Sociology & Anthropology Courses

Courses in Anthropology

Human Cultures

An introduction to the perspectives, methods and ideas of cultural anthropology. Analysis of human diversity and similarities among people throughout the world, both Western and non-Western, through cross-cultural comparison. Topics include: culture and society; ethnographic research; ethnocentrism vs. cultural relativism; how societies adapt to their environment; different forms of marriage and social relationships; male, female and other forms of gender; the social functions of religion; and processes of socio-cultural change. May not be taken pass/fail.

Human Origins

An introduction to physical anthropology and archaeology, showing how biology and culture enable humankind to survive in many different environments. Topics discussed include primate behavior, fossil humans, tools and society, and the relationships between biology and human behavior. May not be taken pass/fail.

Advanced Placement in Human Geography

Advanced placement credit for entering first-year students in Human Geography.

Off-Campus Extended Studies Course

Faculty-led domestic and international study and service courses with an anthropological theme that provide students opportunities to explore and experience other cultures, learn in new environments, develop skills not readily acquired elsewhere, and deepen their understanding of the global community. Curricular offerings earn .5 course credit and count toward satisfying the Extended Studies requirement; co-curricular offerings do not carry academic credit but do count toward the Extended Studies requirement.

On-Campus Extended Studies Course

An on-campus course offered during the Winter or May term. May be offered for .5 course credits or as a co-curricular (0 credit). Counts toward satisfying the Extended Studies requirement.

Extended Studies Independent Project

Student-initiated independent project under faculty guidance. Offered as a co-curricular (0 credit) Extended Studies experience.

First-Year Seminar

This course, designed especially for first-year students, explores an innovative or timely issue in anthropology. Anthropological perspectives and ways of knowing are used to study a particular topic in depth. Ethical and comparative dimensions to the issue will be examined. Topics might include: Culture and Morality, Women and Work, Culture and Medicine, Human Rights and Cultural Survival, and Culture and Violence. Seminars are small and emphasize writing and class discussion. Prerequisite: first-year students only.

Latin American & Caribbean Cultures

This courses introduces students to the diverse cultures and societies of Latin America and the Caribbean via a multi-disciplinary approach. Through historical, ethnographic, and literary study, we will explore relations of power, ideology, and resistance from the colonial conquest to the present, including economic dependency, development, political institutions, the military, social movements, religious expressions and ethnic and class relations.

Environmental Anthropology

A study of the relationships between humans and their environment, with special emphasis on how human lifestyles may be understood as responses to environmental challenges. Prerequisite: ANTH 151 or 153 or sophomore standing.

Anthropology of Food

This course explores aspects of the cultural uses and symbolic meanings we attach to food and eating. Students explore such questions as: How do we use food? What is changing in our food consumption patterns? What is the relationship between food consumption and the environment? What are some of the politics and the ethics involved in food consumption? What is the significance of eating out, of "ethnic" restaurants? And how do we analyze the smell and taste of food cross-culturally? Prerequisite ANTH 151, sophomore standing or permission of instructor.

Archaeology

(formerly ANTH 354) Archaeology is much more than digging into the ancient past. It is also a form of detective work that allows us to understand ancient as well as modern societies by uncovering the clues of their material remains. In this course, we see how archaeologists show how and why civilizations rise and collapse. Prerequisite: ANTH 151, ANTH 153 or sophomore standing. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 354.

Archaeology of the Body

This course examines archaeological and physical anthropological research on the human body. The course considers how such research is carried out, what it contributes to our understanding of ancient societies, and the ethical issues unique to the study of human remains. Topics discussed include mortuary ritual, the relationship between the living and the dead, prehistoric warfare, and skeletal markers of disease. Prerequisites: ANTH 151, ANTH 153, sophomore standing, or permission of instructor.

Anthropological Perspectives

This course studies innovative, timely and often interdisciplinary topics that are not a formal part of the sociology and anthropology curriculum. Often these courses apply anthropological perspectives and insights to issues that we either take for granted or study in other disciplines. Topics may include Anthropology of Time and Space; Anthropology of the Body; Power and Violence; Men and Masculinity; Judaism and Bible; and other topics. Prerequisite: ANTH 151, sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. The course may be repeated for credit with different topics.

African Diaspora Religions

This course is designed to explore the history, functions, and communities, which encompass religions of the African Diaspora such as Santer'a, Vodou, and Candombl'. Lectures, discussions, films, and a range of ethnographic literature will introduce students to these religious systems. Among the topics and themes to be addressed in relation to religion are issues of identity, ethnicity, gender, performance, and class. Case studies in Brazil, Cuba, and among Latinos in the U.S. will illuminate the multivocality of the religious beliefs and practices found in the African Diaspora.

