Anthropology


Anthropology 1062 (formerly R060): Introduction to Anthropology
3 credit hours

A focus on describing and explaining the diversity of past and present human populations. Includes anthropological notions of culture, of human biological change, of how archaeologists excavate and reconstruct early forms of human societies, of how one kind of society changes into another, and of the theories that explain the process of change and transformation. The economics, religions, technology, subsistence, kinship systems, and political systems of modern societies are analyzed from historical, ecological, and social perspectives.



Anthropology 1061 (formerly C061): Cultures of the World
3 credit hours

A survey of the anthropological studies of comparative cultures in different world regions. Ethnographic case studies will be placed in their regional context. A major emphasis will be placed on the impact of the major forces of economic, political, and sociocultural change in the twentieth century.



Anthropology 1064 (formerly C064): American Culture
3 credit hours

An anthropological overview of of American culture. Ethnographic views of particular lifestyle groups based on ethnicity, region, class, age, etc., will be explored. Studies of the historical development of relationships and conflicts between groups will also be included. These will be linked by the literature on the overarching themes, values, rituals, and institutions that characterize the national culture.



Anthropology 0151: Economic Anthropology
3 credit hours

An investigation of the political economies of nonindustrial societies and how they are articulated with, transformed by, and incorporated into modern world systems. Includes the history and development of theories of political economy on the one hand and detailed studies of selected local and regional groups on the other. Although tribal and peasant economies have internal conditions of development, these cannot be fully understood without the wider context in which the majority of them exist and have always existed.



Anthropology 0152: Political Anthropology: Traditional Societies and ModernStates
3 credit hours

An examination of the rise of political anthropology as a specialized field in relation to other fields within anthropology and to the social sciences generally. This perspective will be achieved by a critical reading of some of the classical texts in the field in the light of recent developments in the relation between political economy and anthropology. Among the issues addressed will be the nature of politics and underdevelopment and the articulation of modes of production and social formation.



Anthropology 0154: Comparative Social Organization
3 credit hours

An introduction to the anthropological study of social organization by comparing aspects of the United States, Japan, Europe, and China before and after the cold war. Some comparison will also be made with pre-, non-, and peripherally industrialized societies and cultures. Particular attention is focused upon the anthropology of work and working life. Topics include markets, planning, social stratification, labor unrest, informal groups, the family, leadership, and ethnic minorities.



Anthropology 0213: Topics in Cultural Anthropology
3 credit hours

A variable topic course on issues and problems that are particularly salient in contemporary anthropology.



Anthropology 0272: American Culture Abroad: Japan
3 credit hours

(Cross-Listings: American Studies 2063 & Asian Studies 0255)

An examination of the versions and varieties of American life that have become a part of Japanese society and culture. We see a tremendous curiosity for things American in Japanese daily life, but how has American culture taken shape in Japan? What kinds of transformations, reformulations, and reinventions have taken place? We will review Japanese adoptions and adaptations of American language, settings, architecture and design, foods and restaurants, clothing and fashions, popular films, television and advertising, and even holidays. Students will review and critically evaluate such films as The Japanese Version, Mr. Baseball, Black Rain, The Barbarian and the Geisha, Tokyo Pop, and The Colonel Comes to Japan.



Anthropology 2373 (formerly 0273): Japanese Culture
3 credit hours

(Cross-Listings: Asian Studies 2373)

An exploration of numerous questions and of the various dimensions of today's Japanese culture using a social science approach. What is culture? What is Japanese culture? Is there anything uniquely Japanese? How can we study and analyze Japanese culture? How do foreigners and the Japanese themselves view Japanese people and culture? What kinds of subcultures are there in Japan and how are Japanese values and beliefs manifested in them? There exist a number of answers to these questions, because Japanese culture, like the cultures of other countries, has many factors and facets. This course or its cross-listing is strongly recommended for study-abroad students coming to TUJ.



Anthropology 2374 (formerly 0274): The Anthropology of Modern China
3 credit hours

(Cross-Listings: Asian Studies 2374)

An introduction to the culture and society of the contemporary People's Republic of China. The first half of the course explores the dramatic changes in rural and urban sectors of Chinese society since the turn of the century, with a particular focus on post-1949 Maoist and post-Mao socialist transformations. The second half of the course examines such topics as gender and the status of women, ethnic minorities, religion and healing, the self and society, the party and the state, and PRC narratives of modernity. Throughout, the PRC will be examined as a society that embodies a distinctively Chinese synthesis of tradition and modernity.



Anthropology 0301: History of Anthropological Theory
3 credit hours

Prerequisite: At least two courses in anthropology or permission of instructor

A look at the development of anthropological thought from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Major theoretical schools, such as evolutionism, historicalism, functionalism, structuralism, cross-cultural methods, and the new ethnography, are examined.



Anthropology 0313: Topics in Cultural Anthropology
3 credit hours

A variable-topics course whose content usually changes each time it is offered. It provides an opportunity for instructors and students to explore specialized topics of current interest.



Anthropology 0313: Topics in Cultural Anthropology: The Indians of the Americas
3 credit hours

(Cross-Listings: American Studies 2120)

A survey of the historical layout of American Indian societies as they may have appeared in 1492 on the eve of cultural contact with invading and colonizing Europeans. Attention is given to Ice Age, ancient, precontact, and post-contact cultures. There is some emphasis on the formation of colonial America and the American political economy that formed out of conflict, syncretism, and accommodation. Special attention is given to the first contacts between specific Indian societies and Spanish, French, and English colonists. The Puritan religious and social experiment in New England; the Quaker experiment in Pennsylvania; the French missionaries among the Huron, Iroquois, and Mi'kmaq; war and the fur trade; the league of the Iroquois; the rise of mounted and militant plains societies; and the ghost dance religion are among the topics covered. Wars of Indian resistance and the native leaders who inspired them are also discussed. Attention is given to the political, economic, and social impact of Indian societies on Europeans and European culture.



Anthropology 0313: Topics in Cultural Anthropology: Anthropology and Civil Society
3 credit hours

(Cross-Listings: Asian Studies 2000)

A semester-long examination of discourses on civil society, with a particular emphasis on contemporary ethnographic studies of Japanese society and culture. Civil society has experienced an enormous theoretical rebirth in recent years, testifying to its key role in modern democratic theory and the broadening crisis of contemporary societies seeking new foundations for citizenship. Traditionally, political scientists have had a privileged place in the production of knowledge about the political process. Meanwhile, anthropologists have been documenting such aspects of civil society as voluntarism, subject formation, networking, new social movements, and the practices of NGOs and NPOs for some years. What is the meaning of civil society in an anthropological sense? How do anthropologists treat civil society in their discipline? In what way does the anthropological perspective contribute to the interdisciplinary argument of civil society? How do we locate the Japanese civil society concept in a cross-cultural context? Among other things, this course is designed to provide students who are interested in working for such civil society organizations as NGOs and NPOs with practical knowledge to apply anthropology in real settings.



Anthropology 0333: Anthropological Film
3 credit hours

A review of major film styles useful for ethnographic film and an analysis of the role of film in anthropology.



Note:
Please note: the information contained in these course descriptions is subject to change, and individual courses may be added or deleted as necessary. If you wish to know what specific courses are being offered in a given term, please see the current course schedule.