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Course Criteria
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3.00 Credits
A. Aveni This course examines the origins of writing in four civilizations of the ancient world: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Mesoamerica, and the Andes. The writing systems developed in the first three of these civilizations (the fourth remains undeciphered) share several basic features, which students explore, along with other elements, in the origins and development of the Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian and Mesoamerican hieroglyphic writing systems. The knotted-string (khipu) recording system of the Incas is also examined, as well as development of alphabetic writing systems in the ancient Mediterranean. Students participate in script reading/writing workshops, as well as write a research paper on an ancient and/or non-Western (deciphered or undeciphered) writing system. No first-year students are admitted.
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3.00 Credits
A. Maca, M. Taylor This course focuses on the comparative and historical study of Native American cultures and societies in North, Central, and South America. Through the reading of several ethnographies, the class compares and contrasts Native American social, religious, political, and economic institutions and practices from the time of European contact to the present day. No first-year students are admitted.
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3.00 Credits
A. Aveni This course concentrates on the description and analysis of cosmological models and world views, primarily as revealed through myth, developed by a variety of ancient and contemporary societies. One goal in formulating a contrast between Western and non-Western aspects of world view is determining which concepts and ideas might emerge as common to all cultures as opposed to being unique in American society: Do all societies believe in a beginning and an end to their universe To what extent are cosmological ideas reflected in urban planning and particularly in the design of sacred space In what specific ways do developed world views depend upon cycles of social interaction This course is open to juniors and seniors only.
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3.00 Credits
R. Levine Political sociology is generally concerned with the interaction between the social structure and politics, between social processes and political processes. It considers questions such as the relationships between different political systems and social factors including economic development, social stratification, and socialization; or the relationship between the political factors of power, authority, sovereignty, and representation and the social factors of class, ethnicity, gender, and race. The approach of this course is historical and comparative. Among the topics considered are the intellectual foundations of the sociology of politics, social bases of power, politics, and social change, and the sociology of social movements. This course is open to juniors and seniors only.
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3.00 Credits
M. Moran This course examines human political action in a variety of societies, both within and outside established political structures. Beginning with the attempt to construct truly cross-cultural definitions of power and politics, the class looks at examples of both centralized and un-centralized systems of authority and management. Topics include the management of cooperation and collective action in the absence of formal leadership roles; the use of informal mechanisms such as gossip, witchcraft, and influence; succession to office and the symbols and ceremonies surrounding the transfer of power; the construction of group identities based on race, ethnicity, and class; gender relations as a domain of political action; ethnicity, nationalism, and ethnic conflict; and the particular perspective anthropology can bring to the study of politics. No first-year students are admitted.
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3.00 Credits
M. Loe Drawing on theoretical and empirical research, as well as visual media and print news reporting, this course explores gender as a primary market of social inequality in our society and a major impetus for social change. Specifically, students analyze how gendered ideologies, practices, and contexts shape social institutions such as work, family, medicine, sport, military, religion, and the beauty industry. They examine how institutions and bodies become contested sites for gender and sexual politics. The class also pays close attention to how gendered ideologies work in tandem with race, class, and sexual expectations, constraining (and sometimes enabling) bodies and lives. The course encourages students to analyze U.S. culture with a gendered lens. No first-year students are admitted.
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3.00 Credits
M. Loe This course draws on interdisciplinary research and writings to explore the ways in which the nature, distribution, meanings, and everyday life experiences associated with health, medicine, and illness are shaped by historical, cultural, political, and economic factors. Covering both micro- and macro-sociological terrains, this course utilizes a gendered lens to analyze critically the construction of gendered medical problems and doctor-patient encounters throughout history, women's experiences in a male-dominated health care system, and social movements in response to medical injustices. No first-year students are admitted.
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3.00 Credits
C. Henke Everyone knows that science and technology are major forces in modernity, affecting nearly every aspect of society and daily life. But, at the same time, science and technology are also human creations. This course presents science and technology as social institutions, formed through the interactions of scientists, engineers, politicians, protesters, and other social groups. Topics covered include theories of knowing; how laboratories work; class, gender, and race in science; the social construction of technologies; technological disasters; computing and information technology; and the role of "experts" and ethics in public debates. No first-year students are admitted.
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3.00 Credits
M. Moran This course examines traditional notions about men, women, and reproduction from a number of African societies. It focuses on the impact of European colonialism and other foreign political and economic institutions on women. Finally, the class studies the role of women in present-day African states, including their participation in national life, and the challenges and options presented by the future. No first-year students are admitted.
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3.00 Credits
A. Maca This course explores features of the changing and surviving cultural traditions of Mesoamerica, one of the oldest and most distinctive cultural spheres in the world. Students begin by considering the material and ideological bases of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican society, from the peopling of the continent, the rise of the Maya city-states, to the unfolding of the 15th-century world system and the consolidation of the Aztec Empire. The second part of the course is a historical overview of Mesoamerica from the first Spanish incursions to the onset of globalization and the Zapatista rebellion. The final segment of the course looks at the interplay between anthropology and the contemporary politics of developing Mesoamerican nations. The course's broad historical sweep provides a deep understanding of how the Mesoamerican past continues to engage and shape its present and, conversely, how modern concerns influence the results and implications of archaeological and anthropological research.
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