291 - 300 of 335 results for: ANTHRO

The course prepare students for the methodological and practical aspects of doing ecologically oriented, quantitative anthropological field research. The primary goal is to explore what it means to ask anthropological questions in a systematic way. We will focus on understanding what can constitute an interesting question, how to frame a question in way that facilitates investigation, and how to design methods to begin investigating a question. In turn, the course will provide a format to refine research projects in preparation for doing more extensive fieldwork.

History of evolutionary theory from the 19th century to present, emphasizing anthropological applications. Theory and concept in evolutionary biology; evolutionary theories of culture; and interactions of genetic, social, and cultural evolution and their implications. Emphasis is on tools of analysis and the value of evolutionary thinking for formulating research questions in anthropology today. Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. (HEF II, III)

Themes of materiality and visuality, aesthetic and other forms of cultural production, and the meanings of creativity and convention. Ethnographic and archaeological material and case studies from worldwide cultural contexts. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

For graduate students writing or planning to write a dissertation using ethnographic methods. The choices made by the authors of ethnographies in constructing an argument, using data and speaking to an audience of readers. Readings include chapters written by class members currently writing dissertations. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

This course examines the way anthropologists and others write to different audiences. What do you need to do communicate to a mainstream anthropology audience? How does that change when you write an editorial or place something in a popular venue? When you try to capture a non-anthropological medical audience? What methods might you consider adding to enable that cross-talk? We will examine a series of examples of people who have written across. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

How is the recent worldwide restructuring under the name neoliberalism understood as a social, cultural, and economic phenomenon? Focus is on interrogation of analytic categories, and ethnographic explorations of social and political processes. Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor

This course details the methodological challenges associated with using primary historical documents, ethnographic methods and sources and archaeological data. How do archaeologists deal with multiple sources of data, primary texts (translated and original) and ethnographic materials? This course examines archaeological monographs as models for individual student projects leading to dissertation research and publishing beyond the dissertation. Students will be required to present materials, research questions and primary source materials to the class in order to expand our understanding of the challenges and insights provided by archival and archaeological studies.

Democracy is commonly defined in formalist terms as a form of government (involving the consent of the governed) and a procedure of governance (involving the rule of law). In place of a formalist definition, this course examines democracy as a historical and discursive form. In what ways have the rights of citizenship for some been premised on the domination of others (workers, women, the colonized, etc.)? What forms of violence are not only tolerated as practical necessity in the contemporary order of democratic states but sanctioned as morally just? What mechanisms of political authority operate by defining the boundaries between the tolerable and the intolerable, between citizenly belonging and terrorism ¿ in short, between democracy and its others (e.g., an arbitrary despot, a feudal economy, a religious fundamentalism)? These questions require urgent interrogation in the present day: the past thirty years have witnessed a virtual explosion of new constitutions proclaiming democratic sovereignty across the world. What forms of global power and institutional domination are constitutive of the contemporary era of liberty, freedom, and equality? Readings are drawn from a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, political theory, and political philosophy. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

The South Asian subcontinent (comprising of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka) is one of the most diverse and densely populated regions in the world and increasingly prominent in new global political and cultural economies. South Asia has also provided the inspiration for cutting edge theories about the colonial state, postcolonial studies, democracy, popular culture, and religious conflict. The course will provide an overview of major historical events and social trends in contemporary South Asia and focus on themes such as gender, religion, caste, migration and movement, new technologies, the urban and rural, the state, and new forms of consumption among others.Thus, the course will give students historically and theoretically informed perspectives on contemporary South Asia, as well as how to apply insights learned to larger debates within the political and social sciences. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.