SUMMARY OF ANTHROPOLOGY CURRICULUM
The subject areas within the curriculum are given in the table below.
Introductory: Anthropology 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26.
Ethnography: Anthropology 4, 25, 26, 27, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 50.3, 52.
Cultural: Anthropology 3, 9, 12.3, 12.4, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 34, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50.2, 50.4, 51, 55, 56, 60, 73.
Archaeology: Anthropology 5, 8, 11, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 30, 75.
Biological: Anthropology 6, 20, 41, 42, 43, 77.
1. Introduction to Anthropology
07F, 08F: 10
A comprehensive study of humankind, the course will survey and organize the evidence of our biological and cultural evolution. It will explore the unity and diversity of human cultural behavior as exemplified in the widest variations in which this behavior has been manifest. Lectures and readings will describe the dialectical relationship between the material conditions of our existence, on the one hand, and, on the other, the unique human capacity for creativity both in thought and in action. The focus of this course will be not only to outline the conditions and conditioning of our cultural past and present, but also to indicate possibilities for future evolution of human culture and experience. Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: CI. Watanabe, the staff.
3. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
08W, 08S, 09W: 10
Cultural anthropology is the study of human ways of life in the broadest possible comparative perspective. Cultural anthropologists are interested in all types of societies, from hunting and gathering bands to modern industrial states. The aim of cultural anthropology is to document the full range of human cultural adaptations and achievements and to discern in this great diversity the underlying covariations among and changes in human ecology, institutions and ideologies. (CULT) Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: NW. Gutiérrez Nájera, Craig, Endicott.
4. Peoples and Cultures of Native North America (Identical to, and described under, Native American Studies 10)
08W: 2 09W: 10
Open to all classes. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Kan.
5. Reconstructing the Past: Introduction to Archaeology
07F, 09S: 11
Archaeology is the anthropology of past human societies. It has three important goals: (1) studying culture history, (2) reconstructing past life-ways, and (3) understanding culture change. This course will introduce students to the basic principles used to interpret the material remains of past human behavior. Students will do a series of small projects designed to acquaint them with archaeological methods. Case studies will be discussed to demonstrate how archaeologists reconstruct past cultures and investigate changes in them. (ARCH) Dist: SOC. Abdi.
6. Introduction to Biological Anthropology
07F, 08F: 11
The major themes of biological anthropology will be introduced; these include the evolution of the primates, the evolution of the human species, and the diversification and adaptation of modern human populations. Emphasis will be given to (1) the underlying evolutionary framework, and (2) the complex interaction between human biological and cultural existences and the environment. (BIOL) Dist: SCI. Dobson.
7. First-Year Seminars in Anthropology
Consult special listings
8. The Rise and Fall of Prehistoric Civilizations
08W: 11 08F: 10
The transformations involved in the evolution from small, non-hierarchical, kinship-based societies to complex state organizations are examined in this course. Basic issues covered will include the change from food-collecting to food-producing societies (‘the Neolithic Revolution’), the development of ranking and stratification, and the emergence of central places and the first cities. Theories of the evolution of civilizations are discussed, and students will become acquainted with archaeological methods of reconstructing past sociopolitical systems. The civilizations considered include Mesopotamia in the Near East, Egypt, the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley, Teotihuacan and the lowland Maya of Mesoamerica, and the Aztec and Inca Empires. (ARCH) Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: NW. Nichols.
9. Introduction to the Study of Language and Culture
08S, 09S: 12
This course will introduce students to the study of human language as a species-specific endowment of humankind. In this investigation we will examine such issues as: 1) the relationship between language use (e.g. metaphoric creativity) and cultural values, 2) the relationships between language diversity and ethnic, political, economic stratification, 3) language use and the communicating of individual identity, thoughts, and intentions in face-to-face interaction, 4) the cultural patterning of speech behavior, and 5) whether or not the structure of specific languages affects the characteristics of culture, cognition, and thought in specific ways. (CULT) Dist: SOC. Ball.
11. Ancient Native Americans (Identical to Native American Studies 11)
07F: 10A 08F: 12
This course provides an introduction to the ancient societies of North America. Discussion begins with a consideration of the wider social context of archaeological views of Native Americans and how these have changed over time. The course examines the populating of the Americas and related controversies. We then concentrate on the subsequent development of diverse pre-Columbian societies that included hunter-gatherer bands in the Great Basin, the Arctic, and the sub-Arctic; Northwest Coast chiefdoms; farmers of the Southwest, such as Chaco Canyon and the desert Hohokam; and the mound-builders of the Eastern Woodlands. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Nichols.
