Department of Anthropology

Last updated: August 23, 2011 at 3:24 p.m.

Objectives

Undergraduate Major

Anthropology is a broadly based discipline concerned with the dynamics and diversity of humankind. Subjects of study include social relations, political organization, economics, religion, medicine and disease, human biology and evolution, languages, aesthetics, and ancient societies. This diversity of topics is linked by the common thread of "culture," a concept which is at the heart of anthropological studies. Anthropology considers why and how people from every part of the world and with diverse cultures are different and the same, how the human species has evolved over millions of years, and the ways people make sense of and order their lives.

The Department of Anthropology offers courses covering the discipline's four major subfields: sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, biological anthropology, and archaeology. The major is structured to provide an introduction to the key concepts, methodologies, and theoretical issues of anthropology, while permitting each student sufficient latitude to pursue her or his own special interests.

Graduate Program in Anthropology

The graduate program in anthropology, leading to the MA and PhD degrees, is designed to produce scholars and professionals who will broaden our knowledge of culture and society. Graduate training is based on required courses in the history, theory, and methods of anthropology and on elective courses in topics in the four subfields of anthropology. Intensive training for independent research is stressed, with particular emphasis on fieldwork and comparative studies. Some graduates of the program accept appointments at colleges and universities; others take employment in government, private institutions, or foundations.

Learning Goals

Anthropology explores the dynamics and diversity of humankind. It asks a most difficult and most important question: What does it mean to be human? The discipline ranges from the study of culture and social relations, to human biology and evolution, to economics and politics, to religion and world views, to languages and the connections between language and social dynamics, to visual cultures and architecture, to medicine and disease, and to what we can learn about past societies through the study of material culture.

This diversity of topics is linked by the common thread of “culture,” that uniquely human concept which is at the heart of anthropological studies. As a discipline, anthropology begins with a simple yet powerful idea: any detail of our behavior can be understood better when it is seen against the backdrop of the full range of human behavior. Anthropology considers why and how people from distant parts of the world and dissimilar cultures are different and the same, how the human species has evolved over millions of years, and the ways people make sense of and order their lives. By focusing on human diversity, the anthropologist learns to avoid “ethnocentrism,” the tendency to interpret seemingly strange practices on the basis of preconceptions derived from one’s own cultural background. Moreover, this same process helps us see our own society through fresh eyes. By thus making “the strange familiar and the familiar strange,” anthropology pushes forward understandings of ourselves and others, as well as of the nature of humanity as a whole.

The Department of Anthropology offers courses in the discipline’s four major subfields: social-cultural, archaeological, biological and linguistic anthropology. The major is structured to provide an introduction to anthropology’s core concepts, methodologies, and theoretical issues, while permitting each student sufficient latitude to pursue his or her own special interests.

Knowledge: Students completing the major in anthropology will come away with a strong understanding of:

  • the diversity of human cultures and the interdependence of people around the world;
  • the inequality in relations of power within and among the world’s societies and nations in the past and present;
  • what it means to be a human being: who we are, how we came to be that way, and what some of the major challenges we face for the future;
  • the major questions, concepts, theories, ethical issues and methodologies of anthropology as a professional discipline.

Core Skills: The anthropology major also emphasizes core skills in data collection, critical thinking, analysis and sythesis, and communication. Anthropology majors from Brandeis will be well prepared to:

  • conduct scholarly, professional, and original research using a variety of published sources as well as core anthropological research methodologies, including interviews, participant observation, excavation and laboratory analysis;
  • evaluate information critically, with particular attention to examining taken-for-granted assumptions using the lens of culture; and
  • clearly convey facts, ideas, opinions and beliefs in a variety of written and oral formats, such as traditional, web-based, visual and other media.

Social Justice: The anthropology curriculum provides graduates with the knowledge and perspectives needed to participate as informed citizens in a global society. Anthropology emphasizes tolerance and respect for other cultures’ ways of conceptualizing the world. Anthropological approaches oriented toward social and political engagement, collaborations with local communities, applied work, and public dissemination of research (through publishing, oral presentations, film, the internet and museum exhibits) also provide specific tools and opportunities for those committed to Brandeis’s ideal of learning in service of social justice.

Upon Graduating: A Brandeis student with an anthropology major will be prepared to:

  • pursue graduate study and a scholarly career in anthropology; or
  • use the knowledge and perspectives gained from the sustained study of humanity to pursue professional training and a range of careers in any field dealing with people—including healthcare, government, business, law, journalism, education, and human rights work—in local and international settings.
Many of our graduates go on to graduate school in law, medicine, public health, public policy, social work, museum studies, education, and business, as well as anthropology.

How to Become a Major

Students who wish either to major in anthropology or to study for a minor in anthropology should see the undergraduate advising head, who will discuss specific interests and assign an adviser. Students may wish to study within the general anthropology program or focus on linguistic or archaeological anthropology. ANTH 1a (Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies) and ANTH 5a (Human Origins) should be taken early in the academic career. Majors are encouraged to select honors research projects, particularly those students considering graduate study in anthropology or other professional training.

The department sponsors credit-bearing internships (ANTH 92a and b) for junior and senior majors and minors. Internships combine off-campus and on-campus work that provides a significant anthropological learning experience and academic study supervised by a departmental faculty sponsor. Majors may substitute one internship for the ninth elective course option. Students doing summer internships register for course credit in the following fall semester. A minimum of a B+ grade point average in anthropology courses is required for eligibility. For information, see Guidelines for Anthropology Internships, available from the undergraduate advising head.

How to Be Admitted to the Graduate Program

The general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, specified in an earlier section of the Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission to graduate study in anthropology. Admission decisions are based primarily on the candidate's undergraduate academic record, letters of recommendation, writing sample, and the personal statement that is part of the application form. It is also advisable that the results of the Graduate Record Examination be submitted. A personal interview on campus is encouraged but not required.

MA Programs: Applicants to the master's program in anthropology or in anthropology & women's and gender studies need not have completed an undergraduate major in anthropology. Students enrolled in the MA program in anthropology or anthropology & women's and gender studies may, after having completed the equivalent of their first semester's course work, apply for admission to the doctoral program. Their applications will be considered along with the pool of candidates from outside Brandeis seeking admission directly to the doctoral program. Candidates for the MA program in anthropology or in anthropology & women's and gender studies with demonstrated financial need may petition the graduate school for partial tuition scholarships.

PhD Program: Applicants to the doctoral program must demonstrate that their anthropological interests are well defined and that these interests are congruent with those of Brandeis anthropology department faculty. Full-tuition scholarships and stipends (fellowships) may be awarded to students in the doctoral program. Assuming satisfactory progress in the doctoral program, scholarships and fellowships are renewable for five years. Doctoral applicants are accepted only as direct admissions from Brandeis master's programs.

