Class Schedules

This course is an introduction to the discipline of anthropology as a whole. It presents students with a theoretical grounding in the four major subfields: archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistics. In this class the emphasis is on the holistic nature of the discipline. Students will be challenged with some of the countless links between the systems of biology and culture. They will explore key questions about human diversity in the past, present, and future. Prerequisite(s): Not open to students who've taken ANTH 111

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The cultural perspective on human behavior including case studies, often illustrated by ethnographic films and slides, of non-Western and American cultures. May include some field interviewing. Includes the cross cultural treatment of economic, legal, political, social and religious institutions and a survey of major approaches to the explanation of cultural variety and human social organization. Prerequisite(s): Not open to students who've taken ANTH 101

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course introduces the anthropological study of health, illness, and healing from evolutionary, cross-cultural, and epidemiological perspectives. From an evolutionary perspective, we will consider the changing relationships between human societies and human diseases ranging from Paleolithic parasites to the emerging and re-emerging diseases of the present day. From a cross-cultural perspective, we will examine the diversity of beliefs about human health and sickness, and a variety of healing traditions from around the world. Finally, from the perspective of critical epidemiology, we will wrestle with recurrent problems of socioeconomic inequalities, ecological disruptions, and their impact upon the differential distribution, prevention, and treatment of human diseases. This course is taught by a former registered nurse with dual training in human biology and cultural anthropology. The course counts as an introduction to anthropology for students wishing to take other courses in the department. However, students who take this course may not take ANTH 239, Medical Anthropology, because of significant overlap between these two courses.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

For human beings, food is much more than nutrition; food is a way that people communicate. What we eat, how we eat, where and with whom we eat transmits messages about status, identity, gender, power and a host of other matters that shape our place and role in society and the ways in which we understand ourselves and others. Human foodways are thus an important window into understanding what makes us human and how human cultures operate. Through an examination of human foodways across time and space, from the origins of Homo sapiens to the present, this course offers an introduction to anthropology, the discipline that specializes in the study of human beings in their biological and cultural complexity. Students will write a 10-page paper based on original field work; in addition, students must cook a culturally unfamiliar dish and write a commentary on it that places it in its cultural context. The course counts as an introduction to anthropology for students wishing to continue in the field; students who take this course may not take ANTH 369, Food and Culture, because of significant overlap between the two courses.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Whether in university halls or technology hubs, government offices or remote villages, entrepreneurship has come to be celebrated around the world in hopes of driving innovation and solving diverse problems. What exactly do we mean by entrepreneurship, though? Moreover, what challenges do entrepreneurs face and how does their work in turn challenge the world(s) we live in? Moving beyond the buzzword, this course takes an anthropological approach to these questions by investigating contemporary experiences with entrepreneurship across the globe—from the gig economy to microfinance, and from Silicon Valley to South Africa. Combining ethnographic accounts with critical theories of capitalism, work, political economy, economic development and social change, students will examine the broader social and economic worlds that shape and are in turn shaped by the rise of entrepreneurship. Course materials put scholarly materials from anthropology and sociology in dialog with primary sources from the popular press as well as documentary films and local organizations working to promote business here in the Twin Cities.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Language loss is accelerating at alarming rates. In fact, Linguists predict that only five percent of the six thousand languages currently spoken in the world are expected to survive into the 22nd century. In this course, we will examine the historical, political, and socio-economic factors behind the endangerment and/or marginalization of languages in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. We will also concentrate on the globalization of English (and other major languages), which plays a primary role in language endangerment and marginalization. Additional topics include: linguistic diversity, language policy, multilingualism (in both nations and individuals), global language conflict, and language revitalization. Students will have the opportunity to learn first-hand about these issues by interviewing speakers of an endangered and/or minority language.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

