Results for ANTHRO136

This upper-division undergraduate seminar focuses on recent studies by anthropologists and scholars in related disciplines on global supply chains and consumption practices.The goal of the course is to assess concepts and methods for integrating a cultural analysis of transnational production with a cultural analysis of transnational consumption. We will review ethnographic studies of the production and consumption of commodities linked by transnational and global networks. The class will thenpursue collaborative research on the global production, distribution, and consumption of a selected commodity. Prerequisite: junior or senior standing and previous coursework in cultural anthropology or permission of instructor.

Latin America is vast in pre-colonial and colonial monuments. Past societies defined by archaeologists - Aztecas, Chavin, Chinchorro, Inka, Maya, Moche, Nazca, Tiahuanaco, among others - cohabit with Spanish colonial era structures and contemporary human settlements. Most studies on Latin America have focused on monuments, conservation and sustainability, overlooking economic and social struggles related to heritage use and management. Selecting certain case studies of famous archaeological sites, this class will explore the main characteristics of pre-Hispanic cultures from an archaeological perspective as well as from critical heritage studies. Currently, Latin American regions and entire states have adopted some of these 'archaeological cultures' and redefined them as their 'ancestors', adopting archaeological discourses in their daily lives. In addition to learning about these sites archaeologically, this class will analyze native communities´ claims, development projects, education narratives, nation-branding documentaries and marketing spots, memes, and other resources. The class will also consider the accelerated urban growth of these areas - a major feature of Latin American and global south countries - and the consequences for the development of heritage and its sustainable conservation in the Spanish-speaking Americas.

This seminar will explore how race is understood, lived, and deployed in modern societies around the world. The objective of the course is for students to understand that race is a historical, culturally constructed system of categorization with real structural and everyday political, social, and economic impacts, shaped by and mediated through both global and local processes. The course will begin by establishing race as a social and colonial construct from the complex and contested colonial project of 'race-making' while also foregrounding race as an analytic ripe for contemporary sociocultural analysis. Set up with this historical and conceptual background, students will explore the cultural dimensions of race in particular contexts around the world as they grapple with scholarly and public debates and discussions. While each week¿s readings are clustered around a common theme, students will be encouraged to apply concepts across case studies as they learn different approaches to studying race anthropologically. Course materials include ethnographies of race and readings, films, and podcasts on the histories and theories of race, colonialism, and empire.