Faculty

Javier Urcid, Chair (Chair, Latin American and Latino Studies)
Archaeology. Bioarchaeology. Complex societies. Writing systems. Comparative aesthetics. Mesoamerica.

Elizabeth Emma Ferry, Undergraduate Advising Head
Economic anthropology. Political anthropology. Commodities, mining, and mineral collecting. United States-Mexican transnationalism. Mexico.

Charles Golden, Undergraduate Advising Head
Archaeology of complex societies. Contemporary relevance. Modern contexts of archaeological research. Mesoamerica. The Maya.

David Jacobson
Social anthropology. Urban social organization. Psychosocial transitions. Families and households. Computer-mediated communication. United States. Africa.

Sarah Lamb (on leave fall 2011)
Social-cultural theory. Gender studies. Anthropology of aging. Understandings of personhood. Medical anthropology. Immigrant and transnational communities. South Asia. United States.

Janet McIntosh, Director of Graduate Studies
Linguistic anthropology. Psychological anthropology. Religion. East Africa.

Richard Parmentier
Semiotic anthropology. Historical anthropology. Material culture. Language and communication. Oceania. Middle Ages. United States.

Ellen Schattschneider, Women's and Gender Studies Liaison
Religion. War and memory. Anthropology of the body. Commodification. Psychoanalytic theory. East Asia. Japan.

Affiliated Faculty (contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or program)
Cornelia Kammerer (Heller)
Ann Koloski-Ostrow (Classical Studies)
Sophia Malamud (Computer Science)

Requirements for the Minor

Five semester courses are required, including the following:

A. ANTH 1a and ANTH 5a.

B. Three courses in anthropology, to be chosen in consultation with the student's adviser in the department.

C. A minimum of three of the five courses required for the minor must be taken from Brandeis anthropology faculty.

D. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward fulfilling the requirements for the minor in anthropology.

Requirements for the Major

A. Required of all majors: A minimum of nine semester courses in anthropology from among the ANTH and cross-listed offerings, to include ANTH 1a and ANTH 5a.

B. One of the nine courses required for the major must focus on the anthropological study of a particular area or region of the world (examples of these courses are: ANTH 112a, ANTH 118b, ANTH 119a, ANTH 131b, ANTH 133a, ANTH 134a, ANTH 135a, ANTH 137b, ANTH 147b, ANTH 149a, ANTH 168a, ANTH 178b, CLAS 133a and CLAS 134b). An area course taken as part of a study abroad program or at another institution (or in another department–-see D, below) may fulfill this requirement, with the permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head or the student’s anthropology academic advisor.

C. A minimum of five of the nine courses required for the major must be taken from Brandeis anthropology faculty.

 

D. A student may petition to receive anthropology credit for the major for one semester course completed at the university outside of the anthropology department and its cross-listed courses, provided that the course is clearly related to the student’s program of study. Students focusing on biological or linguistic anthropology may take up to two courses outside of the anthropology department, drawing from the list of courses provided under "Biological Anthropology Focus" and "Linguistic Anthropology Focus" below. Cross-listed courses do not require special approval to be counted toward the anthropology major.

 

E. Students may apply an anthropological internship course (ANTH 92a) only once toward the requirements for the major.

 

F. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward fulfilling the requirements for the major in anthropology.

 

Honors Candidates: Admission to the honors program in anthropology requires completion of at least five courses in anthropology and a cumulative GPA in anthropology of 3.5 or higher by the end of the junior year. Students submit a thesis proposal to the departmental faculty during the first week of the fall semester for consideration by the department faculty.  If accepted to the program, students enroll in ANTH 99a and ANTH 99b. Honors candidates must complete ten courses for the major, including ANTH 99a and ANTH 99b.

General Anthropology
Anthropology majors need not focus on any one of the four main subfields of anthropology (social-cultural, archaeological, biological and linguistic), and can select a range of courses that fit their interests, mastering a “four-fields” approach to the discipline. Alternatively, students may choose to focus their coursework to specialize their training in one or more of the anthropological subfields.

Social-Cultural Anthropology Focus: Exploring Cross-Cultural Diversity and the Human Experience Social-cultural anthropologists examine contemporary societies and cultures in all their remarkable diversity and complexity. The majority of courses in the department’s anthropology curriculum relate to social-cultural anthropology, a subfield that examines important dimensions of human life such as social inequalities and identities, political economies, gender systems, kinship and families, value and exchange, medicine and illness, religion, semiotic systems, visual cultures, migration and transnationalism, the cultural dimensions of globalization, understandings of the body and personhood, and the ways human beings interpret their worlds and make meaning in their lives. Social-cultural anthropologists study both their own and other societies as a means of better understanding both, and investigate vital questions about what it entails to be human.

Beyond the two specific courses required for the major, it is recommended that students focusing on social-cultural anthropology choose from the following courses when designing their programs of study: ANTH 19b, 20b, 26a, 33b, 55a, 61b, 80a, 83a, 105a, 108b, 109a, 111a, 112a, 114b, 115b, 119a, 126b, 127a, 128a, 129b, 130b, 131b, 132b, 133a, 134a, 137b, 138a, 139b, 144a, 145a, 155b, 156a, 157a, 158a, 159a, 163b, 174b, 178b, 182a, 184b and PSYC 131a. A student may also petition to have a course taken in another department or program to replace one anthropology course requirement, provided that course is clearly related to the student's program of study.

Archaeology Focus: Digging into Material Culture
The goal of archaeology is to provide an anthropological perspective on societies from the appearance of human beings through to the present via the study of material culture. Archaeologists recover, document, analyze and interpret materials including architecture, landscapes, pottery, stone tools, writing systems, funerary goods, and human remains. Patterns in and of material culture provide insight into the nature of political orders, social arrangements, belief systems, the shift from foraging to agricultural economies, the inception of urban life, environmental transformations, and the rise and collapse of ancient civilizations among many other subjects. Archaeologists often make use of materials science studies, remote imagery (as from satellites), and geographic information systems (GIS), among other tools to facilitate anthropological interpretation. The archaeology curriculum is particularly recommended to those students considering the study of archaeology at the graduate level, as well as careers in conservation, museum studies and cultural resource management.

 

In addition to the two courses required for the anthropology major, it is recommended that students focusing on archaeology include as many of the following as possible in their program: ANTH 60a, 60b, 115b, 116a, 119a, 123a, 128a, 136a, 147b, 149a, 153a, 168a, 187a, 188b, CLAS 133a and CLAS 134b. Students may also take a sequence of two half semester courses HS263f & HS297f on geographic information systems (GIS) in the Heller School and count this as one full course towards the major.  A student may also petition to have a course taken in another department or program to replace one anthropology course requirement, provided that course is clearly related to the student's program of study.

