(file last updated: [8/10/1998 - 15:21:4])
Undergraduate Concentration
The Department of Anthropologyoffers courses covering the discipline's four major subfields:sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, physicalanthropology, and archaeology. The concentration is structuredto provide an introduction to the major concepts, methodologies,and theoretical issues of anthropology, while permitting eachstudent sufficient latitude to pursue his or her own special interests.
Graduate Program in Anthropology
The graduate program in anthropology,leading to the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, is designed to producescholars who will broaden our knowledge of culture and society.Graduate training is based on required courses in the history,theory, and method of anthropology and on elective courses inthe four subfields of anthropology (sociocultural anthropology,archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology).Some graduates of the program accept appointments at collegesand universities; a number take employment in government, privateinstitutions, or foundations. Intensive training for independentresearch is stressed, with particular emphasis on comparativestudies and fieldwork.
Students who wish to eitherconcentrate in anthropology or study for a minor in anthropologyshould see the undergraduate advisor, who will discuss specificinterests and assign an advisor. This consultation is especiallyimportant for those interested in a particular subfield. ANTH1a and 5a (or 1a and 102a for students on the linguistic anthropologytrack) should be taken early in a student's academic career. Concentratorsare encouraged to select honors research projects, particularlythose students considering graduate study in anthropology or otherprofessional training.
The department sponsors credit-bearinginternships (ANTH 92a and b) for junior and senior concentratorsand minors. Internships combine off-campus work that providesa significant anthropological learning experience and academicstudy supervised by a departmental faculty sponsor. Concentratorsmay substitute one internship for the ninth elective course option.Students doing summer internships register for course credit inthe following fall semester. A minimum of a B+ grade point averagein anthropology courses is required for eligibility. For informationsee "Guidelines for Anthropology Internships" availablefrom the undergraduate advisor.
The general requirements foradmission to the Graduate School, specified in an earlier sectionof the Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission to graduatestudy in anthropology. Admission decisions are based primarilyon the candidate's undergraduate academic record, letters of recommendation,and the personal statement that is part of the application form.It is also advisable that the results of the Graduate Record Examinationbe submitted. A personal interview on campus is encouraged, butnot required.
Applicants to the master ofarts program or for study towards the joint degree of master ofarts in anthropology and women's studies need not have completedan undergraduate major in anthropology or sociology-anthropology,although they may be required to make up deficiencies while theyare enrolled as graduate students. Students enrolled in the masterof arts program in anthropology or anthropology and women's studiesmay, after having completed the equivalent of their first semester'scourse-work, apply for admission to the doctoral program. Theirapplications will be considered along with the pool of candidatesfrom outside Brandeis seeking admission directly to the doctoralprogram. Candidates for the master of arts program in anthropologyand in anthropology and women's studies with demonstrated financialneed may petition to the graduate school for partial tuition scholarships.
Students may apply for admissiondirectly to the doctoral program in anthropology. Preference willbe given to those with an undergraduate background in anthropologyor in sociology-anthropology. In any case, applicants to the doctoralprogram must demonstrate that their anthropological interestsare well-defined and that these interests are congruent with andacceptable to those of the Brandeis anthropology department faculty.Full tuition scholarships and cash fellowships are awarded tostudents in the doctoral program on a competitive basis. Need-basedtuition remission is also available upon application. Assumingsatisfactory progress in the doctoral program, fellowship andtuition scholarship aid would be maintained for three years.
Richard Parmentier, Chair
Semiotic anthropology. Historicalanthropology. Material culture. Communications and media. Oceania.Middle Ages. United States.
Jack Abercrombie
Near Eastern archaeology. Transjordanmigration patterns. Egyptology. Historiography and Biblical studies.
Robert Hunt, Graduate AdvisingHead
Economic anthropology. Culturalecology. Comparative methods. Irrigation. Mesoamerica. Development.
Judith Irvine, UndergraduateAdvising Head
Linguistic anthropology, ethnographyof speaking. Ethnomusicology. Social stratification. Colonialism.Africa.
David Jacobson
Social anthropology. Urbansocial organization. Stress and support systems. Psychosocialtransitions. Families and households. Computer-mediated communication.United States. Africa.
Susan Kahn
Legal anthropology. Genderstudies. New kinship studies. Middle East.
David Kaplan
Economics. Method and theory.Peasant cultures. Middle America.
Ian Kuijt
Archaeology. Emergence of socialinequality. Origins of agriculture. Human evolution. Lithic technology.Near East and North America.
Sarah Lamb (Women's StudiesLiaison)
Social-cultural theory. Genderstudies. Anthropology of aging. Medical anthropology. Immigrantand transnational communities. South Asia.