Performing Latin American Culture

This course focuses on the relationship between cultural performance and identity. Specific case studies include ethnographies on tango, rumba and Mexican corridos. Of particular interest are the interconnected roles of power and politics in the performance of culture--how the two are performed in an attempt at re-forming and sometimes de-forming and mis-informing each other. This course examines the formal aspects of performance, audience/performer relationships as well as social and contextual influences on cultural performance.

Anthropology of Reproduction in the Americas

This course examines the social and cultural constructions of reproduction, and how power in everyday life shapes reproductive behavior and its cross cultural meanings. Utilizing a hemispheric and ethnographic approach to reproduction, this course engages with examples from throughout the Americas, including but not limited to Brazil, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and the United States. The course is organized to address a reproductive spectrum including fertility, childbirth and parenting, as well as the roles and expectations for women and men in each of these stages of reproduction. Additional topics addressed are state intervention on fertility, technologies of reproduction, the cultural production of natural childbirth, the politics of fetal personhood, and the diverse reproductive health situations influenced by the intersectional nature of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality and class.

Anthropology History and Theory

A survey history of the central theoretical perspectives, questions and data of socio-cultural anthropology. Focusing on significant scholars and case studies, the course explores the development of different ways that anthropologists have formulated and understood fundamental questions concerning human society, culture, change and universals. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior; Anthropology or Sociology-Anthropology major or permission from instructor. This course may not be taken pass/fail.

Topics in Anthropology

An exploration of selected topics in anthropology, culture and society (see Anthropology of the U.S. and topics listed under ANTH 290.) Prerequisite: sophomore standing. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

Readings and Projects in Anthropology

Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

Readings and Projects in Anthropology

Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

Ethnographic Methods

(Formerly ANTH 380) A course designed to introduce students to anthropological methods of qualitative research. Readings and discussion in seminar-like format on participant observation, formal and informal interviewing, research design and interpretation of data will prepare students to carry out their own ethnographic projects. The course will also cover ethics in fieldwork and the current debate on the subjectivity of ethnographic inquiry.

Senior Seminar in Anthropology

A seminar of senior Anthropology majors focused on contemporary theories and issues of culture, change, development, universals and diversity. The actual topic alters each year. Students discuss a common core of readings while researching-writing a senior thesis. Prerequisite: Senior Anthropology major, ANTH 151, ANTH 153, ANTH 383, ANTH 450. May not be taken pass/fail.

Courses in Sociology

Contemporary Society

An introduction to sociology: its questions, concepts and ways of analyzing social life. The focus is on how human societies organize themselves; how culture, socialization, norms, power relations, social institutions and group interaction affect the individual; and how, in turn, societies are transformed by human action. Of particular concern are problems facing contemporary societies. Not open to seniors or for Pass-Fail credit.

Off-Campus Extended Studies Course

Faculty-led domestic and international study and service courses with an sociological theme that provide students opportunities to explore and experience other cultures, learn in new environments, develop skills not readily acquired elsewhere, and deepen their understanding of the global community. Curricular offerings earn .5 course credit and count toward satisfying the Extended Studies requirement; co-curricular offerings do not carry academic credit but do count toward the Extended Studies requirement.

On-Campus Extended Studies Course

An on-campus course offered during the Winter or May term. May be offered for .5 course credits or as a co-curricular (0 credit). Counts toward satisfying the Extended Studies requirement.

Extended Studies Independent Project

Student-initiated independent project under faculty guidance. Offered as a co-curricular (0 credit) Extended Studies experience.

Sociological Perspectives

An exploration of a timely topic in sociology, sometimes interdisciplinary in nature, that is not offered in the formal sociology curriculum. Topics may include: Sociology of Education, Environmental Sociology, Sociology of Immigration, and other topics. The course may be repeated with different topics. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or sophomore standing.

Gender and Society

This course examines the role of gender systems in human societies. How do societies vary in the positions assigned to men and women? In the power and privileges accorded each sex? How do we acquire a gender identity? What are the consequences of sex-typing and sex-stratified societies? The role of religion, intellectual traditions, language, families and schools, economic organization, labor markets and the state is explored. The focus is on contemporary U.S. society and recent changes in gender relations. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or sophomore standing.

Criminology

The course explores theoretical explanations for criminal behavior, empirical research on crime in diverse contexts and policy debates on crime control and punishment in the U.S. We place particular emphasis on the intersection of race, social class and gender as a conceptual lens through which to analyze street crime, white collar crime and intimate familial crime. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or sophomore standing.