Biological Anthropology Focus: Human Evolution and the Biocultural Dimensions of Humanity
Biological anthropology looks at the intersection of humans as cultural and biological beings.This subfield examines topics such as the long evolutionary history of the human species, and the intersecting biological and cultural dimensions of humanity in domains such as gender, human development and aging, psychology, mental illness and medicine. 

In addition to the two courses required for the major, it is recommended that students focusing on biological anthropology include as many of the following as possible in their program: ANTH 20b, 110a, 111a, 116a, 127a, 142a, 144a, 145a, 154a, 155b and PSYC 131a. Students may also count as electives a maximum of two of the following related courses in other disciplines: BISC 2a, BISC 2b, BISC 3b, BISC 4a, BISC 4b, BISC 5a, BISC 5b, BISC 6b, BISC 7a, BIOL 15b, BIOL 17b, BIOL 55b, BIOL 60b, BIOL 128a, NBIO 140b, NBIO 150a, BIOL 160b, CHSC 6a, NPSY 11b, PSYC 15a and PSYC 31a.

Linguistic Anthropology Focus: Language, Culture and Communication
Linguistic anthropology focuses on language, the hallmark of the human species and the foundation of culture. Linguistic anthropologists explore the nature of language itself; the relationship between language, thought and behavior; how ethnic, national and gendered identities are fashioned linguistically; and the ways in which language and all other aspects of human culture interrelate.<

In addition to the two courses required for the anthropology major, it is recommended that students focusing on linguistic anthropology include as many of the following as possible in their program: ANTH 26a, 61b, 114b, 126b, 139b, 153a, 186b and LING 140a. Students may also count a maximum of two courses from the LING listing as electives. Students are encouraged to take LING 100a early in their academic career.

 

Combined BA/MA Program

Note: This program is only open to students who entered Brandeis prior to Fall 2011.

The four-year BA/MA degree program in anthropology is designed to enable exceptional undergraduates to earn two degrees simultaneously during their period of study at Brandeis University. The program provides a strong academic grounding for students who aspire to a professional career in anthropology. Applications are normally considered after six semesters of undergraduate study. The program is reserved for students who have already demonstrated the capacity to undertake sustained and independent graduate-level academic work. Students must submit a two to three, page proposal, discussing their planned thesis project, in which they demonstrate a high level of theoretical sophistication and serious engagement in relevant anthropological literatures. It is expected that a student accepted into this program will have already developed a close working relationship with one or more department faculty members who will serve as his or her mentor/adviser during this intensive year of graduate study.

Eligibility for the program is normally limited to anthropology majors who have maintained a minimum 3.5 GPA overall and a 3.67 (A-) GPA in anthropology courses for their first six semesters of undergraduate study. Students admitted to the program must fulfill all the requirements for a major in anthropology with honors, as well as the special requirements of the Department of Anthropology for the combined BA/MA. Specifically, they must complete the following:

A. A minimum of three years residence on campus, one of which must be at the graduate level.

B. A total of 38 courses (versus the 32 required for the bachelor's degree).

C. Six anthropology courses at the graduate level (100+ numbered courses), including ANTH 201a, beyond the nine (ten in honors) required for the major in anthropology, with a minimum grade of B- in each.

D. A master's research paper/senior thesis awarded honors or higher, evaluated by the student's adviser, one additional anthropology faculty member, and a faculty member outside the department.

All candidates for the combined BA/MA must complete all the requirements for the program by the end of their eighth semester (for entering freshmen). If the requirements for the MA portion are not complete at that time, the student is eligible only for the BA degree.

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts

Program of Study

Students admitted to the MA program in anthropology must fulfill the Graduate School residence requirement of one full year of course work. Course requirements include the foundational course, ANTH 201a (History of Anthropological Thought). In addition, all candidates for the MA must meet the following requirements:

A. Complete a program consisting of seven elective courses designed around their anthropological interests, selected with the approval of a faculty adviser to be assigned to each student upon matriculation.

B. Master’s research paper requirement: Completion of a master’s research paper of professional quality and length (normally twenty-five to forty pages). The paper will be evaluated by two faculty members.

C. There is no foreign language requirement for the master's degree in anthropology.

Requirements for the Joint Degree of Master of Arts in Anthropology & Women's and Gender Studies

Students pursuing the joint MA in anthropology & women's and gender studies combine their interests in anthropology and the study of women, gender, and/or sexuality. Candidates may undertake a freestanding terminal joint master’s degree or complete the joint master’s as they work toward a doctoral degree.

The terminal master’s degree can be achieved in one year, but students may benefit from the rich array of course offerings by extending their studies into a second year. Doctoral students in the anthropology program may enroll in the joint master’s degree program at any time during their graduate studies with the approval of their adviser and of the women's and gender studies program.

Students interested in the joint degree program should consult with Ms. Lamb, the anthropology department women's and gender studies liaison.

Program of Study
Candidates for the joint MA in anthropology & women's and gender studies must fulfill the residence requirement of one full year of course work (eight semester courses), and complete the following course requirements:

A. The graduate foundational course ANTH 201a (History of Anthropological Thought).

B. ANTH 144a (Anthropology of Gender).

C. WMGS 205a or another course designated as a graduate foundational course in women's and gender studies.

D. A course in feminist research methodologies (WMGS 198a, the Feminist Inquiry course offered through the Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies, or an approved alternative).

E. Four elective graduate courses, including one in women's and gender studies from a field other than anthropology, selected with the approval of the student's faculty adviser.

F. Participation in a year-long noncredit women's and gender studies graduate proseminar.

G. Joint MA paper requirement: Completion of a master's research paper of professional quality and length (normally twenty-five to forty pages) on a topic related to the joint degree. The paper will be read by two faculty members, one of whom is a member of the anthropology department, and one of whom is a member of the women's and gender studies core or affiliate faculty.

Language Requirement
There is no foreign language requirement for the joint master's degree.

Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Program of Study
Flexibility in the curriculum allows doctoral students to organize a program of study around their particular anthropological interests. At the same time, the program is structured so that a broad familiarity with the anthropological discipline is achieved. Students must complete ANTH 201a (History of Anthropological Thought) during their first year of residence. ANTH 202b (Designing Anthropological Research) and ANTH 203b (Contemporary Anthropological Theory) must also be completed within the first two years of residence. These three graduate foundational courses in anthropology emphasize epistemological issues in cross-cultural research and the relationship between scientific and humanistic modes of inquiry. Additional courses may be required as determined by the student's advisory committee. From their courses and outside reading, students must obtain a high level of competence in a specific topical field of anthropological research and in at least one culture area.

