This course provides an overview of the 4-field discipline of Anthropology. Each of the four fields is covered in order to provide students with a broad-based introductory knowledge of Anthropology. The four topics include Archaeology (the study of the material remains of the past), Cultural Anthropology (the study of human diversity), Physical Anthropology (the study of the human body and human evolution), and Linguistics (the study of language).
Special Topics in Anthropology.
Ever wondered about our human history? Fascinated by archaeological finds you hear about in the news? This course provides a world tour through time as we travel from our early origins in Africa through the cognitive development seen to emerge in the rock art caves of France. We then travel through the development of agriculture to the emergence of complex societies throughout prehistory. Explore Stonehenge, the Maya, Ancient Egypt, and more.
An anthropological study of diverse cultures, past and present, focusing upon technologies and structure, kinship and family patterns, political relations, religious concepts, and artistic forms. This course provides background into the Cultural sub-discipline of Anthropology while engaging students with skills necessary in a rapidly globalizing world.
The course provides an introduction to Archaeology, one of the four fields of anthropology. Archaeology is the study of the human past through material culture, however archaeological research and methods are often applied to modern day issues. This course is designed to provide hands on experience in archaeological methods as well as provide a basis for understanding archaeological theory and practice. Special attention will be focused on methodology and techniques available to archaeologists (mapping, photography, and artifact preparation/analysis).
This is an introductory course in the field of museology. This is a techniques course in which the students will be provided instruction in curation, exhibit preparation, and display. The format will include lectures, museum visitation and individual research methods. Students will proceed from the concept stage of artifact selection into the application of display techniques through the completion of a temporary exhibition in the Eide/Dalrymple Gallery on campus.
This course is designed to provide a general introduction to Biological (Physical) Anthropology. The course traces the nature of human evolution, the hominin past, including the study of primates. Further, it examines human skeletal remains as a means of understanding the evolutionary and archaeological past. Finally, the study of Forensics provides practical, real-world applications for the principles of Biological Anthropology.
Students on an F-1 visa are eligible to work off campus to provide additional experience so long as the employment relates directly to the student's major area of study. The practical experience gained outside the traditional classroom supplements the theoretical and/or applied knowledge as a part of the student's coursework. The registration process for this course must be completed every term (including summers), as students must have their work authorization reissued each term to ensure continued enrollment. Jobs must be approved and verified by the International Programs Office before work may begin.
Special Topics in Anthropology.
The course will primarily examine the "traditional" (Pre-European contact) pedestrian art produced in the three major areas: West Central Africa, Oceania, and North America. The primary focus will emphasize the role of art in specific cultural contexts. The analysis of art products of these major cultural areas will discuss the formal properties and aesthetic qualities that characterize the numerous styles within the traditions of these regions.
A survey of the dynamics of cultural systems in prehistoric Mesoamerica with a focus on the Tehuacan Valley of Central Mexico. This will provide the basis for discussion of the higher energy transforming systems of the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya and Aztec. Special attention given to causal models, including ecological and environmental, materialistic trade and exchange and religion and ideology provide the theoretical framework which the rise of civilization occurs.
An advanced level of presentation in the technical detail and guiding philosophy for the installation of ethnographic exhibits. Detail will include specialized techniques in lighting and backdrop construction, as well as academic research for ethnographic detail needed for preparation of exhibit descriptions and catalog copy.
The Northern Plains of North America is a vast territory stretching from central Manitoba and Saskatchewan south to Nebraska, east to northern Iowa and west to the Rocky Mountains. It is a stark and harsh landscape but one with abundant streams, animals (particularly bison), and wild plants. These resources sustained Native American populations for over 12,000 years. The course will trace the earliest small nomadic mammoth and bison hunting groups, through the development of agricultural groups living in large permanent earthlodge villages to the ultimate dramatic collapse of Native culture in the 19th century through a combination of intertribal warfare, epidemic disease and the colonization of the area by Euroamericans.
This four to five week field school offers basic instruction in all aspects of Archaeological Fieldwork. Students will be instructed in excavation, mapping, photography, plan view map drawing, as well as the initial processing of recovered artifacts.
The first week of the course will be spent on campus reading and discussing the history of the Southwest from an archaeological and cultural perspective. The southwest is a region rich in archaeological sites. This region also provides a unique setting to explore the living cultures whose ancestors created those sites. We will visit ancient sites built into cliffs, walk the river courses of cultures long past, and visit with the living descendants of the archaeological sites we’ll explore on this unique tour of the Southwest.
Special Topics in Anthropology.