ACADEMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Permission Required Courses:

ANTH 358A/B/C

ANTH 386

ANTH 398A

Capstone Projects:

DEPARTMENTAL HONORS

SENIOR RESEARCH THESIS PROGRAM

Other Resources:

STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS

THE CONSORTIUM OF UNIVERSITIES OF THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA

Special Topics Course Descriptions

Permission Required Courses

The Anthropology Department offers special courses designed to compliment the students in-classroom experience within the discipline.  These courses are permission required, and have high criteria for enrollment.  Students must seek written approval from both their faculty advisor and the undergraduate advisor in order to enroll.  The specific process for each course is outlined below.  These courses include:

ANTH 358A/B/C: Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

ANTH386:  Experiential Learning (Internship) Course

ANTH398A:  Independent Study Course

Guidelines for ANTH 358A/B/C

Undergraduate Teaching Assistant

Overview

The University of Maryland encourages that all students have the opportunity to have an enriched and challenging experience through a variety of learning opportunities.  Working as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant can be a source of considerable enrichment for the student. The course letter corresponds to the area of focus within the discipline. For example, ANTH358A refers to an Undergraduate TA working on an Archaeology course, ANTH358B to a Biological Anthropology course, and ANTH358C to a Cultural Anthropology course. Therefore, the Undergraduate TA should have taken the appropriate Method and Theory Course or have permission of the instructor.

Requirements for ANTH 358A/B/C

1. A Method and Theory Course (ANTH 320, ANTH 340, or ANTH 360) is a suggested prerequisite for the respective ANTH 358A/B/C course.
2. Students shall earn a B or better for the respective Foundation and Method and Theory course, when applicable.
3. Students should have previously taken the course to which they are applying to be a Teaching Assistant and have earned a B or better.
4.  The student must have at least Junior standing, be an Anthropology major, and have an overall GPA of 3.0 or better.
5. Permission of the department and receipt of contract by Undergraduate Advisor is necessary for a student to register for ANTH 358.
6. The course is repeatable to 6 credits if the content is different. 
7. A signed contract OR memorandum of understanding shall exist between the student, and faculty member. This agreement shall clarify duties, assignments, expected hours of effort, and final product(s).  Usually 135 hours of TA experience is equal to 3 credit hours. This agreement shall be filed with the undergraduate advisor office and be placed in the student’s files.  (See below for a sample agreement.)
8. The evaluation process shall be specified in the contract.

Steps and Timeline for ANTH 358A/B/C Credit

1. Identify a potential faculty sponsor and meet with him or her.

2. Make sure you have taken the appropriate prerequisites.

3. Create a contract OR memorandum of understanding with your faculty sponsor.

4. Have the contract or memorandum of understanding confirmed through required signatures.

5. Register for ANTH 358 (A, B, or C) under your faculty sponsor’s section.

6. Turn in a copy of the ANTH 358 contract or memorandum of understanding to the undergraduate advisor’s office no later that 10AM on the last day of schedule adjustment period.

7. Students shall complete the requirements outlined in the contract.

Paperwork

Please complete either a Contract OR Memorandum of Understanding for this course.  You can use either of the following documents as a template:

• Sample Contract for ANTH358
• Sample Memorandum of Understanding for ANTH358

Guidelines for ANTH 386

Experiential Learning (Internships)

Overview

The University of Maryland encourages that all students should have the opportunity for an enriched and challenging experience through a variety of learning opportunities. Students benefit significantly from experiential learning activities.

The Washington area has a large variety of high quality agencies and/or experts involved in research and practice, and opportunities for field experiences exist in all areas of anthropology. Working with anthropologists in these settings can be a source of considerable enrichment for the student. Students should be able to apply their classroom learning, test out their interests and skills in anthropology, and receive training in a specialized aspect of anthropology which is not available on campus.

Requirements for ANTH 386

1. Permission of the department is necessary for a student to register for ANTH 386, and a contract or a memorandum of understanding is required.
2. A signed agreement and / or contract shall exist between the student, advisor, and mentor. This agreement shall clarify duties, assignments, and expected hours and final product to be produced as a result of the experiential learning opportunity. This agreement shall be filed with the undergraduate advisor and will be placed in the student’s files. (See below for a sample agreement.)
3. Completion of advanced courses in a relevant subfield of anthropology is recommended.
4. Students can register for ANTH 386 once, and the student may receive up to 6 credits, depending upon the amount of work performed. Typically, one academic credit shall be received after completing 45 hours of the experiential learning program. Therefore, three credit hours of experiential learning shall be earned when the student completes 135 hours of the experiential learning program.
5. Advisors may want to have their students create a product from their experiential learning program : keeping a diary or writing a paper, for example. The nature of the final product and the basis for the final grade shall be specified in the contract.
6. Students shall meet with their advisor before, during, and after the course, and the advisor and student shall remain in contact (via email, phone, or meeting) throughout the course.
7. At the end of the course the advisor shall make contact with the mentor and receive an evaluation of the student’s work (see below for a sample evaluation).