Graduate-level course offerings at Brandeis are augmented by the university's participation in a cross-registration program with Boston College, Boston University, Tufts University, and Wellesley College. Anthropology students are eligible to take courses at these institutions with the approval of their adviser. Students with an interest in archaeology may also take courses offered through the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, a Boston-area consortium comprising faculty from Brandeis, Boston University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Museum of Fine Arts, Tufts University, University of Massachusetts, Boston, and Wellesley College. Students interested in gender and women's studies may enroll in interdisciplinary courses offered through the Graduate Consortium in Women's Studies.

Candidates for the doctoral degree work closely with an advisory committee consisting of at least two anthropology department faculty members, one of whom, the principal adviser, is in a field of specialization related to the interests of the student. The advisory committee has the following responsibilities: (1) to aid the student in constructing a coherent program of coursework leading to a high level of competency in one or more areas of anthropological theory and methodology; (2) to make certain that the courses selected include exposure to other areas within the discipline; (3) to ensure that a component of interdisciplinary study is included; and (4) to ensure that the student is knowledgeable in the anthropology of one or more of the world's culture areas. The department faculty meet annually to evaluate the progress of students in the doctoral program.

Teaching Requirement
Students will be required to serve as teaching fellows as part of their PhD training.

Residence Requirement
Candidates for the PhD in anthropology are required to meet the residence requirement as set forth by the Graduate School.

Qualifying Procedure
Upon completion of course requirements (normally by the end of the third year of full-time study), students must take a General Examination that tests their overall theoretical, topical, and area knowledge based on a reading list developed in consultation with their advisory committee. Subsequently, they engage in independent study in their areas of specialization and complete additional coursework, including reading courses and language training, as needed. Students then write an extended dissertation proposal that demonstrates mastery of relevant theoretical issues, historical and ethnographic material, and epistemological problems relevant to the proposed dissertation research. The proposal clearly articulates a research problem, specifies the kinds of data to be elicited, and proposes a cogent research design. Following preliminary approval by their advisory committee, students formally defend their proposals at a hearing before the department faculty. Students then normally apply for research grants to fund their project, engage in fieldwork and/or data gathering, and, finally, write and defend a doctoral dissertation.

Language Requirements
A reading knowledge of at least one foreign language must be demonstrated by written examination.

Dissertation and Defense
The completed dissertation must be successfully defended in an oral examination, as required by university regulations, before it can be formally accepted. At that point the department will recommend to the dean of arts and sciences that the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in anthropology be awarded to the candidate.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

ANTH 1a Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies
[ nw ss ]
Examines the ways human beings construct their lives in a variety of societies. Includes the study of the concept of culture, kinship and social organization, political economy, gender and sexuality, religion and ritual, symbols and language, social inequalities and social change, and globalization. Consideration of anthropological research methods and approaches to cross-cultural analysis. Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Lamb, Ms. McIntosh, or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 5a Human Origins
[ ss ]
Studies major transformations of humanity from early hominids to civilizations. Fossils and archaeological evidence serve to highlight the origins of bipedalism and language, the shift from foraging to agricultural economies, and the inception of urban life and large-scale political centralization. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 19b Ideas of Equality, Systems of Inequality
[ ss ]
May not be repeated for credit by students who have taken USEM 54a.
Examines classic and contemporary accounts of equality and inequality in Western and non-Western societies. We first read influential philosophical texts on human equality and inequality and then confront these speculative accounts with empirical and cross-cultural evidence from "egalitarian" and "hierarchical" societies. In subsequent units we read several historical, sociological, and autobiographical texts that enable us to compare systems of inequality based on various combinations of dimensions such as gender, ethnicity, rank, and class. The origins of an ideology of individual equality in the Western tradition and ways that obvious evidence of inequality is "naturalized" and "rationalized" in contemporary American culture are examined.
Mr. Parmentier

ANTH 20b Feast and Famine: Food and Social Relations
[ ss ]
May not be repeated for credit by students who have taken USEM 46a.
Food brings together our physical bodies and our capacity for making culture; this has made it a central topic for writers, artists, historians, anthropologists, and others. Examines ways of eating (and not eating) that mediate, express, and exemplify relations among people.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 26a Communication and Media
[ ss ]
An exploration of human communication and mass media from a cross-cultural perspective. Examines communication codes based on language and visual signs. The global impact of revolutions in media technology, including theories of cultural imperialism and indigenous uses of media is discussed. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 30a Media and Violence: An Anthropological Approach
[ ss ]
Open only to undergraduate students.
Explores media and violence as a lens for understanding important social, cultural and political processes in today's world. What is the role of media is shaping our understanding of violence? We will look at both individual assaults and collective forms, such as national, religious, ethnic, racial and gendered violence. How are newspapers, radio, television, and the internet used as tools of states as well as means for citizens to exert their own political power? Case studies will be drawn from the apartheid years in South Africa, post-USSR Russia, the U.S.-Mexico border, and the contemporary political upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East. One-time special offering, spring 2012.
Ms. Jusionyte

ANTH 55a Anthropology of Development
[ nw ss ]
This course combines an examination of the historical development of "development" concepts and institutions with case studies of particular developmental projects in the United States and abroad. Throughout the course, we will sustain a dynamic interplay between development theory and practice. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 60a Archaeological Methods
[ ss ]
Focuses on the exploration of archaeological sites on and near campus to offer a practice-oriented introduction to field methods, including surface-survey, mapping, and excavation of archaeological features. Other topics include principles of stratigraphy and relative/chronometric dating methods. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 60b Archaeological Analysis
[ ss ]
An introduction to archaeological laboratory methods and analyses, emphasizing hands-on experience. Students engage in discussion of field and laboratory methods, ethical issues, and the challenges of interpreting human behavior from material remains. Students conduct independent analyses ancient artifacts in the classroom and also conduct independent research in surrounding communities in locations such as the Boston area's graveyards. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 61b Language in American Life
[ ss ]
Examines the relations between language and some major dimensions of American social life: social groupings (the structures of ethnic, regional, class, and gender relations); social settings (such as courtrooms, workplaces, and homes); and social interaction. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 62a Archaeology in Politics, Film and Public Culture
[ ss ]
Examines archaeology as the study of human history through the analysis of artifacts and physical remains of past peoples and cultures. Yet its use in national politics, popular culture, and continued international debates revolving around issues of cultural patrimony make archaeology an important and relevant topic in our everyday life. After a brief look at the history of the field and its inception within colonialism, this course centers on the contemporary uses of archaeology, including archaeology in totalitarian Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italy, nationalist projects and the establishment of nation-building narratives (such as in Israel, Egypt, China and Mexico), and portrayals of archaeology in popular films and modern hoaxes. Importantly, this course will also focus on national and international laws concerning cultural objects and sites and the ethical dilemmas of stewardship, repatriation, and looting. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Kingsley