Benson Saler
Comparative religion and folkphilosophies. Psychological anthropology. Mesoamerica. South America.Americana.
Javier Urcid
Mesoamerican archaeology. Complex societies. Writing systems. Bioarchaelogy. Mesoamerica.
Robert Zeitlin
Archaeology. Political andeconomic organization. Trade and exchange. Development of complexsocieties and culture. Archaeological method and theory. Mesoamerica.
Charles Ziegler
Industrial and applied anthropology.Corporate cultures. Technology and culture.
A.Required of all concentrators: A minimum of nine semester coursesin anthropology, to include ANTH 1a, ANTH 5a, and ANTH 83a (orANTH 1a, 83a, 102a, and 186b for students on the Linguistic Anthropologytrack).
B.Honors candidates are required to take ANTH 99d. One semestercourse credit from this year-long two semester course may be countedtowards the above nine courses.
C.A student may petition to have a course taken in another departmentreplace one anthropology course requirement, provided that courseis clearly related to the student's program. An approved internshipin anthropology, completed for credit, may be counted as fulfillingone course requirement for the concentration in place of a coursetaken in another department.
D.A minimum of five of the nine courses required for the concentrationmust be taken from Brandeis anthropology faculty.
The following alternative trackis recommended to anthropology concentrators with a special interestin linguistics. The purpose of this program is to introduce majorissues and ideas in the study of language, the study of socioculturalsystems, and the study of relations between language, society,and culture. Concentration requirements for students who choosethis track are as follows:
A.ANTH 1a and ANTH 83a.
B.ANTH 102a and ANTH 186b (formerly 102b).
C.A minimum of three other anthropology courses chosen from thoselisted in the departmental offerings.
D.A minimum of two other linguistics courses from the LING listing(selection to be approved by the student's faculty advisor inanthropology).
E.Candidates for a degree with honors should enroll in ANTH 99dduring their senior year. Students interested in linguistic anthropologyshould arrange their programs in consultation with Ms. Irvine.
A.The archaeological track is designed to provide a coherent curriculumfor anthropology students desiring to focus on archaeology. Thecurriculum is particularly recommended to those students consideringthe study of archaeology on the graduate level. Such studentsare encouraged to seek the advice of Mr. Zeitlin in designingtheir undergraduate programs.
B.Basic course requirements for the archaeological track are thesame as those described under Requirements for Concentration(above), and include ANTH 1a, ANTH 5a, and ANTH 83a.
C.Of the remaining courses required for the anthropology concentration,it is recommended (but not necessary) that students followingthe archaeology track include as many as possible of the following:ANTH 60a, ANTH 110a, ANTH 116a, ANTH 123a, ANTH 147b, ANTH 149a,ANTH 163b, ANTH 164a, ANTH 165b, ANTH 187a, and ANTH 188b in theirprogram.
D.Candidates for a degree with honors must enroll in ANTH 99d duringtheir senior year.
Five semester courses are required,including the following:
A.ANTH 1a.
B.Either ANTH 5a or ANTH 102a.
C.Three courses in anthropology, to be chosen in consultation withthe student's advisor in the department.
Combined B.A./M.A. Program
The four-year B.A./M.A DegreeProgram in Anthropology is designed to enable exceptional or giftedundergraduates to earn two degrees simultaneously during theirperiod of study at Brandeis University. The program provides astrong academic grounding for those students who aspire to a professionalcareer in anthropology and anticipate continuing their studieselsewhere for the doctoral degree. Eligibility for the programis normally limited to anthropology concentrators who have maintaineda minimum 3.40 (B+) grade point average overall and a 3.67 (A-)grade point average in anthropology courses for their first sixsemesters of undergraduate study. Students admitted to the programmust fulfill all the requirements for a concentration in anthropologywith honors, as well as the special requirements of theCollege of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Anthropologyfor the combined B.A./M.A. Specifically, they must complete aminimum of three years residence on campus, one of which is atthe graduate level; a total of 38 courses (vs. the 32 requiredfor the bachelor's degree); six anthropology courses at the graduatelevel (100+ numbered courses), including ANTH 190a and ANTH 193b,beyond the 10 required for the honors concentration in anthropology,with a minimum grade of B- in each; an acceptable master's researchpaper, evaluated by the student's advisor and one additional anthropologyfaculty member (the honors thesis can serve this purpose.
