods, and domestication of animals in key regions of Asia and Latin America. Considers the spread of foods across the world during pre- and early history and beginning ca 1500 AD. Discusses the contributions of archaeology, climatology, botany, zoology, genetics, and linguistics to these topics.
Note: Given in alternate years.
[Anthropology 1045. Ancient Settlement Systems: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 8978
Jason A. Ur
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Approaches to spatial patterning in human societies, including the structure of settlements and the regional distribution of populations. The seminar will consider how variation in settlement and settlement systems can be related to factors such as environment, economy, and social and political organization. Case studies will be drawn from a range of New and Old World societies of varying scales of sociopolitical complexity.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 1060. Archaeological Science
Catalog Number: 2013
Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor)
Half course (spring term). M., 7-10 pm. EXAM GROUP: 9
Focus on physical science and engineering methods and techniques used by archaeologists in the reconstruction of time, space, and human paleoecology, and analysis of archaeological materials. Topics include 14C dating, ice core and palynological analysis, stable isotope chemistry of paleodietary foodwebs, soil micromorphology and site formation, Pb isotope sourcing of metal artifacts, and microstructural and mechanical analyses of cementitious materials used in ancient monumental buildings.
Note: Meets at MIT.
Prerequisite: One year of college-level chemistry or physics.
Anthropology 1065. The Ancient Near East - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 28632
C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
From the earliest urban and literate civilizations to the formation of empire we shall review the political, economic, and religious beliefs of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians. These early civilizations will then be discussed in the context of the first internationalism that brought them into contact with their near and distant neighbors from eastern Europe to Central Asia, Africa, and South Asia.
Anthropology 1080. North American Archaeology: Lost Tribes and Ancient Capitals of North America
Catalog Number: 5190
Matthew Joseph Liebmann
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Archaeology and culture history of Native North America, from the first appearance of humans over 12,000 years ago to the arrival of Europeans. Topics include intellectual and scientific contexts of the discipline’s development; theories and debates over the arrival of modern humans in the New World; adaptations to changing Holocene environmental conditions; trends in cultural evolution on a continental scale; the development of agriculture and emergence of complexity; dynamic contact period interactions; and current political debates and ethical issues relating to the archaeology of North America.
[Anthropology 1085. Six Great Discoveries in New World Archaeology]
Catalog Number: 2318
Jeffrey Quilter
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30.
The class will use six important archaeological sites as case studies by which to understand prehistory in the Ancient Americas and to learn of changing approaches to studying the past. From three major culture regions, two sites important for specialists and a wider audience will be examined in depth. They are North America: Cahokia and Chaco Canyon; Mesoamerica: Teotihuacan and Copan; Central Andes: Moche Huacas and Cuzco-Machu Picchu.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Class designed primarily for undergraduates with no previous experience in archaeology but it may also be taken by graduate students.
Anthropology 1090. Ethnography and Archaeology
Catalog Number: 8716
Gary Urton
Half course (fall term). W., 7–9:30 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 9
Archaeologists often draw on ethnographic studies of Western and non-Western societies as sources of explanation for ancient cultural practices. But the questions remain: How valid is the use of ethnographic analogy in the study of the past? What assumptions do archaeologists make about past social processes in their uses of ethnographic studies? These are some of the questions addressed in this course.
[Anthropology 1120. Comparative Analysis of Ancient Civilizations]
Catalog Number: 7474
C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An analysis of the similarities and differences in the emergence of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Central Asia, and the Indus Valley. Economic, political, and religious systems are compared as are technology and demography.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
Anthropology 1125. The Moche of Ancient Peru: Politics, Economy, Religion and Art
Catalog Number: 0593
Jeffrey Quilter
Half course (spring term). M., W., 1–2:30. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
This course will be a focused examination of the ancient Moche (ca. C.E. 100-800) of the north coast of Peru with particular attention paid to the nature of Moche political economy and its religious-ceremonial-artistic manifestations.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the General Education requirement for Societies of the World or the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts B.
This course fulfills the requirement that one of the eight General Education courses also engages substantially with Study of the Past.
Anthropology 1130. Archaeology of Harvard Yard
Catalog Number: 1634
William L. Fash, Patricia Capone, Christina Jayne Hodge, and Diana Loren
Half course (fall term). Th., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
Archaeological data recovered from Harvard Yard provide a richer and more nuanced view of the 17th through 19th century lives of students and faculty in Harvard Yard, an area that includes the Old College and Harvard Indian College. Students will excavate in Harvard Yard and process and analyze artifacts and report on the results. Additional topics to be covered include regional historical archaeology, research design, surveying, archival research, stratigraphy, and artifact analysis.
Anthropology 1131. Archaeology of Harvard Yard II: Laboratory Methods and Analysis
Catalog Number: 0655
William L. Fash, Patricia Capone, Christina Jayne Hodge, and Diana Loren
Half course (spring term). Th., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16, 17
Open to students who participated in the fall term investigations in Harvard Yard, this course focuses on the detailed analysis of the materials recovered in the excavations, within the context of archival and comparative archaeological and historical research. The analysis will also include an evaluation of the results of the ground-penetrating radar surveys conducted prior to the excavations, as part of the research design for the next season of investigations of the Indian College site.
Prerequisite: Anthropology 1130, Archaeology of Harvard Yard.
[*Anthropology 1140. Human Modification of the Landscape]
Catalog Number: 5898
Noreen Tuross
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Northern New England provides the archaeologist and environmental scientist with a natural experiment in land clearing that was caused by the agricultural practices of humans and the subsequent reforestation of the ecosystem. This course will concentrate on laboratory methods usable onsite to uncover evidence of past land use and change. The following approaches will be explored in the context of a historic farm site and a historic tannery: inorganic and organic element and compound distributions in soil, pollen and phytolith analysis, isotopic distribution in flora, and an introduction to mobile molecular biology.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12. This course has a 10-day residential component prior to the start of the term.