Steps and Timeline for ANTH 386 Credit

Prior to the semester in which the student registers for ANTH 386 credit:

1. Read the ANTH 386 guidelines.
2. Find an internship site. It is the student’s responsibility to make sure there is a workable arrangement with the agency and to develop an appropriate learning contract with the instructor.
3. Meet with ANTH 386 course instructor who will review the particulars and decide whether the placement will meet the course goals. The instructor will also evaluate the adequacy of the supervision.
4. Fill out the ANTH 386 contract and ensure all signatures are in place.
5. Turn in copies of the ANTH 386 contract to the undergraduate advisor no later that 10AM on the last day of schedule adjustment period.
6. Register for ANTH 386.

In the semester students receive ANTH 386 credit:

1. Students shall complete the requirements outlined in the contract.
2. Students shall have the mentor complete the final evaluation and ensure that it is mailed to the undergraduate advisor and instructor immediately after the internship.

Paperwork

1) Please use the following template for the Memorandum of Understanding to enroll in this course:

Sample Memorandum of Understanding for ANTH386

2) At the end of your internship you will also be required to have an evaluation of your work completed:

Internship Evaluation Form for ANTH386

Guidelines for ANTH 398A
Independent Study: Research Problems

Overview

The University of Maryland encourages that all students should have the opportunity for an enriched and challenging experience through a variety of learning opportunities. Students benefit significantly from Independent Studies.  Working in an Independent Studies situation can be a source of considerable enrichment for the student.  Students should be able to apply their classroom learning, test out their interests and skills in anthropology, and receive training in a aspecialized aspect of anthropology, which is not available on campus.

Requirements for ANTH 398A

1. Permission of the department is necessary for a student to register for ANTH 398A, and a contract or a memorandum of understanding is required.
2. A signed contract or memorandum of understanding shall exist between the student and faculty member.  This agreement shall clarify duties, assignments, expected hours of effort, and final product to be produced as a result of the independent study.  This agreement shall be filed with the undergraduate advisor and will be placed in the student’s files. See below for a sample agreement.
3. Students can register for ANTH 398A (1-3 credits), and the student may earn up to 6 credits (for 2 or more courses).  If a student takes more than one independent study, the subject matter must be different and specified in the contract.
4. Typically, a student can earn one credit for every 45 hours of effort.  Therefore, three credit hours of independent study shall be earned when the student completes 135 hours of study in the course.  Students should work closely with their mentor/advisor on the number of credits they may earn in the course.
5. Advisors may want to have their students create a product from their independent study course, for example - keeping a diary, or wrting a research paper.  The nature of the final product and the basis for the final grade shall be specified in the contract.
6. Students shall meet with their advisor before, during, and after the course, and the advisor and student shall remain in contact (via email, phone, or meeting) throughout the course.
7. The evaluation process shall be specified in the contract.

Steps and Timeline for ANTH 398A Credit

Prior to the semester in which the student registers for ANTH 398A credit:

1. Read the ANTH 398A guidelines.
2. Identify a potential faculty sponsor and meet with him or her.
3. Negotiate your learning contract.
4. Have contract OR memorandum of understanding confirmed through required signatures.
5. Turn in copies of the ANTH 398A contract to the undergraduate advisor no later than 10 a.m. on the last day of schedule adjustment period.
6. Register for ANTH 398A under your faculty sponsor's section number.

In the semester students receive ANTH 398A credit:

Students shall complete the requirements outlined in the contract OR memorandum of understanding.

Paperwork

Please complete either a Contract OR Memorandum of Understanding for this course.  You can use either of the following documents as a template:

• Sample Contract for ANTH398A
• Sample Memorandum of Understanding for ANTH398A

Capstone Projects:

ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENTAL HONORS

Qualified majors are invited to participate in the department’s honors program. Graduation with Honors is permanently noted on student transcripts and can benefit graduates in seeking employment as well as applying for graduate school.

The anthropology honors program is designed to be accomplished over two consecutive terms, typically Fall and Spring of the candidate’s senior year. In this program, a student works individually with a faculty member of his or her choosing (the Honors Thesis Committee Chair). Students gain the experience of working on a particular topic over an extended period of time and of completing a thesis with the guidance of the committee chair and other members of the thesis committee. To be considered for departmental honors, the ANTH major must have:

• an overall G.P.A. of at least 3.0
• a G.P.A. of at least 3.5 in all major courses

Additionally, the student is required to take the following:

• ANTH486: Honors Research (3 credits)
• ANTH487: Honors Thesis (3 credits)
• One approved graduate level ANTH course (3 credits, taken with the committee chair)

Honors candidates typically take the research course the first term (ANTH486) and the thesis course the second term (ANTH487). Both courses are taken under the direction of the committee chair.