14. Death and Dying
09S: 10
Death is a universal human experience, yet the attitudes and responses toward it develop out of a complex interplay between the personality of the individual and her or his sociocultural background. Using anthropological, historical, and biographical works, as well as novels and films, the course explores the meaning of death in a variety of cultures and religious traditions. Particular attention is paid to understanding native ideas about the person, emotions, life cycle, and the afterlife, as well as the analysis of mortuary rituals and the experience of the dying and the survivors. The course also offers an anthropological perspective on the development of the modern Western (particularly American) mode of dealing with death and dying and addresses the issue of mass death in the twentieth century. (CULT) Dist: SOC or INT. Kan.
15. Political Anthropology
08F: 2A
The political anthropology of non-Western societies raises basic questions concerning the nature of authority, coercion, persuasion, and communication in both small-scale and complex societies. Classical approaches to problems of freedom and order are challenged through examples drawn from various societies. Topics including the ideologies and language of political domination, revolution, wealth, and the transition to post-modern societies are assessed, as are factions, knowledge and control, state secrecy, state and non-state violence, and religious fundamentalism. (CULT) Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: NW. Eickelman.
16. Secrecy and Lying in Politics, Law and Society (Identical to Public Policy 81.7)
08X: 10A
Claims to secret knowledge—in families, organizations, and states—is a form of authority over those who do not possess it. This seminar explores how claims to secret knowledge and lying relate to the institutional and cultural frameworks in which knowledge is produced, the use of “leaks” to challenge hierarchical controls and sometimes sustain them, and the ways in which secrecy, deception, and lying form a necessary and often desirable part of social, political, and economic life. (CULT) Dist: SOC. Eickelman.
17. The Anthropology of Health and Illness
08S: 10 09W: 12
This course will examine how people in various cultures define and make sense of illness and what they do about it. We will consider the metaphors and symbols attached to diseases and healing rituals, asking whether and how ritual really works. We will explore the role of ritual healing in modern society, as well as in pre-industrial societies. We will compare indigenous and Western forms of medical practice to discover universal aspects of the tasks of medical care. In recent years there has been an increasing demand for anthropologists to work with physicians in many areas of medicine, among them mental illness, drug abuse, and AIDS. This course will introduce students to anthropological methods and knowledge that contribute to efforts to solve some of the puzzles of disease and illness. (CULT) Dist: SOC or INT. Craig, Welsch.
18. Introduction to Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
07F, 08F: 3A
This course will introduce students to the premier method of empirical research in cultural anthropology: participant observation, and associated informal dialogue and interviewing. We will study techniques for planning and carrying out such research, and for recording, checking validity and reliability, storing, coding, analyzing and writing up of ethnographic data. Students will undertake “mini” research projects, and become familiar with basic ethical issues, informed consent, writing of research proposals, formulating research contracts, and sharing results with cooperating individuals and groups. (CULT) Dist: SOC. Alverson, Gutiérrez Nájera.
19. Islam: An Anthropological Approach (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 6)
08F: 10A
This course integrates anthropological approaches to understanding Islam with textual and social historical ones. The anthropological approach values the study of sacred texts and practices as they are locally understood throughout the world and in different historical contexts. This course focuses on Islam as practiced in the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, Africa, Central Asia, and in Europe and North America. It assesses the contributions of religious leaders and activists as much as ordinary believers, showing the multiple ways in which Muslims throughout the world have contributed to the vitality of the Islamic tradition. Many different people and groups claim to speak for Islam. This course suggests ways of re-thinking increasingly vocal debates concerning “authentic” Islam and who speaks for it. (CULT) Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Eickelman.
20. Lemurs, Monkeys and Apes
08W: 10 09S: 12
Humans are primates. The biology of our species cannot be fully understood outside of this context. This course offers a broad survey of living nonhuman primate diversity. The physical, behavioral, and ecological attributes of each of the major groups of primates will be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on traits relating to diet, locomotion, growth, mating, and social systems. Students will gain a comparative perspective on humankind. (BIOL) Dist: SCI. Dobson.