Program of Study
Students admitted to the masterof arts program in anthropology must fulfill the Graduate Schoolresidence requirement of one full year of course-work. Courserequirements will include a two-semester foundational sequence,ANTH 190a (formerly ANTH 200a) (History of Anthropological Thought)and ANTH 193b (formerly ANTH 203a) (Contemporary Issues in AnthropologicalTheory). In addition to the above, all candidates for the masterof arts degree in anthropology must meet the following requirements:
A.Complete a program consisting of six elective courses designedaround their anthropological interests, selected with the approvalof a faculty advisor to be assigned each student upon matriculation.
B.Submit an acceptable master's research paper, evaluated by theiradvisor and one additional faculty member. There is no foreignlanguage requirement for the master of arts degree in anthropology.
Students who are candidatesfor the joint degree of master of arts in anthropology and women'sstudies must:
A. CompleteANTH 144a (The Anthropology of Gender), ANTH 190a (formerly ANTH200a, History of Anthropological Thought), and ANTH 193b (formerlyANTH 203a, Contemporary Issues in Anthropological Theory).
B.Complete a foundational course in women's studies (other thanANTH 144a), chosen from the women's studies elective list (indicatedin the women's studies program of this Bulletin by an asterisk).
C.Complete two elective graduate courses in women's studies chosenfrom the list of courses in the Bulletin, at least oneof which must be from a field other than anthropology.
D.Complete two additional elective graduate courses in anthropology,selected with the approval of their advisor.
E.Submit an acceptable master's research paper, dealing with a topicrelated to anthropology and women's studies, approved by theiradvisor. The paper must be evaluated by their advisor and oneadditional faculty member.
F.Attend the year-long, noncredit, eight-part Women's Studies ColloquiumSeries.
There is a residence requirementof one full year of course-work. There is no language requirementfor the joint master's degree in anthropology and women's studies.Students interested in the joint degree program should consultwith the anthropology department women's studies liaison (Ms.Lamb).
Program of Study
Flexibility in the curriculumallows doctoral students to organize a program of study aroundtheir particular anthropological interests. At the same time,the program is structured so that a broad familiarity with theanthropological discipline is achieved. Students entering throughthe Brandeis master of arts program will have already completedthe two foundational courses in anthropology (ANTH 190a [formerlyANTH 200a] and ANTH 193b [formerly ANTH 203a]). All others mustcomplete these two core courses during their first year of residence.These courses emphasize epistemological issues in cross-culturalresearch and the relationship between scientific and humanisticmodes of inquiry. Additional courses may be required as determinedby the student's advisory committee. From their courses and outsidereading, students must obtain a high level of competence in aspecific topical field of anthropological research and in at leastone culture area.
Graduate-level course offeringsat Brandeis are augmented by the University's participation ina cross-registration program with Boston College, Boston University,Tufts University, and Wellesley College. Anthropology studentsare eligible to take courses at these institutions with the approvalof their advisor. Students with an interest in archaeology mayalso take courses offered through the Center for Materials Researchin Archaeology and Ethnology, a Boston-area consortium comprisedof faculty from Brandeis, Boston University, Harvard University,M.I.T., the Museum of Fine Arts, Tufts University, UMass-Boston,and Wellesley College. Students interested in gender and women'sstudies may enroll in interdisciplinary courses offered throughthe Radcliffe Consortium.
Candidates for the doctoraldegree work closely with an advisory committee consisting of twoanthropology department faculty members, one of whom, the principaladvisor, is in a field of specialization related to the interestof the student. The advisory committee has the following responsibilities:(1) to aid the student in constructing a coherent program of course-workleading to a high level of competency in one or more areas ofanthropological theory and methodology; (2) to make certain thatthe courses selected include exposure to other areas within thediscipline; (3) to ensure that a component of interdisciplinarystudy is included; and (4) to ensure that the student is knowledgeablein the anthropology of one or more of the world's culture areas.Each semester the department faculty as a whole meets to evaluatethe progress of students in the doctoral program.
Residence Requirement
Candidates for the degree ofdoctor of philosophy in anthropology are required to meet theresidence requirement as set forth by the Graduate School. Thosestudents receiving fellowship support will normally be expectedto serve as teaching or research assistants each semester duringtheir years of funding.
Qualifying Procedure
During the year following completionof residence and course requirements (normally the end of thesecond year of full-time study) students must take a general examinationthat tests for their overall mastery of anthropological history,theory, and methodology. In subsequent years they will study independentlyin their area of specialization, completing additional course-work,including reading courses if needed, and writing a SpecialistEssay. The Specialist Essay requires a student to focus on a theoreticaland/or topical issue relevant to their proposed dissertation research.Upon successful completion of the essay, students submit a briefprospectus, outlining their proposed dissertation research, forapproval by their advisory committee. Students then normally applyfor research grants to fund their project and engage in fieldworkand/or data gathering, followed by the writing of a dissertation.