Students interested in entering the honors program should secure the cooperation of an anthropology faculty member to serve as her or his committee chair and contact the Director of the Departmental Honors Program. During the first semester of honors research the honors candidate needs to add two additional committee members, at least one of whom must be a member or affiliate of the Department of Anthropology. When the committee is in place the candidate will prepare, under the direction of his or her committee chair, a research proposal which will be presented to the full faculty committee for their advice and approval.

During the second semester of the thesis preparation, the honors candidate prepares a summary statement of the status and results of the research and writes, under the guidance of her or his committee chair, a detailed thesis proposal which must then be approved by the full faculty committee.

The completed thesis requires approval from the committee chair prior to being distributed to the other faculty committee members. The student will then present and defend his or her thesis in the presence of the entire committee. Possible results of the defense include “No Pass,” “Pass,” and “High Pass.” Students who receive a “No Pass” for the defense will be afforded one additional opportunity to defend.

Paperwork

Please complete a Memorandum of Understanding for this course.  You can use the following template:

Sample Agreement for Honors Program

ANTHROPOLOGY SENIOR RESEARCH THESIS PROGRAM

Students who do not meet the criteria for admission to the department’s honors program can still have the opportunity of developing a senior research thesis. The process of enrolling in and completing the senior research thesis program is the same as described above for the honors program (please review). Additionally, the following conditions apply:

• overall G.P.A. may be less than 3.0
• G.P.A. in major courses may be less than 3.5

The student is required to enroll in the following courses:

• ANTH476: Senior Research (3 credits)
• ANTH477: Senior Thesis (3 credits)

For additional information pertaining to either the Departmental Honors Program or the Senior Research Thesis Program, contact the Director of the Departmental Honors Program:

Dr. William Stuart
0106 Woods Hall
Phone: 301.405.1435
Fax: 301.314.8305
E-mail: wstuart@anth.umd.edu

Paperwork

Please complete a Memorandum of Understanding for this course.  You can use the following template:

Sample Agreement for Senior Research Thesis Program

Other Resources:

In addition to on-campus resources, we encourage students to diversify their experience by participating in study abroad programs, or through taking courses at nearby institutions participating in the Consoritium of Universities in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS

The opportunity to participate in a study abroad program, for a few weeks or for an entire year, can be a life changing experience. The University of Maryland offers a variety of year long, semester long, winter term, summer term, and spring break study abroad activities throughout the world. With advance approval, students can also participate in study abroad programs that are offered by other universities in the U.S. and abroad.

Visit the Study Abroad Office for more detailed information and program descriptions:

1101 Holzapfel Hall
Phone: 301-314-7746
Fax: 301-314-9135
E-mail: studyabr@deans.umd.edu

Especially rewarding can be the opportunity to participate in a study abroad program that is devoted to anthropology. There is really no substitute for experiencing anthropology in the field. The following study abroad programs are currently offered by our own Anthropology faculty:

• Anthropological Fieldwork and Experiences in Argentina: The Relevance of Context and Place

• PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF BRAZIL: ISSUES IN SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

• ITALY: CULTURE, HERITAGE, AND ECONOMY
  • ITALY Full Course Description

• Jamaica Ethnographic Fieldwork: “ Connections, Celebration, and Identity”

THE CONSORTIUM OF UNIVERSITIES OF THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA

University of Maryland students are eligible to take courses at consortium institutions for resident credit.  There are no additional fees; the tuition charged is the same for taking a class at UMCP.  The consortium is an excellent way for majors to add to the number and variety of anthropology courses available to them.

The consortium schools are: American University, The Catholic University of America, Gallaudet College, George Mason University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Howard University, Marymount University, Southeastern University, Trinity College, University of District of Columbia, and the University of Maryland, College Park. 

For more information about the consortium:

http://www.testudo.umd.edu/soc/consortium.html

Special Topics Courses:

Each semester, the department offers some courses on a trial or temporary basis. These courses have a letter after the three digit number. Since descriptions of these courses are not normally given on www.testudo.umd.edu, we have listed them here. Please remember that if a course is over the 600 level then it is a graduate course. If you see a course that interests you, check the Schedule of Classes to see when it will be next offered.