21. The Aztecs (Identical to Latin American and Caribbean Studies 42)
09W: 11
For nearly two thousand years the dominant political power in Middle America has resided in central Mexico. Mexico City, the capital of the empire of New Spain and of the modern nation-state of Mexico, lies over the remains of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire. This course examines the development of the Aztec empire and the organization of Aztec society and religion, and the Spanish conquest of the Aztec. It ends with an introduction to Nahua society in the first century after conquest. We will also consider the varied perspectives of Aztec history offered by Nahua texts, archaeology, history, and art history. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Nichols.
22. Olmecs, Maya, and Toltecs: Ancient Civilizations of Mesoamerica (Identical to Latin American and Caribbean Studies 43)
Not offered in the period from 07F through 09S
23. The Civilization of the Ancient Near East
07F: 2 08F: 11
Often hailed as the “Cradle of Civilization,” the ancient Near East witnessed many major developments in the human career, including the origins of villages and cities, food production, states and empires, and writing. This course will trace the roots of Near Eastern civilization from early sedentary villages to complex political formations. It will also survey socio-political and cultural developments—including religion, literature, and arts and crafts—in Mesopotamia, Persia, Anatolia, and the Levant. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Abdi.
24. The Civilization of Ancient Egypt
08S: 11; 09S: 2
The most majestic of ancient civilizations, Egypt holds a special place in human history. This course will begin with a consideration of how the environment and geography of Egypt shaped the course of Egyptian civilization from the archaic period to the Roman conquest. It will focus on the distinctive features of Egyptian civilization, including the cosmology, institution of kingship, and characteristic style of art and architecture. (ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Abdi.
25. The Land of the Totem Poles: Native Peoples of the Northwest Coast (Identical to, and described under, Native American Studies 49)
08S, 09S: 2
Open to all classes. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Kan.
26. Southeast Asia: Tribes, Kingdoms and Nation States (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 16)
08W, 09W: 11
The cultures of Southeast Asia are remarkably varied, ranging from elaborate Hinduized civilizations (Bali) and modern city-states (Singapore) to “hill tribes” (e.g., the Meo of Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam) and nomadic foraging bands (e.g., the Semang of Malaysia). This course is a survey of Southeast Asian societies focusing on the question of why their cultures take the form they do. This entails an examination of the modes of environmental adaptation of the various peoples, their integration into regional and world-wide systems, and the historical influences of the great civilizations of India, China, the Middle East, and Europe. The course looks at how Southeast Asians live and at the religions that give meaning to their lives. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Endicott.
27. Thought and Change in the Middle East and Central Asia (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 5)
07F: 10A
This course focuses on changing ideas of political and religious authority in the Middle East. Topics include how changing notions of personal, tribal, ethnic, and religious identities influence politics locally and internationally; religion and mass higher education; the multiple meanings and prospects of democracy; conflict over land and natural resources; political and economic migration; new communications media; the global and local bases for extremist movements; and the changing faces of Islam and other religions in the region’s public spaces. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Eickelman.
28. Origins of Food Production
Not offered in the period from 07F through 09S
30. Archaeology of Early Humans
08S: 2
This course introduces students to the archaeology if our early human ancestors. We begin with a survey of humankind’s discovery of its remote past and then review human cultural evolution from the first appearance of proto-humans 2.5 million years ago to the end of the Paleolithic period. We discuss such groundbreaking developments as the origins of tool-making, the discovery of fire, human radiation out of Africa, and the origins of language, social organizations, and arts.(ARCH) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Abdi.
32. Anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas (Identical to Asian and Middle Eastern Studies 26)
08W, 09S: 12
This course introduces students to the peoples and cultures of Tibet and the greater Himalayan region (Nepal, northern India, Bhutan). We examine the cultural, ecological, political, religious, and economic interfaces that define life on the northern and southern slopes of Earth’s greatest mountain range. In addition to learning about Himalayan and Tibetan lifeways, we will also learn about how these mountainous parts of Asia have figured into occidental imaginings, from the earliest adventurers to contemporary travelers and scholars. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Craig.
33. Crossing Over: Latino Roots and Transitions (Identical to, and described under, Latino Studies 44)
09W: 2
(ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Gutiérrez Nájera.
34. Comparative Perspectives on the U.S.-Mexican Borderlands (Identical to, and described under, Latino Studies 45)
07F: 2
(CULT) Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Gutiérrez Nájera.