Anthropology 1150. Ancient Landscapes
Catalog Number: 4736
Jason A. Ur
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–6. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
Archaeological approaches to settlement and land use at the regional scale. Issues will include settlement systems, agricultural and pastoral systems, the role of humans environmental change, and also the methods used to investigate them.
[Anthropology 1155. Before Baghdad: Cities of Ancient Mesopotamia]
Catalog Number: 8450
Jason A. Ur
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 10.
The world’s first cities emerged in Mesopotamia and were the defining characteristic of ancient civilizations in what is today Iraq, Syria and Turkey. They were inhabited by large populations, powerful kings, and the gods themselves. The course will consider the origins, ecology, spacial arrangement, socioeconomic religious organization, religious institutions, and collapse of cities from Gilgamesh to Saddam. Through archaeology and ancient texts, students will become familiar with cities such as Uruk, Babylon, Nineveh, and Baghdah.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 1160. Introduction to the Yucatec Maya Language
Catalog Number: 4772
Marc U. Zender
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
An intensive introduction to the grammar, vocabulary and historical development of the Yucatec Maya language, still spoken by millions of speakers in Mexico and Belize, and with an extensive philological tradition stretching back to the early seventeenth century.
[Anthropology 1161. Classic Mayan Language, Literature and Society]
Catalog Number: 3617
Marc U. Zender
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 11.
This course surveys the language, writing and literary culture of the late Classic Maya (AD 600-900) of Central America. Following an intensive introduction to the grammar and vocabulary of the Classic Mayan script, we chart its historical development and genetic relationships with other Mayan languages. These comparisons allow a sociolinguistic appreciation of the significance of ancient language variation, and also facilitate deeper understandings of the historical, ritual and religious themes most central to Classic Mayan literature.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
[Anthropology 1162. Introduction to Classical Nahuatl]
Catalog Number: 9419
Marc U. Zender
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An intensive introduction to the grammar, vocabulary and historical significance of Classical Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire, and precursor to numerous varieties of the language still spoken in Modern Mexico. We will also study Aztec hieroglyphic writing and the extensive philological sources for Nahuatl, some dating back to the early 15th century.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 1165. Digging the Glyphs: Adventures in Decipherment
Catalog Number: 9906
Marc U. Zender
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 1. EXAM GROUP: 15
Focuses on the method and theory of archaeological decipherment. Major decipherments are studied in-depth (Egyptian hieroglyphs, the cuneiform scripts, Linear B, Maya and Aztec glyphs), as are various undeciphered scripts (Linear A, Isthmian and Rongorongo) and a number of deciphered systems encoding extinct languages (Etruscan, Meroitic and Sumerian). Other topics include the origins, development, and sociopolitical uses of writing in the ancient world.
[Anthropology 1174. The Incas]
Catalog Number: 5311
Gary Urton
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An introduction to the archaeology of the Incas beginning with an overview of pre-Inca civilizations of Andean South America. Attempts to understand how the Inca integrated the varied peoples and resources of the Andes into a unified empire. Ends with an overview of the destruction and transformation of Inca society and culture under Spanish colonialism. Studies Inka materials in the Peabody Museum collection.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[Anthropology 1175. The Archaeology of Ethnicity]
Catalog Number: 1022
Gary Urton
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Ethnic identity and conflict are among the most powerful processes and relations shaping the world we live in today. Questions addressed include: What can we understand about ethnic identity and relations in the prehistoric world on the basis of the archaeological record? For example, how might differences in material culture represent and reflect markers of ethnic identity? The Peabody Museum collections will provide materials for study and analysis.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 1177. South American Archaeology
Catalog Number: 6996
Gary Urton
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 1–2:30. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Provides an overview of Pre-Columbian civilizations on the continent of South America from the earliest record of human habitation to the time of the European invasion, in the sixteenth century. Focuses on the archaeology of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, the Andes, and the Pacific coast of Peru and Chile. Extensive use will be made of the South American collections in the Peabody Museum.
[Anthropology 1190. Encountering the Conquistadors]
Catalog Number: 9956
Matthew Joseph Liebmann
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This course examines the effects of the Spanish Conquest on indigenous peoples of the Americas between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, providing an introduction to the archaeology of first encounters in the Caribbean, Southeast and Southwest US, Central Mexico, highland and lowland Mesoamerica, the Amazon basin, and in the Andes. Topics addressed include the roles of disease, indigenous politics, native rebellions, and ecological change in the colonization of the ’New’ World.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[Anthropology 1210. The Archaeology of Ancient China]
Catalog Number: 1793
Rowan K. Flad
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A survey of the archaeology of China from the origins of humans during the Palaeolithic into the Bronze Age (ca. 220 BCE), with an emphasis on the origins of agriculture and the emergence of complex society during the late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. We survey important archaeological finds from these periods and examine relevant issues in anthropological archaeology. Sections will involve the discussion and use of materials from the Peabody and Sackler Museums.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[Anthropology 1220. The Record of the Material Culture: Lithics, Pottery, Metallurgy]
Catalog Number: 4504
Rowan K. Flad, Ofer Bar-Yosef, and C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Discussions and presentations of archaeological finds (stone, bone and wooden tools, hearths, site spatial organization, etc.) from the earliest Stone Age some 2.5 million years ago through the transition through Neolithic farming and herding communities to complex polities.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 2010ar. Materials in Ancient Societies: Metal
Catalog Number: 7163
C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar-laboratory subject provides in-depth study of the technologies of ancient societies.
Note: Open to senior undergraduates with permission of instructor.
Anthropology 2010br. Materials in Ancient Societies: Metal
Catalog Number: 1753
C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
This seminar-laboratory subject provides in-depth study of the technologies of ancient societies.
Note: Anthropology 2010ar is commonly taken before Anthropology 2010br.
[*Anthropology 2020 (formerly Anthropology 1065). GIS and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology]
Catalog Number: 3729 Enrollment: Limited to 8.
