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2024-2025 Binghamton University Academic Guide
Courses
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Anthropology |
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ANTH 515 - Evolutionary Theory
Credits: Variable
Basic principles, general body of evolutionary theory as applied in both biology and biological anthropology. Topics include natural selection, adaptation, the modern synthesis as well as microevolutionary and macroevolutionary processes. Consideration of the fossil record and living human populations. Background for further studies in biological anthropology. Taught every year.
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ANTH 516 - Europeanization&Eu Integration
Credits: Variable
Examines the processes of Europeanization and European integration from anthropological perspectives. Reviews major themes in the historical, contemporary and comparative anthropology and ethnology of Europe, in order to develop a critical view on what role anthropologists might play in the analysis and understanding of transnationalism, globalization and supranationalism in Europe. Themes include migration and diaspora, regionalism, nationalism, ethnic conflict, popular culture, citizenship, sovereignty, heritage and tradition, and borderlands of identity and territory.
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ANTH 517 - Linguistic Anthropology
Credits: 4
Application of linguistic concepts, techniques, findings to wide range of anthropological topics.
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ANTH 518 - Ethnographic Analysis
Credits: Variable
Works of diverse ethnographers seen through perspective of sociology of knowledge. In-depth and individualized analysis of intellectual and social, historical and other non-intellectual forces that shape ethnographic research.
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ANTH 520 - Political Ethnography
Credits: Variable
Explores the historical development and contemporary practice of political anthropology within the British and American traditions of cultural and social anthropology since 1940. Examines the origins and evolution of the theoretical and methodological concerns that gave rise to modern political anthropology, and the relations between an anthropology of politics and the politics of anthropology. Among the theoretical, methodological and professional issues to be considered are: process and action theory, transactionalism, political economy, regional studies, local-state-nation analyses, neo-evolutionism, Marxist/Marxian approaches, political fields and networks, subaltern studies, colonialism and post-colonialism, globalization, nationalism, and borders and boundaries.
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ANTH 522 - Cultures of Collecting
Credits: Variable
Collections are sites of appropriation and categorization whereby objects are called upon to tell particular stories about the world, and about the collector. We will examine these narratives historically, looking at both institutional and private practices of collecting, and the imperatives that underpin them. We will address questions of cultural stewardship, while also looking at issues of possession and desire.
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ANTH 525 - Language Culture And Semiotics
Credits: Variable
Introduction to semiotic theories of meaning in anthropology, linguistics, and other related fields. Focuses on the contextual mediation of cultural meaning through various typologies of signs. Different semiotic methods and techniques contrasted. Analyses developed for broadly cultural and specifically linguistic projects. Problems of interpretation and their relation to science explored throughout.
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ANTH 526 - Language and Identity
Credits: Variable
In this seminar, we will explore the role of language in the dynamic construction of social and cultural identities. After a brief historical overview on the intricate interplay between language, thought, and culture, we will explore identity not as a static category, rather as a dynamic process in continuous negotiation with both the self and with other identities. We will be able to analyze how speakers enact, legitimate, and protect their culturally specific positionings through communicative interactions in various sociocultural settings.
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ANTH 527 - Anthropology of Art & Museums
Credits: Variable
This course frames the anthropology of art in an historical perspective while focusing on contemporary configurations of the field and its relationship to central preoccupations in socio-cultural anthropology. It covers such topics as the analysis of art practices within local ethnographic settings; the politics of art, representation, and display; art, aesthetics and the culture industry; the circulation of art objects, and the production of meaning and value within art-world institutions; patronage; museums and collecting.
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ANTH 538 - Kinship, Gender & Sexuality
Credits: 4
Examines theories of power and difference through a focus on kinship, gender and sexuality. Organizing questions include: how kinship works to bind people to social structures, how the powerful bonds of kinship, with their signifying ties to gender and sexuality, are made available for larger social projects (community-building, nationalism, social policy, etc.), and produce exclusions as meanings grounded in everyday practices are redeployed to larger arenas; how kinship mediates relationships between nature and culture, and through that works to “naturalize” social differences (gender, race, sexuality, class) and systems of inequality. We ground our studies of kinship, gender and sexuality in readings on their places and uses in, for example, colonialism, decolonization, prostitution, queer subcultures, nation-building, “race” and racism, and new reproductive technologies.
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ANTH 539 - The Body
Credits: Variable
Emphasizes anthropological and feminist scholarship on “the body” that has worked to denaturalize the body by interrogating how bodies are produced as socially meaningful, how bodies are “read,” and in what embodiment consists. Course readings use the body to examine: social theories of identity and difference and processes of subjectification, including shifts in their formation within conditions of post/modernity, postcoloniality and late capitalism; current approaches to gender and sexedness, sexuality and heteronormativity, racialization and racisms, and class; large-scale processes interpolated through specific bodies, such as colonialism, nationalism and neoliberalism and, more broadly, structures of inequality and the operations of power; cultural differences in understandings of the body and enactments of embodiment, helping us to explore comparative questions about materiality and performativity and about bodies as cultural artifacts.
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ANTH 540 - Human Skeletal Biology
Credits: Variable
Osteology is the study of the skeleton. This course is designed to teach advanced anatomy of the human skeleton and applications of this anatomy to the analysis and interpretation of human skeletal remains from both archaeological and forensic contexts. Various parts of the skeleton and general skeletal biology are treated from comparative and evolutionary perspectives. The course is organized so that it includes both lecture and laboratory components. Lecture topics will include discussions of human skeletal anatomy, bone growth and development, osteometry, ethics, pathology, the biological profile, and applied uses of osteological data. The laboratory component will emphasize advanced osteological identification of adult and subadult remains. Offered every year. Lab hours outside of class are required.