ANTH 66a The Cultural Politics of Heritage
[ ss ]
Explores issues relating to the definition, presentation, and study of heritage as both an anthropological concept and a lived experience. Topics covered include heritage management and conservation, public archaeology, international law, and heritage tourism. Also examines how factors such as colonialism, nationalism, and war have impacted cultural heritage over the centuries.
Staff

ANTH 80a Anthropology of Religion
[ nw ss ]
An introduction to the anthropological study of human religious experience, with particular emphasis on religious and ritual practice in comparative perspective. Examines the relationship between religion and society in small-scale, non-Western contexts as well as in complex societies, global cultures, and world historical religions. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lamb or Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 92a Internship and Analysis
Students may take no more than one departmental internship for credit.
The department sponsors internships for junior and senior majors and minors. Internships combine off-campus and on-campus work that provides a significant anthropological learning experience and academic study supervised by a departmental faculty sponsor. Majors may substitute one internship for the ninth elective course option. Students doing summer internships register for course credit in the following fall semester. A minimum GPA of B+ in anthropology courses is required for eligibility. For additional information, see the Guidelines for Anthropology Internships, available from the undergraduate adviser. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ANTH 98a Individual Readings and Research in Anthropology
Individual readings and research under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ANTH 98aj Individual Readings and Research in Anthropology
In conjunction with ANTH 99aj, students will be required to do 15-20 hours per week field research, following the research design developed in session one. This class will be run as a workshop for students to discuss and present their field projects and common challenges and strategies with each other. During the second session students will prepare a final project, developed by the student in consultation with the instructor and field research partners, if applicable. The project can take a variety of forms, including a final paper, outline and writing sample or chapter for senior thesis, short video, Web site design, PowerPoint, podcast, brochure, etc. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 98b Individual Readings and Research in Anthropology
Individual readings and research under the direction of a faculty supervisor. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ANTH 99a Senior Research
Seniors who have a 3.5 or higher GPA in anthropology courses and who wish to be considered for honors submit a thesis proposal to the department faculty and, if accepted, enroll in this course with permission of the instructor. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ANTH 99aj Senior Research
In conjunction with ANTH 98aj, students will be required to do 15-20 hours per week field research, following the research design developed in session one. This class will be run as a workshop for students to discuss and present their field projects and common challenges and strategies with each other. During the second session students will prepare a final project, developed by the student in consultation with the instructor and field research partners, if applicable. The project can take a variety of forms, including a final paper, outline and writing sample or chapter for senior thesis, short video, Web site design, PowerPoint, podcast, brochure, etc. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 99b Senior Thesis
Prerequisite: Satisfactory completion of ANTH 99a. Does not count toward the major in anthropology.
Seniors who wish to complete a senior honors thesis normally enroll in this course. Usually offered every year.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

ANTH 105a Myth and Ritual
[ nw ss ]
Studies myth and ritual as two interlocking modes of cultural symbolism. Evaluates theoretical approaches to myth by looking at creation and political myths. Examines performative, processual, and spatial models of ritual analysis through study of initiation, sacrifice, and funerals. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 108b History, Time, and Tradition
[ ss ]
Explores topics relating to the historical dimension of societies in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives: the cultural construction of the past, temporal and calendrical systems, the invention of tradition, ethnohistorical narrative, cultural memory and forgetting, historical monuments, and museums. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Parmentier

ANTH 109a Children, Parenting, and Education in Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ ss ]
Examines childcare techniques, beliefs about childhood and adolescence, and the objectives of school systems in different areas of the world, in order to illuminate cross-cultural similarities and differences in conceptions of personhood, identity, gender, class, race, nation, and the relationship between the individual and society. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

ANTH 110a Human Evolution
[ qr ss ]
Looks at evolutionary principles that shape human physical characteristics and generate variability of human groups around the world. Explores the fossil record, biological and behavioral relationships of humans and nonhuman primates, and current changes in the genetic composition of human populations. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

ANTH 111a Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ nw ss wi ]
Examines the meanings and social arrangements given to aging in a diversity of societies, including the U.S., India, Japan and China. Key themes include: the diverse ways people envision and organize the life course, scholarly and popular models of successful aging, the medicalization of aging in the U.S., cultural perspectives on dementia, and the ways national aging policies and laws are profoundly influenced by particular cultural models. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lamb

ANTH 112a African Art and Aesthetics
[ ca nw ss ]
This is an experiential learning course.
Studies the visual arts and aesthetics of sub-Saharan Africa and the African Diaspora, with attention to the spiritual, social, and cultural dimensions of art and performance. Special emphasis on the historical dynamism and cultural creativity of "tradition-based" and contemporary African artists. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

ANTH 113b Race and Ethnicity: Anthropological Perspectives
[ ss ]
Examines theories and ethnographies of race and ethnicity through three units: history of anthropological approaches to race and ethnicity, colonialism and nationalism, and emerging critiques. The goal of the course is to understand changing ideas of race and ethnicity that have emerged from anthropologists and cultural critics. Special one-time offering, fall 2011.
Mr. Tamarkin

ANTH 114b Verbal Art and Cultural Performance
[ ss ]
Cross-cultural and interdisciplinary study of genres of verbal art and oral performance. Complex social uses of verbal arts in festival, drama, ritual, dance, carnival, and spectacle. Difficulty of reconstructing original context of narrative, oratory, poetry, and epic. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Parmentier

ANTH 115b Landscapes, Place, Meaning and Memory across Cultures
[ ss ]
Human behavior is framed by and creates the spaces and landscapes in which we live. This seminar examines archaeological and ethnographic understandings of the relationships between culture, space, and landscapes through readings and technologies of spatial analysis such as GIS. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Golden

ANTH 116a Human Osteology
[ sn ss ]
This is an experiential learning course. Anthropology majors have priority for enrollment. The department coordinates a pre-enrollment process in the semester preceding the one in which the course is offered.
Skeletal anatomy and application of forensic techniques to archaeological problems. Hands-on laboratory sessions focus on methods of estimating age, determining sex, assessing variability, distinguishing bone disorders, and identifying cultural and natural modifications to bony tissue. Case studies exemplify bioarchaeological approaches. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Urcid

ANTH 118b Cultures of the Middle East
[ ss ]
Examines the peoples and societies of the Middle East from an anthropological perspective. Explores problems of cross-cultural examination, the notion of the Middle East as an area of study, and the role of anthropology in the formation of the idea of the “Middle East.” To this end, the course is divided into sections devoted to understanding and problematizing key concepts and themes central to our understanding of the region, including tribe and state, family and kinship, gender and sexuality, honor and shame, tradition and modernity, and religion and secularism. Course materials will include critical ethnographies based on field work in the region as well as locally produced materials such as literature, music, film and other visual arts. Usually offered every fourth year.
Staff