Jason A. Ur
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
An introduction to the GIS and remote sensing methods used by archaeologists to document and analyze datasets at the regional scale. This class will involve the hands-on use of maps, aerial photography, satellite imagery, digital terrain models and GPS-based observations to frame and approach archaeological research questions. Labs will use sample datasets from a variety of regions but students will be responsible for assembling a GIS database for their own region of interest.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[Anthropology 2065. Complex Societies of Northern Mesopotamia]
Catalog Number: 6426
Jason A. Ur
Half course (spring term). M., 3–5.
This seminar will investigate themes in recent research on complex societies of northern Mesopotamia from the end of the fifth to the middle of the first millennium BC.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
*Anthropology 2070a. Archaeological Method and Theory: Seminar
Catalog Number: 4634
Matthew Joseph Liebmann
Half course (spring term). M., 2–5. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8, 9
The class covers archaeological method and theory emphasizing the 1950s onwards. Large-scale trends in social theory will be balanced with attention to the ideas and writings of significant anthropologists and archaeologists.
Note: Required of graduate students in the Archaeology Program of Anthropology; This class is designed for graduate students but enthusiastic and energetic undergraduates are most welcome.
Anthropology 2070b. Case Studies and Research Proposal Preparation
Catalog Number: 4238
Noreen Tuross
Half course (fall term). M., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Seminar for graduate students that will focus on grant and paper writing, and will also include selected case studies.
Note: Anthropology 2070a is commonly taken before Anthropology 2070b, but is not a prerequisite. Required of students in the Archaeology Program of Anthropology; open to other graduate students and advanced undergraduates with permission of instructor.
[Anthropology 2091r. Issues in Chinese Archaeology]
Catalog Number: 4232
Rowan K. Flad
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A close reading of archaeological site reports and secondary literature related to topics in Chinese Archaeology, with a focus on complex societies.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
Prerequisite: Adequate reading knowledge of Chinese required.
[Anthropology 2092. Early China: Archaeology and Texts]
Catalog Number: 9379
Rowan K. Flad and Michael J. Puett
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A comprehensive introduction to Bronze Age China focusing on both archaeological discoveries from the second and first millennia and textual material including oracle bones, bronze inscriptions, excavated texts, and traditional accounts.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Advanced undergraduates welcome.
[Anthropology 2110r (formerly Anthropology 211r). Issues in Mesoamerican Archaeology: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 7276
William L. Fash
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–6.
Considers current topics and debates in the archaeology of Mesoamerica, with special emphasis on ancient Maya civilizations. Readings and discussions focus on aspects of social process, political history, and their interplay with ritual and ideology.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
[Anthropology 2175. The Inca Quipu]
Catalog Number: 0329
Gary Urton
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3.
An examination of the principal Inca record-keeping device. Read studies on quipu record keeping from Pre-Columbian through early colonial times, and study the quipus in the Peabody Museum.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[Anthropology 2210. Archaeology and the Ancient Economy]
Catalog Number: 3586
C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Numerous theories are advanced for the structure of the ancient economy. Different perspectives on the nature of trade, the market, reciprocity-redistribution, etc. will be reviewed. An evolutionary and global perspective will be pursued from the Neolithic to the Iron Age.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Open to undergraduates.
[Anthropology 2240. Archaeology of Production: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 8589
Rowan K. Flad
Half course (spring term). M., 2–5.
An exploration of production in archaeological contexts. Topics include specialization, craft production, production and power, the practice/performance of production, production and gender, ritualized production, and the production of memory.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
Anthropology 2250a. Proseminar in Archaeology - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 79363
Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor) and Ofer Bar-Yosef
Half course (fall term). W., 3–6. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
This graduate seminar reviews critical issues in archaeological approaches to small-scale societies, including methods and interpretations relating to the study of mobility, sedentism, seasonality, plant and animal exploitation, and migration.
Anthropology 2250b. Proseminar in Archaeology - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 64588
C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, Jeffrey Quilter, and Gary Urton
Half course (spring term). W., 3–6. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
This graduate seminar reviews critical issues in archaeological approaches to the study of complex societies, including writing, trade, craft specialization, technology, landscape, urbanism, and political organization.
[Anthropology 2360r (formerly Anthropology 206r). Topics in Paleolithic Archaeology and Paleoanthropology]
Catalog Number: 8630
Ofer Bar-Yosef
Half course (spring term). F., 1–3.
Selected topics in Old World paleoanthropology. Topics include Homo erectus and modern human dispersions, Eurasian colonization, survival strategies of the Neanderthals and their demise, radiometric techniques, transition to Upper Paleolithic, strategies of past foragers.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
Anthropology 92zr (formerly Anthropology 92r). Research Methods in Museum Collections
Catalog Number: 4742
Mary M. Steedly
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Special (individual) study of Peabody Museum collections directly supervised by a faculty member and a member of the curatorial staff. Requires a project involving a Harvard Museum collection, developed in consultation with the supervisors.
Note: Must be taken for a letter grade. Priority given to students in Anthropology and related departments. To enroll, submit a petition form (available from the Undergraduate Office, William James 352), signed by both supervisors, a proposed research agenda, during the term preceding the term of enrollment. Information sheets with Museum contacts available in William James 352.
Anthropology 97z. Sophomore Tutorial in Social Anthropology
Catalog Number: 5832
Smita Lahiri
Half course (spring term). M., 1–2:30. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
The sophomore tutorial provides an in-depth exploration and critique of major theoretical approaches in social and cultural anthropology, the historical context of their emergence, and their contribution and relation to the discipline as a whole. Seminar members will have a chance to read and discuss selected works by key theorists, and to see how their ideas have shaped ethnographic description and analysis.
Note: Required of all concentrators.
Anthropology 98z. Junior Tutorial in Social Anthropology
Catalog Number: 4503
Mary M. Steedly
Half course (fall term). Hours to be announced.