Course Fees Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes.
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ANTH 542 - Human Growth & Development
Credits: Variable
Variation in human growth during the life cycle; biobehavioral aspects of growth; individual and population processes; genetic, environmental and secular influences on growth.
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ANTH 543 - Human Biological Variation
Credits: Variable
Processes and origins of human biological variation and adaptation. Developmental, phenotypic, hereditary, gender, individual, population, evolutionary, ecological and random sources of human variation. Human responses to adaptation and environment.
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ANTH 544 - Methods In Forensic Anthro
Credits: Variable
Combines literature reviews with intensive laboratory analyses of human skeletal remains for the purpose of personal identification. Methods of skeletal identification are practiced, including the estimation of age, sex, stature and ancestry. Emphasizes designing and implementing experimental research projects to address specific problems in forensic anthropology. Prerequisite: ANTH 540.
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ANTH 546 - Human Paleontology
Credits: Variable
Systematic survey of the human fossil record including the genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo, including Neandertals and the origin of Homo sapiens. Consideration of systematics and principles of classifying organisms, as well as Paleolithic archaeology and hominin social behavior.
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ANTH 547 - Anthropological Genetics
Credits: Variable
Problem-oriented study of theory and methods of population genetics of humans. Mathematical analyses on consequences of mating practices, consanguinity, genetic drift, population isolation and selection.
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ANTH 550 - Evo Dynamics ofHuman Pathogens
Credits: Variable
This course explores the evolution of infectious diseases in human populations. We will examine: the burden of infectious diseases throughout the depth of human history and across the breadth of modern human experience; human adaptations to infectious disease; the idea of human ‘epidemiologic transitions’ in infectious disease ecologies; and, the dynamics of intra- and inter-host competition and evolution of virulence.
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ANTH 551 - Strategies for Arch Research
Credits: Variable
Archaeological method and theory in general context. Brief historical overview of the development of the discipline, research design, use of ethnographic and ethnohistoric data, a broad range of contemporary theoretical approaches. Taught every fall.
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ANTH 554A - Archaeol.Study Of Cultural Sys
Credits: Variable
Theoretical approaches to archaeological problems. Evaluations of such topics as Marxism, feminist theory and evolution in archaeological research. B. Stone Age Archaeology; C. Urban and State Societies; D. Marxism and Archaeology’ F. Feminism and Archaeology; G. Political Economy; H. Archaeology of Households; I. Archaeology and Ideology; M. Agency and Archaeology. Topics added occasionally. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 554D - Marxism and Archaeology
Credits: Variable
This graduate seminar introduces the student to the application and promise of Marxist theory for the study of archaeology and conversely considers if archaeology has anything to offer to Marxist theory. Marxist theory has influenced archaeology at least since the 1920’s but it is only at the end of the 20th century that archaeologists have explicitly discussed Marxist approaches. The course will focus on those aspects of Marxist theory which have had the greatest salience in the recent discussions. The course is intended primarily for graduate students in the department of Anthropology but is not limited to these students. The course provides archaeology students with an in- depth introduction to an approach that is increasingly defining the course of theoretical debate in US archaeology and that is already well established in European and Latin American archaeology. For cultural, physical, and linguistics graduate students, the course counts as an archaeology course towards their sub-disciplinary distribution requirements. Many cultural students have found the course doubly useful both to fulfill this requirement and as an introduction to Marxism. Anthropology 554D provides Marxist oriented graduate students in other departments with an introduction to archaeology which will help them assess the relevance of archaeology to their own fields and interests. Occasional.
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ANTH 554F - Gender&Feminism in Archaeology
Credits: Variable
The study of gender in archaeology has existed for about thirty years, and feminist archaeology is even younger, but these approaches have had a major, if uneven, impact on how archaeology is now done. In this course we will look at the historical development of gender and feminist archaeologies, we will consider various case studies that use gendered and feminist approaches, potential future trends in these areas, and approaches inspired at least in part by gender and feminist studies. Occasional.
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ANTH 554G - Heritage and Communities
Credits: 4
Heritage is a complex and contested domain that includes legislation to protect antiquities and cultural traditions, conceptions of local and national identities, political struggles, and crucial economic resources. In this course, we will explore the concept of heritage as it intersects with contemporary communities (conceived of in a variety of ways, including descendant, local, and diasporic). We will examine how the work of heritage is acrried out and consider its changing role in social relations by critically engaging theory and case studies of real-world heritage empowerment (and disempowerment) in a range of global contexts including (but not limited to) post-apartheid South Africa, the Middle East, the Northeast, and Europe. Occasional.
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ANTH 554H - Materiality & Agency
Credits: Variable
People make things, but do things also make people? How does the material world create our social realities’ Can objects have agency? These questions are among those fueling the work of contemporary interested in materiality-the active and recursive role of materialsanthropologists, art historians, archaeologists and philosophers interested in materiality-the active and recursive role of materials in shaping social worlds. In this graduate seminar we will grapple with objects and agents, bundling and gathering, art and artifacts, gifts and commodities, subjectivities and meanings. We will read the work of Bruno Latour, Alfred Gell, Tim Ingold, Lynn Meskell, Daniel Miller, Julian Thomas, and Web Keane, among others. The goal of the course is to attain familiarity with and a critical perspective on contemporary theoretical approaches to materiality. Occasional.
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ANTH 554I - Archaeologies of Landscape
Credits: Variable
Landscapes comprise the spatial milieu within which bodies and the social and material worlds interact and intersect, as identity and power are negotiated. Ancient landscapes provide insights into past meanings, worldviews, and social and political relationships, as monuments, buildings, and natural places are constructed, experienced, remembered, and obliterated. The goal of this graduate seminar is to provide students with a strong foundation in current landscape theory, epistemology, and interpretation. We will cover a range of topics intersecting with landscape, including social order, cosmography, political landscapes, ideologies, natural places, memory and the body. Occasional.