ANTH298B: Controversies in Archaeology
Did ancient astronauts build the pyramids? Was prehistoric Europe a peaceful community of goddess worshippers? How true are stories of Atlantis, of Troy, of the Bible?  Archaeologists, scholars who study the cultures of previous times, are continually asked to evaluate the evidence for competing stories about the past. This course will show how archaeologists use a critical lens and rigorous methods to assess these claims—some preposterous, some perplexing—about the ancient world.   We will examine many different kinds of controversies: cases of fakes and frauds, stories about remains left by non-human visitors, cases in which respected archaeologists provide reasonable but contradictory interpretations, ones in which the archaeological evidence challenges claims of religious, social, or political communities.  In order to evaluate these claims, students will learn how the archaeological record is formed and transformed, how archaeologists date sites and objects, how they understand ancient environments, and how they can uncover gender, ethnicity, and nationality in artifactual remains.

ANTH298C: Archaeology of the University: Uncovering the University of Maryland’s Origins
Students in this course will learn the methods and theories of archaeology by undertaking original research at the Riversdale House Museum. The elegant five-part Georgian Riversdale, constructed shortly after 1801, is closely tied to the founding families of the United States and the nineteenth-century cultural aristocracy of Prince George’s County, and the founding of the University of Maryland.  It was also a working plantation sustained by the labor of enslaved African-Americans. Students will work to connect the broad sweep of American history to the facts and artifacts on the Riversdale grounds.  In the process, they will become familiar with the methods of reasoning and research that archaeologists use to learn about the past through material culture. This is a hands-on course, which will engage students minds and bodies in the production of knowledge.  Readings on American history, along with weekly lectures help to build historic context and broaden students understanding of historical and archaeological processes.  Course faculty will guide the students through the process of generating archaeological knowledge, from field mapping and project planning to excavation, artifact processing, cataloging and analysis.  Guest lecturers on a variety of topics will provide in-depth knowledge and expertise.  The course will culminate in the production of a professional-quality archaeological report produced through student collaboration.  

ANTH298D: Introduction to Zooarchaeology
This course will provide an overview of how osteological material is used in an archaeological context and emphasize the value of this type of analysis. The theories guiding both prehistoric and historic zooarchaeological thought will be discussed. Students will be taught general animal anatomy. Students will handle zooarchaeological assemblages and conduct a basic faunal analysis of them, including identifications, cataloguing, and quantifications.

ANTH298E: Anthropological Approaches to Sustainable Development
This course is an introduction to anthropological approaches to sustainable development.  The material will cover an overview the history of sustainable development, major development and environmental theories, and development strategies as they relate to an anthropological concern for an integrated, holistic, comparative, and humane approach to sustainable development.  We will examine the relationship between social well-being and the conservation of natural resources, and we will take a critical approach to common assumptions about this relationship.  We will also look at practical applications of an anthropological approach to project methodology.  The overall aim of this course is to engender a more context-based and culturally aware approach to sustainable development.

ANTH298F: Gender and Anthropology
Utilizing ethnographic work from across the world and especially Africa and South Asia, students will examine gender constructs across several cultures.  The primary focus will be the role of women as gendered actors and participants in their day-to-day lives. Students will develop understandings of gender as distinct from the biological categories of sex, and to gain a working knowledge of variability and similarity in gender across cultural systems.

ANTH298K: Sexuality and Culture
Anthropology is the study of human societies. This course will provide an overview of sexuality from an anthropological perspective.  We will look at aspects of sexuality within our own culture and in cultures around the world.   Course topics will include the biology and culture of sex, gender, physical attraction, sexual orientation, marriage and mating taboos, fertility control, STDs, and commercial aspects of sex. Anthropology brings to the forefront an enhanced awareness and understanding of human similarities and differences essential for people preparing to take their place in the increasingly interconnected world of the twenty-first century.  I hope that at the end of this course you will have gained a better understanding of universal human characteristics as they relate to sexuality, as well as a tolerance for diversity in human beliefs and practices.

ANTH298M: Anthropology of Mass Media
This course introduces students to the close analysis of how meanings are produced and received in media texts. Students will learn to identify and interpret critical approaches to the study of signification, power relations, control and cultural representation as grounded in the everyday output of the mass media. These analytical tools will include: semiotic analyses, critiques of persisting ideologies, and analyses of the reception and production of media in various forms. Some weeks will be devoted to construction and maintenance of “otherness” through media forms, as well as the various arenas of media messages and their impact on our individual and collective world view(s). The uses, assumptions and implications of these diverse approaches will be examined through their application to a range of media, including: advertisements, magazines, newspapers, radio, web based media, television, film, and other public forms. By undertaking various media analyses, students will not only learn systematic approaches to how meanings are produced, but will also be equipped to re-examine their own relations and (received) responses to media texts. Students are expected to both generate and participate in class discussions, media “viewings”, and to have completed the required readings for each class session.

