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:

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:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

What can a scientific hoax teach us about who we are? This course evaluates the scientific process and how we know what we know about our past. Evolutionary anthropology is marked by debated discoveries that go back more than 100 years, and this class will examine some of the most widespread and contentious of them, as well as some of the more obscure. We will look at both the scientific and cultural contexts in which these hoaxes are produced. Students will learn to critically evaluate evidence related to scientific claims and produce informed critiques about the validity and nature of new discoveries presented to the public that we are told, require “a rewriting of the textbooks!”

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course combines civic engagement with the fundamentals of ethnographic research needed for successful completion of a one to two-month field-based project. Learning modules will include: a) the ethics of social science research and human subjects review; b) research design and proposal; c) observation methods and field notes; d) interview methods and transcription; and e) qualitative data analysis. All students will conduct a joint research project in partnership with local community members to address a relevant social problem. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 111 .

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The study of the human skeletal system is basic to the disciplines of biological anthropology, forensic science, medicine and even archaeology. This class will examine the fundamentals of osteology. It will also explore numerous pathological conditions associated with both infectious and non-infectious diseases in addition to those caused by traumatic events. Students will learn to identify and analyze human bone and pathological conditions of the skeleton to aid in the reconstruction of life histories from human remains. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 111 or ANTH 112 or ANTH 115 or ANTH 223 or BIOL 112 or BIOL 260 or BIOL 265.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course examines and critically analyzes various approaches to the study of how different individuals and communities in particular historical and cultural scenarios in contemporary Latin America create meanings about their past experience with political violence. The course addresses questions related to the tension between remembering and forgetting, the presence of conflicting memories and truths and how these are negotiated or not through distinct forms of representation. The cultural analysis of different means of representation: human rights and truth commission reports, testimonials, film, art and memorials will be the basis for class discussions on different notions of truth and different forms of truth-telling. A close examination of these forms of representation will reveal the extent to which they can conflict with each other while at the same time feed on each other, creating "effects of truth" and leaving room for secrecy as a mode of truth-telling. Finally, the course will also compel students to think about what consequences the politics of memory have for the future.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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:
Internationalism OR U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Africa has long been a continent on the move. This course introduces students to concepts associated with systems, process, and change in Africa by juxtaposing classic and contemporary ethnography that aims to get at how lives, subjectivities, and intimacies on the continent mediate and are shaped by global historical processes and how anthropologists have inhabited and tried to grasp such contexts. Toward this end, we draw on diverse representations of Africa that include fiction, film, and more traditional forms of scholarship.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Birds are among the most visible and colorful members of the natural world. Across societies and over time, that fact has generated considerable human engagement with and awareness of birds, which have been utilized for both utilitarian and symbolic purposes. This course is an introduction to the knowledge that different cultures have of birds, and to their formal scientific study in modern times. The topics we will examine include the place of birds in myth and religion; indigenous ways to classify birds; how local traditions relating to birds can serve as models for conservation; the relationship of local and traditional knowledge to the development of modern ornithology; and the part played by amateur birders and other non-professionals in the emergence of ornithology as a science. To develop our own engagement with birds, the class will include a number of field trips to birding sites in the Twin Cities, early on certain Friday and Saturday mornings during the semester.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The world is far more interconnected today than ever before, but what does this mean in terms of culture? This course looks at the impact of globalization on cultures and at examples of global cultures such as immigrants, media and popular cultures, world cities, and transnational intellectuals, ethnicities and ideologies. It also looks at the way cultures interact at geographic borders and in the margins of society. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 111.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

The goal of this course is to develop an anthropological understanding and critique of development. It aims to examine both the discourse of development and its practice. The course focuses on the construction of the Third World as an "underdeveloped" area, and discusses the dominant theoretical paradigms of development and modernization. It assesses the reasons for the general failure of development programs based on these models to bring about meaningful and substantive change in societies in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and discusses possible alternatives to "development" as it is currently practiced. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 111.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

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

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:
Writing WP
Internationalism

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:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This class is a broad survey covering topics such as genetics, evolutionary mechanisms, adaptation, primate studies, the human fossil record, and human variation. All of these areas will be placed within the framework of the interaction of humans within their environment. The course is divided into three sections: human genetics, human ecology and primatology, human evolution and adaptation.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q1