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ANTH 554K - Indigenous Archaeology
Credits: Variable
This graduate seminar introduces the student to the growing international movement for an Indigenous archaeology. Indigenous archaeology is archaeology informed by Indigenous values and agendas. It is archaeology conducted by and for Indigenous people. Graduate standing is required for the course but no prior course work in archaeology is necessary. I will assume that each student has a basic grounding in Anthropology. The course will prepare graduate students in archaeology to incorporate Indigenous archaeology into their practice. It will give students in the other three subdisciplines of anthropology an introduction to archaeological research and it will address a variety of concerns that cross cut the subdisciplines. There are four key facets to the praxis of Indigenous archaeology. First, Indigenous archaeology serves the interests of Indigenous communities. Second, the method of working with these communities is collaboration. Third, collaboration requires that many voices be heard. And finally that archaeology should be of use to indigenous peoples. This course will focus on the development of Indigenous archaeology in the United States and link those developments to the international scene. It will begin with a review of the legal, economic, cultural and political realities of Native Americans in the United States today. Based on this review, the course will consider the how these realities have shaped relations between archaeologists and indigenous communities. Repatriation will be a major topic of the course as will the controversy surrounding the Ancient One (Kennewick Man). Requirements for the course will include reading response papers; a research paper and a 20-minute presentation to the class based on the research paper. Occasional.
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ANTH 554M - Agency and Archaeology
Credits: Variable
Theoretical approaches to archaeological problems. Evaluations of such topics as Marxism, feminist theory and evolution in archaeological research. B. Stone Age Archaeology; C. Urban and State Societies; D. Marxism and Archaeology’ F. Feminism and Archaeology; G. Political Economy; H. Archaeology of Households; I. Archaeology and Ideology; M. Agency and Archaeology. May be repeated for credit as topic varies. Variable credit
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ANTH 554N - Anthro of Hunter Gatherers
Credits: Variable
This course is a broad survey of hunting and gathering societies, past and present. Topics address methods and theories related to evolution, ethnography, egalitarianism and stratification, and others. Occasional.
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ANTH 554O - Archaeology & Memory
Credits: Variable
Theory course for Archaeology MA & PhD students.
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ANTH 555 - The Practice of Pub Arch
Credits: 4
The Practice of Public Archaeology is the capstone course for the public archaeology track for the MA in Anthropology. This class will build on the students’ internship experience from the previous summer to help each student move from learning about public archaeology to practicing public archaeology. The course will address issues of ethics, funding, research management, use of appropriate technology, collaboration, constituency building, and management of public archaeology. The course will use case studies to illustrate these issues, and students will draw on and share their intern experience to explore these topics. Offered every Fall semester. Prerequisites: Student must be enrolled in Public Archaeology MA Track and have completed his/her summer internship ANTH 595.
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ANTH 556 - Spatial Analysis in Anthro
Credits: 4
This course introduces Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data and methods as applied to Geological and Anthropological problems. The course provides instruction in GIS software and common applications of spatial analysis in these fields. During the course’s lab portion, students develop independent research projects in their area of interest. Students will finish the class with the resources necessary to develop, execute and trouble shoot a GIS research project. Prerequisites include any GEOL 300-level course, ANTH 300-level course, or consent of instructor. Occasional.
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ANTH 559 - Molecular Anthropology
Credits: Variable
Recent advances in evolutionary genetics have enabled an understanding of the human condition within the framework of molecular evolution. The basic principles of evolutionary genetics and phylogenetics are reviewed and human population histories are explored from this perspective through student presentations. Culminates in the design of molecular anthropology research proposals.
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ANTH 570A - Andean Early Intr per&Middle
Credits: 4
This class is intended for advanced students with background in archaeology, and Andean prehistory. It undertakes a specialized examination of the archaeology of the Early Intermediate Period (200 BC-AD 650) and Middle Horizon (AD 650-1000) of Central Andean Peru-Bolivia. This crucial time, the onset of the Andean Bronze Age, witnessed the rise of great religions, spectacular art and public works, the first state governments and Andean empire, the emergence of urban life, the triumph of powerful rulers, and many other key cultural developments. However, this millennium-plus is completely without written records so our knowledge depends entirely on the study of archaeological remains, from iconography to households and tombs to temples. Classes examine the art, architecture and artifacts as directly as possible, employing large numbers of photographs, maps and drawings, while reading and evaluating descriptive and interpretive texts. Students explore individual topics. Cultures on which we focus include Paracas, Nasca, Pucara, Moche, Lima, Recuay, Tiwanaku, Wari, and several less popularly-known archaeological styles/cultures of the Andean Early Intermediate and Middle Horizon. Prerequisite: Instructor Permission.
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ANTH 570C - Artworlds
Credits: Variable
Particular themes and topics determined in advance. May be taken more than once if topic varies.
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ANTH 570D - Archaeometry
Credits: Variable
This course addresses the history, theory, and methods of Archaeometry. In its broadest sense, “archaeometry” (or “archaeological science”) represents the interface between archaeology and the natural and physical sciences. Typically considered as an interdisciplinary area of research, archaeometry often requires a close collaboration between archaeologists, geologists, historians and art historians, museum curators, and above all scientists who apply modern instrumental techniques to extract structural and compositional information from ancient artifacts and materials. Thus, the range of applications is rather large, from archaeological research including topics such as geophysical prospection, sourcing of lithic, ceramic and metallic materials, tool function, and dating techniques, to conservation of museum artifacts and historic monuments, including questions about dating and even art forgery. The course will address the full range of these topics through case studies, particularly focusing on those relevant to current anthropological debates.