ANTH368C: Cinema and Society in Contemporary South Korea
This course examines the intersection of gender, class, and nation in contemporary Korean society through the lens of current Korean films. The turbulent recent history of South Korea has produced a society that is engaged with a variety of local and global social forces in complex and contradictory ways. The sweeping social changes in South Korean society have engaged it in a struggle to redefine and re-examine itself, and its relation to such basic ideas as gender, class, tradition and nation. Contemporary Korean films provide an especially interesting entrée into these issues and how Koreans have been thinking about them. In conjunction with material drawn from the fields of anthropology, literary studies, women’s studies, and film studies, this course will introduce students to the aesthetic tradition of Korean cinema as well as providing a theoretically grounded understanding of the key issues facing South Korean society today. Students will be exposed to a variety of films (with English subtitles) that deal with various issues pertaining to gender, class, and nationalism. Students will be given an opportunity to contextualize their learning through an understanding of South Korean society and to relate these issues to similar ones in their own social setting.

ANTH368I / GVPT 354: Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Reconstruction and International Development
Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Reconstruction and International Development is required for all international development minors. Other students require the permission of the instructor. The course is cross-listed under both Government and Politics as GVPT 354 and Anthropology as ANTH 368I because it presents the classic western-driven conceptualizations of development while drawing on the actual experience and understandings of participants across a variety of societies, cultures, and geographic areas. The underlying relationships between development, peace and conflict will be revisited throughout the course, but the overriding perspective of the class will be on development and to what reasonable extent, and how, it can be expected to create conditions conducive to peace and either prevent or speed recovery from conflict.

ANTH428L- Human Adaptation
Historically and continuing into the present, the concept of adaptation has been the foundation of biological anthropology.  This course emphasizes the significance of adaptation to biological anthropology and how an anthropological understanding of adaptation is critical for understanding contemporary Homo sapiens.  Though an evolutionary, ecological and bio-cultural approach, this course provides an overview of the concept of adaptation.  Through significant topical readings and in-depth classroom discussion this course will illustrate how anthropological interpretations of the concept of adaptation are central to many contemporary global concerns including global warming, overpopulation, globalization, health disparities, urbanization, and emerging/reemerging infectious disease.

ANTH428W: Primate Social Behavior
The social behavior of primates can assist us in understanding our own behavior and the behavior of our ancestors.  This course focuses on the social behavior of non-human primates.  The main course discussions will be on the closest relatives to human beings, the other great apes:  chimpanzees, bonobos, the two species of gorilla, and the two species of orangutan.  However, we will also discuss the behavior of lesser apes, old world monkeys, new world monkeys, and prosimians.  The course will begin by reviewing taxonomy of living and extinct primates.  We will then learn about primate social behavior in a variety of settings.  These social interactions are examined by looking at behavior during different social settings, such as mating, eating and traveling.

ANTH428Z: Anthropology of Disease
Through working groups and lectures, this course will cover topics such as Disease Evolution; Life History and Disease; Infectuous Disease Evolution; Genetic Epidemiology of Parasitic Disease;  Applied Aspects of Malaria Control;  Schistosomiasis; HIV/AIDS and Sexual Behaviors; Diabetes; Ethnogenetics, Hypertension, and Salt; Nutritional Anemia; Ethnogenetics and Breast Cancer; and Urban Pollution and Disease. 

ANTH429A: Plagues, Pathogens and Public Policy: The Anthropological Perspective
The impact of diseases on populations from prehistoric times through  the present will be examined, along with public perceptions of disease, the impact of scientific breakthroughs on the treatment and prevention, and the ways that politics and public health policies can enhance or impede the advancement of disease treatment. The natural history of disease, population structure, and immunity will be discussed. The class will discuss emerging and re-emerging diseases and the ways that first responders, researchers, and policy makers can all affect the outcome of an outbreak.  Although the class will focus on infectious diseases, genetic and chronic illnesses will also be addressed. Two examinations and a short paper will be required.

ANTH429B: Anthropology in Forensic Science
The role of the anthropologist in forensic science can be broadly defined in terms of skills, technology, experience, research, and contributions to the literature. This course will provide a brief history of forensic anthropology, an introduction to some of the techniques used, and a demonstration of some of the applications of anthropology to forensic science. Lectures will also cover anthropology's contributions to other forensic fields. There will be some hands-on activities in the classroom.

ANTH448B: Archaeological Law and Preservation
This course emphasizes the historical development and continued  evolution of laws designed to protect archaeological resources in the  United States.  Through an analysis of significant national, state,  and local preservation laws, the course will introduce students to the  basic concepts involved in the field of archaeology law.  The goals of  the course include: (1) establishing a basic understanding of the  American legal system and legal concepts; (2) promoting a sense of  familiarity with legal principles and case law; and (3) achieving a workable knowledge of archaeology law issues.