Junior tutorials in Social Anthropology explore critical theoretical issues related to a single ethnographic region (eg. South Asia, Africa, Latin America). The issues and areas change from year to year, but the purpose remains the same: to give students a chance to grapple with advanced readings and to experience the ways that ideas and theories can be applied and critically analyzed in ethnographic studies.
Anthropology 99z (formerly Anthropology 99). Tutorial - Senior Year
Catalog Number: 0787
Smita Lahiri
Full course. Tu., 6–8 p.m.
Research and writing of the Senior Thesis. Limited to honors candidates. Signature of the faculty adviser required.
*Anthropology 1610. Ethnographic Research Methods
Catalog Number: 2622 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
Sharon Alane Abramowitz
Half course (spring term). M., W., 3–4:30. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Introduction to methodology for contemporary ethnographic field research in anthropology. Students complete assigned and independent research projects relying on a variety of ethnographic methods, under supervision of department faculty.
Note: Open to undergraduates only. Preference given to anthropology concentrators.
Anthropology 1616. African Intersections: Contemporary Problems in the Anthropology of Africa - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 72781 Enrollment: Unlimited.
Sharon Alane Abramowitz
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
Examines contemporary problems in the anthropological study of Africa, including: governance, globalization, human rights, colonialism and post-colonial political economies, gender, witchcraft, religion, and medical systems, wars and conflicts, urbanization, environmental changes, and transnational migrations of persons and cultures. As we move through the course, students concern themselves with issues of tradition and modernity, mobility, globalization, subaltern status, cultural relativism, and issues of representation. Students are expected to complete assigned readings, assignments, and research projects.
Note: Open to undergraduates and graduates.
Anthropology 1624. Contemporary Themes in the Anthropology of Politics - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 72117
Asad A. Ahmed
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 14
Given the recent emphasis on procedural democracy and freedom as universal norms for political life, how are we to understand other political arrangements and values? Are they inferior or inadequate political forms that reflect the inability of other cultures and societies? Or do they contain possibilities for other styles of political engagement? This course will explore the political through anthropological theory and ethnographic engagements. Themes include: the state, democracy, civil society and citizenship amongst others.
[Anthropology 1628. Governing India: The Raj]
Catalog Number: 9501 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
Asad A. Ahmed
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4.
Is the Raj only a fading memory or does its legacy continue to inform the political and social trajectories of contemporary South Asia? This course will explore the ways through which the colonial regime produced knowledge about Indian society and the political and social institutions that were developed to govern India. We therefore investigate colonial interventions in architecture and the army, the institutions of law and order, environment and hygiene, amongst others.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Graduate students allowed with permission of the instructor.
[Anthropology 1630. Other People’s Beliefs: The Anthropology of Religion]
Catalog Number: 9598
Smita Lahiri
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 12.
From its inception as a discipline addressing non-Western cultures, anthropology has examined the religious beliefs and practices of people who are “not us.” Yet the cross-cultural study of phenomena such as “ritual,” “sacrifice,” and the “sacred” also renders absolute distinctions between “us” and “them” untenable. At a time when religion is in resurgence from the Americas to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, we survey the contribution of anthropology to understanding its complexity and resilience.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. This course may fulfill the ’Entry Course’ requirement for Social Anthropology.
[Anthropology 1635. Human Rights and Social Justice]
Catalog Number: 9261
Kimberly Theidon
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1.
Studies the theory and practice of human rights. Themes to be explored include: anthropology and human rights; the emergence of an international human rights regime; indigenous peoples, autonomy and self-determination; human rights and international humanitarian law during times of war; the rights of children; the thorny question of humanitarian intervention; and the role of academic-activists in the defense of human rights.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 1640. Language and Culture
Catalog Number: 5844
James P. Herron
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 12. EXAM GROUP: 14
Examines the ways forms of speaking can constitute cultural life and vice versa. A comprehensive overview of linguistic theories of structuralism and their criticism will form the basis on which to proceed to an ethnography of speaking in different societies. Topics will include: the structuralism of Ferdinand de Saussure, the Sapir-Whorf Relativity Hypothesis and its modern evocations, pragmatics, performativity, Bakhtinian dialogicality, and poetry and poetics.
Note: No previous knowledge of linguistics or of anthropology is required. This course may fulfill the ’Entry Course’ requirement for Social Anthropology. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Social Analysis.
Anthropology 1655. Politics of Nature
Catalog Number: 0710
Ajantha Subramanian
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
Explores the intersections of ecology, history, and politics with a focus on the social construction of nature, politics of natural resource use, centrality of resource control to the consolidation of empires and nations, and the making of post-industrial natures. Some of the theoretical frameworks considered include: political ecology, Marxist geography, development anthropology, and environmental history. Some of the political trends addressed include: offshore extraction, nuclearization, legal pluralism, indigenous rights, wilderness preservation, and global environmentalism.
Anthropology 1660 (formerly Anthropology 155). What is Islam? Anthropological Perspectives
Catalog Number: 3837 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
John S. Schoeberlein
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
How do we unpack claims such as that Islam is defined by militant Jihad or rigid adherence to Sharia law, that Islam means "peace", or that Islam is irreconcilable with modern society? The course surveys anthropological approaches to understanding the meaning of religion in Muslim societies. Reading ethnographies from Muslim societies, we will focus on Islam as lived experience, contested modernity, imagined enmities, frameworks of social order, and concepts of moral order.
*Anthropology 1665. Humans and Animals: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 15058 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Jill Constantino
Half course (fall term). W., 1–3.
Seminar on cultural and political ecology, concentrating on the spectrum of relationships between humans and animals, both wild and domesticated, that exist across cultures and throughout history. Attention will be on behavioral, material, affective, symbolic, and ideological aspects of human-animal relationships, as well as both the animalic nature of humanity and humanity’s inclination to anthropomorphize animality. We shall consider anthropological, scientific, and literary texts, as well as artistic iconography and works of cinema.
Note: Limited to undergraduates.