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ANTH 570E - Science, Technology&Knowledge
Credits: Variable
What do we know and why? What methods do we use to manipulate the world and test that knowledge and what difference do they make? In recent decades, the interdisciplinary endeavor of science and technology studies (or STS) has been at the forefront of challenging received knowledges and methods in the social sciences and humanities, questioning not only cultural relativism and social constructivism, but preconceived notions of the human. In this class we will explore diverging ways of accounting for the universal truth claims and technological wonders of modernity and its constitutive relations with various ‘non-modern’ or ‘irrational’ others. Focusing on techno-scientific debates surrounding illness and medicine, new digital media, economics and markets, climate change, and the biosciences, we will consider how technical innovations and scientific practices become entangled with forms of authority and social power, making up the world, rather than revealing its inner nature. In doing so, we will have occasion to reflect on our own responsibilities and challenges as human scientists.
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ANTH 570H - Sex & Globalization
Credits: 4
Particular themes and topics determined in advance. May be taken more than once if topic varies.
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ANTH 570I - People of the Pacific
Credits: Variable
The Pacific was the last major region of the globe to be colonized by humans. The settlement of Near Oceania (New Guinea and the Northern Solomon Islands) is dated to the Pleistocene, while Remote Oceania (the remaining portion of Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia) was not inhabited until the Holocene (<3,500 years ago). This course will begin with an examination of the archaeological, linguistic and biological diversities of the people of the Pacific that form the basis of our understanding of the colonization of this region and then proceed to selected current topics of the region including political self-determination and the effect of global warming.
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ANTH 570J - Gender Stud & Feminist Theory
Credits: Variable
This course explores central works of scholarship in feminist theory, and surveils the field of gender studies. We will look especially at the development and deployment of feminist intersectional understandings of a variety of social phenomena, with ‘intersectional’ taken to mean the way that constructions of gender interact with other forms of social inequality, such as race/ethnicity, class and sexuality. Topics include but are not limited to the construction of gender display and the formation of femininities and masculinities; the gendered state and social movement politics; feminist understandings of the family and reproductive politics; gender and work; gender and labor migration; the bio-politics and medicalization of aspects of experience; and resistances to hegemonic regimes of gender control.
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ANTH 570K - Anth. of Economic Matters
Credits: Variable
Particular themes and topics determined in advance. May be taken more than once if topic varies.
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ANTH 570M - Religion and Cosmology
Credits: Variable
Religion and Cosmology
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ANTH 570N - Language & Migration
Credits: Variable
The objective of this course is to critically examine the role of language use as it plays out in migratory processes in the United States and in Europe. In an era characterized by globalization and rapid transnational flows of ideologies, information, money, goods, and people across national borders, how do individuals, families, and communities cope with the new forms of existence brought forth by migration? How does language influence these dynamic and changing processes’ How does language play a role in creating or removing boundaries around migrant groups’ How are racial identities constructed or deconstructed through language? How are exclusion and inclusion of migrants performed through language use? These and other questions will be addressed in this course by reading the most current literature on these key issues. We will explore topics including the effects of mobility on a range of practices that include parenting, health, gender roles, marriage, politics, and linguistic anthropological research itself. We will consider several overlapping issues also, including the everyday practices of transnational living in a variety of cross-cultural settings; the theory and methodology linguistic anthropologists use to better understand migrants’ experience; and the ways in which migration has been politicized through language.
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ANTH 570O - Comm-based Methods
Credits: Variable
Cross Cultural Medicine
Topics Course
1 to 4
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ANTH 570Q - Topics in Anthropology
Credits: 4
Topics in Anthropology
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ANTH 570R - Topics in Anthropology
Credits: Variable
Particular themes and topics determined in advance. May be taken more than once if topic varies.
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ANTH 570S - Evolution of Language
Credits: Variable
Particular themes and topics determined in advance. May be taken more than once if topic varies.
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ANTH 570T - Field Methods of Archaeology
Credits: Variable
Particular themes and topics determined in advance. May be taken more than once if topic varies. Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes.
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ANTH 571A - Narrative in Culture & Society
Credits: Variable
In this seminar, we will explore the role of storytelling in everyday social life. Since the narrative turn in the 1980s, narrative analysis has become more prominent across the social sciences. This course takes a linguistic anthropological approach that emphasizes the need to study oral narrative in its entirety, considering both the story and the storytelling event. We will investigate stories told in various contexts, by not only looking at their literal content’the story’ but especially by studying their relationship to the interaction itself, that is, the storytelling event. In this way, we will explore how narratives emerge dynamically between the interviewer and the interviewee or between the narrator and his/her audience and how narrators and other speech participants co-construct their identity in interaction while telling stories. Throughout the semester we will explore different types of oral narratives. We will examine autobiographical narratives, stories told in interview settings, stories emerging from doctor-patient encounters, storytelling in the classroom, digital storytelling (on blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), and also forms of shorter storytelling, such as jokes. We will be guided by the following questions: What role do oral narratives play in the construction of speech participants-identity? What techniques do speakers employ to project or alter a certain identity in their storytelling? How can linguistic anthropologists, sociolinguists, or anthropologists more generally make use of oral narratives as tools for their research? These and other questions will be addressed in this seminar through a wide range of readings and discussions and by looking at many narrative types, from oral narratives in interview settings to digital storytelling. No prior knowledge in linguistic anthropology or in narrative studies is required.