Language Requirement
A reading knowledge of at leastone foreign language must be demonstrated by written examinationprior to the third year of enrollment and, at some point beforegraduation, by the submission of a research paper (such as a coursepaper) or doctoral dissertation in which sources in the selectedlanguage contribute to the research.
Dissertation and Defense
The completed dissertationmust be successfully defended in an oral examination, as requiredby University regulations, before it can be formally accepted.At that point the department will recommend to the dean of artsand sciences that the degree of doctor of philosophy in anthropologybe awarded the candidate.
ANTH 1a Introduction tothe Comparative Study of Human Societies
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Selected ethnographic casesfrom band, tribe, and state-level societies. Includes the studyof the concept of culture, kinship and social organization, politicaleconomy, gender and sexuality, religion and ritual, symbols andlanguage, and social change. Consideration of anthropologicalresearch methods and approaches to cross-cultural analysis. Usuallyoffered every year.
Ms. Lamb
ANTH 5a Human Origins
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Human physical and culturaldevelopment from the beginning to the rise of civilization. Includeshuman evolution, human fossil and archaeological record, originsof agriculture and settled human life, and origins and developmentof civilization. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kuijt
ANTH 20b The Developmentof Human Food Production
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Enrollment limited to 50.
Systems of human food productionare examined, emphasizing technology and social organization.The core of the course is the detailed investigation of threecase studies. The food-population crisis is examined as a caseof the complex relationship between food production, social organization,and population. An examination of the Green Revolution leads usback to the question that started the course: Can the world'spopulation be fed in the future? Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hunt
ANTH 26a Communication andMedia
[ ss ]
The exploration of human communicationfrom an anthropological perspective. Examination of communicationcodes based on language and visual signs. The cultural impactof revolutions in media technology, including printing, television,computer networks, and advertising. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Parmentier
ANTH 55a Models of Development:Third World
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Investigates in detail modelsof development currently in use: the orthodox model of the industrialrevolution, the underdevelopment challenge to the orthodox model,and a radically new model, sustainable development. Particularattention is paid to the development history of selected thirdworld countries in the 20th century. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hunt
ANTH 60a Introduction toArchaeological Methods
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 25.
An introduction to the methodsof archaeology, emphasizing procedures for designing and conductingfield and laboratory research. The course provides the basic trainingfor participation in archaeological fieldwork or laboratory projects.Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kuijt
ANTH 61b Language in AmericanLife
[ ss ]
Examines the relations betweenlanguage and some major dimensions of American social life: socialgroupings (the structures of ethnic, regional, class, gender,and generational relations); social settings (such as courtrooms,schoolrooms, and homes); and social interaction. Usually offeredin even years.
Ms. Irvine
ANTH 62a Non-Western MusicalTraditions
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Enrollment limited to 50.
Explores non-Western musicaltraditions in social and cultural context, with some emphasison sub-Saharan Africa. Through selected case studies, we examinemusical systems in terms of their aesthetic conventions, instrumentation,and performance organization. Usually offered in odd years.
Ms. Irvine
ANTH 80a World Religions
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An introduction to the literatures,doctrines, rituals, and histories of Christianity, Hinduism, andBuddhism. A major goal of the course is to acquaint students withthe diverse perspectives on human life afforded by these religionsas they developed over time. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Saler
ANTH 83a AnthropologicalInquiry
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Prerequisite: ANTH 1a or5a.
An ethnographic and comparativesurvey of key paradigms of anthropological explanation. Evaluationof exemplary theoretical statements and empirical case studies.Relationship of anthropological models to contemporary socialtheory. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Jacobson
ANTH 83b Fieldwork
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Signature of the instructorrequired.
An introduction to the theoryand practice of fieldwork. The course will include discussionof classical and contemporary accounts of doing ethnographic research.Students will conduct supervised fieldwork in a variety of localsettings. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Jacobson
ANTH 90a Independent Fieldwork
Signature of the instructorrequired. Four semester course credits. May not be taken by studentswho have taken either ANTH 90a or 90b in previous semesters.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 90b Independent Fieldwork
See ANTH 90a for special notes.Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 92a Internship andAnalysis
No more than one departmentalinternship for credit.
The department sponsors internshipsfor junior and senior concentrators and minors. Internships combineoff-campus work that provides a significant anthropological learningexperience and academic study supervised by a departmental facultysponsor. Concentrators may substitute one internship for the ninthelective course option. Students doing summer internships registerfor course credit in the following fall semester. A minimum ofa B+ grade point average in anthropology courses is required foreligibility. For information see "Guidelines for AnthropologyInternships" available from the undergraduate advisor.Usuallyoffered every year.
