Anthropology Course Descriptions
LOWER-DIVISION COURSES 1. Introduction to Biological Anthropology
This course examines past and present relationships between human biology and behavioral diversity. Using an anthropological and evolutionary framework, we look at how human variation is measured, our place in nature, human genetics, human and nonhuman primate biology and behavior, the human fossil record, and the origin and meaning of human biological and behavioral variation. (4 units)
2. Introduction to Archaeology
Survey of the evolution of human culture during the prehistoric period in the Old World and the New World. Examination of the methods archaeologists use to study the past. (4 units)
3. Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology
Concept of culture, the development and evolution of social and cultural analyses of the major subsystems of culture (economic, ethnological, social and political organizations, philosophy, and world-view), and selected issues of social concern; racism, cultural determinism, cultural relativity. (4 units)
4. Vanished People and Lost Civilizations
Examination of “popular anthropology.” Humans and their culture, human origins, and the development and understanding of human behavior. Evaluation of theories and assumptions in the popular literature in light of current anthropological knowledge. (4 units)
5. Popular Culture and Biological Anthropology
Students examine popular culture interpretations of biological anthropology. After reviewing the history of biological anthropology, we analyze popular avenues (film, cartoons, newspapers, fiction) through which the public has been informed about human variation, the human fossil record, primate behavior, and human genetics. (4 units)
50. World Geography
Introduction to the geographical perspective—a spatial viewpoint—in the study of the locations and distributions of physical and human phenomena on the earth’s surface. Major global social, political, and economic problems discussed. (4 units)
56. Anthropology of Religion
Relationship between religion to culture, personality, and social organization. Theories on the functioning of myth, ritual, and symbolism. Religious leaders, interpretations of death and afterlife, traditional curing, and religious movements and cults. (4 units)
86. Native American Cultures
Study of the range of variation in Native American cultures. Examination of changes in recent history as well as contemporary issues. (4 units)
88. Women and Gender in the Middle East
Examination through monographs, novels, guest speakers, and films of the situations and activities of Middle Eastern women in a variety of geographical and class settings. Women in economic and political process, family and kinship, war, and revolution. Women and gender symbolism as related to politics, development, social change, and religious resurgence. (4 units)
90. Cross-Cultural Study of Women and Gender
Cross-cultural examination of the roles, statuses, and gender constructions of females and males through monographs, films, and guest speakers. Exploration of factors affecting the lives of women and men, such as domestic and public realms of activities, political and economic factors, social change, religion, family, and socialization. (4 units)
91. Lower-Division Seminar in Anthropology
Seminar for freshmen and sophomores on selected issues in anthropology. By permission of the instructor only. (4 units)
UPPER-DIVISION COURSES
110. Anthropological Theory
In-depth treatment of innovations and developments in anthropological thought. Emphasis on explaining what is essential about particular theoretical frameworks and their integration across anthropological subdisciplines. Required for majors and minors in anthropology. (5 units)
112. Anthropological Methods
Logic of research procedures and theoretical issues associated with anthropological practice. Skills and methods of designing and analyzing research explored in readings and exercises. Required for majors in anthropology. Prerequisites: ANTH 1, 2, 3, with grades of C– or better, or special permission of the department chair. (5 units)
114. Senior Project
An in-depth senior seminar in one of the four subfields of anthropology. Topic will change annually. Required for majors in anthropology. Prerequisite: ANTH 112 with a grade of C– or better, or special permission of the department chair. (5 units)
130. Primate Behavioral Ecology
Fundamental concepts related to the study of primate behavior and ecology. Course focuses on the theoretical frameworks that guide primate behavioral studies, including in-depth empirical exploration of adaptation, comparative primate behavior, ecology, field studies, and classification. ‘How do we know what we think we know?’ Critical evaluation of core concepts in primate behavioral ecology as well as data collection, presentation, and interpretation in primate field studies. (5 units)
132. Human Evolution
How do we know what we think we know about human evolution? Students explore this question by reading primary literature, examining fossil and comparative data, and exploring popular misconceptions about human evolution and diversity. Class reviews evolutionary theory and the varying levels with which evolutionary analysis can be applied to understanding past and present variation. These concepts are applied to three main areas of human evolution, including comparative behavior and biology, the hominin fossil record, and the basis for modern human diversity. (5 units)
133. Human Nutrition and Culture
Study of the interactions of biology and culture in shaping the dietary patterns and nutritional status of human beings. Discussion of the evolution of the human diet and nutritional requirements; the basic principles of human nutrition and nutritional assessment; and the social, economic, and political factors that influence the nutritional health of human societies today. Includes dietary assessment and interpretation exercises. (5 units)
134. Health, Disease, and Culture
Emphasizes the study of health and disease in ecological perspective; the influence of culture on the ways people explain and treat illness, stress, and healing; and the complexities of health care delivery in pluralistic societies. (5 units)
135. Human Development and Sexuality
Examination of evolutionary, biological, and sociocultural aspects of human growth, development, and sexuality throughout the life cycle. Special emphasis on prenatal development, pregnancy and birth, infancy and young childhood, adolescence, and old age in a range of societies. (5 units)
136. Forensic Anthropology
Using physical remains to learn what we can about the age, gender, and other characteristics of deceased people, including their nutrition, exposure to diseases, experience with serious accidents, and causes of death. (5 units)
140. Food, Culture, and the Environment
Exploration of the history and impact that food choices have made on human societies. Several foods that have become staples in the world today, like sugar, pepper, and various grains, have significantly affected the environment, patterns of land use, economy (both local and global), cuisine, and the meaning of meals and food sharing. Specific foods will be used to delve into these repercussions, both intended and unintended, of production. (5 units)
142. Environmental Archaeology
How archaeologists use the environment to understand past human societies. Use of geological, historical, and geographical techniques to study ancient environments. Discussion topics include issues of human evolution, complexity, symbolism, social interaction, and technology. Discussion of the data and arguments offered for the role of environments in creating and shaping cultures—how do environments and people shape each other? (5 units)
145. Historical Ecology
Historical ecology investigates the historical relationships between cultures and their environments. Students will use various types of data, including historical documents, maps, and land use information, to learn how to reconstruct the historical ecology of the Santa Clara Valley. (5 units)
146. Perspectives on the Spanish and Native American Experience
Examines the Spanish penetration and conquest of the New World. Considers changes that influenced both the Native Americans and European immigrant populations to form new ethnic groupings. Ethnohistorical, documentary, and archaeological records applied to explore relevant topics. (5 units)
147. Archaeology of Complex Societies
The world and people have changed radically in the last 10,000 years with the domestication of plants and animals and the development of cities and states. We examine the archaeological evidence in different regions of the world (after 12,000 B.C.) to understand how and why these transformations occurred. (5 units)
148. Historical Archaeology
Introduction to the discipline of historical archaeology. Its emergence and development, including controversies regarding its relationships with the larger fields of history and anthropology. Introduction to the variety of data sources used by historical archaeologists to aid in interpretation of the historical past. (5 units)
150. Religion in Culture and Society
Cross-cultural examination of religions in a range of human societies. Emphasis on religious pluralism, religious movements, and secularism in the contemporary world. (5 units)
151. Law and Society
Current issues in the study of law and society. Exploration of legal systems at various levels of societal complexity to understand the basis for social control in all human societies. Courts, legal professions, and politics from a cross-cultural perspective. (5 units)
152. Political Anthropology
Cross-cultural examination of political behavior in a range of human societies and the effects of social, cultural, and environmental factors on political organization. Religion and politics, the role of women in politics, ethnic competition, secret societies, political ritual and ceremony, and the effects of colonialism and economic change. Special emphasis on the relationship between local communities and national governments. (5 units)
154. Environmental Anthropology
Survey of the theories and methods used to examine the complex and dynamic interactions between humans and their physical environment. An emphasis is placed on the relationships between human cultural systems and ecological contexts by focusing on how humans use and transform ecosystems and how such interactions shape social, political, and economic institutions. (5 units)