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ANTH 571B - Politics and Law
Credits: Variable
A. Religion and Symbolic Systems; B. Politics and Law; C. Cultures of Capitalism; D. The Individual in Society; E. Sociocultural Contexts of Anthropology; R. Religion and the State; S. Kinship, Gender and Sexuality. Extensive reading and discussion. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 571D - Aesthetics, Politics, Religion
Credits: Variable
The intersection of aesthetics, politics and religion is perhaps most familiar in the identification of aesthetics with religion insofar as they have both been understood to be concerned with domains of transcendence, distant from the imperatives of commodification and the exigencies of politics. This view has, of course, been subject to sustained critique for decades now. In this seminar we will examine various strands of this critical scholarship, drawing on both philosophical and empirical perspectives, and address recent attempts to reconfigure the linkages among these three domains in terms of their institutional expression and their experiential effects.
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ANTH 571E - Experimental Cultures
Credits: Variable
Experimental Cultures
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ANTH 571F - Sem Soc Anth:Concpt Race W.Tht
Credits: Variable
A. Religion and Symbolic Systems; B. Politics and Law; C. Cultures of Capitalism; D. The Individual in Society; E. Sociocultural Contexts of Anthropology; R. Religion and the State; S. Kinship, Gender and Sexuality. Extensive reading and discussion. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 571G - Sem Soc Anth:Concpt Race W.Tht
Credits: Variable
A. Religion and Symbolic Systems; B. Politics and Law; C. Cultures of Capitalism; D. The Individual in Society; E. Sociocultural Contexts of Anthropology; R. Religion and the State; S. Kinship, Gender and Sexuality. Extensive reading and discussion. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 571Q - Cultures of Expertise
Credits: Variable
We will explore in this seminar the challenges posed in adapting ethnographic practices to examine such diverse settings as science labs, news agencies, experimental arts programs, and financial institutions. The issue that draws together these studies is how experts create, manage, and manipulate knowledge. Centrally, this means expanding approaches developed initially within Science and Technology Studies (STS) and the Philosophy of Science and applying them to a wide range of contexts: specifically, cultural realms in which research, broadly conceived, plays a decisive role. This will also continue the discussions developed in my other seminars (Cultures of Capitalism and Ethnographic Analysis) in which we investigated the nature of knowledge production under the sway of supranational markets. Occasional.
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ANTH 571R - Sem Soc Anth:Concpt Race W.Tht
Credits: Variable
A. Religion and Symbolic Systems; B. Politics and Law; C. Cultures of Capitalism; D. The Individual in Society; E. Sociocultural Contexts of Anthropology; R. Religion and the State; S. Kinship, Gender and Sexuality. Extensive reading and discussion. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 572A - Sem Biol Anth:Nurtrit’l Anth
Credits: Variable
This seminar will trace the history of biological anthropology from its earliest origins up to the present based on ideas drawn from the social and the biological sciences and the greater realm of science. These ideas will be placed in their social, political, and ideological contexts. The science of biological anthropology in its contemporary state will be defined by subfields, and then the origins of subfields will be explored in the past to trace their development back to the present. Of particular interest are ideas, theory, and methods that become disseminated within generations and those that persist or change through time by crossing generations. Lectures, discussions, and student reports will constitute the majority of the seminar meetings. Occasional.
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ANTH 572B - Methods in Bio Anthropology
Credits: Variable
Methods and methodological designs form the fundamental core of any scientific approach. This survey course concentrates on both field and laboratory methods in biological/biomedical anthropology. It includes general methodological designs, how to get around under field conditions, demographic and sampling techniques, health effects of migration and modernization, genetic methods and design, anthropometry, growth and development, nutrition and disease, blood physiological studies, cell and molecular methods, epidemiological concepts and methods, infectious and chronic diseases, and research ethics. Provokes thought and creativity using methodological approaches toward an understanding of the biology, behavior and disease patterns of human populations cross-culturally. Theory is used only to enhance the development of a methodological approach. Demonstration and hands-on practica take place for some units. Course does NOT provide students with the fundamentals of biology, behavior or evolution, but, rather, a methodological framework in which to carry out problem-oriented research. Required for students enrolled in the biomedical anthropology MS program. Limited to 15 students. Methods seminar. Slides and videos are shown where appropriate to emphasize particular points or concepts. All participants should register for four credits. Class participation, presentation and discussion represent the fundamental underpinnings. An oral presentation on one of the units is required of each student, as well as a research methods paper or poster at the conclusion of the seminar on a problem to be assigned. Problem-oriented take-home exams are also given. Course grade depends on class participation, seminar presentation, methodological paper and exams. Students are expected to participate fully for each unit and during the discussion period following the individual seminar presentations by the students. An interactive format is key and the readings are critical to an understanding of the units. This class does not fulfill MA/PhD distributional requirements.
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ANTH 572C - Anth Approaches to HumanRights
Credits: Variable
In 1948, the United Nations approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a document containing 30 articles outlining the entitlements to which every human is due. Regardless of this important first step by the international community, the list of human rights abuses worldwide in the intervening six decades is numerous and extensive, encompassing infringements to aspects of all 30 articles. In a world that is increasingly globalized, with political decisions and events happening in one corner of the globe affecting directly or indirectly every other corner of the globe, the theme of human rights is a germane one to world order and peace. This course will delve into how scholars in a variety of disciplines with emphasis on anthropology are working on questions revolving around human rights past and present. We will discuss how scholarship and civil societies contribute to solutions of sociopolitical problems that proximately and ultimately cause abuses; mitigate the suffering of victims, families, and societies where gross abuses have occurred; and analyze causes and costs of current and past abuses. This course will analyze and present what issues were and are for certain areas of the world, allowing course participants to evaluate where we have been, where we are, and where we have to go. Course topics will include how forced displacement, disasters, war, and particular socioeconomic and political realities (including poverty and institutionalized inequality) affect the full realization of human rights. Understanding human rights from a multidisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective is essential for promoting awareness and tolerance in addition to fostering new practical approaches towards attaining human rights for all individuals. Graduate students in all disciplines welcome. This course does not fulfill MA/PhD distributional requirements. Occasional.