Anthropology 1668. Muslims in the Lands of the "Militant Godless": Post-Socialism, Religion and Identity - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 75154
John S. Schoeberlein
Half course (fall term). W., 1–3.
By 1989, the preeminence of atheism ended in Communist countries inhabited by Muslims in Eurasia from Mongolia and China to Central Asia, Russia, and Bosnia. Two decades of "transition" have seen dramatic change in Islam’s social role. This course explores emerging fields of anthropology of post-Socialism and Islam in the former Soviet Bloc, focusing on Islam between state and society, social transformations occurring under the "transition" from Communism, and changing identities and cultural forms.
Anthropology 1690. The Culture Machine: Youth Culture, Networks and Commodities in East Asia
Catalog Number: 1201
Michael Fisch
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 10–11:30. EXAM GROUP: 12, 13
This course will look at the production, dissemination and consumption of commodities in contemporary East Asia. It will question the significance in the present of conventional notions of the commodity, labor theory of value, mass media and mass consumption. Particular attention will be paid to the role of youth in the production and consumption of culture, and to processes of national branding.
Anthropology 1710. Memory Politics
Catalog Number: 3793
Kimberly Theidon
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 10, and a weekly section to be arranged. EXAM GROUP: 3
An engagement with an interdisciplinary set of readings that analyze the relationship between memory and social reconciliation, and the role that theories of truth, justice, and redress play in this equation. We analyze truth commissions, forms of justice, and debates regarding reparations, and the points of conjuncture and disjuncture between national discourses and subaltern concepts of truth, justice, and reconciliation. Case studies include Rwanda, South Africa, Guatemala, Peru, and El Salvador.
Anthropology 1720. Anthropology, Cultural Studies, and Film
Catalog Number: 1522 Enrollment: Limited to 25.
Smita Lahiri and Ramyar Dagoberto Rossoukh
Half course (fall term). M., W., at 11; F., 5–9 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 4
Focuses on feature-length commercial film (rather than ethnographic or documentary film) and some of the culture industries (Hollywood, Iran, and Egypt) that produce them, paying particular attention to the Middle East. What might an anthropology of film look like? Film theory and cultural studies will be examined for their contributions to the answer to that question. Topics include the culture industry, critical theory, the ethnographic gaze, orientalism, media studies, modernity, nationalism, and transnationalism.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts B.
[Anthropology 1725. The Anthropology of the Korean Family]
Catalog Number: 5749
Elise M. Prebin
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
This course is an introduction to social anthropology’s major concepts and methods as well as an occasion to witness their practical application to the analysis of contemporary South Korean society. Using primary sources such as interviews, field observation, media, and secondary sources such as anthropological or historical texts on Korea, we will explore shifting facets of South Korean families today and compare them with their Japanese and Chinese counterparts.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 1728. Contemporary Korean Society and Culture - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 20468
Elise M. Prebin
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Commonly called the land of contrasts (or contradictions), and described by scholars as a nation
that experienced a "compressed modernity" (Abelmann, 2003), contemporary South Korean society appeals to anthropologists, given their keen interest in social things "in the making." This course aims at exploring on a small scale, in detail, the everyday loci and actors of change, mostly in the urban settings of the second half of the 20th century.
Note: This course is open to everyone and does not require knowledge of the Korean language.
Anthropology 1790. Violence in the Andes: Coca, Conflict, and Control
Catalog Number: 2224
Kimberly Theidon
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., 11:30–1. EXAM GROUP: 13, 14
In this course we address the politics of coca and conflict in the Andean Region. We will trace different historical understandings of coca, ranging from the "miracle drug" to "moral panic". Our readings will allow us as to analyze the complex dynamics of coca production, counter-narcotics and counter-insurgency efforts in the Andes, moving between state and non-state actors as well as domestic and international interests. We will address the rise of indigenous movements within this context, and their potential to redefine political agendas in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
Anthropology 1795. The Politics of Language and Identity in Latin America
Catalog Number: 7265
Catalina Laserna
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Introduces theory and research in linguistic anthropology in the context of ethnographic research, film and popular music, from cumbia to hip-hop in Latin America. Examines how the multiplicity and contention of language ideologies play out in the everyday practices. What are the social, linguistic and discursive means by which social identity is constructed? How do ways of speaking, such as border talk and code switching, link face to face communities to the national and transnational spheres? Texts include regional ethnographies and documentaries from the region as well as the literature in the burgeoning new field of linguistic anthropology.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the General Education requirement for Culture and Belief or the Core area requirement for Foreign Cultures.
[Anthropology 1805. Does Lakshmi Speak English? The Political Economy of Language in India]
Catalog Number: 8033
Smita Lahiri
Half course (spring term). M., 1–3.
The English-speaking call center worker has become the poster-child of Indian economic growth. This course examines the place of English in this postcolonial setting, particularly its use alongside other Indian languages in the public realm. Using perspectives from anthropological linguistics, students will analyze contemporary examples of speech and discourse to explore how "liberalization" (market reform) is currently reshaping the politics of language and identity.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Background in anthropology and familiarity with South Asia required.
Anthropology 1815. Empire, Nation, Diaspora: Asians in the U.S. - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 60047
Ajantha Subramanian
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3.
The U.S. is commonly described as a multicultural society and Asian Americans as "model minorities" with strong group identities. But when did multiculturalism become a defining characteristic of American society? What is its relationship to race and class? Why did migrants from Asia come here and how has their reception changed over time? When do they call themselves "Asians" and when do they privilege other self-representations? We will explore these questions through history, anthropology, literature, and film.
[Anthropology 1820. Japan in the Ethnographic Gaze: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 1267 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Theodore C. Bestor
Half course (fall term). W., 4–6.
We examine ethnographies of Japan from the 1930s to the present to illuminate how Japan, as a cultural and social “whole,” has been ethnographically problematized and re-problematized in different eras, from different theoretical interests such as culture-and-personality, modernization, and tradition, structuralist, post-structuralist, and cultural studies.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. This course may fulfill the ’Entry Course’ requirement for Social Anthropology.