Queer Theory/Queer Lives

An interdisciplinary exploration of the social and historical development of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) categories, identities and communities; the emergence and development of Queer Theory and its ability to deconstruct, de-politicize and extend beyond "LGBT"; the effect of interlocking systems of domination and control on queer lives, including sexism, racism, ethnicity and social class; and LGBT/Queer experiences within social institutions including families, marriage, law and the media. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or sophomore standing. May be crosslisted with W S 250, Queer Theory/Queer Lives.

Sexuality, Culture and Power

An exploration of the diverse ways in which human sexualities have been conceptualized, molded, policed and transformed in particular cultures, social contexts, moral climates and political terrains. Investigated are how the seemingly personal and natural world of sexual desire and behavior is shaped by larger societal institutions (e.g., law, medicine, religion) and by cultural ideas. Also examined is how social categories that have primacy in a culture,(e.g., gender, race, class and age) are expressed in sexual ideas, behavior and politics. Prerequisites: SOC 100 or sophomore standing.

Racial and Ethnic Relations

This course explores the origins, changes and possible futures of racial and ethnic relations. It is concerned with both the development of sociological explanations of ethnic and racial conflict, competition and cooperation as well as with practical approaches to improving inter-group relations. The course surveys global and historical patterns of inter-group relations but focuses on late 20th-century and early 21st-century United States. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or sophomore standing.

Medical Sociology

Are you healthy or ill? How do you know? Can your race, class and gender really affect your health? Is the health care system able to take care of our country's citizens? These and many, many more questions will be explored in Medical Sociology. The course is divided into four parts. In the first, we will explore how macro-level factors affect health. Next, we will address the cultural meanings and interpersonal experiences of illness. We will then shift to looking at health care providers followed by a brief evaluation of health care service and reform in the United States. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or sophomore standing.

Topics in Sociology

An exploration of timely, often policy-oriented and/or interdisciplinary issues in sociology. A specific topic will be addressed each time the course is offered. Topics might include Principles of Population, Social Inequalities, and other topics. May be repeated with different topics. Prerequisite: one course in SOC or permission of instructor.

Social Theory

This course involves the posing and answering of questions about the nature of the self and of social life. It investigates the fundamental issues of how social order is maintained and conversely, how social conflict and change occur. Central theoretical traditions in sociology--modernist and post modernist--are explored: their development, major ideas, research applications and implications for contemporary social life. Prerequisite: SOC 100 and Sociology or Sociology-Anthropology major, or permission of instructor.

Social Inequalities

This course examines multiple systems of privilege and oppression, such as gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and sexuality. The course considers how these systems of inequality intersect to influence people's experiences of social processes (e.g., discrimination, stereotyping, and violence) and various social institutions (e.g., family, paid labor, education, and media).

Women, Health and Social Control

This course focuses on the intersection of health, illness and gender. It combines classic and contemporary feminist ideologies to explore how health and illness have been defined and experienced by different women across historical time and space. Considerable attention is paid to how conceptualization of women (and their bodies) as inferior has led to the medicalization and control of women's bodies. The course especially highlights the role of women's health movements in shaping how women's health is understood, embodied and contested. We start the course addressing theoretical frames for understanding gender and health, then assess contemporary women's health status. The course then loosely follows a life course approach in that we explore women's experiences with menstruation, sexuality, reproductive technologies, childbirth and menopause. Prerequisite: One course in sociology or permission of instructor.

Girls, Women, Deviance, and Social Control

There has been almost a 650% increase in the incarceration of women over the last 30 years in the United States. Not only are women's crimes often different than men's, women's histories and criminal trajectories are often not the same. However, much of the academic and popular discourse has focused on male deviance, crime and incarceration. Over the last few decades, feminist scholars have developed theoretical and empirical work (feminist criminology) on girls and women's participation in crime and deviance and the gendered social control of girls and women. In this course, we will explore this approach through topics such as women working in the international cocaine trade, "gun women", mothering in prison and sex worker activism to gain a better understanding of girls' and women's experiences.

Methods of Social Research

A seminar dealing with elements of the scientific method as they apply to research in sociology and other social sciences. Covers strategies of research design pertaining to several qualitative methods which allows researchers to understand social phenomena. This course also addresses ethical considerations while doing social scientific research. Students will gain experience by writing a research proposal. Prerequisite: junior Sociology major or permission of instructor. This course may not be taken pass/fail.

Senior Seminar in Sociology

A seminar of senior Sociology or Sociology/Anthropology majors focused around a major substantive or methodological area of sociology. The course involves a core of common reading, discussion and the writing and presenting of a senior thesis related to the general focus of the seminar. Topics might include: global struggles for human rights, cultural conflict in American society, social problems in global/historical perspective, and race & ethnicity. Prerequisite: Senior Sociology major, SOC 100, SOC 303, & SOC 401

Readings and Projects in Sociology

Readings and Projects in Sociology