Staff
ANTH 92b Internship andAnalysis
No more than one departmentalinternship for credit.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 98a Readings in Anthropology
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Separate sections are offeredon demand for the subdisciplines of sociocultural anthropology,archaeology, linguistics, and physical/biological anthropology.Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 98b Readings in Anthropology
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Separate sections are offeredon demand for the subdisciplines of sociocultural anthropology,archaeology, linguistics, and physical/biological anthropology.Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 99d Senior Research
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 102a An AnthropologicalIntroduction to Language
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A general introduction to anthropologicalperspectives on language. Topics include the organization of languageas a communicative system, language in human evolution, linguisticapproaches to cultural meaning, and worldview and historical perspectiveson language. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Irvine
ANTH 105a Symbol, Myth,and Ritual
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Enrollment limited to advancedundergraduate and graduate students.
Myth and ritual studied astwo interlocking modes of cultural symbolism. Theoretical approachesto myth are evaluated by looking at creation and political myths.Performative, processual, and spatial models of ritual analysisare evaluated by study of initiation, sacrifice, and funerals.Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Parmentier
ANTH 108b History, Time,and Tradition
[ ss ]
Topics relating to the diachronicdimension of societies are explored in cross-cultural and interdisciplinaryperspectives: the cultural construction of the past, temporaland calendrical systems, the invention of tradition, ethnohistoricalnarrative, and historical preservation. Usually offered in evenyears.
Mr. Parmentier
ANTH 110a Introduction toHuman Evolution
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 35.
An introduction to the studyof the human fossil record and how biological and geological evidenceis interpreted to reconstruct the past. Evolutionary trends andrelationships will be explored through data analysis in the Laboratoryfor Social Science. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
ANTH 111b Occupational Cultures
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructorrequired.
This course offers studentsan opportunity to learn about the occupation(s) in which theythink they are interested. It will also introduce them to theanthropological study of occupational cultures and to its modesof analysis and methods of research. Each seminar participantwill do fieldwork in a work setting in conjunction with an internship,a shadow program, or other form of participant-observation. Usuallyoffered in even years.
Mr. Jacobson
ANTH 115b Biocultural Adaptation
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An advanced course dealingwith human adaptation with particular emphasis on the interactionof biological and cultural adaptive systems' elements in humansocieties. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
ANTH 116a Human Osteology
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Enrollment limited to 15.
Human skeletal anatomy froman evolutionary and a functional perspective. Students learn toidentify and interpret the bones of the human skeleton and areintroduced to specific techniques for aging, sexing, and recognizingpathologies on skeletal material. Usually offered in even years.
Staff
ANTH 123a Directions andIssues in Archaeology
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An examination of conceptsinvolved in the archaeological study of the human past. Selectedreadings will be discussed as illustrations of major theoreticaland methodological issues. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Zeitlin
ANTH 125b Investigationsin an Unfamiliar Language
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Prerequisite: LING 100aor ANTH 102a.
Using a native speaker of anunfamiliar language (such as Turkish or Amharic) as a source ofdata, the class will investigate the structure of the languageand compare it with the structure of English and other familiarlanguages. May be repeated for credit. Usually offered in evenyears.
Ms. Irvine
ANTH 126b Cultural Semiotics
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Provides a historical surveyof the development of theories of signs and symbols; comparisonof Peircean and Saussurean foundations of modern semiotics; thestructure of cultural codes and the possibility of crossculturaltypologies. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Parmentier
ANTH 127a Medicine, Body,and Culture
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Enrollment limited to 25.
Examines main areas of inquiryin medical anthropology, including medicine as a socioculturalconstruct, patients and healers in comparative medical systems,the "discovery" of the two sexes and its ramifications,and the medicalization of the life cycle. Usually offered in evenyears.
Ms. Lamb
ANTH 128a Meaning and MaterialCulture
[ ss ]
An investigation of the relationshipbetween cultural meaning and material objects. Central objectsare: emblems of social identity (fabric, houses, monuments), objectificationsof value (money, valuables, commodities), and aesthetic representations(images, icons, statues). Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Parmentier
ANTH 129b Power of Languageand Language of Power: Linguistic Dimensions of Social Inequality
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 20.
This course examines how relationsof power and inequality are expressed and created through language.Topics include linguistic parameters of class, gender, and ethnicity,and patterns of communication in legal, medical, and educationalsettings. Case studies are derived from diverse cultural contexts.Usually offered every fourth year. Last offered in the springof 1996.
Staff
ANTH 130b Life in the IceAge
[ ss ]
The origin and developmentof human culture has coincided with dramatic changes in worldclimate. This course explores innovative responses of early humansocieties to challenges posed by Ice Age habitats. Usually offeredin odd years.
Staff
ANTH 133a Tradition andthe Contemporary Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa
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Explores the variety and richnessof indigenous African social and cultural forms, such as the organizationof the family; indigenous political systems; rank and slavery;traditional economics; ideas about magic, witchcraft, and religion;and the arts. Usually offered every third year. Last offered inthe fall of 1996.
Ms. Irvine
ANTH 134a South Asia: Traditionand the Contemporary Experience
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Examines the diversity andrichness of the cultures and societies of South Asia, with a focuson India. Concentrates on the lived experiences of class, caste,gender, religion, and region in people's everyday lives. Usuallyoffered in even years.
Ms. Lamb
ANTH 135a Paradoxes of Peoplehoodin Contemporary Israel
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: ANTH 1a orpermission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 25.
Explores a wide range of materialsabout social experience in Israel, with a particular focus onmarginalized or frequently overlooked social groups. Topics includewomen in Israeli society, critical perspectives on ethnicity andreligion, the relationship between gender and citizenship, disabilityand identity, and nationalism and sexuality. Usually offered everyyear.
Ms. Kahn
ANTH 135b Modern South Asia:Society and Politics
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Examines the intricate relationshipbetween politics and society in modern South Asia. Topics includecolonial-era British institutional development, the role of religionin South Asian politics, the emergence of ethnic conflict, andthe performance of post-colonial government.
Ms. Frechette
ANTH 137a Modes of Thought
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An exploration of worldviewsamong literate and nonliterate peoples with reference to the rolesof social structure, language, literacy, and experience in thedevelopment of ideas about reality and with regard to criteriasuggested for evaluating the "rationality" of beliefstatements and behavior. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Saler
ANTH 138a Social Relationsin Cyberspace
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Prerequisite: Students musthave a VAX account. Enrollment limited to 15.
Provides an introduction tovarious forms of computer-mediated communication (e.g., e-mail,newsgroups, bulletin boards, and virtual communities) and theways in which people interact in these different contexts of cyberspace.Students are expected to do on-line research. Usually offeredevery year.
Mr. Jacobson
ANTH 139b Language, Ethnicity,and Nationalism
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Enrollment limited to 20.
It is often assumed that languagedifferences divide people, while a common language unites them.To what extent is this true? Taking cross-cultural and historicalapproaches, we examine concepts of "speech community,"tribe, ethnicity, and nation. We explore what kinds of socialgroupings these terms might label; some ideologies connected withtheir use; and their relationship with communication systems.Usually offered in even years.
Ms. Irvine
ANTH 142a AIDS in the ThirdWorld
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Enrollment limited to 25.
This course examines the socialdimensions of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the Third World. A centralfocus is the role of culture and political economy in risk ofHIV infection and in conceptions of and responses to HIV/AIDS.Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
ANTH 144a The Anthropologyof Gender
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Signature of the instructorrequired.
An examination of gender constructs,sexuality, and cultural systems from a comparative perspective.Topics include the division of labor, gender complementarity,"matriarchy" and "patriarchy," women's rituals,gender in language, and feminist anthropology. Usually offeredevery year.
Ms. Lamb
ANTH 145a Anthropology ofthe Body
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 25.
Explores a range of theoriesthat use the body to understand society, culture, and gender.Topics include how social values and hierarchies are written in,on, and through the body; the relationship between body and genderidentity; experiences and images of the body cross-culturally.Usually offered every third year. Will be offered in the springof 1998.
Ms. Lamb
ANTH 147b The Rise of MesoamericanCivilization
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Traces the great Pre-Columbiancivilizations of Mesoamerica, the area bounded by northern Mexicoand Central America. Mesoamerica came to host such peoples asthe Aztec and Maya, whose cultures rivaled those of ancient Mesopotamiaand Egypt. We consider archaeological evidence for the factorsthat may have played a role in this spectacular evolutionary achievement.Usually offered in even years. Last offered in the spring of 1998.
Mr. Zeitlin
ANTH 149a Archaeology ofEgypt and Canaan in Ancient Times
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Enrollment limited to 15.
Surveys the major archaeologicalsites in Egypt and Asia from 2200 BCE to 600 BCE. Some 20 sitesin modern day Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria form thefocus of lectures and discussions. Particular attention is givento interpreting the cultural remains in the light of historicaland literary evidence. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Abercrombie
ANTH 154b Selected Topicsin Comparative Religion: Seminal Works in the Study of Religion
[ cl45 ss]
Readings and discussion ofworks by W.R. Smith, E.B. Tylor, William James, Sigmund Freud,Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Saler
ANTH 155b PsychologicalAnthropology
[ ss ]
An examination of the relationshipbetween sociocultural systems and individual psychological processeswith a critical evaluation of selected theories and studies bearingon this problem. Usually offered every fourth year. Last offeredin the spring of 1991.
Mr. Saler
ANTH 156a Power and Violence:The Anthropology of Political Systems
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Political orders are establishedand maintained by varying combinations of overt violence and themore subtle workings of ideas. The course examines the relationshipof coercion and consensus, and forms of resistance, in historicaland in contemporary settings. Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
ANTH 157a Families and Households
[ cl11 ss]
Describes and analyzes severalfamily types and households in contemporary American life, interpretingthem in their cultural contexts and comparing them with similararrangements in other cultures. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Jacobson
ANTH 158a Urban Anthropology
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Comparative study of strategiesused in coping with the complexity of urban life. Attention willbe given to analyzing and evaluating the theories, methods, anddata anthropologists and others use in their studies of urbansocial organization. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Jacobson
ANTH 160b Mind, Self, andEmotion in Culture
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Examines the self and its emotionalstates and explores cross-cultural answers to questions such as:To what extent are emotions or mental experiences capable of beinglearned or affected by culture? Is emotional experience controllableand deployable to advantage in strategies of interaction? Usuallyoffered in odd years.
Mr. Saler
ANTH 161b Culture and Cognition
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Explores the relationship betweencognitive processes and cultural systems, cultural differencesinvolving people's perception, classification processes, memoryor modes of problem solving, and their effect on the course ofcognitive development. Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 163b Economic Anthropology:Production and Distribution
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Prerequisite: ANTH 1a, orECON 2a, or permission of the instructor.
This course is a survey ofeconomic anthropology. Major theoretical disputes are covered.Substantive findings concerning production, property, and transactionsare examined through case studies. Most attention is paid to "primitive"economies. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Hunt
ANTH 164a Topics in EconomicAnthropology
[ ss ]
A research seminar dealingwith a major problem in economic anthropology. The topic willbe chosen on a yearly basis. Some possible topics include property,money in cross-cultural perspective, commodity, and gift economies.May be repeated for credit. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Hunt
ANTH 165b Evolution of PoliticalEconomy
[ ss ]
Examines the structural featuresof political economy in a developmental framework, beginning withhunting and gathering societies through horticultural societies,to chiefdoms to agrarian states to industrial states. Focus ison a comparative analysis of preindustrial states and factorsthroughout history that have prompted or hindered their transitionto industrialism. Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 166a The Nature ofHuman Nature
[ cl28 ss]
Deals with various theoriesof human nature and the evidence for such theories. It will explorethe way in which theories of the nature of man have figured ininterpretations of culture. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Kaplan
ANTH 169a State, City, andCountryside in Agrarian Society
[ ss ]
Historical and comparativeexploration of central issues in the organization and developmentof preindustrial agrarian states. Geopolitics, bureaucracies,stratification, the economy, relative rates of development andpeasant rebellions, and the rise of nationalism will be covered.Usually offered in odd years.
Staff
ANTH 171a Cross-culturalInquiry in Social Science
[ cl21 ss]
Survey of research design,measurement, and analytical problems to be solved in systematiccross-cultural investigations. Case studies from all social sciencedisciplines may be used. Major focus on problems of relativismand measurement. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Hunt
ANTH 175a Reading Ethnography
[ ss ]
An analysis of representativeclassics and contemporary works in the ethnographic literature.The course's aim is to help students better understand the ethnographicaccounts upon which much of social and cultural anthropology isbased. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Jacobson
ANTH 185a ArchaeologicalScience
[ ss ]
Prerequisites: One yearof college-level chemistry, biology, and physics, or the equivalent.Signature of Mr. Zeitlin, the Brandeis coordinator, required.
A lecture course in which leadingexperts from the faculty of the seven Boston-area universitiesand the Museum of Fine Arts that comprise the Center for MaterialsResearch in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE) consortium discusshow they apply scientific technology and engineering methods toarchaeological analysis. Deals with topics such as radioactiveand other methods of age determination, archaeological site formationand soil micromorphology, and the study of materials used in ancientbuilding construction. Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 186b Social and CulturalAspects of Linguistic Analysis
(Formerly ANTH 102b)
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: ANTH 102aor LING 100a.
Advanced topics in anthropologicallinguistics: language history and change; linguistic variationand social structure; current issues in semantics and pragmatics.Usually offered in even years.
Ms. Irvine
ANTH 187a Materials Researchin Archaeology, I
(Formerly ANTH 188a)
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to advancedundergraduate and graduate students. Signature of Mr. Zeitlin,the Brandeis coordinator, required. Topics vary from year to year,and the course may be repeated for credit.