Anthropology 1850. Ethnography as Practice and Genre
Catalog Number: 1686 Enrollment: Limited to 20.
Smita Lahiri
Half course (fall term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
For sociocultural anthropologists, ethnography is both a way of studying human communities and a way of writing about them. Ethnographic fieldwork raises issues of participation, power, and perspective; cultural relativism; the nature of evidence; and the ethics of engagement. Writing ethnography highlights other issues, such as the politics of representing “others.” This course explores these and related issues through close reading and intensive discussion of selected texts.
Note: This course may fulfill the undergraduate "Methods" requirement for Social Anthropology.
[Anthropology 1870. Island Southeast Asia: Circulating Cultures]
Catalog Number: 5149
Mary M. Steedly
Half course (spring term). M., W., (F.), at 12.
An introduction to island Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei) emphasizing circulations of people, goods, ideas, beliefs, wealth, power, and images. Island Southeast Asia has a long history of involvement in global networks of economic distribution, exchange and appropriation. We will focus on cultural dimensions of such circulations, with topics to include urban gridlock, gay slang, terrorism, theme parks, female labor, political crisis, new media, democratization, and the lifestyles of the rich and famous.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Expected to be given in 2009-10. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core requirement for Foreign Cultures.
[Anthropology 1880. Chinese Culture and Society]
Catalog Number: 5917
James L. Watson
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
A detailed examination of Chinese social institutions, with emphasis on life in the countryside. Topics include: family and kinship organization, marriage and inheritance patterns, ritual and local religion, pre- and post-socialist cultural systems, and the effects of economic reforms on local life.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. This course may fulfill the ’Entry Course’ requirement for Social Anthropology. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core requirement for Foreign Cultures.
*Anthropology 1881. China After Mao: Seminar
Catalog Number: 4642 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
James L. Watson
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
New work on the anthropology of China will be the focus of this course. Special attention will be given to issues of: nationalism, consumption and globalization, impact of the one-child policy, gender inequality, changing family relations, individualism, and private lives.
[Anthropology 1885. Desire, Duty, and Discontent: Ethnographic Examinations of Contemporary Urban "China"]
Catalog Number: 2457
Nicole D. Newendorp
Half course (fall term). Th., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Contemporary life in Chinese urban areas is shaped by political and economic processes in the PRC, resulting in complex and ever-changing urban landscapes. This class will examine contemporary Chinese urban life in the PRC but also in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and North America.
Questions considered include: Where is "China" located? What similarities and differences underlie changing patterns of social life in various urban Chinese locations? What challenges face ethnographers doing research in Chinese urban areas?
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Social Analysis.
[Anthropology 1925. The Anthropology of Development and Globalization]
Catalog Number: 5053
Yuson Jung
Half course (spring term). M., W., at 11. EXAM GROUP: 4
What is development and how does it relate to the discourse of globalization? This course is based on the premise that development questions lie at the center of the discipline’s theoretical and ethnographic approaches. Topics covered include: poverty, consumption, markets, gender, environment, agricultural development, state power, institutions, and development alternatives in postcolonial and postsocialist worlds.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[Anthropology 1950. Material Images: The Anthropology of Photography]
Catalog Number: 6930 Enrollment: Limited to 20. Preference given to upper level social anthropology concentrators.
David R. Odo
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
This research seminar makes use of a wide range of theoretical texts, museum exhibitions and collections, and ethnographic case studies to consider broad issues in photography and anthropology. This course uses photographs to think critically about these practices, the conditions that fostered their production and their connection to the society that views/ed and use/d them. The materiality of photographic forms, representational content, and circulation of images are equally critical in this exploration of photography.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Literature and Arts B.
Anthropology 1968. Shop ’Til You Drop: Consumer Society and Culture: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 24755
Yuson Jung
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3.
Course deals with the question of consumer society and explores cultures of consumption cross-culturally. Shop ’til you drop? Where does consumer desire come from? Why do we want things that we do not need? Are we all bound to consumerism in the age of globalization? How is consumption behavior affected by economic downturns? And finally, can there be a consumer culture in poverty or in non-capitalist circumstances?
Prerequisite: None required, but some anthropological knowledge useful.
Anthropology 1972. Reconceptualizing the U.S.-Mexico Border: Comparative and Global Perspectives - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 44608 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Robert Richard Alvarez
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
This course explores the political-economic construction of the US-Mexico border through a comparative and global lens. The communities, peoples, and identities that have evolved on both sides of international demarcation are paramount here, but we will also interrogate the history and ideology of "the border," the geo-political advances of the nation-state and the hierarchical power vested in the control of national boundaries. A primary comparison is the southern Mexican border/frontier as well as national borders/boundaries in other countries.
Note: Preference given to upperclassmen and graduate students with an interest in the US-Mexico border, and borders generally.
[*Anthropology 1986. Art, Anthropology, and Aesthetics]
Catalog Number: 3844 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Lucien G. Castaing-Taylor
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
In this seminar we shall study the warp and weft of human existence by crisscrossing between the anthropology of art and the art of anthropology. Both affinities and differences between art-making and anthropology will be considered, as well as alternative means of apprehending and expressing aesthetic and social experience cross-culturally.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 2630. Power, Belief, and Practice: Topics in the Anthropology of Religion
Catalog Number: 1620
Smita Lahiri
Half course (spring term). Th., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Develops a critique of religion’s place in anthropological theory. Recuperates valuable legacies from classic anthropology and conjoins them with insights from social and literary theory for analyzing contemporary formations of belief, practice, and power.
Note: Limited to graduate students, who will also be expected to attend all Anthropology 1630 lectures.
*Anthropology 2635. Image/Media/Publics: Seminar
Catalog Number: 9515 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Mary M. Steedly
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Explores the relations among technologies of image production and circulation, the nature and intensity of the circulating image, and the generation of publics and counter-publics. Questions of scale, mediation, publicity, and mobilization will be considered.