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ANTH 572D - Dental Anthropology
Credits: Variable
Basic concepts and current literature related to method, theory and analysis A. History of Biological Anthropology; B. Methods in Biological Anthropology; C. Human Affairs and Evolution; D. Dental Anthropology; E. Research Integrity and Ethics; F. Ancient DNA Lab; J. Stress, Chronobiology; K. International Health; L. Laboratory Practicum in Biomedical Anthropology; M. Molecular Anthropology; N. Molecular Lab; P. Phylogenetics and Molecular Evolution; R. Epidemiology; S. Advanced Statistics: Multivariate May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 572F - Ancient DNA & Forensics Lab
Credits: Variable
This class teaches laboratory techniques in ancient DNA and forensics for recovery of DNA from skeletal material as well as PCR amplification, purification and DNA sequencing and genotyping. Students begin by extracting and testing their own cheek-swab DNA to master some of the basic lab and analytical skills. Then students are given unknown ancient animal skeletal samples and have the rest of the semester to identify the species of each sample by extracting DNA from them and analyzing the data in comparison with genbank data.
Course Fees Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes.
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ANTH 572G - Human Migration & Disease
Credits: Variable
Our species currently exceeds 7,000,000,000 individuals distributed on six continents and nearly every island of the tropical and temperate oceans. The human range expansion began approximately 60,000 years ago while our population size began its exponential increase within the last 10,000 years with the advent of agriculture and more recently petroleum based industrial farming. Currently an estimated 1,000,000 people move permanently across international borders each year while 1,000,000 travelers cross international borders each day. Prehistoric migrations and colonialism formed the basis for the current distributions of genes, languages, and cultures while the modern large-scale movements of people and goods are contributing to the global dispersal of pathogens, the evolution of drug resistance, and the complex interactions between health care professionals and the increasingly diverse cultures and gene pools of the populations they serve. Occasional.
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ANTH 572I - Bioarchaeology
Credits: Variable
Occasional.
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ANTH 572J - Stress and Health
Credits: Variable
Examines circadian variation in endocrinological and physiological risk factors and their response to chronic disease development. Topics include human biological responses to diurnal and environmental changes in urban and rural settings, biological mechanisms of adaptation to the stresses inherent in human lifestyles, and determining the differences between adaptive and pathological biological responses to stressful life situations. Techniques of ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate monitoring and field measures of stress and reproductive hormones are demonstrated. Offered every year.
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ANTH 572K - Global Health in Anthropology
Credits: Variable
Covers current trends and issues in health and well-being of developing nations and disenfranchised populations in industrialized nations, including maternal and child health, new and re-emerging infectious diseases, the rise of chronic disease, nutrition, family planning and maternal mortality. Offered every year.
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ANTH 572L - Human Genomics Lab
Credits: Variable
Gives students hands-on experience in the use of laboratory equipment and/or specialized laboratory methods in preparation for specific research projects and for their development as versatile professionals. Themes may include serological, molecular (mtDNA and nuclear) or cellular (cell culture, protein chemistry, etc.) techniques and training, or the use of physiological, anthropometric or animal experimental methods. Fulfills the laboratory practicum requirement for the biomedical anthropology program. This class does not fulfill MA/PhD distribution requirements. May be taken for two or four credits (approximately 80 or 160 hours, respectively). Offered every year. Prerequisites: Consent of instructor.
Course Fees Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes.
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ANTH 572M - Anthropological Genomics
Credits: Variable
Students will generate their own genomic data via serum samples from BU’s Biospecimen Archive using novel next-generation sequencing techniques. Students will learn how to extract DNA, build next-generation sequencing (NGS) libraries, sequence those libraries on an Illumina MiSeq, then process the resulting genomic data using various bioinformatics applications and computational pipelines. These genomic data will then be visualized and interpreted using R statistical computing. In the end, students will be able to process human tissue for DNA analysis, interpret genomic data resulting from massively parallel sequencing, and deliver the results to their peers in report and presentation form. Offered regularly.
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ANTH 572N - Molecular Anthropology Lab
Credits: Variable
Wet-laboratory course teaching laboratory methods and analytical methods necessary for students to collect their own genetic data and test hypotheses. Methods include DNA extraction, PCR, electrophoresis, RFLP typing and DNA sequencing. Students conduct a novel DNA-based research project using data collected in the laboratory and from the literature. This class does not fulfill MA/PhD distribution requirements. Offered every year. Prerequisite: ANTH 168.
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ANTH 572O - Sem Biol Anth:Nurtrit’l Anth
Credits: Variable
This seminar will trace the history of biological anthropology from its earliest origins up to the present based on ideas drawn from the social and the biological sciences and the greater realm of science. These ideas will be placed in their social, political, and ideological contexts. The science of biological anthropology in its contemporary state will be defined by subfields, and then the origins of subfields will be explored in the past to trace their development back to the present. Of particular interest are ideas, theory, and methods that become disseminated within generations and those that persist or change through time by crossing generations. Lectures, discussions, and student reports will constitute the majority of the seminar meetings. Occasional.