An introduction to ethnographic field interviewing learned in the context of individually run student field projects. Focuses on the anthropologist-informant field relationship and the discovery of cultural knowledge through participant observation and ethnosemantic interviewing techniques. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 111 and permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines issues of health, illness, and healing from a variety of anthropological perspectives. From a cross-cultural perspective, we will examine the diversity of beliefs about human health and sickness, and a variety of healing practices by which people treat them. From the perspective of critical epidemiology, we will wrestle with recurrent problems of socioeconomic inequalities, ecological disruptions, and their impact upon the differential distribution, prevention, and treatment of human diseases. Previous courses in anthropology are recommended but not required.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course is an introduction to the diverse lifeways of Muslims around the world, looking at how understandings and practice of Islam are shaped by social, economic, and political factors. It examines the Qur'an and hadith, and other authoritative texts that ground Islamic jurisprudence, and explores the diverse ways in which Muslims have understood and interpreted these teachings in locations across the world-such as Indonesia, the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and the United States - and at various points in history. The specific focus may vary with each offering, responding to instructor expertise and focus, emerging and volatile situations worldwide, or new advances in the field.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course is an introduction to the diverse lifeways of Muslims around the world, looking at how understandings and practice of Islam are shaped by social, economic, and political factors. It examines the Qur'an and hadith, and other authoritative texts that ground Islamic jurisprudence, and explores the diverse ways in which Muslims have understood and interpreted these teachings in locations across the world-such as Indonesia, the Middle East, South Asia, Europe and the United States - and at various points in history. The specific focus may vary with each offering, responding to instructor expertise and focus, emerging and volatile situations worldwide, or new advances in the field.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The Arctic represents one of the most extreme environments to which humans have adapted. These adaptations include both biological and cultural changes required to settle and flourish in this formidable setting. This course looks at some of the cultural practices that appear to be ubiquitous throughout the Arctic, as well as those specializations that have developed as a result of some of the more localized environmental pressures. It also explores the consequences of rapid global climate change as well as modernization on these unique cultures to get a sense of what the future might hold for the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 111 or consent of instructor

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course introduces students to critical perspectives in museum studies. We will begin by examining the historical setting within which these institutions evolved, giving careful consideration to the relationship with anthropology and to how the discipline contributed to the construction of the “exotic” objects contained within the “cabinets of curiosities” that filled museums. In this course we will engage in both theoretical and practical terms with museums as public culture. Thus, we will pay close attention to the processes of collection, archives and exhibits in order to examine how curatorial practices and the gazes of visitors also contribute to make of museums sites for contestation, reconciliation, dialogue, fragmentation and community. The critical aspect of this course also includes perspectives of groups that are critical of museums but propose alternative “post-museum” experiences that enable multi-vocality and defy the monumentality of Western museum practice. Students are required to do two fieldsite visits for this course.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The construction and production of race and racisms are key elements in the socio-historical development of both Southern Africa and the United States. Comparative inquires of this nature typically begin with the United States and look for exemplars in other parts of the world. This course takes a somewhat different tack by centering Southern Africa (primarily South Africa and Namibia) to consider what Southern African societies can teach us, in the United States, not only about the production and consequences of race and racisms, but also about decolonization and dismantling the legacy of race and racism in a society and its institutions. The course will start with a broad historical sweep to consider what was happening in Southern Africa before the onset of colonization and continue up to the present, including the #FeesMustFall student revolt of October 2015 and beyond.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Scientists have proposed that the impact of human activities on the planet is such that humankind has become a geological force that has transformed the way the earth system— consisting of the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the biosphere and the geosphere—works. The two most notable examples of this process is anthropogenic climate change and what some are calling “the Great Extinction”, where between 30 and 50 percent of species may become extinct over the course of this century. Some scientists argue that the modern era should be defined as the beginning of a new, distinct geological epoch, the Anthropocene—the age of humankind. This inter-disciplinary seminar explores how the humanities and social sciences can engage with this concept, and what it means for our future that we are a planet-changing species. We begin with the science, but we go on to the history of our species' planet changing activity. Why are human beings only the second form of life to have become a geological force (besides the cyanobacteria that excreted oxygen into the atmosphere two billion years ago, making life as we know it possible)? What were the socio-economic forces that led to what is called "the Great Acceleration", when global socio-economic and geophysical trends (such as the growth in GDP and the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere) went into overdrive? This seminar lays out a conceptual framework to examine the roots of our modern world and how our species achieved the status of a geological force. Readings will draw on the scientific literature and the work of historians and social scientists, as well as literary works.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Those engaged in global public health ­–whether as professionals or persons and communities affected by public health problems­–will encounter challenging ethical issues. Beginning with that premise, this course will address ethical issues in global public health practice, research, and policy, providing conceptual frameworks and practical tools. The course will provide an overview of public health ethics and ethical dimensions of orientations to global health, including humanitarianism, social justice, human rights, and health security. It will address prominent contemporary ethical issues in global health including those relating to research, emergency response, and community engagement. It will grapple with challenging questions about the use of limited resources, the use of restrictive public health measures like quarantine, the implications of “big data,” and relationships between donors and recipients of aid. The course will focus on a range of public health problems, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, Ebola virus disease, neglected tropical diseases, genetics, and mental health.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course introduces students to the broad range of explanations for social and cultural phenomena used by anthropologists since the emergence of the discipline in the 19th century. The course focuses on the development of three broad theoretical approaches: The American school of cultural anthropology, British social anthropology, and the French school that emerged from the work of Durkheim and his followers. The course also examines theoretical approaches such as cultural materialism, and symbolic and interpretive approaches to the study of culture. Prerequisite(s): Junior or senior standing.  Students should have at least two courses in anthropology including ANTH 101 or ANTH 111, or the permission of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials