Anthropology

Anthropology concerns itself with the holistic study of the human condition. We offer courses reflecting the breadth of our field, encompassing language and culture, area studies (U.S., Europe, and Mesoamerica), prehistoric archaeology (from the earliest evidence of human culture to the rise of ancient civilizations), human evolution, culture contact and technological change, anthropological methods and theory, immigration, gender, and multiculturalism. We strive to give our students a broad background in anthropology while also providing ample opportunity for more advanced work. Our teaching is comparative and strongly interdisciplinary, linking as it does interests in the social and natural sciences and the humanities.

101. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

An introduction to the nature of cultural anthropology through an examination of basic concepts, methods, and theories that anthroplogists employ in order to understand the unity and diversity of human thought and action cross-culturally. Kinship and the family, politics and conflicts, and religion and belief are some of the topics to be considered in a range of ethnographic contexts. Enrollment Limit: 40.

102. Human Origins (Lecture only)

This course focuses on paleoanthropology and is an introduction to the evolutionary development of humans. We will examine biological relationships between humans and other primates, primate behavior and classification, and the fossil evidence for human evolution. Emphasis will be placed on the methods used by archeologists in the study of prehistoric human biological and cultural development. Enrollment Limit: 40

103. Introduction to Archeology

An introduction to the subfield of anthropology concerned with past human cultures. A basic objective is to acquaint students with both the methods and techniques archeologists employ in the study and reconstruction of prehistoric societies. Examples will be drawn from a variety of archeological situations ranging from simple hunting and gathering societies to complex chiefdoms and states. Matters of contemporary debate in the area of archeology will also be considered. Enrollment Limit: 40.

FYSP 142. What's in a Name? Understanding the World Through the Names of its Places

The course provides an introduction to the study of place names and what they reveal about our histories, cultures and societies. Students will conduct original research about place names in two contexts, one in the United States and the other abroad. In the course of the semester we will discuss issues such as colonialism, multi-lingual settings, monuments, historical memory, the politics of cartography, PC (political correctness), and indigenous rights among others. Enrollment Limit: 14.

204. Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology

This course furnished an introduction to core concepts and methodology pertaining to the analysis of language. Students will explore key areas of current research, including sociolinguistics, language socialization, language and gender, non-verbal communication, and literacy. In addition, through practical exercises, the students will learn foundations in phonology, morphology, and syntax, as well as basic discourse analysis and transcription skills. The course is intended as a prerequisite for more advance courses in Linguistic Anthropology and in related areas. No prior coursework in language and culture is required. Enrollment Limit: 40

210. Indigenous Peoples of Latin America

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to modern historical, ethnohistorical and
anthropological approaches to the indigenous populations of Latin America. The course will focus
on the ongoing process of conflict and accommodation that has characterized the relationship between the
native peoples of the New World and those of the Old World. We will study indigenous social movements
dealing with issues such land claims, natural resources, economic development, cultural
recognition and human rights. Prerequisite: ANTH 101. Enrollment Limit: 25

212. Ethnographic Perspectives on Small-Scale Societies

This course will draw primarily on ethnographic literature to explore the global diversity in small-scale, or forager, societies. We will examine their ecological adaptations, gender roles, patterns of land use, and the strategies currently employed as modern forager groups are drawn into the world economic market. The relevance of these groups to the study of the prehistoric past will also be considered. Prerequisites: 100 level course or consent from instructor. Enrollment Limit: 30

This course features a multifaceted approach to the anthropological study of Art, by including contributions from linguistic and cultural anthropology, and archaeology, as well as the voices of the artists themselves. The course expands and rethinks definitions of art and language, encouraging a discussion of how such definitions can influence our ways to approach and experience art. Various art genres will be discussed in relationship to such issues as the construction of social identities (ethnic, racial and gender identities) and the structuring of political power. Prerequisites: Anthropology 101 or the instructor's consent. Enrollment Limit: 30

232. Native Americans: Contemporary Issues

This course focuses on a selected number of issues facing North American Indians. These include land rights, protection of the environment, creation of urban communities, challenges of economic development and education on the reservations, repatriation and reburial, exploitation of Native American images in the market economy, revitalization movements, and other topics. The course emphasizes the strategies of political and cultural survival amid incorporation into the world system. Through videos and presentations by invited speakers, the class will be particularly attentive to native voices and perspectives. Prerequisite: One introductory course (100 level) in Anthropology or equivalent. Enrollment Limit: 25.

249. Language in the USA

This course is an introduction to language ideologies and controversies in the United States. Attention centers on controversies regarding a national language and Ebonics, Spanglish, and forms of allegedly 'bad' language in general, as well as on sociocultural constructions of language identities. Topics may include linguistic culture and language policy, bilingualism among Puerto Rican children in New York City, and Ebonics and the language and aesthetics of Hip Hop culture. A research paper is required. Enrollment Limit: 40

251. Language in Culture and Society

This course examines the relationships between language, culture, and society across a variety of different speech communities. We will consider how people use language to understand the world in culturally specific ways (linguistic relativity theory, ethnosemantics, metaphor) and how people use language to establish identities and negotiate social interactions (sociolinguistics, language socialization, code-switching, gender, power). We will also learn about and practice the methods linguistic anthropologists use in their research. Prerequisites: One introductory course (100 level) in Anthropology or consent of instructor. Enrollment Limit: 40.

278. Human Rights, Universalism, and Cultural Relativism

Through an examination of the ways in which people in different societies identify and define ethical and social standards, this course will examine the concept of universal human rights. The course will consider the tension between universal claims and cultural relativism. We will also document and analyze the development of international efforts to apply universal rights. The course will focus on ethnographic case studies from a wide variety of societies that demonstrate the cultural challenges involved in defining, establishing, and implementing a set of global and universal human rights. Enrollment Limit: 35.

286. Culture, Symbol, and Meaning

This course explores ethnographic representations of meaningful social experience and collective identity through an examination of rites of passage, dietary habits, narrative performance, funerary practice, sexuality, and gender, and the like. It examines how the interpretive anthropologist makes sense out of the diverse ways people of various cultures, American included, represent systems of meaning. The course addresses concerns not only of Anthropology majors but also of students of history, literature, and the humanities. Prerequisite: One introductory course (100 level) in Anthropology or its equivalent. Enrollment Limit: 30

288. Immigrant America: Then and Now

The beginning and end of the 20th century were periods of large-scale immigration to the United States, bringing profound changes to the character of the nation. From 1900 until 1924, millions of newcomers from southern and eastern Europe, predominantly Jews, Italians, and Slavs arrived. Immigration since 1965 and continuing to the present has drawn people mostly from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. This course examines the history of immigration to the U.S. and then compares immigration during each 20th-century period. It focuses on the social, economic, and cultural consequences of immigration for the country, assimilation and cultural persistence, linguistic and environmental implications, immigration advocacy and resistance, welfare and entrepreneurship, and immigrant communities in relationship to other segments of American society. Prerequisites: ANTH 101 or prior work in American History or Sociology.. Enrollment Limit: 30.

292. Museum Anthropology

Students will assist in an on-going project to make the Department's ethnographic collections from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific available on line. This will involve cataloging and digital imaging objects as well as research in the College archives and on the WWW. Readings about the history and significance of such collecting activity will be discussed as well. Priority will be given to majors in Anthropology and Archeology Studies and others with a particular interest in museum studies. Prerequisites: Consent from instructor.. Enrollment Limit: 15

304. Language, Gender and Sexual Identities

This course will examine the role language in construction gender identities. It privileges a cross-cultural approach, address studies done in linguistic anthropology, linguistics, and sociolinguistics. The students consider some of the debates regarding gender differences in language use and explore their grounding in structures of power, authority, and social inequality. The course offers an arena to reflect on the influence that ideologies of language have on practices connected to the representation of sexualities and expressions of desire. The format is discussion oriented and students will conduct their own research on the topics addressed in class. Prerequisites: Anth 204 or Anth 251 or consent of instructor. Enrollment Limit: 30

306. Perspective on Literacy

This class argues that literacies must be understood in the socio-cultural and historical contexts in which they are used, as we examine the ways in which they are linked to social relationships, technologies, talk, and actions. In particular, we will address questions of authority and dominance, through an exploration of the role of literacy, nationalism, and education in class stratification and the formation of gender, racial, and ethnic identities. We will also consider the significance of emerging and alternative literacies. Enrollment Limit: 25

353. Culture Theory

A critical examination of major issues in the study of culture over the past century and a quarter through a discussion of such theoretical topics as cultural evolution and neo-evolution, materialism and cultural ecology, functionalism and ecosystems theory, interpretive and symbolic anthropology, structuralism, and political economy. The role of ethnography, the scientific and humanistic dimensions of anthropology, and the relationships between various theories are also considered. Recent multicultural and postmodernist efforts at cultural explanation on the part of anthropologists and other scholars will be examined. Prerequisites: Juinor- or Senior-level standing, Anthropology 101, and one additional course in anthropology.. Enrollment limit: 25.

391. Practicum in Anthropology

Junior and senior majors in the department may receive up to three hours of credit for applied fieldwork in anthropology. The work should be carried out in connection with a systematic course of reading and the writing of a paper on the topic ot the project. The purpose of the paper is to tie the field experience to relevant anthropoligcal principles. The program should be worked out in advance with a departmental faculty sponsor: Mr. Glazier and Mr. Pineda.. Consent of instructor required

Upper-level seminars are open to juniors and seniors who have completed four courses in anthropology. In some instances this requirement will be reduced for non-majors otherwise qualified. Please note also specific course prerequisites for some seminars. Enrollment limit: 10 per seminar.