A series of courses, each focusingon a specific topic, such as archaeological analysis of animalor plant remains; the analysis of lithic materials, pottery, ormetals; GPS; and statistical analysis. Courses are offered eachsemester, taught by faculty from the Center for Materials Researchin Archaeology and Ethnology, a consortium including Brandeis,Boston University, Harvard, M.I.T., the Museum of Fine Arts, Tufts,UMass-Boston, and Wellesley. Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 188b Materials Researchin Archaeology, II
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to advancedundergraduate and graduate students. Signature of Mr. Zeitlin,the Brandeis coordinator, required. Topics vary from year to year,and the course may be repeated for credit.
See ANTH 187a for course description.Usually offered every year.
Staff
ANTH 190a History of AnthropologicalThought
(Formerly ANTH 200a)
[ ss ]
A historical examination ofmajor ideas and perennial problems in social thought that haveled to the development of modern theory and method in anthropology.Usually offered every year.
Ms. Irvine
ANTH 191a Field School inArchaeology
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to 20.
Training in methods of archaeologicalfieldwork and analysis through participation in the excavationof an archaeological site. Students will normally assist in excavation,artifact analysis, and attend lectures. Offered on an irregularbasis in the summer.
Staff
ANTH 193b Contemporary Issuesin Anthropological Theory
(Formerly ANTH 203a)
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: ANTH 83a orANTH 190a.
Intensive survey of the majortheoretical models in contemporary anthropology. Comparison ofmaterialist, comparative, semiotic, feminist, cognitive, linguistic,reflexive, poststructuralist, and Marxist approaches. Evaluationof theories in terms of philosophical coherence and empiricaladequacy. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Parmentier
ANTH 196a Comparative SocialInstitutions
(Formerly ANTH 206a)
[ ss ]
Introduces students to keyanthropological conceptions of social institutions and their rolein cross-cultural comparison. Included are examples such as statusand role, household and family, lineage and descent group, networkand alliance, and class and stratification. Usually offered ineven years.
Mr. Hunt
ANTH 199b Problems and Possibilitiesin the Study of Religions
[ ss ]
Signature of the instructorrequired.
Debates within anthropologyand sister disciplines respecting interpretation, explanation,and the making of ethnographic texts are explored with specificreference to the study of religions. Usually offered in odd years.
Mr. Saler
Readings and Research Courses(ANTH 222a-287b)
222a and b Readings andResearch on the World Before Civilization
Mr. Zeitlin
225a and b Readings andResearch in Cultural Analysis
Mr. Parmentier
226a and b Readings andResearch in Archaeology
Mr. Zeitlin
227a and b Readings andResearch in Linguistic Anthropology
Ms. Irvine
228a Advanced Readings inMethod and Theory
Mr. Kaplan
228b Advanced Readings inMethod and Theory
Messrs. Kaplan and Zeitlin
229a and b Guided Comparativeand Historical Research
Mr. Hunt
231a and b Readings in CognitiveCulture
Mr. Saler
232a Readings in Development
Mr. Hunt
234b Readings and Researchin Anthropology of Law
Staff
235a and b Readings andResearch in Latin American Cultures
Mr. Hunt
237a and b Readings andResearch in African Cultures
Ms. Irvine
238a and b Readings andResearch in Urban Anthropology
Mr. Jacobson
241a and b Readings andResearch in New World Ethnohistory
Staff
252a and b Readings andResearch in Anthropology of Art
Ms. Irvine
253a and b Readings andResearch in Economic Anthropology
Messrs. Kaplan and Hunt
254a and b Readings andResearch in Southeast Asian Ethnography
Mr. Appell
256a and b Readings andResearch in Religion
Mr. Saler
257a and b Readings andResearch in Families and Households
Mr. Jacobson
258a and b Readings andResearch in Computer-mediated Communication
Mr. Jacobson
283a and b Readings andResearch in Fieldwork
Mr. Jacobson
284a and b Readings andResearch in Archaeological Methods
Mr. Zeitlin
285a and b Readings andResearch in Gender and Sexuality
Ms. Lamb
286a and b Readings andResearch in South Asia
Ms. Lamb
287a and b Readings andResearch in Medical Anthropology
Mr. Jacobson or Ms. Lamb
288a and b Readings andResearch in Immigrant and Transnational Communities
Ms. Lamb
ANTH 300a Master's ThesisResearch
Staff
ANTH 304a and b Readingsand Research in Anthropological Field Methods
Staff
ANTH 305d Anthropology Colloquium
Staff
ANTH 400d Dissertation Research
Specific sections for individualfaculty member as requested.
Staff