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ANTH 572R - Epidemiologic Concepts&Methods
Credits: Variable
This course provides students grounding in epidemiology-the study of patterns in disease and health outcomes within and between populations-with an emphasis on their use in anthropology and global health research. We will cover: measures of disease frequency; epidemiologic study designs, their merits and limitations, and their appropriate uses; epidemiologic methods of data analysis, and interpretation of results; and, the process of causal inference in epidemiology (i.e., evaluating a body of evidence for a causal relationship between an exposure and a disease outcome). Offered every spring.
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ANTH 572S - Advanced Stats: Multivariate
Credits: Variable
Advanced procedures for data analysis and statistical inference in nursing research. Multivariate procedures included; their utility in investigation of nursing problems presented. Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes.
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ANTH 572T - Evolutionary Medicine
Credits: Variable
Approaches human health from an evolutionary perspective, focusing on interactions between individuals (via behaviors), organisms, and environments, and applying that to improving health practices and interventions. Topics include chronic and infectious diseases, diet and toxins, addictions, cancers, aging, and more. Offered every other year.
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ANTH 572V - Virtual Anthropology
Credits: Variable
This anthropology methods course introduces students to computer software-based analyses of osteological remains and archaeological artifacts. Topics to be covered during the course include surface scanning, 3D printing, CT scanning, virtual reconstruction and geometric morphometrics, among others. Occasional.
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ANTH 572X - Community-based Research Metho
Credits: Variable
Anthropologists are increasingly involved in community-based research activities, which require knowledge and skills about working in and with communities. This course uses a mixed lecture/seminar format to provide students with background, tools and experiences in community-based research methods and practice. Activities will focus on initial project development, including ethical considerations in developing and maintaining community partnerships, and an introduction to research design, survey methods, interview and focus group techniques and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Students will have the opportunity to engage directly in field research through collaboration with a local community partner.
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ANTH 576A - Prob Arch Area Stdy: Near East
Credits: Variable
A century and a half of archaeological work in the Near East has resulted in a wealth of evidence appropriate for tracing the long prehistoric and historic traditions in this area of the world. This course offers an overview of the archaeology of the prehistoric and early historic Near East. We will trace a culture historical narrative of the Near East from the peopling of the region in the Paleolithic through the emergence of city-states and imperial formations in the 3rd millennium B.C. At the same time, no such narrative is independent of the research interests and agendas of the scholars who have worked to compose it, and we will emphasize a critical approach to the questions and perspectives that have structured research in the region. The course will be conducted in a seminar format. Class sessions will be devoted to a combination of presentations and discussions of readings. Occasional.
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ANTH 576C - Archaeology of the Northeast
Credits: Variable
Extensive reading and discussion. Occasional.
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ANTH 576D - Arch of Incas & S Amer Empires
Credits: Variable
Extensive reading and discussion. A. Middle East; C. North America; D. South America; E. Africa; J. Southeastern United States; K. Southwestern United States; L. Historical Archaeology; M. Amazonian Archaeology. May be repeated for credit as topic varies. Occasional.
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ANTH 576K - Arch of the American SW
Credits: Variable
Extensive reading and discussion. Occasional.
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ANTH 576L - Historical Archaeology
Credits: Variable
This four credit graduate seminar introduces the student to the growing field of historical archaeology. Historical archaeology uses material culture to study American history. It brings a unique perspective to the day-to-day life of the people who made history in the Americas. Graduate standing is required for the course but no prior course work in archaeology is necessary. I will assume that each student has a basic grounding in American history. The course will prepare graduate students in archaeology to formulate research questions for historic sites in North America. It will give students in the other three subdisciplines an introduction to archaeological research and it will address a variety of concerns that cross cut the subdisciplines. Graduate students in history can take the course to learn about the advantages and limitations of an archaeological approach to the study of American history. The course is organized into three sections. The first section will cover some of the major theoretical approaches to historical archaeology. The second section will address a series of topics that have been important in Historical archaeology. These will include gender, class, race, and world expansion. The last section will apply theory and consider these topics in a series of case studies spanning US history. Occasional.
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ANTH 576N - Sem:Prob Arch Area Stdy:Se US
Credits: Variable
Extensive reading and discussion. A. Middle East; C. North America; D. South America; E. Africa; J. Southeastern United States; K. Southwestern United States; L. Historical Archaeology; M. Amazonian Archaeology. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 576O - Arch of Eastern Woodlands
Credits: Variable
Arch of Eastern Woodlands. Occasional.
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ANTH 580 - Issues In Teaching Anthro.
Credits: Variable
Philosophical issues in teaching anthropology in college settings. Practical issues involving curriculum and course design, methods and materials for presenting anthropology in the classroom, and evaluation and improvement of one’s own teaching. Offered at least every other year.
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ANTH 583C - Methods in Zooarchaeology
Credits: Variable
In-depth experience in specific analytical tasks common to day-to-day work of archaeology. Particular themes and topics determined in advance. A. Ceramic Analysis; B. Lithic Analysis; C. Zooarchaeology and Taphonomy; E. Spatial Analysis; F. Chronometric Techniques; M. Mortuary Analysis; R. Microwear Analysis; T. Classification; Z. Advanced Quantitative Methods. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 583G - Ceramic Analysis for Archaeolo
Credits: Variable
This course will introduce students to the methods and theories that archaeologists employ to understand past societies using ceramic remains. Ceramics often form a large part of the archaeological record and may be analyzed using many different techniques. This course focuses on the basic skills of archaeological ceramic analysis and also examines the way in which ceramics can be used to understand various dimensions of social life such as production, consumption, trade, gender and political activity. There is a lab component where students will learn fundamentals such as pottery making, illustration, attribute analysis and ceramic petrography.