35. Culture, Class, and Community in Contemporary Mesoamerica
09S: 2
A comparative study of the Hispanic and indigenous societies of Mexico and Guatemala, this course will focus upon the synthesis of three developments that play a major role in the problems of nation-building and the formation of national consciousness in this region of the world: (a) the mixing of Spanish and pre-Columbian civilizations that has led to the creation of vital, if contradictory, indigenous cultures; (b) the role of conflicting social relations between the masses and elites and their effect upon demographic, economic, and intellectual developments; and (c) the new geopolitical importance of this region for the U.S. and the reciprocal growing influences of Hispanic culture in contemporary North America. Prerequisite: One course in Anthropology or Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Watanabe.
36. Culture and Culture Change in Post-Colonial Africa (Identical to African and African American Studies 44)
08S, 09S: 10A
This course will survey principal changes in institutions and ideologies which have taken place in rural and in urban communities of southern, central, and west Africa over the past half century. Emphasis will be placed on study of the responses and adaptations of indigenous arts (sculptural, architectural, ritual, and healing) and associated cultural ideologies to the intrusions into, and appropriations of, African communities by Western institutions and interests. Case study material will draw on peoples of the modern African nations: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Mali. Prerequisite: One introductory course in anthropology or in AAAS or by permission. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Garland.
37. Legacies of Conquest: Latin America
07F: 12 08F: 10
Despite nearly five hundred years of conquest, colonialism, and change, native peoples still survive in culturally distinct enclaves within the dominant Iberian traditions of Latin America. This course examines the roots as well as the endemic social inequalities and prejudices that resulted. Selected case studies will relate to such contemporary problems as international drug trafficking, deforestation of the Amazon basin, and ongoing political repression and revolution in Central America. The course draws on the insights of local ethnographic studies to shed light on global problems, while anthropologically situating native cultures of Latin America in their larger historical and geopolitical context. Prerequisite: One course in anthropology or Latin American and Caribbean Studies. (ETHN). Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Watanabe.
38. Peoples of Oceania
07F: 2 08F: 12
This course will deal with the ancient, historical, and contemporary aboriginal peoples of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and New Guinea. It will investigate migrations of humans into the Pacific, their adaptation to the island environments, the variety of sociocultural systems that arose, and the relationships between the various peoples of the region. It will also consider some effects on Oceanic cultures of trade, colonialism, missionaries, the second world war, tourists, ethnic self-consciousness, and national independence. Prerequisite: Anthropology 1 or 3 or permission of the instructor. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Endicott, Welsch.
39. Multiethnic Russian Empire under the Tsarist, Soviet, and Post-Soviet Regimes (Identical to Russian 39)
08W: 10 09W: 2
This course explores the emergence of ethnic identity and nationalism among the peoples of the Russian empire, the Soviet Union and their successor states. Drawing on anthropological and historical works, it examines the process of formation of a centralized multiethnic Russian empire and the liberation struggle of its nationalities prior to 1917. It then proceeds to the crucial period of 1917 - 1991 and explores the theory and practice of nationalities politics of the Bolshevik, Stalinist, and late Soviet socialism. The dissolution of the USSR, the rise of interethnic conflicts, and the relations between ethnic groups in Russia and the successor states are the focus of the second half of the course, where several case studies are discussed in depth. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: W. Kan.
41. Hominid Evolution
09S: 10
This course examines human evolution primarily from the perspectives of paleontology and archaeology. It emphasizes contemporary attempts to reconstruct the hominid past by drawing variously upon morphological, ecological, and cultural considerations. Attention is also given to the patterns of biomolecular variation illuminating the origin of the human lineage and on the subsequent appearance of the modern species. Prerequisite: Anthropology 6 or permission of the instructor. (BIOL) Dist: SCI. Dobson.
42. Primate Societies
07F: 2
Primates are highly-social mammals. Most primate species live in cohesive social groups. Living in a group poses unique challenges to the individual. This course explores the diversity of primate social organization, with regard to the costs and benefits of group living. Students will gain an understanding of the evolutionary pressures influencing primate social behavior in an ecological context. (BIOL) Dist: SCI. Dobson.
43. Human Osteology
08W, 09W: 12
This course is concerned with analysis of skeletal remains of earlier human populations. Topics include bone morphology, principles of bone growth and remodelling, biomechanical aspects of bone structure, analysis of variation within and between populations, paleopathology, and paleodemography. Practical techniques, emphasizing fragment identification, aging, and sexing, are intensively developed in regular laboratory sessions and are central to the course. Prerequisite: Anthropology 6 or permission of the instructor. (BIOL) Dist: SLA. Muldoon.