Note: Open to advanced undergraduates with permission of instructor.
Anthropology 2645. Reconfiguring Regimes: Power, Law and Governance
Catalog Number: 9925
Kimberly Theidon
Half course (spring term). W., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
Studies changing concepts of law, power and governance within contemporary global politics. Combines theoretical readings with ethnographic inquiries of the state, the legal, the magical, and the just.
*Anthropology 2650a. History and Theory of Social Anthropology: Proseminar
Catalog Number: 1752
Michael Herzfeld
Half course (fall term). Tu., 6–8 p.m. EXAM GROUP: 18
A critical review of the major theoretical approaches in social anthropology.
Note: In conjunction with Anthropology 2840 in 2009-10, required of candidates for the PhD in Social Anthropology. Limited to, and aimed at, doctoral candidates. Not open to undergraduates.
[*Anthropology 2650b. History and Theory of Social Anthropology: Proseminar]
Catalog Number: 7971
Faculty to be determined
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Continuation of Anthropology 2650a.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Required of candidates for the PhD in Social Anthropology. Not open to undergraduates.
[Anthropology 2660. The Anthropology of Knowledge: Seminar]
Catalog Number: 7070
Michael Herzfeld
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3.
Comparative exploration of local epistemologies from craft apprentices and skilled manual workers to schoolchildren, journalists and scientists, emphasizing the embodiment, inculcation, and transmission of practical knowledge and the relationships among cosmology, social context, and pragmatic understanding.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 2678. The Anthropology of Secularism
Catalog Number: 1390
Asad A. Ahmed
Half course (fall term). W., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 8, 9
Secularism, understood as the normative arrangement for modern societies, has remained immune from anthropological investigation. In addition to examining secularism as an institutional arrangement this course will explore it as a form of subjectivity.
[Anthropology 2688. The Frankfurt School, Film, and Popular Culture]
Catalog Number: 1182 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Steven C. Caton
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Focus in the Frankfurt School and such concepts as the culture industry, critical theory and research, art and mass media reproduction, negative dialective, public sphere, and other of its contributions to social and aesthetic theory.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. To be taught in conjunction with A1720. Writers will include Horkheimer, Adorno, Benjamin, Kracaeur, and Bloch.
[Anthropology 2690. Middle East Ethnography: Discourse, Politics, and Culture]
Catalog Number: 8056 Enrollment: Limited to 18.
Ramyar Dagoberto Rossoukh
Half course (spring term). Th., 2–4:30. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17, 18
The discursive construction of culture and its complex politics are examined in a wide range of ethnographies that have been written recently on countries in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Jordan, Israel/Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, and Iran. Among the theoretical topics to be considered are orientalism, colonialism and post-colonialism, nationalism, self, gender, and tribalism.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Open to undergraduates.
Anthropology 2702. Political Economy - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 96462
Ajantha Subramanian
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3.
The course considers the relationship between the political and the economic through readings of classical texts in social theory, histories of capitalist transformation, and anthropological approaches to the economy as a culturally embedded phenomenon.
[Anthropology 2704. Linguistic Pragmatics and Cultural Analysis in Anthropology]
Catalog Number: 4411
Steven C. Caton
Half course (fall term). Th., 5–7 p.m.
A theory of linguisitc pragmatics (Peirce, Benveniste, etc.) will be developed from a critique of structuralism (Saussure) whose relevance to the analysis of “culture” will be illustrated through ethnographies of language.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Limited to graduate students, who will also be expected to attend all Anthropology 1640 lectures.
[Anthropology 2735. The Anthropology of Science: Methods and Theory]
Catalog Number: 4310
Duana Fullwiley
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4.
An introduction to ethnographies of science in global scientific settings, this course emphasizes practicalities of access, analysis, and representation. It also explores intellectual stakes regarding "the human" shared between anthropology and the life sciences today.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[Anthropology 2736. Medical Anthropology of Contemporary Africa]
Catalog Number: 1570
Duana Fullwiley
Half course (spring term). Th., 3–5.
This course will examine the health effects of larger problems facing Africa today, including military and humanitarian HIV/AIDS interventions, genetic studies and offshore clinical trials, ethnic and state violence, economic crisis, resource extraction and migration.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
Anthropology 2740 (formerly Anthropology 245). Culture, Mental Illness, and the Body
Catalog Number: 6013
Byron J. Good (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Briefly reviews the figure of mental illness in Western thought and the social sciences, then focuses on themes in cross-cultural studies of psychopathology: culture and diagnosis; cultural influences on depression, schizophrenia, and dissociation; madness in non-Euroamerican healing systems; and transnational aspects of psychiatry.
[Anthropology 2750. Local Biologies: Perspectives on the Interaction Between Culture and Biology]
Catalog Number: 8267
Arthur Kleinman (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Th., 1–3.
Reviews the variety of anthropological perspectives on the interactions between culture and biology. Topics include mind-brain-society interaction in pain; cross-cultural studies of menopause; sociosomatics of depression; the new genetics and eugenics; research on stress and trauma.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Open to advanced undergraduates with permission of instructor.
Anthropology 2765. Gender in Conflict: Violence, Militarism and War
Catalog Number: 7015
Kimberly Theidon
Half course (fall term). M., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7
In this seminar we will combine theoretical texts with classic and contemporary ethnographies to explore the anthropological study of ethics and ethical resources as related to debates that have animated the field of medical anthropology.
[Anthropology 2785. Theories of Subjectivity in Current Anthropology]
Catalog Number: 1995
Byron J. Good (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Theoretical positions and anthropological debates concerning subjectivity. Freud, Lacan, Butler, Agamben, Zizek, Foucault, and Mbembe read alongside ethnographic texts on violence, suffering, governmentality, and the state.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.