ANTH448D/689D: GIS for Anthropologists
This course will introduce anthropology students to the fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the use of these tools in site mapping and analysis. GIS enables researchers and scholars the ability to effectively combine maps and databases to analyze both geographic (spatial) and historic (temporal) relationships. Techniques from field photography to radar data collection to satellite remote sensing will be covered.  The lecture portion of the class will cover GIS concepts and their specific use in anthropology while the practical exercises will introduce the student to the specific hands-on capabilities and functionality of the software.  The ESRI ArcGIS software package (the industry standard) will be primarily used, but a survey of other software platforms will be presented.  This class is designed for those with no previous GIS experience.  The course will be taught by Tim Foresman, a renowned pioneer and teacher in the GIS field and James Stein, geographer and GIS expert.

ANTH448P – Theories of the Past
The purpose of this course is to locate the past. Why do societies use precedent, citations to the past, histories, oral traditions, or invocations of former customs, worlds, or events? We will attempt to learn how to answer these questions.

The class will be structured as a seminar, with the once weekly meetings focused on the analysis of assigned readings. Students, rather than the professor, will lead the seminar discussions. The majority of the grade will be based on a term paper. This paper will be the culmination of a semester’s worth of investigation into a problem that shows how the past is located. From the point of view of the readings, students will analyze this problem thoroughly, having been given assistance by the professor in its definition. The final project will consist of a description of the research and the write-up of the conclusions. Students will also share their projects in a 10-12 minute presentation during the last third of the term. A fellow student discussant will lead talk after the presentation.

ANTH448Q: Archaeology of the Modern City
The course provides an overview of how social scientists, in particular historical archaeologists, approach modern cities as being part of the materiality of the social structure and order. It uses a multidisciplinary approach that includes various aspects of social history, anthropology, sociology, to understand the use of space, living conditions, and the material remains of past communities. The history of cities and accompanying social issues provide the grounding to understand how the creation and use of urban landscapes can segregate ethnic, class, and racial factions. The outcome of the course is to show how such social policies and concepts of space within a city can have an impact on the type of materials recovered during the course of archaeological inquiry.

ANTH448V: Public Archaeology
Explores the uses and environments for archaeological work through a discussion of museum, electronic media, heritage settings, outdoor history museums, including the legal environment that offers protection for archaeological remains. The course exposes advanced graduate students to the majority of the cultural media within which archaeology is currently practiced. The interdisciplinary course is a survey of the progress made within and beyond anthropology in understanding the function of heritage, public memory, tourism, and the other popular uses of material from the past, including the progress made in linguistics and psychology, and other cognitive disciplines in understanding the purpose of the past.

ANTH468B/ 688B: Applied Urban Ethnography
This is a research methods seminar in “applied ethnography.” The focus of the course is on the use of applied ethnographic field methods in community assessment research in urban settings. This course will extend beyond most ethnographic training in which the emphasis is on “being there,” and relying predominantly on the classical ethnographic methods of recursive observations, participant observations, and a variety of approaches to interviewing. While these methods are also the cornerstone of applied ethnography, and wifi also be the prhnary methods of focus in the present course, they will be complemented by other methods that are frequently included in the toolkit of the applied anthropologists such as focus group interviews, archival, document, statistical, and other secondary (existing) data analysis, and to a much lesser extent, survey research methods. The course will also focus on the use of applied ethnographic research methods in community based health and social initiatives, the professor’s particular area of expertise.

ANTH468D: The Amazon through Film
This is an interdisciplinary course that utilizes film to consider the Amazon basin, its history, peoples, and landscapes through cinematic representations. The course places the films in the context of film history and critical theory. Films range from the imaginative re-enactments of early exploration; first contacts between Europeans and native Americans; rubber boom extravagances; rainforest ecology and threats to rainforest survival; as well as complex social interactions in modern Amazonia. Representation through film is a motif throughout the course, culminating in fully fictionalized accounts of Amazonia. The course takes into consideration the Brazilian, North American, Mexican, European and Argentine creators of the films and their visions of Amazonia, as well as the audiences and markets to which the films are intended. It considers images of Amazonia over four decades through dramatic and visual depictions.

ANTH468E- Behavioral Ecology and Anthropological Economics
Human Behavioral Ecology (HBE) integrates recent developments in ethology (the biological study of behavior — of both organisms and societies) and ecological anthropology, both biological and cultural. HBE attempts to understand the diversity of human behavior in the context of adaptation to socio-environinental circumstances. Building on models from theoretical biological ecology, HBE employs anthropological ethnographic methods, particularly participant observation with local populations. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are employed.

Topics to be considered will include: modes of subsistence, life history, historical demography, optimal foraging, parental investment, mating systems, cooperation, morality, social stratification, ethnocentrism, and sociocultural evolution. We shall draw on models of rationality, optimization, and evolutionarily stable strategies, and shall consider analytical concepts such as marginal value and opportunity costs. As one colleague, Monique Borgerhoff Mulder, of UC-Davis, has put it, the goal of Human Behavioral Ecology is “to explore the role of evolutionary biology, specifically behavioral ecological theory, in the study of human cultural variation.”

