School of Liberal Arts: Anthropology
2008-2009 Academic Year
246
ANTH 103 Languages of the World (3)
Prof. Maxwell, Prof. Orie. This course aims to equip students with some basic
facts about the world's languages, a fundamental prerequisite to understanding the
nature of human language. We will be examining: (1) the diversity of languages
across space and time, and (2) the fundamental similarities of languages. We will
address a range of questions about language through an exploration of the
following areas: language families and historical relationships, linguistic
typology, language universals, sound and structure features of the world's
languages, and writing systems.
ANTH 114 Freshman Seminar (3)
Staff. Description varies; specific description available when offered.
ANTH 201 World Prehistory (3)
Staff. A selective worldwide survey of peoples and cultures of the prehistoric
past, from the end of the Ice Age to the beginnings of recorded history.
Examination of the technologies and institutions developed in antiquity to meet
the challenges of the natural and social environments. Emphasis upon the great
achievements of prehistory including late Ice Age adaptations, peopling of new
continents, development of the world's major food sources, beginnings of
urbanism, ancient American and other early civilizations of the non-Western
world.
ANTH 203 The Anthropology of Women and Men (3)
Staff. A cross-cultural survey of women in society and culture among hunters and
gatherers, pastoral nomads and agriculturalists of Oceania, the Near East, Africa,
and the New World. Kinship and female symbolism in Africa, women and men in
myths in traditional societies. Cross-cultural variability of women's roles and
status and the variability of women's and men's language and behavior.
ANTH 210 Myth and Life (3)
Staff. Traditional oral narratives in their social and cultural context. The functions
of myth in developing individual character and supporting social values. The
structure of myth. Causes and limits of change.
ANTH 288 Writing Practicum (1)
Staff. Writing practicum. Fulfills the college intensive-writing requirement.
ANTH 301 Hunters and Gatherers (3)
Prof. Balee, Prof. Nelson. Comparative study of selected modern and past groups
of hunter-gatherers. Anthropological approaches to understanding subsistence
practices, social organization, and cultural change in non-agricultural societies.
Both ethnographic and archaeological cases will be considered.
ANTH 305 North American Indians (3)
Prof. Hill. Native North American cultures from the time of European contact to
the 20th century. Cultural variation from the Arctic to northern Mexico and the
adjustments to modern life. See ANTH 605.
ANTH 306 South American Indians (3)
Prof. Balee. Ethnology of the indigenous peoples of lowland South America and
adjacent southern Central America. The course examines cultural developments