44. Globalization from Above and Below
07F: 10
Globalization is used to describe various differing social, economic, and political processes. Most commonly, globalization is used to refer to increasing interconnections of people, ideas, and money across the world. While some scholars may praise the connections offered by globalization, others provide more critical accounts of the homogenizing impacts of globalization on culture, and the exploitative nature of transnational corporations on both people and the natural environment. In this course we examine both the ways that globalization is producing a world that while diverse, is changing through increased interconnectedness and new forms of mobilization on the ground that challenge various forms of inequalities. (CULT) Dist: INT or SOC. Gutiérrez Nájera.
45. Asian Medical Systems
09S: 10
This course investigates systems of healing practiced in, and derived from, Asia. We will focus primarily on three Asian medical systems: Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and Tibetan medicine. We will strive to understand how these medical systems are based on coherent logics that are not only biologically but also culturally determined. We will also analyze the deployment of these medical systems in non-Asian contexts, and examine the relationship between Asian systems and “western” biomedicine. (CULT) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Craig.
46. Culture, Economy, and Development Policy in the World’s Poorer Regions
Nof offered in the period from 07F through 09S
47. Hunters and Gatherers
08W: 2 09S: 10
This course explores the hunting and gathering way of life, the sole means of human subsistence until the development of agriculture 10,000 years ago, now represented by only a few dozen groups around the world. We will examine a number of hunting and gathering peoples living in highly disparate environments— deserts, tropical forests, arctic regions—in an attempt to discover how they adapt to their natural and social environments, how they organize and perpetuate their societies, and how they bring meaning to their lives through religion. Understanding contemporary hunter-gatherers illuminates the workings of earlier human societies as well as fundamental features of human society in general, such as the sexual division of labor. Prerequisite: One introductory Anthropology course. (CULT) Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: NW. Endicott.
48. The Anthropology of Religion
08S, 09S: 11
In this course religions are seen as cultural systems which give shape and meaning to the world in which people live and provide a means, in the form of rituals, by which they can attempt to manipulate those worlds. The emphasis is on understanding non-Western religions, especially those of tribal peoples, through the interpretation of myth, ritual, and expressed beliefs. The role of religion as a social institution is also examined. Alternative approaches to the interpretation of myth, ritual symbolism, deity conceptions, witchcraft, etc., are explored. Prerequisite: One course in Anthropology or Religion or permission of the instructor. (CULT) Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: NW. Kan, Watanabe.
50.2. Religion, Reason and Reform in Morocco
08S: D.F.S.P. (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies)
This course introduces religion in Morocco, and how Islam (and other faiths) relate to Moroccan society, politics, and culture and to the Middle East and Mediterranean worlds. Secular and religious movements in Morocco, as in Tunisia and Algeria - France’s other former colonies - show profound political contrasts and have a vital impact on European societies today. The course also explores how the study of North Africa, particularly Morocco, has contributed significantly to ongoing debates over understanding the role of religion and politics in contemporary social life. (CULT) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Eickelman.
50.3. The Brazilian Amazon and Multilingualism (Identical to Linguistics 50 and Latin American and Caribbean Studies 51)
08W: 12 09W: 11
This course examines multilingualism as an anthropological object through the comparison of two indigenous Amazonian “multilingual culture areas,” or social systems where many languages coexist in networks of alliance and shared cultural patterns. We explore mythology, kinship and marriage, and the history of contact in connection to language in these sites. We also look at the politics of language identity and indigenous rights in contemporary Brazil. (ETHN) Dist: SOC; WCult: NW. Ball.
50.4. The Anthropology of Tourism
07F, 09W: 10A
This course examines the practice of tourism as a way of knowing the world and constituting the self. It also explores the role of tourism in the lives of those who act as “hosts” to tourists. Topics include the role of tourism in the essentialization and commodification of culture, the emergence, organization, and effects of mass tourism, the cultural dynamics surrounding several kinds of niche tourism, and the possibility of socially and ecologically responsible tourism development. (CULT) Dist: SOC. Garland.
51. Colonialism and Its Legacies in Anthropological Perspective
08W, 09W: D.F.S.P.
Between the early 16th and mid 20th centuries, European nations and Japan colonized much of the rest of the world. This course looks at the history of colonialism in various parts of the world, focusing on the similarities and differences between colonialism as practiced by different colonial rulers in different regions at different times. It also traces the ways in which the colonial process and experience has shaped the world we live in today, both in developed and developing nations, in such areas as political systems, economic systems, religions, and interethnic relations. Prerequisite: Any two courses in anthropology; Anthropology 38 highly recommended. (CULT) Dist: SOC or INT; WCult: CI. Watanabe, Alverson.