In this course we shall consider topics central to anthropology (food production and distribution, settlement patterns, social organization, demography, social organization and social change) are explored from the perspective of optimal foraging theory, evolutionary game theory, sexual selection, life history theory and models for the evolution of cooperation. The course focuses both on the theoretical foundations of behavioral ecology, as well as ethnographic and comparative studies.

Attention is given to the relative strengths of evolutionary biological and more conventional anthropological explanations for cultural variability, with particular focus on how biological and social perspectives on the study of human culture can be integrated.

ANTH468F- Native American Cultures of the United States
This course surveys the territories and 50 states in defining the subject & scope of its study of Native American Indian Cultures and also situates its regional case study of key historical and contemporary concerns.

ANTH468G/688G: Inventions of Heritage
The re-cognition of heritage provides us with an excuse to draw new relationships between the past and the present.  This seminar will explore how such relationships are established as exercises in publicly-endorsed heritage as well as in the more intimate, idiosyncratic and private spheres of everyday heritage discourse and association. An emphasis will be placed on ways in which heritage practices can be researched and how heritage notions are normally expressed--for example through writing, oral narrative, and performance.

ANTH468I- Language as Practice
An introduction to linguistic variation and the construction of identity, relationship, and community membership through language use. The approach emphasizes language as community-based practice and examines the dynamic construction of social relations through linguistic interactions.

ANTH468J: Human Rights and Anthropology
This class examines anthropology’s contribution to the practical and theoretical concerns of human rights debates, and demonstrates the increasing significance of ethnographic field methods to human rights work. We will think critically about human rights, not seeing it as a given, but as a set of conceptual frameworks through which political claims are made and socio-political shifts are achieved. This course takes a cross-cultural perspective, which incorporates detailed analyses of contemporary case studies. Additionally, key questions include: What are human rights? How are human rights claims mediated through culture? How are cultures changed by human rights efforts? How do we move beyond rights talk and culture talk? What does anthropology have to contribute to understandings of human rights and culture?

ANTH468M- Performing the Nation
This class will focus on the different ways a nation "performs" itself and recognizes its population as citizens and “members.”  Ethnographic examples from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the USA will be used to examine how artistic performances define the cultural boundaries of a particular national identity.  Ritual and religious symbols, festivals, parades, spectacle, dress/costume, language, sport, music, dance, and   theatre will all be included in the mix.  We will read about how different countries attempt to save longstanding traditions and cultural heritage, while confronting the powerful influences of tourism, globalization and the internet.  Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

ANTH468N- The Anthropology of the African-American Family There has been more research done on the African American family than the family systems of all other American ethnic groups combined. Several models have emerged from such studies, including deficit/pathological models, strength models, adaptation/resiliency models, and ecological models. The perspective taken in this course might be included as one of the latter in that it surveys the AA family from a historical and ecological perspective, in which the history of black people in America has been one of periods of high environmental stress interposed with adaptive responses. The AA family will be explored through such high stress periods as slavery, the post-bellum period, the period of urban migration and adaptation, the period of civil rights, desegregation and the crystallization of racialized urban ghettoes, the period of high drug infestation (e.g., crack cocaine), the period of welfare reform and other federal policies, and today, the period of post-9/11 negligence. Attention will also be given to defining family, the types of family and kinship systems that existed among African groups that lost members to American slavery, and the relationship of AA family systems to the black church, and to the formation of black institutions and community. A key question underlying the explorations in this seminar is whether there are lessons from earlier AA organizational structures (family, church, and community), that might be applicable to black families overcoming more recent periods of high environmental stress (i.e., the problems of racialized urban ghettoes, the impact of crack and other drugs, welfare reform and other policies, and post 911 negligence): or does such a concept as the AA family even have relevance in today’s multicultural world? Students will be expected to find a topic within the course’s various themes to explore in depth as a final requirement.

ANTH468O: Anthropology of Performance
Ever wanted to be like Indiana Jones?  Or are you more interested in Harrison Ford, the actor who played the role?   Have you ever wondered if pre-historic cave men had “rock” bands and theatre groups? What does an anthropologist, an actor, and a cave man (or cave woman) all have in common?

Anthropology is a broad discipline that encompasses the study of 1) human evolution, 2) pre-historic societies, 3) language, and 4) contemporary cultures around the world.  This class will look at examples from all four areas, focusing specifically on performative and artistic forms of cultural expression.  We will start by looking at archaeological evidence of ancient forms of performance and the emergence of “theatricality” in the earliest human societies, and then move into more contemporary forms of performance, including shamanism, witchcraft and magic; ritual and festival; sport and play; clown and humor; storytelling; spoken word; slam poetry; music; dance; and theatre.  We will close the semester by looking at modern technology and the future of digital/virtual art and performance.