ANTH 119a Conquests, Resistance, and Cultural Transformation in Mexico and Central America
[ nw ss ]
Examines the continuing negotiation of identity and power that were at the heart of tragedy and triumph for indigenous peoples in colonial Mexico and Central America, and which continue in the modern states of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Golden

ANTH 121a Crossing Cultural Boundaries
[ ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who have taken ANTH 33b in prior years.
An examination of situations where individuals, either actually or imaginatively, willingly or unwillingly, cross over the boundaries separating their own culture and other cultural traditions. The understandings and misunderstandings that result from these encounters are examined in primary texts and images and in scholarly reconstructions. Transient experiences are compared with sites that develop over a long period of time (colonial settlements, plantations, frontiers). Potentials for reflexive self-understanding and meaningful dialogue are sought in fictional and nonfictional representations of boundary crossings. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Parmentier

ANTH 123a Archaeology in Theory and Practice
[ ss ]
Focuses on the fundamental problem of archaeology: how can we reconstruct past cultures on the basis of broken pottery, ruined buildings, scattered stone tools, and the other material remains left to us? Drawing on the work of scholars conducting research around the world, this seminar offers an exploration of the great variety of theoretical perspectives on approaching the human past. Readings and discussions will engage students with the major theoretical and methodological issues of the field in the 20th and 21st centuries. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 126b Symbol, Meaning, and Reality: Explorations in Cultural Semiotics
[ ss ]
Provides a historical survey of the development of theories of signs and symbols; comparison of Peircean and Saussurean foundations of modern semiotics; the structure of cultural codes (language, art, and music); and the possibility of cross-cultural typologies. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Parmentier

ANTH 127a Medicine, Body, and Culture
[ nw ss ]
Examines main areas of inquiry in medical anthropology, including medicine as a sociocultural construct, political and economic dimensions of suffering and health, patients and healers in comparative medical systems, and the medical construction of men's and women's bodies. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Lamb, Ms. Kammerer or Ms. McCullough

ANTH 128a Meaning and Material Culture
[ ss ]
Investigates the relationship between cultural meaning and material objects. Central objects are emblems of social identity (fabric, houses, monuments), objectifications of value (money, valuables, commodities), and aesthetic representations (images, icons, statues). Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Parmentier or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 129b Global, Transnational, and Diasporic Communities
[ ss ]
Examines social and cultural dimensions of globalization from an anthropological perspective. Topics include the impact of global capitalism upon indigenous communities, global forms of popular culture and consumerism, transnational migration and diasporas, changing inequalities and gender systems, global sexual cultures, and the AIDS pandemic. Includes a focus on the South Asian diaspora when taught by Ms. Lamb. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ferry or Ms. Lamb

ANTH 130b Visuality and Culture
[ ss ]
Explores the nature of the visual image in sociocultural theory and in ethnographic representation. Topics include the history of ethnographic film, development of indigenous arts, visuality in popular culture and mass consumption, and film in postcolonial representation. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 131b Latin America in Ethnographic Perspective
[ ss wi ]
Anthropology and LALS majors and minors have priority for enrollment.
Examines issues in contemporary Latin America and the Spanish Caribbean from the perspective of sociocultural anthropology, based primarily on books and articles drawing on long-term ethnographic research. Topics may include: the Zapatista Rebellion in Mexico; tin mining and religion in Bolivia; mortuary cannibalism in the Amazon; the role of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexican national identity; love and marriage among young migrants from Mexico and the United States; weaving, beauty pageants, and jokes in Guatemala; and daily life in revolutionary Cuba. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 132b Representing Ethnography
[ ss wi ]
Drawing on classic and contemporary examples of ethnographic writing and ethnographic film, the class examines the representation of anthropological knowledge. The goal of the course is to enable students to comprehend and evaluate ethnographic accounts. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 133a Culture and Power in Africa
[ nw ss ]
Explores the variety and richness of indigenous African social and cultural forms, such as the organization of the family; indigenous political systems; rank and slavery; traditional economics; ideas about magic, witchcraft, and religion; and the arts. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 134a South Asian Culture and Society
[ nw ss ]
May be repeated for credit if taught by different instructors.
Examines the diversity and richness of the cultures and societies of South Asia, with a focus on India. Concentrates on the lived experiences of class, caste, gender, religion, politics, and region in people's everyday lives. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Lamb

ANTH 136a Archaeology of Power: Authority, Prestige, and Inequality in the Past
[ nw ss ]
Anthropological and archaeological research and theory provide a unique, long-term perspective on the development of inequality and rise of hierarchical societies, including the earliest ancient states such as the Moche, Maya, China, Sumerians, Egyptians, and others through 5000 years of human history. A comparative, multidisciplinary seminar examining the dynamics of authority, prestige, and power in the past, and the implications for understanding the present . Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Golden

ANTH 137b Gender and the Sacred in Asia
[ ss ]
Ritual, violence, gender, religion, and cultural creativity in Asia, especially East Asia and South Asia. Religious movements, sacrifice and patriliny, and the ritualization of state power through religious imagery and institutions. Roles of religious leaders and spiritual movements in conflict resolution and peacemaking. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 138a Social Relations in Cyberspace
[ ss ]
This is an experiential learning course.
Provides an introduction to various forms of computer-mediated communication (e.g., instant messaging, blogging, social networking, online dating) and the ways in which people interact in these different contexts of cyberspace. Students are expected to do online research. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 139b Language, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
[ ss ]
It is often assumed that language differences divide people, while a common language unites them. To what extent is this true? Taking cross-cultural and historical approaches, we examine the role of language in creating concepts of tribe, ethnicity, and nation. Explores what kinds of social groupings these terms might label, some ideologies connected with their use, and their relationship with communication systems. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 140a Human Rights in Global Perspective
[ ss ]
Explores a range of debates about human rights as a concept as well as the practice of human rights work. The human rights movement seeks the recognition of universal norms that transcend political and cultural difference while anthropology seeks to explore and analyze the great diversity of human life. To what extent can these two goals--advocating for universal norms and respecting cultural difference--be reconciled? The course examines cases from various parts of the world concerning: indigenous peoples, environment, health, gender, genocide/violence/nation-states and globalization. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Ferry or Ms. McCullough

ANTH 142a AIDS: Science, Society, and Policy
[ ss ]
An examination of the AIDS pandemic from cross-cultural and anthropological perspectives. Topics include biosocial approaches to disease, epidemiology of transmission, national and international institutions, prevention and treatment, and ethical issues; case studies from the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Kammerer

ANTH 144a The Anthropology of Gender
[ nw ss wi ]
Anthropology majors have priority for enrollment.
An examination of gender constructs, sexuality, and cultural systems from a comparative perspective. Topics include the division of labor, rituals of masculinity and femininity, the vexing question of the universality of women's subordination, cross-cultural perspectives on same-sex sexualities and transsexuality, the impact of globalization on systems, and the history of feminist anthropology. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Lamb or Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 145a Anthropology of the Body
[ ss ]
Explores a range of theories that 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 gender identity; and experiences and images of the body cross-culturally. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Lamb or Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 147b The Rise of Mesoamerican Civilization
[ nw ss ]
Traces the development of social complexity in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, from initial colonization in the Late Pleistocene to the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. Reviews major societal transformations like agriculture, the inception of village life, and the rise of civilizations. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 153a Writing Systems and Scribal Traditions
[ nw ss ]
Compares graphic forms of communication, ranging from semasiographic to alphabetic systems, from archaeological and ethnographic perspectives. Explores the social functions of early writing systems, the linkage of literacy and political power, and the production of historical memory. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Urcid

ANTH 154a Culture and Mental Illness
[ ss ]
Without underestimating the importance of biological causes and treatments, this course challenges the hegemony of bio-medical models in psychiatry by seeking to conceptualize emotional problems and mental illness as historically situated and culturally constructed. Examines how factors related to political circumstances, social institutions, religious belief systems, socio-economic status, and ethnic background participate in shaping forms of distress and the ways they are dealt with in various socio-cultural settings. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 155b Psychological Anthropology
[ ss ]
An examination of the relationship between sociocultural systems and individual psychological processes with a critical evaluation of selected theories and studies bearing on this problem. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 156a Power and Violence: The Anthropology of Political Systems
[ nw ss ]
Political orders are established and maintained by varying combinations of overt violence and the more subtle workings of ideas. The course examines the relationship of coercion and consensus, and forms of resistance, in historical and contemporary settings. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 157a Families and Households
[ ss ]
Describes and analyzes several family types and households in contemporary American life, interpreting them in their cultural contexts and comparing them with similar arrangements in other cultures. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 158a Urban Anthropology
[ ss ]
Comparative study of strategies used in coping with the complexity of urban life. Attention will be given to analyzing and evaluating the theories, methods, and data anthropologists and others use in their studies of urban social organization. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 159a Museums and Public Memory
[ ss ]
Explores the social and political organization of public memory, including museums, cultural villages, and memorial sites. Who has the right to determine the content and form of such institutions? Working with local community members, students will develop a collaborative exhibition project. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

ANTH 163b Production, Consumption, and Exchange
[ nw ss ]
Prerequisite: ANTH 1a or ECON 2a or permission of the instructor.
We read in newspapers and books and hear in everyday discussion about "the economy," an identifiably separate sphere of human life with its own rules and principles and its own scholarly discipline (economics). The class starts with the premise that this "commonsense" idea of the economy is only one among a number of possible perspectives on the ways people use resources to meet their basic and not-so-basic human needs. Using extensive cross-cultural case studies, looks at the satisfaction of these needs (which we might call economic activity) as they interact with other aspects of life: gender, kinship, ideas of morality and taste, spirit possession, politics, and so on. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 166b Queer Anthropology
[ ss ]
Explores ethnographic approaches to the study of sexuality and gender in diverse cultural contexts, such as the US, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Mexico. Examines how sexuality intersects with other cultural forms, including gender, race, ethnicity, labor, religion, colonialism and globalization. Explores also how the discipline of anthropology has been shaped by engagements with questions of sexuality and the field of queer studies. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lamb and Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 168a The Maya: Past, Present and Future
[ nw ss ]
Explores the culture of the Maya in Mexico and Central America through nearly 3000 years of history. Using archaeology, ethnohistory, and ethnography, studies their ancient past and their modern lives. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Golden

ANTH 174b Virtual Communities
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: ANTH 138a or permission of the instructor.
A research seminar dealing with a selected problem in the social organization of online communities. Possible topics include impression formation in cyberspace, social control in virtual communities, the concept of presence in computer-mediated communication, and the transition between online and offline relationships. Students will do online fieldwork. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 178b Culture, Gender, and Power in East Asia
[ nw ss ]
Explores the relevance of social theory to the dynamics of culture, gender, and power in East Asia. Topics include exchange, personhood, ideology, and historical consciousness. Students will read detailed ethnographic studies set in urban and rural East Asia and view several contemporary films. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 180b Playing Human: Persons, Objects, Imagination
[ ss ]
Examines how people interact with material artifacts that are decidedly not human and yet which, paradoxically, deepen and extend experiences of being human. Theories of fetishism; masking and ritual objects across cultures; play and childhood experience; and objects of imagination, memory and trauma. Special one-time offering spring 2012.
Mr. Roosevelt and Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 181aj Designing and Conducting Ethnographic Research
[ ss ]
Examines principal issues in ethnographic fieldwork and analysis, including research design, data collection, and ethnographic representation. Students will learn how to develop a focused research question, design field research, and build skills for independent social science research. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 183aj Anthropological Inquiry
[ ss wi ]
Studies how anthropologists have conducted fieldwork and turned it into different kinds of products—especially ethnographic writing, but also films, museum exhibits, Web sites, teaching curricula, etc. Looks at classic and contemporary ethnographic work in the context of the field research conducted. Explores collaborative and public anthropology approaches and the role of new media in the field. Students will write weekly reflective summaries of the material read and will develop an independent project examining how questions related to their particular project have been researched and written about. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 184b Cross-Cultural Art and Aesthetics
[ nw ss ]
A cross-cultural and diachronic exploration of art, focusing on the communicative aspects of visual aesthetics. The survey takes a broad view of how human societies deploy images to foster identities, lure into consumption, generate political propaganda, engage in ritual, render sacred propositions tangible, and chart the character of the cosmos. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Urcid

ANTH 186b Linguistic Anthropology
[ ss ]
Advanced topics in linguistic anthropology, including the study of linguistic meaning in context, pragmatics, the construction of social relationships through language, language and authority, language and religion, and linguistic ideologies. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. McIntosh or Mr. Parmentier