52. Introduction to Maori Society
08W, 09W: D.F.S.P.
This course is an introduction to the study of traditional and contemporary Maori society and culture. Topics for study include pre-European Maori history, origin and migration traditions, land ownership and use, religion, leadership, meeting ground (marae) protocols, the colonial experience, struggles of resistance and of cultural recovery. (ETHN) Dist: SOC. WCult: NW. Watanabe, Alverson.
54. Foreign Study in Anthropology
08W, 09W: D.F.S.P.
Credit for this course is awarded to students who have successfully completed the designated course in the department of Anthropology at the University of Auckland during the Dartmouth foreign study program in Anthropology and Linguistics and Cognitive Science. Prerequisite: Two courses in Anthropology. Dist: SOC.
55. Anthropology of International Health
08X: 10A
This course explores human responses to disease and illness from the perspective of medical anthropology, with a particular focus on international health. In this context, ‘international health’ not only refers to health care systems, medical practices, and ideas about illness and the body in cross-cultural contexts, but also encompasses issues of health development paradigms, culture and epidemiology, global health equity and human rights issues. This course is designed for both undergraduates and Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) students. (CULT) Dist: SOC or INT. Welsch, Craig.
56. Introduction to Research Methods in Medical Anthropology
08X: 2A
This course will introduce students to the various methods medical anthropologists have used to understand and study health, illness, health care, health-seeking behavior, as well as issues surrounding the ethics of anthropological research in a variety of medical contexts. This course will provide both theoretical foundations and “hands-on” opportunities to study issues directly relevant to health and illness, and to the effective provision of health care. This course is designed for both undergraduates and Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) students. (CULT) Dist: SOC. Welsch, Craig.
60. Who Owns Native Culture? (Identical to, and described under, Native American Studies 54)
07F, 08F: 2A
(CULT) Dist: SOC; WCult: CI. Ranco.
Culminating Seminars
Enrollment in all culminating seminars will normally be limited to seniors, with others by permission.
73. Main Currents in Anthropology
07F: 3B 08F: 12
This course examines the theoretical concerns that define anthropology as a discipline. These include the nature and extent of human social and cultural variation; the relationship of institutional arrangements in society to systems of meaning; the material and moral determinants of human social life; the dynamics of change within and between ways of life otherwise taken by their practitioners as given; the place of power in maintaining, challenging, and representing meaningfully constituted human orders. Readings by major theorists past and present will be treated as neither canonical texts nor dead-letter formulations but as part of an ongoing inquiry into the myriad dimensions-and possibilities-of being human. (CULT) Dist: SOC. Alverson, Watanabe.
75. Ecology, Culture, and Environment
07F: 2A
Anthropology’s interest in the interactions of humans and their environments has been long-standing, especially in archaeology. In this seminar we will consider changing conceptual frameworks for understanding human-environmental interactions and long-standing debates about nature vs. culture, materialist vs. symbolic approaches, the development of cultural ecology, and the new “ecologies.” We will draw on the research of archaeologists, biological and sociocultural anthropologists, geographers, and historians. (ARCH) Dist: SOC. Nichols.
77. Origins of Language
08F: 3A
Language is an emergent property of multiple interacting biological processes, some of which are shared with other animals. The goal of this capstone seminar in biological anthropology is to investigate the origins of language by integrating perspectives from evolutionary linguistics, primate behavior, and paleoanthropology. Students will be required to critique recent research on the evolution of language, while developing an understanding of the history of current debates. (BIOL) Pending Faculty Approval. Dobson.
85. Reading Course
All terms: Arrange
Students who would like to pursue intensive, supervised study in some particular aspect of anthropology may do so with the agreement of an appropriate advisor. The student and advisor will work out together a suitable topic, procedure, and product of the study. Prerequisite: written permission of the department faculty member who will be advising the student.
87. Research Course
All terms: Arrange
Students with an interest in research in anthropology and a particular problem they would like to investigate may do so with the agreement of an appropriate advisor. The student and advisor will work out together a suitable topic, procedure, and product of the study. Prerequisite: written permission of the department faculty member who will be advising the student.
88. Anthropology Honors
All terms: Arrange
Open only to honors seniors by arrangement with the Chair. Admission to the honors program shall be by formal written proposal only. Consult with Chair concerning the details. Prerequisite: written permission of the department faculty member who will be advising the student.