Anthropology - ANT (46)
Administered by Department of Anthropology
Effective Fall, 2006
46.101 Introduction to Anthropology (3) - A beginning course for students with no
background in anthropology. Provides an overview of peoples and cultures of the world
today and of the past as well as the fossil evidence for human evolution. Topics may
include living primates, magic and religion and kinship, marriage and sex roles. Three
hours lecture per week. Not for students who have taken 46.200, 46.210 or 46.220.
46.102 Anthropology and World Problems (3) - Explores the origins of global problems
and evaluates the variety of cultural solutions to those problems. Investigates cultural
values and solutions of tribal peoples holistically and compares them to those of
industrialized nations in terms of their consequences and implications. Three hours
lecture per week. Approved as a diversity course.
46.200 Principles of Cultural Anthropology (3) - Provides a cross-cultural study of all
human behaviors in contemporary cultures. Topics surveyed include socialization;
language; sex, age and kinship roles; religion and magic; marriage and the family;
political and economic behavior; cultural change; and the arts. Anthropological
methodology and the concept of culture also are stressed. Three hours lecture per
week. Approved as a diversity course.
46.210 Prehistoric Archaeology (3) - Provides a worldwide examination of human
prehistory from the origins of humankind to the development of early writing. Focuses on
regional differences and similarities in key evolutionary transitions including sedentary
lifeways, urban origins and the rise of states. Field methods are also discussed. Three
hours lecture per week.
46.220 Human Origins (3) - Studies the emergence and development of humans, the
biological basis of human culture and society and the origin of the social units of fossil
humans. A review of non-human primates and their behavior is also addressed. Three
hours lecture per week.
46.221 Forensic Anthropology (3) – This course is designed to explore the methods of
physical anthropology and archaeology in the analysis of human skeletal remains
resulting from unexplained deaths. Students will learn how race, sex, age, stature, and
cause of death are determined from the human skeleton. Special attention will be paid to
the cause and manner of death in fleshed bodies so that students will take away a
general knowledge of forensic pathology. Three hours lecture per week.
46.300 Archaeological Method and Theory (3) - Explores the modern theoretical
foundations of archaeology. Students read and discuss original contributions to the field
and learn methods in preparation for actual fieldwork. Three hours lecture per week.
Prerequisite: 46.210 or consent of the instructor.
46.301 Field Archaeology (3-6) - Provides field investigation of various prehistoric
cultures in northeastern United States. Students learn excavation and recording
techniques, visit important sites during field trips and become part of a unique
community that studies our past.
46.310 Aztecs and Mayans (3) - Surveys the prehistoric cultures of Mexico and Central
America. Emphasis on the development of Aztec and Mayan civilizations. Three hours
lecture per week. Approved as a diversity course.
46.311 Archaeology of Northeastern North America (3) - Surveys the prehistoric cultures
of the area from arrival of the first inhabitants through early historic times. Provides a
laboratory for the study of broader issues of socio-cultural processes. Three hours
lecture per week. Prerequisite: 46.210 or consent of the instructor.
46.312 South American Archaeology (3) - A survey of prehistoric cultures of South
America. Emphasizes the civilizations of the Andean zone and the role played by the
Amazonian region in the development of Andean Cultures. Prerequisites: 46.101 or
46.200 or 46.210 or consent of the instructor. Three hours lecture per week. Approved
as a diversity course.
46.320 Contemporary World Cultures (3) - Presents a comparative analysis of selected
non-European societies in contrasting cultural and natural areas. Indicates stresses on
the natural and social environment; national character; religion and world view; and
literary, artistic and musical expression. Three hours lecture per week. Approved as a
diversity course.
46.330 Peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa (3) – Examines the prehistory of Africa from the
invention of agriculture to the rise of state-level civilizations; traditional cultures of SubSaharan Africa; the colonial history and the emergence of modern Africa; and the
economic, political and health-related problems of contemporary Africa. Three hours
lecture per week.
46.333 Ethnic Identity in the United States (3) - Explores the varieties of ethnic
experience in the United States. A uniquely anthropological perspective is utilized to give
students a sense of how a cultural-ethnic identity is formed and maintained in our
society. Special attention paid to Italians and Latinos (including Puerto Ricans) as
examples of extremely different immigrant experiences. Three hours lecture per week.
Prerequisite: 46.200. Approved as a diversity course.
46.340 Native North America (3) - Surveys native cultures of North America in
prehistoric and early historic periods with emphasis placed on issues facing today's
Native American population. Prerequisites: 46.200, 46.210, 46.220 or consent of the
instructor. Three hours lecture per week. Approved as a diversity course.
46.350 Medical Anthropology (3) - Studies of cross-cultural concepts of health, illness
and curing as well as health care delivery in industrialized cultures. Includes the topics
of divination and diagnosis, sorcery and witchcraft in healing, public health and
preventive medicine, alcoholism and drug use and the medical knowledge of tribal and
peasant societies. Three hours lecture per week. Approved as a diversity course.
46.360 Pseudoscience (3) - Sharpens critical thinking skills and deepens understanding
of human belief systems and ethics by examining how science operates and evaluating
extraordinary ideas that claim to be scientific. Investigates scientific-creationism, ESP,
UFOs, fantastic archeology, dowsing and others. Three hours lecture per week.
46.370 Indigenous Cultures of Modern Mexico (3) - Presents an introduction to the
indigenous cultures of modern Mexico, including Nahua, Otomi, Pur鰥cha, Huastec,
Zapotec, Mixtec and Maya. Focus is both historical and contemporary. Treats such
subjects as religion, sacred and secular rituals, customs, folk art, sociopolitical
organization, economics and culture change from an anthropological perspective. Three
hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: 46.101 or 46.102 or 46.200 or 46.310 or 46.430 or
46.333 or 46.340 or consent of instructor.
46.380 Men and Women: An Anthropological Perspective (3) - A cross-cultural and
evolutionary perspective on sex role behavior in past and contemporary cultures.
Examines sex roles in nonhuman primates and humans. Examines sex roles in hunting
and gathering, horticultural, pastoralist, peasant and other preindustrial societies are
described as well as sex roles in modern industrial societies. Covers genetic and
environmental theories of sex role behavior. Three hours lecture per week.
Prerequisite: 3 semester hours of anthropology. Approved as a diversity course.
46.385 Anthropology Research and Writing Skills (3) - Familiarizes students with
information sources in anthropology. Students learn how to access those sources and to
write and present research paper in anthropology. Basics of statistical analysis are
covered. Students write, revise and present a research paper on an anthropological
topic. Three hours lecture per week. Prerequisite: 46.200, 46.210, 46.220.
46.390 Socialization of the Child (3) - Examines life experience and adjustment of the
individual through infancy, middle childhood and youth. Reviews contrasting methods of
introducing children to adult economic, social and religious activities. Three hours
lecture per week. Prerequisite: 46.200. Approved as a diversity course.
46.405 Primates (3) - Studies the various phenomena affecting primate behavior,
ecology, social life and socio-cultural adaption, with emphasis on the development of
socio-biological traits relating to human origins. Three hours lecture per week.
Prerequisite: 9 semester hours of anthropology or 46.220 or any biology course.
46.440 Language and Culture (3) - The place of oral or non-oral language in human
evolution and contemporary cultures. Topics discussed include: dialectal variation,
discourse analysis, multilingualism, language and cognition and the role of language in
education. Three hours lecture per week. Approved as a diversity course.
46.450 Peoples and Cultures of South America (3) - Surveys introduction to the
aboriginal, non-literate cultures of South America including the ecological background,
archaeology and cultural patterns. Three hours lecture per week. Approved as a
diversity course.
46.460 Applied Anthropology (3) - Provides an introduction to and critical evaluation of
the various specializations, ethical issues, career opportunities, methods and theoretical
orientations of applied anthropology, which involves the application of anthropological
knowledge to identify and solve human problems. The course will utilize a holistic
perspective through the synthesis of applied specializations in cultural, biological,
linguistic and archaeological anthropology. Three hours lecture per week.
Prerequisites: 46.200, 46.210, 46.220 or consent of the instructor.
46.466 Independent Study in Anthropology (3) - Independent study by a student with
faculty guidance of a particular research problem in anthropology. The research problem
either extends current course content or deals with an area not covered in the current
course offerings in anthropology. A problem is chosen by the faculty member and the
student working together.
46.470 History of Anthropological Thought and Theory (3) - Intensive survey of the
leading methods and theories of anthropological and ethnological interpretation with
special emphasis on the concept of culture and its practical application to modern
problems. Three hours lecture per week.
46.475 Field Methods in Cultural Anthropology (3) - Provides class discussion and field
experience in participant observation. Experience in interviewing, surveying, kinship
charting, mapping, studying complex organizations and writing ethnographic field
reports. Three hours lecture per week.
46.480 Religion and Magic (3) - A comparative analysis of the origins, forms, elements
and symbolism of religious beliefs and behavior; the role of religion in society with
particular reference to nonliterate societies. Anthropological theories and methods of
religion, historical and contemporary. Three hours lecture per week. Approved as a
diversity course.
46.495 Special Topics in Anthropology (3) - Provides for instruction and student
research within selected areas of interest not available in other courses. Prerequisite: 18
semester hours of anthropology or consent of the instructor. Three hours lecture per
week.
46.497 Internship in Anthropology (3-15) - An on-site training and learning experience in
anthropology that provides opportunities to apply theoretical and descriptive knowledge
of archaeology, cultural anthropology and physical anthropology in private and
government institutional settings.