408. Seminar on Current Issues in Anthropology: Postmodernism

This seminar for advanced majors will be team-taught by the anthropology staff. It will explore three major interrelated, contemporary issues in anthropology. Part one examines the transformation of the ethnological/archeological museum over the last fifteen years, especially in the wake of the movement for the repatriation of collections. Part two considers ethical concerns across the spectrum of anthropology and the role of the American Anthropological Association in providing ethical guidelines for research. Part three examines the emergence and influence of postmodernism in anthropology over the past fifteen years assumptions of the discipline. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit. 15

415. Internships in Teaching

Qualified seniors who wish to assist in the teaching of specific courses may, upon consent of the instructor, achieve one or two credits for their work in such courses. Assistance with laboratory sessions, data analysis, and the research concerns of students in the class compose the major activities of the teaching internships. Sections will be offered by Ms. Pagliai, Mr. Glazier, and Ms. Grimm. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor required.

416. Race, Racism, and Human Variation in Global Perspective

The belief that the inborn characteristics of groups of people are responsible for differences in achievement, among other things, between them is present in one form in another in every society. In this seminar we will use a four-fields approach (biological and cultural) to examine both the underlying patterns of human biological variation as well as the varied manifestations of race and racism today. Case studies will be drawn from across the globe. Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 10

420. Approaches to Discourse Analysis

This course introduces approaches to discourse analysis of interest across the interpretive disciplines. We focus on language units larger than sentences and on functionalist perspectives. Included are speech act theory, interactional sociolinguistics, the ethnography of communication, pragmatics, conversation analysis, variation analysis, and critical discourse analysis or narrative analysis. The pre-requisite is two courses in linguistic anthropology or permission of the instructor. Several analytic exercises and a data-driven research paper are required. Enrollment Limit: 10. Prerequisite: two courses in linguistic anthropology or permission of the instructor.

432. Anthropology and Ethics

This course examines the moral duties of anthropologists engaged in research, publication, and teaching. Anthropologists bear personal and professional responsibilities to the discipline, to humanity, and to other species integral to anthropological research. This course focuses on codes of professional conduct that anthropologists have developed to govern the ethical pursuit of knowledge in cultural, archeological, biological, and linguistic anthropology. We will be particularly concerned with specific case studies of ethical breaches, conflicts and dilemmas. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit. 10.

450. Seminar on Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective

This course explores cross-cultural constructs (ideologies) of female, make, and "alternative" genders as a foundation for understanding gender roles in different (mostly non-western) societies represented in the ethnographic literature. A major question that the course seeks to answer is "What are the linkages between gender at the cultural and behavioral levels?" The course perspective centers on notions that 1) status and power are variable, and 2) there is a necessary complementarily and correlation of gender in different cultural domains. Prerequisites: Anthropology 101 and one additional course in anthropology, or consent of instructor. Enrollment limit: 10

456. Seminar in Culture Contact and Colonialism

This course will focus on anthropological approaches to culture contact and colonialism. We will trace the development of early and contemporary theoretical models relating to gender and ethnicity, the concept of frontiers and boundaries, acculturation, and World Systems theory. Through theoretical readings, case studies from around the world, and student-facilitated discussions we will explore how anthropologists attempt to construct explanatory frameworks for culture contact that have wide applicability, while at the same time acknowledging the uniqueness of individual cultures and the historical paths they have traveled. Prerequisites: Consent from instructor required. Enrollment limit: 10

463. Seminar in Archeology

This course surveys the corpus of Upper Paleolithic art in terms of its geographic distribution, subject matter, techniques of production, context and dating. Interpretive frameworks from anthropology and art history are employed to explore the possible meanings of the expressive culture that was recorded on cave walls, in rock shelters and on portable artifacts by late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor required. Enrollment Limit: 10.

468. Seminar: Language and Cognition

This course traces the historical evolution of theoretical attempts to define the relationship between language and thought, moving from the classic works by Sapir and Whorf and the successive debates on them, through the work of ethnolinguists and ethnoscientists, to contemporary approaches. We will explore the legacy of the Cognitive school in linguistic anthropology from its emergence until today, examining its basic propositions and looking forward to possible applications in future studies. Finally, we will discuss more recent work on metaphors and the conceptual structures that influence our behavior and thought. Prerequisites: ANTH 101 and one additional course in anthropology, or consent of instructor. Enrollment Limit: 10

471. Seminar: Language Ideologies

This course examines how scholars, policymakers, and other people interpret the relationships between language, culture, and society in ideologies of language. The study of language ideologies highlights issues of power and politics, identity and interaction, and positionality and consciousness in understandings of language. We will discuss scholarly models of language, national language policies, and language attitudes, and we will consider how language ideologies influence linguistic change and social relations. Prerequisite: Consent from instructor. Enrollment Limit: 10

4 90. Junior Year Honors 2-3 hours

Sections will be offered by Mr. Glazier and Mr. Pineda.. Prerequisites: Open only to second semester junior majors. Consent of instructor required.

Sections will be offered by Mr. Glazier and Mr. Pineda.. Consent of instructor required.

Off-Campus Programs for Credit

Gallaudet Exchange Program

Students interested in this program should speak with Mr. Glazier. Catalogs and applications should be requested directly from Gallaudet University, 800 Florida Ave, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20001-3695. When writing to Gallaudet, request an application which states "Oberlin Exchange Program." Each student works his/her own way through the application process and can do so in consultation with Mr. Glazier.