[Anthropology 2790. Anthropological Interviewing]
Catalog Number: 1305
Byron J. Good (Medical School)
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3.
Provides theoretical grounding and practical supervision in ethnographic interviewing. Addresses life history and inteview design, developing and managing intimacy, recognizing transference and counter transference, recording and transcribing data, and textual analysis.
Note: Expected to be given in 2011–12.
Anthropology 2812. Space and Power - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 29833
Ajantha Subramanian
Half course (fall term). Th., 1–3.
This course considers space as a structuring principle of social life and as a product of political activity. It treats space as a dynamic force animating human existence rather than as its static backdrop.
*Anthropology 2825. Agrarian Political Economies: Seminar - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 63875
James L. Watson
Half course (spring term). M., 1–3.
Research seminar on classic and modern studies of various agrarian political economies. Focus on premodern and postmodern agricultural systems, globalization of agrarian polities, ancient and modern water control systems, and field research methods in agrarian settings.
[*Anthropology 2835r. Sensory Ethnography I ]
Catalog Number: 7583 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Lucien G. Castaing-Taylor
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
First half of a year-long sequence in which students apply media anthropological theory and conduct ethnography using film, video, sound, and/or still photography.
Note: Limited to graduate students, who must also attend all VES 157a classes. Emphasis is on pre-production and production in the spring, and on post-production in the fall. Interview with instructor and teaching assistant required for admission.
*Anthropology 2836r. Sensory Ethnography II: Studio Course
Catalog Number: 6213 Enrollment: Limited to 10.
Mary M. Steedly and Alfred F. Guzzetti
Half course (fall term). M., W., 1–4.
Second half of a year-long sequence in which students apply media anthropological theory and conduct ethnography using film, video, sound, still photography, and/or hypermedia.
Note: Limited to graduate students, who must also attend all VES 158 classes. Emphasis is on pre-production and production in the spring, and on post-production in the fall. Interview with instructor and teaching assistant required for admission.
Anthropology 2840. Ethnography and Personhood
Catalog Number: 3560
Michael Herzfeld
Half course (fall term). Tu., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Intensive, critical review of major ethnographies, exploring the relationship between society and personhood, examining ethnographic writing and its relation to other genres (including biography); and tracing anthropological theory through changes in descriptive and analytic practice.
Note: Given in alternate years. Required in 2009-10 of all first year Social Anthropology doctoral students.
[*Anthropology 2850r. Practicum in Foreign-Language Ethnography]
Catalog Number: 9856
Michael Herzfeld
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Readings in ethnographic and related theoretical works written in a selected foreign language; discussion, class presentations, and final papers will be in that language also.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered when demand and availability permit. Primarily for doctoral students.
Anthropology 2855. Deep China: What Medical Anthropology and Psychiatry Contribute to the Study of China Today
Catalog Number: 1679
Arthur Kleinman (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). Th., 1–3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
What do accounts of depression, suicide, substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, SARS, HIV/AIDS, starvation and the personal and family trauma of political violence teach us about China and the Chinese over the last few decades?
Note: Open to undergraduates.
[*Anthropology 2856. Biography, the Novel, Psychotherapy and Ethnography: Deep Ways of Knowing the Person in the Moral Context]
Catalog Number: 8459
Arthur Kleinman (Medical School)
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Compares deep ways of knowing the person in his/her cultural, political, economic and, most especially, moral context. Reads strong examples from each field to learn about individual and collective experience under uncertainty and danger.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Anthropology 2980. “Culture”
Catalog Number: 1114
Mary M. Steedly
Half course (spring term). W., 3–6.
“Culture” is one of anthropology’s key concepts, but there has never been agreement as to the term’s meaning. We tour the work of culture’s key theorists, with an emphasis on American anthropological perspectives. Is culture still a useful concept in anthropological analysis?
Note: For first-year graduate students, or by permission of instructor. In 2009-10 (only), counts as second part of Social Anthropology Proseminar course requirement.
*Anthropology 3001. Reading for General Examination
Catalog Number: 5689
Members of the Department
Individual reading in preparation for the General Examination for the PhD degree.
Note: Restricted to candidates for the PhD degree and ordinarily to those who have completed at least one year in residence.
*Anthropology 3100. Old World Archaeology (Europe, Asia, and Africa)
Catalog Number: 3463
Ofer Bar-Yosef 1887, C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky 2387, and Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor) 1572
*Anthropology 3111. Asiatic Archaeology and Ethnography
Catalog Number: 5398
Rowan K. Flad 5059 (on leave spring term), C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky 2387, and Lawrence E. Stager 1468
*Anthropology 3120. Scientific Archaeology
Catalog Number: 0284
Richard H. Meadow (Head Tutor) 1572 and Noreen Tuross 4845 (on leave spring term) (fall term only)
*Anthropology 3130. Archaeology and Ethnography of the Near and Middle East
Catalog Number: 3787
Ofer Bar-Yosef 1887 and C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky 2387
*Anthropology 3140. Methods and Theory in Archaeology
Catalog Number: 5440
Members of the Department
*Anthropology 3300. Supervised Field Work in Anthropology
Catalog Number: 5683
Members of the Department
General instruction in field methods and practice in the various divisions of anthropology, including archaeology, ethnography, and physical anthropology. Instructional personnel and location of course vary with the research program of the staff. Lectures, conferences, field and laboratory work.
Note: May be taken by graduate students for academic credit, but since it is tuition-free, does not count for residence credit leading to reduced tuition. Open to students with adequate previous training in the subject.
*Anthropology 3400. Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 6699
Members of the Department
Note: Consult the appropriate member of the Department.
*Anthropology 3500. Direction of Doctoral Dissertations
Catalog Number: 1864
Members of the Department
Note: Consult the appropriate member of the Department.
*Anthropology 3502. Thesis Writing Workshop (China dissertations)
Catalog Number: 7300
James L. Watson 2172 (on leave 2009-10) and members of the department
Half course (spring term). .