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ANTH 583K - Geophys. Apps in Sonoro Mexico
Credits: Variable
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ANTH 583L - Lab Methods in Arch
Credits: Variable
In this course we will be looking at analysis sensu strictu, the techniques for making archaeologically significant observations. The focus will be on artifacts in the traditional sense of the term: more or less intentional portable products of human activity. At the end of the semester, we will expand our focus a bit and look at additional information that can be gathered from environmental data. This is only an introduction to this area of study. The focus will be on macroanalytic techniques that reflect the artifacts as a discrete object. This course will train you in techniques as to how to characterize entire artifacts and study stylistic, functional and technological variability. We will cover most techniques for observation and measurement of general, demonstrated value; those that require complex equipment or are particularly time consuming will be treated in lectures while the simpler techniques will be hands-on. We will concentrate our actual experience on a smaller number of major classes of artifacts that usually comprise the bulk of the archaeological record in most places. Occasional.
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ANTH 583N - Experimental Archaeology
Credits: Variable
This course will address the history, theory, and methods of experimental archaeology. Experimental archaeology has been invaluable in archaeological interpretation, and an understanding of how this field has developed is useful in multiple aspects of the interpretation of material culture. In this class, students can also expect to learn how to design and carry out an archaeological experiment, as well as learn the limits of experimentation in a range of material specialties.
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ANTH 583O - Lab Methods in Paleoethnbotany
Credits: Variable
Course Fees Course fee applies. Refer to the Schedule of Classes.
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ANTH 583P - Lithic Technology
Credits: Variable
This course will address the history, theory, and methods of lithic technology. Understanding lithic technology has been invaluable in archaeological interpretation, and knowledge of how this field has developed is useful in multiple aspects of the interpretation of material culture. In this class, various aspects will also be studied, from the nature and provenience of the most common rocks used for stone tools (petrography, sourcing, prehistoric procurement strategies); to different methods of knapping and tool making; as well as spatial analysis and local and regional organization of lithic production through a large variety of prehistoric contexts and case studies (readings and work on actual artifacts). Students will also have an opportunity to learn the basics of flintknapping to better understand the role of constraints and styles within the concept of communities of practice.
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ANTH 583S - Envi Applications in GIS
Credits: 4
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offer powerful tools for analyzing and manipulating data central to the environmental sciences. This course introduces students to spatial thinking and GIS applications through a combination of lectures, discussion, and hands-on tutorials. Students will learn how to find, display, and query spatial data and produce map products. Students will then explore the application of spatial analytical tools to solve problems and address questions. The course focuses on applications and linking methods with research problems. Students will learn how to conceive of spatial data to solve problems in ecological, biological, geological, archaeological, anthropological, urban /regional planning, and sustainability domains. Offered in Fall. fixed.
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ANTH 583T - Pract In Arch Meth:Prop Wrtg.
Credits: Variable
In-depth experience in specific analytical tasks common to day-to-day work of archaeology. Particular themes and topics determined in advance. A. Ceramic Analysis; B. Lithic Analysis; C. Zooarchaeology and Taphonomy; E. Spatial Analysis; F. Chronometric Techniques; M. Mortuary Analysis; R. Microwear Analysis; T. Classification; Z. Advanced Quantitative Methods. May be repeated for credit as topic varies.
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ANTH 585 - Heritage Resource Management
Credits: Variable
Explores the heritage resource management framework in archaeology. Discusses historic preservation legislation, the implementing regulations, and the application of heritage practices. Addresses the practical problems faced by archaeologists in preservation fields and ethical obligations to various communities. Illustrates course concepts with case studies and hands-on exercises. Offered every fall.
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ANTH 590 - Professional Skills & Writing
Credits: Variable
This seminar is intended to help anthropology graduate students develop professional skills and work on writing projects. Students should be ready to begin, or currently working on, a major piece of writing such as a master’s thesis, dissertation, or research article. Weekly progress on writing projects is expected. In addition, we will cover professional development topics such as ethical community engagement, networking at conferences, presenting talks for professional and public audiences, curating data and field notes, and navigating disciplinary hurdles and biases.
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ANTH 591 - Teaching Anthropology
Credits: Variable
Individual supervision of beginning teachers. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only. Taught during the spring semester.
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ANTH 593 - Research Proposal Writing
Credits: Variable
In depth training in writing research and grant proposals. Offered most years. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only.
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ANTH 594 - Teaching Laboratory Anthro
Credits: Variable
Teaching Laboratory Anthropology provides hands-on teaching experience under the direction of a faculty member in a laboratory setting. The course includes training in the laboratory skills to be taught, data analysis training, training in teaching methods, and training in scientific paper and grant writing. This course is primarily designed to work with Anthropology Freshman Research Immersion (FRI) courses, but could be used in other anthropology lab classes. FRI classes consist of 5-6 groups of 5-6 students each. Each group works on a different project. Graduate students taking the Teaching Laboratory Anthropology class would work directly with one or more of these groups, assisting in training in lab methods, assisting in lecture, one-on-one mentoring and training with individuals, analyzing data, and turning research into publishable papers or grant proposals. Offered fall and spring. Variable credit.
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ANTH 595 - Internship
Credits: Variable
Consists of laboratory work, fieldwork or non-field, non-lab based experience on or off-campus. Requires consent of faculty advisor and an internship supervisor at the agency or lab or field site where the experience will take place. Students must maintain a journal or lab notebook and are required to submit at the completion of the internship a paper/project/report based on their internship experience. May be repeated once.
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ANTH 597 - Independent Study
Credits: Variable
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
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ANTH 597A - Independent Study
Credits: Variable
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
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ANTH 597B - Independent Study
Credits: Variable
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
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ANTH 599 - Independent Research & Thesis
Credits: Variable
Research for and preparation of a master’s thesis, or two papers in lieu of a thesis. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading only.
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