155. Conflict Resolution
Examines sources and responses to conflict in varied social and cultural contexts. Emphasis on application of negotiation, mediation, and arbitration in different fields. (5 units)
156. Anthropology of Muslim Peoples and Practices
Examination of the variety of religious experiences, activities, and interpretations, and the place of Islam in current social and political life such as community organization, local-level politics, governments and political resistance, women’s roles and gender, and contact with the West. Discussion about underlying reasons for the resurgence of Islam and effects for Muslim peoples and societies. (5 units)
157. Family and Kinship
Ways in which kinship and family life can be organized. Causes and consequences of different family patterns. How families differ across cultures, over time, and among different groups in the United States. (5 units)
158. Applied Anthropology
Application of anthropological knowledge to contemporary human problems. Topics range from the introduction of new crops in agricultural development to miscommunication in international business. Concerns of education, health, and volunteer services. Implications of ethical problems and theories of social change. (5 units)
159. Critiquing Cultural Development
Examines issues of change in “developing” countries. Emphasis on exploring and discussing issues related to student study-abroad and immersion experiences in regional, national, and global contacts. (5 units)
172. Anthropology of Aging
Examination of aging and the elderly in a range of human societies. Emphasis on social change, gender, and social and geographic mobility, as well as social, political, and cultural differences in understanding how the elderly adapt to, and cope with, the modern world. (5 units)
180. Study of Selected Cultures
Examination of the social life, culture, and institutions of geographic areas and culture zones not otherwise covered in ANTH 181-188 regional studies course series. (5 units)
181. PacificIslandSocieties
Examination of the societies of the three culture areas of the Pacific: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Comparison of archaeological evidence, traditional ecological adaptations, social organization, and belief systems. Colonialism, economic change, migration, and political independence. (5 units)
185. Peoples of Latin America
Examines the diversity of Latin America, a continent of great physical, archaeological, cultural, and socioeconomic contrasts; the mix of races and cultural traditions; human adaptation to the natural environment; economic and social inequalities; and the common heritage of Latin American peoples. (5 units)
186. Mesoamerican Prehistory
A survey of the prehistoric cultures of Mesoamerica from earliest human occupation to European colonization. Examines the origins of agriculture, village life, and the rise and fall of state-level societies through the work of archaeologists and epigraphists. Consideration given to the ecological adaptations, social organization, and belief systems of the Aztecs, Toltecs, Maya, and the inhabitants of Teotihuacan. (5 units)
188. People, Culture, and Change in the Middle East
Examination of people’s lives, social organization, and change in the Middle East through archaeological evidence, ethnographies, film, and novels. Emphasis on political culture, the fate of tribal peoples and peasants under modernizing nations, women in society and gender symbolism, contact with the West, Islam and religious resurgence, and revolution. (5 units)
189. North American Prehistory
Survey of the prehistoric cultures of North America and Northern Mexico from earliest human occupation to European colonization. (5 units)
193. Advanced Seminar in Anthropology
Seminars for juniors and seniors on selected topics in anthropology. By permission of the instructor only. (5 units)
196. Archaeological Method and Theory
Introduction to the techniques of discovery and analysis that archaeologists have found useful in research. Special attention to sampling techniques in survey and excavation. Classification techniques for measuring parameters of prehistoric demography, diet, craft specialization, and exchange. (5 units)
197. Field Course in Anthropological Method
On-site anthropological field research. Practical experience in the basic techniques of observation and field analyses. By permission of the chair and instructor only. (5 units)
198. Internship
Opportunity for students to work and conduct anthropological analyses in community agencies, museums, government agencies, and political or industrial organizations. May be repeated for credit with approval of the chair. Required for majors in anthropology. Must receive approval of the internship coordinator prior to registration. (5 units)
199. Directed Reading/Directed Research
Intensive reading in areas not emphasized by the department. Independent research on specific topics not fully covered in departmental courses. May be repeated for credit with approval of the chair. Written departmental approval necessary prior to registration. (5 units)
Updated 12/26/08
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