ANTH 187a Materials Research in Archaeology, I
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Signature of Mr. Golden, the Brandeis coordinator, required. Topics vary from year to year, and the course may be repeated for credit.
A series of courses, each focusing on a specific topic, such as archaeological analysis of animal or plant remains; the analysis of lithic materials, pottery, or metals; GIS; and statistical analysis. Courses are offered each semester, taught by faculty from the Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, a consortium that includes Brandeis, Boston University, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Museum of Fine Arts, Tufts, University of Massachusetts, Boston, and Wellesley College. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ANTH 188b Materials Research in Archaeology, II
[ ss ]
Enrollment limited to advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Signature of Mr. Golden, 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/NEJ 169b Digging for National Roots: The Politics of Israeli Archaeology
[ hum ss ]
Examines the uneasy encounter between archaeology and nationalism, with a focus on Israel. Archaeology, beyond being an established academic discipline, has been used and abused in the service of political power structures, among them religious, ethnic and national movements. Looking for "tangible proof" of the nation's ancient glories and past achievements, national movements have made use of archaeological findings and theories in the process of forging a national identity. The rich Israeli case enables discussion of many theoretical motifs and offers a unique gaze on Israeli society and the changes it is undergoing. A one-time special offering, fall 2011.
Mr. Feige

(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students

ANTH 201a History of Anthropological Thought
A historical examination of major ideas and perennial problems in social thought that have led to the development of modern theory and method in anthropology. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Parmentier or Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 202b Designing Anthropological Research
Survey of principal methodological issues in anthropological fieldwork and analysis, including research design, technologies of data collection, and ethnographic representation. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 203b Contemporary Anthropological Theory
Prerequisite: ANTH 201a.
Intensive survey of the major theoretical trends in contemporary anthropology. Examination of comparative, semiotic, materialist, Marxist, feminist, poststructuralist, post-colonial and phenomenological approaches, as well as core concepts: culture, social change, practice, agency, structure, power, modernity and the global. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Lamb

ANTH 205b Anthropological Approaches to Development
Explores "development" as a concept and as a set of practices, techniques, and institutions; different schools of development within their historical contexts; and development practices and institutions as ethnographic objects. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 207b Trauma: Theory and Experience
Explores the intellectual history of the concept of trauma and considers the salience of the concept for contemporary social and cultural theory and for research on the aftermath of mass violence, state terror, genocide, and torture. Offered every fourth year.
Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 209a Revisiting Kinship
Examines a range of social, biological, economic, and sexual relations that scholars in anthropology and related fields have investigated through the lens of kinship. Kinship continually emerges as a rich avenue of inquiry in anthropology through which to examine relatedness, social structures and inequalities, and ideas about biology and intimacy. There are two main goals of this class. The first goal is to learn how one core concept, kinship, can productively branch out to address a wide variety of emerging theoretical issues in anthropology. The second goal is to design and conduct a small-scale ethnographic project that deals with questions raised in the study of kinship. Special one-time offering, fall 2011.
Mr. Tamarkin

ANTH 225a Readings and Research in Cultural Analysis
Mr. Parmentier

ANTH 226a Readings and Research in Archaeology
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 227a Readings and Research in Linguistic Anthropology
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 228a Advanced Readings in Method and Theory
Staff

ANTH 228b Advanced Readings in Archaeological Method and Theory
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 229a Readings and Research in Ritual and Performance in Africa
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 231a Readings in Cognitive Culture
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 232a Readings and Research in Development
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 233b Readings and Research in Punishment and Penal Systems
Ms. Lamb

ANTH 235a Readings and Research in Latin American Cultures
Ms. Ferry, Mr. Golden, or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 238a Readings and Research in Urban Anthropology
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 241a Readings and Research in New World Ethnohistory
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 243a Readings and Research in Anthropology of Body
Ms. Lamb or Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 247b Readings and Research in Human Development
Ms. Lamb

ANTH 250a Readings and Research in Psychological Anthropology
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 251a Readings and Research in Colonialism/Postcolonialism
Ms. McIntosh

ANTH 252a Readings and Research in Anthropology of Art
Mr. Urcid

ANTH 253a Readings and Research in Economic Anthropology
Ms. Ferry

ANTH 255b Readings and Research in East Asian Anthropology
Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 256a Readings and Research in Religion
Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 257a Readings and Research in Families and Households
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 258a Readings and Research in Computer-Mediated Communication
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 280a Readings and Research in Modernity and Culture
Mr. Auslander or Ms. Lamb

ANTH 283a Readings and Research in Fieldwork
Mr. Jacobson

ANTH 284a Readings and Research in Archaeological Methods
Mr. Golden or Mr. Urcid

ANTH 285a Readings and Research in Gender and Sexuality
Ms. Lamb or Ms. Schattschneider

ANTH 286a Readings and Research in South Asia
Ms. Lamb

ANTH 287a Readings and Research in Medical Anthropology
Mr. Jacobson or Ms. Lamb

ANTH 288a Readings and Research in Immigrant and Transnational Communities
Ms. Lamb

ANTH 289a Readings and Research in Biological Anthropology
Mr. Urcid

ANTH 297a Internship
Staff

ANTH 300a Directed Research for MA Students: Master’s Paper
Does not count toward 8 course requirement for degree.
Semester-long research project culminating in a Master’s paper. Students select a specific research topic in consultation with the adviser. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

ANTH 304a Readings and Research in Anthropological Field Methods
Staff

ANTH 305d Anthropology Colloquium
Staff

ANTH 400d Dissertation Research
Specific sections for individual faculty member as requested.
Staff

Cross-Listed in Anthropology

AAAS 109a Religion in Africa
[ nw ss ]
Explores African religions among the Akan, Yoruba, Nuer, Haya, Zulu, and Bemazava-Sakalava and how Islam, Christianity, African deities, and cultural media are sources of ethics, social critique, and self-definition. One-time special offering, fall 2011.
Mr. Obeng

CLAS 133a The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece
[ ca hum ]
This is an experiential learning course.
Surveys the main forms and styles of Greek art and architecture from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period in mainland Greece and on the islands of the Aegean. Archaeological remains and ancient literary evidence help explore the relationships between culture, the visual arts, and society. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Koh

CLAS 134b The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Rome
[ ca hum ]
This is an experiential learning course.
Surveys the art and architecture of the ancient Romans from the eighth century BCE to the end of the empire in Sicily, mainland Italy (with focus on Rome, Ostia, Pompeii, and Herculaneum), and in the Roman provinces. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Koloski-Ostrow

LING 140a Architecture of Conversation: Discourse and Pragmatics
[ oc ss ]
This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisite: LING 100a or permission of the instructor.
Assuming a theory of sentence-level linguistic competence, what phenomena are still to be accounted for in the explication of language knowledge? The class explores topics in language use in context, including anaphora, deixis, implicature, speech acts, information packaging, and pragmatics of dialogue. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Malamud

PSYC 131a Child Development across Cultures
[ ss wi ]
Prerequisite: PSYC 33a or 36b. Juniors and seniors have priority for enrollment.
In this seminar child development is compared across two cultures within the United States: the dominant European American culture and Navajo culture. The main objective of the course is to help students learn about the processes involved as culture influences development. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Watson