ANTH469A: Identity and Immigration
This course will have a two-fold objective. One aspect of the course is a theoretical grounding in the representation of identity and immigration.  This foundation will cover the role of dominant discourses that frame identities of immigrants, an examination of why these discourses develop, as well as an analysis of ways that immigrants negotiate their identities in response to these impositions, and as a means to belong.  There will be a particular focus on the importance of material culture in relationship to identity and immigration, and more specifically on the role that family representation can contribute in the negotiation process.

The other aspect to the course is a service-learning component:  Each student will conduct a life histories interview with someone who has moved to this country, and will be required to incorporate some form of the individual’s material culture into the discussion (such as family photographs, or a family heirloom, for instance).  Beforehand, students will have training and practice in interview techniques. 

ANTH469B: Ethnographic Use of Mapping Technology in Urban Settings
This course will enhance student skills in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology as an ethnographic and health community assessment tool in urban settings. The course will focus on mapping data relevant to DC urban neighborhoods where the instructors are presently conducting research, and on the community health assessment issues of resident needs, environmental risks, and the availability of community based resources that might be used in response to such needs and risks. Using this framework of neighborhood needs, risks, and resources, student skills will be enhanced in transporting statistical data relevant to the study neighborhoods into maps, and the collection and mapping of ethnographic field data. 

ANTH469C/689C: Language and Culture
This course focuses on key issues in the study of language in its cultural context.  We will highlight some contemporary ethnographic approaches in linguistic anthropology, by considering the phenomenon of bilingualism and multilingualism, focusing on linguistic diversity in the U.S. and internationally, through the study of the use and structure of such codes as African American speech, Spanish, Native American Languages, American Sign Language, and Pidgins and Creoles.  Students will learn about the importance of the oral tradition and verbal art in cultures (i.e. African-American and indigenous cultures).  This online class will also study technology-mediated communication, including language and internet cultures.  We will consider the implications of linguistic diversity for education, and the effects of language change over time, sometimes culminating in the language endangerment and potential death of minority (heritage & native) languages.  We will consider communication that is both verbal and non-verbal, can vary according to gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and other social factors.

ANTH469F/689F: Historical Ecology
Historical Ecology is an interdisciplinary research program which studies interactions through time, and at varied spatial scales, between societies and environments. Interactions include how humans have altered the environment or about how environmental change affects human activities. The aim is to realize the consequences of these interactions in the formation of contemporary and past cultures in the context of changing landscapes. The premise is that ecosystem susceptibility and resiliency can be better understood through an examination of prior cultural and natural interactions.

The perspective is integrative, comparative, dynamic, and requires a multidiscipline team, including community stakeholders. Anthropology provides traditional, historical, and archaeological information about the dynamics of changing environments that can be applied to current problems and decision making at local, regional and global scales.

The interactive course will provide background and general methods being applied to the study of environmental change and decision making strategies. Specific applications of historical ecology about watersheds and their management will be highlighted.

ANTH498B/689E: Ethnographic Evaluations of Community-Based Intervention Projects This course will explore some of the principles and tools that might be involved in the evaluation of community based intervention (CBIs) from an anthropological and ethnographic perspective. Ethnographic perspectives and methods will be discussed in terms of their application to formative, process, outcome or summative, and impact evaluation strategies. The features of participatory and empowerment evaluation, areas in which ethnographic methods have made significant contributions will be examined. Students will also be introduced to the instructor’s Ethnographic Assessment & Evaluation Systems (EAES), which will be used as a guide in helping students design a CBI evaluation proposal as a final course requirement. Those students who are already involved in the evaluation of CBIs are encouraged to focus on using the skills and knowledge gained in this seminar in strengthening their work on their own projects.

ANTH498N/ 689N: Ethnology of Immigrant Life
This course will explore social issues affecting local immigrant populations through readings, research and service learning. Theorizing immigration as a social policy issue in the U.S. culture, we will learn about the specific contributions that anthropology has made to the understanding of immigration, from two different yet interrelated perspectives: globalization on the one hand, and the context of daily life in local neighborhoods on the other. The course intends to explore and understand the barriers to access human and social services that immigrants experience through service-learning placements in community organizations that address immigrants’ needs in neighborhoods surrounding campus. Through fieldwork and service we will entertain major questions such as : What are the major characteristics of the contemporary immigration to neighborhoods adjacent to campus? What are the similarities and differences between the old and new immigration to those localities? Have the modes of immigrant incorporation into the social structure changes? Is there a relationship between immigrant well-being and access to health and social services?