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

These days, much is made about the changing terms of formal employment. Telecommuters, entrepreneurs, gig workers, and online contractors challenge conventional models of the nine-to-five job. But nine-to-five has hardly been the norm throughout history, nor does it describe the typical work experience around the world today. This course takes an anthropological approach to consider the contemporary diversity of working worlds and worker experiences, as well as important historical shifts that have brought us to this moment and will carry us into new working futures. Gender, race, class, and age are all deeply implicated here, as are powerful economic and political forces. Who has to work? Who gets to work? Who is empowered by it and who is exploited? Why do we work? What work is most valued? …When will the robots come for our jobs? Drawing on examples from around the world, and materials ranging from ethnographic writing and film to popular media and u/dystopian fiction, we will take a comparative approach to these and other pressing questions raised by today's diverse and shifting worlds of work.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism OR U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course introduces students to archaeology, the study of the material remains of human culture. Students will explore the history of the discipline and profession, its basic methods and theories, and the political and ethical dimensions of modern archaeological practice. Students learn to examine and interpret evidence using specific examples, from artifacts to sites to regions.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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. For Anthropology majors only.

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 examines the dying process and the ways that humans beings come to terms with their mortality in different societies. We will learn how people die in major illnesses and critically analyze controversial issues regarding brain death, suicide, and euthanasia. We will survey funerary traditions from a variety of cultures and compare the social, spiritual, and psychological roles that these rituals play for both the living and the dying. We will examine cultural attitudes towards death; and how the denial and awareness of human mortality can shape social practices and institutions. Finally, we will consider issues regarding the quality of life, the opportunities and challenges of caregiving, and hospice traditions around the world. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 111 .

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

With approximately 60% of the population (and over 600 million people) under the age of 25, Africa is undoubtedly the world’s youngest continent. Much has been made of this “youth bulge,” which is alternately referred to as a ticking time bomb of political and economic instability, or a unique advantage for those wishing to tap new markets or accelerate development. Rather than just explaining or evaluating the merits of Africa’s young population, however, this course challenges students to learn from the lived experiences of Africa’s young people, who are important and creative social actors (at home, in school, on the job, and in popular culture, art, and politics!). They are also, however, compelling objects of intensive intervention (especially those efforts aimed at girl children, orphans, and victims of famine and war), and we will consider some of the many ways efforts to “save” African young people variably empower, limit, or otherwise complicate their lives. We will approach children and youth not as fixed categories, but as open questions—fluid designations that differ over time and place, identities that are flexible and strategically claimed. Drawing on ethnographic sources, fictional accounts, film, and popular representations, this course is also designed to help students think critically about the dynamic and problematic connections through which Africa’s young people are shaping and being shaped by the rest of the world. Children and Youth in Africa also counts as a Tier 1 African Studies course.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

From Italian Mafia dons to famous American philanthropists; from the knitting of "trauma teddies" in Helsinki to gift shopping in London; and from ceremonial exchange rings in Melanesia to the present day global refugee crisis: this course will investigate how generosity is understood and practiced in global perspective. We'll begin the semester by examining key debates surrounding reciprocity, gifts, and exchange, theories of altruism and generosity, and patron-client relations. We'll then explore the birth of the "humanitarian spirit," and the complicated ethics and politics of humanitarian intervention. We will compare diverse religious traditions' approaches to giving, including Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Jainism. And we'll explore contemporary debates surrounding volunteerism within sectarian and neoliberal political regimes.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines the human determinants of infectious diseases from the Paleolithic to the present day using the combined frameworks of evolution, human ecology, critical history, and social epidemiology. We will consider the co-evolution of culture and disease: the ways that human subsistence, ecological disruptions, social inequalities, and demographic changes have created selective conditions for new infections, re-emerging infections, and antibiotic resistance. We will also address the social dynamics of current epidemics, and major controversies over biosecurity and bioterrorism. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 111.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines the influence of Charles Darwin on both the discipline of Anthropology and general scientific thought in the 20th century. It begins with an exploration of the emergence of modern evolutionary theory, its role in society, and how it is essential to the field of Anthropology. We consider some of the work of Darwin's predecessors, who laid the intellectual and scientific foundations that Darwin built upon, as well as those who adapted Darwin's concepts to theories of social change. Students also read and discuss some of the bigest debates surrounding the theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, both past and present. Finally, we look at the future of evolutionary theory in light of recent developments in molecular biology and the fossil record. Prerequisite(s): One of the following: ANTH 101, ANTH 111, ANTH 112, ANTH 115, BIOL 112, BIOL 270, or BIOL 285.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The senior seminar is for anthropology majors who are working on their senior capstone project and is designed to help students develop that project for presentation. The seminar will also include reading of anthropological works, guest speakers and discussion of current controversies in the discipline. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111 or ANTH 101, and either ANTH 387 or ANTH 487.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The senior seminar is for anthropology majors who are working on their senior capstone project and is designed to help students develop that project for presentation. The seminar will also include reading of anthropological works, guest speakers and discussion of current controversies in the discipline. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111 or ANTH 101, and either ANTH 387 or ANTH 487.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials