| Anthropology Course List |
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ANTH 101 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology - 3 Cultures of world's peoples; ideas used to explain similarities and differences among human groups.
Biological evolution; interpretation of human fossil record; race; human population genetics and primate behavior.
Capabilities of digital applications, including digital image editing, digital video editing, multimedia presentations, web design and streaming video, and digital video compression. ANTH 106 - Introductory Archaeology - 3 Archaeological methods and theory used to reconstruct and interpret past.
Main events in evolution of culture from earliest times until advent of cities. Emergence of culture, development of food production, and appearance of states.
Nonverbal communication; language origins and acquisition; universals; language classification and processes of change; language as expression of cultural values and social structure; beginning componential and structural analysis.
Special topics in cultural anthropology addressed through use of ethnographic films. Culture areas, culture change, and traditional societies in modern world. ANTH 202 - Science Fiction and Anthropology- 3Central issues in folklore: traditional, expressive, and material culture. Verbal genres, customs, and material forms of folklore from several regional and ethnic cultural groups in the U.S. and worldwide. Tradition and presence of the past in everyday life, creativity and artistic expression and personal and group identities.
Ethnology of indigenous peoples of South America including ecological adaptation, social organization, religious systems, and culture change. Emphasis on lowland South American (Amazonian) Indians.
Dietary variation from hunter-gathers to agriculturists based on plant and animal remains from archaeological sites. Culinary practices from ancient texts and pictographic representations.
Relationships within and among cultural units commonly referred to as "the family"; survey of domestic groups in various socio-cultural settings.
This course is a history of the exploration of Egypt emphasizing major archaeological discoveries and how they have shaped our modern perceptions of ancient Egypt. Excavations at important ancient sites such as Thebes and Abydos will be covered in relationship to the overall environmental history of the Nile Valley and Delta. How current excavations reconstruct past settlement patterns, mortuary practices and daily life activities at diverse archaeological sites (Valley of the Kings, Karnak Temple, Tanis) will be discussed.
Behavior and social organization of humans' closest living relatives. Living primates and why they behave as they do.
Human organism's evolution as systemic whole. Process of human evolutionary change as depicted in behavior and fossil record.
Prehistoric America north of Mexico from terminal Pleistocene to early historic times. Prerequisite: ANTH 101
Archaeology of Mexico and Guatemala; early man; development of agriculture; pre-classic cultures; classic and post-classic cultures, including Mayan, Teotihuacan, Toltec, and Aztec civilizations.
Participation in all phases of excavation, laboratory study, and report preparation. Off campus.
This course introduces key developments in prehistoric Mesoamerican cultural change, from the origins of settled life and agriculture to the Aztec empire encountered by the Spanish. Major civilizations such as the Olmec, Maya, Zapotecs, Teotihuacan, Tula, and the Aztecs provide a historical framework for examining broader developmental process such as sedentism, the origins of agriculture and writing, the emergence of social complexity, and urbanism.
Prehistory of Africa, Asia, and Europe from Paleolithic to Early Bronze Age. Hunter-gatherer adaptations, emergence of village-based agriculture, and appearance of cities.
Development of complex society in the Fertile Crescent and surrounding lands in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Mediterranean from origins of agriculture to Alexander the Great.
Cultural sequence in Europe from early occupations until written records. Upper Paleolithic art, Stonehenge, and origins of village life.
What happens to culture and the social organization of groups after they migrate from one country to another? This course focuses on two possible responses: (1) How immigrants assimilate to the host society through a process of becoming disorganized or uprooted and then reorganizing themselves in a new context, and (2) How immigrants, or transnationals are influenced by their persisting ties to their home countries and elsewhere.
It is traditionally claimed that the U.S. is a "Christian Nation," and yet the nation finds itself home to a wide range of religions and spiritualities. From Hippies and Mormon Polygamists, to Internet Paganism and Self-Help Christianity, many are the ways one can be spiritual, and in this course we seek to understand how religion shapes and is altered by American culture.
Ethnology of indigenous peoples of South America including ecological adaptation, social organization, religious systems, and culture change. Emphasis on lowland South Americans.
Local and regional African cultures. Geographical, racial, and historical backgrounds; contemporary African social systems.
Traditional cultures of Middle East. Ecological setting, historical evolution, and political economy of main life ways of Near Eastern Society.
Varied influences upon peopling and cultural development of islands in Pacific. Major areas (Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia) followed by focus on one culture found therein.
Varied influences upon peopling and cultural development of islands in Pacific. Major areas (Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia) followed by focus on one culture found therein.
Holistic survey of cultures of Latin America from pre-Columbian times to present. Processes of cultural change (including revolution), ethnic group relations, and functioning of contemporary societies.
This anthropology course is an introduction to the geographical and historical factors making up for the social unity and diversity of three countries of the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia). Topics covered are: The Arab conquest and Islamization of North Africa; Ibn Khaldoun and the tribal Kinship systems of North Africa; the French colonization of North Africa; the Wars of independence; the postcolonial politics of Arabization and the Amazigh question; the current ethnography of the Maghreb; women’s emancipation; male and female rituals and honor codes; the secular and religious movements of the contemporary Maghreb; popular and formal Islam, etc.
Orientation to and popular culture in Chilapa; Mexican history and ethnology, regional history and ethnology, and local economy and human ecology.
This course explores anthropological perspectives, applications, and contributions to solving to contemporary world problems including: terrorism, warfare, genocide; global warming and sustainable development; global epidemic disease and new pandemics; torture and human rights abuses; global capitalism, sweatshops, and economic justice; poverty and hunger; illiteracy; child labor and child soldiers; and human population explosion.
Advanced Undergraduate Courses Prerequisites: 6 semester hours in anthropology and/or sociology, permission of instructor, or as noted.
This course examines the Spanish conquest of Mexico from both Spanish and indigenous perspectives. It further surveys the institutionalization of Spanish control over the fallen Aztec Empire and the broader intellectual and material consequences of the conquest.
Maps as analytic tools in social, behavioral, and applied sciences. Theory and methods of cartographic representation, aerial and satellite image analysis, and geographic information systems. Principles, practical training in computer methods, and case studies from different regions of the earth. Prerequisite: Basic computer course and introductory course in social science.
Main events in evolution of culture from earliest times until advent of cities. Emergence of culture, development of food production, and appearance of states.
Study of human interaction with the environment in the past through archaeology and related disciplines. Prerequisite: ANTH 106
This course examines the intricate relations between incest, endogamy, and women's rights to inheritance in the literature, films, and national epics of Muslim North Africa.
Effects of Western penetration of indigenous societies and role of anthropologists in development projects in Third World.
This course is designed to present a broad view of the role of food in human culture through time and in a variety of geographic settings, offering students and opportunity to reflect on the cultural meanings of food in human life. Class lectures, assigned readings, and films will be used to enhance each student s understanding of the subject from a cross cultural perspective. We will examine the biological basis of diet, how foodways develop and change, how and why anthropologists study diet, and variations in foodways around the world.
Human behavior in relation to the supernatural; religion as a system of social behavior and values; theories of religion.
Federal and state laws and regulations relevant to archaeology and anthropology. National Historic Preservation Act, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, National Register listings, preservation easements, and federal income tax rehabilitation credits.
This course introduces key developments in prehistoric Mesoamerican cultural change, from the origins of settled life and agriculture to the Aztec empire encountered by the Spanish. Major civilizations such as the Olmec, Maya, Zapotecs, Teotihuacan, Tula and the Aztecs provide a historical framework for examining broader developmental processes such as sedentism, the origins of agriculture and writing, the emergence of social complexity, and urbanism.
Social and cultural analysis of ethnicity and nationalist ideologies particularly where these have led to violent confrontations within modern nation-states. Primordialist versus constructionist theories of difference; varying weight to be attributed to political, historical, and cultural factors in study of nationalism; politics of culture versus culture of politics.
Archaeology and History of the Bible Lands. Examination of region spanning modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan from 10,000-585 B.C.
Examination of conceptual, political, and legal aspects of human rights from an anthropological perspective. Topics considered may include: state violence; the history of human rights claims; the opposition of cultural rights and human rights claim; human rights as a form of political discourse; human rights practices in contemporary settings.
Biology, behavior, and distribution of living nonhuman primates. Field studies of old-world monkeys and apes.
ANTH 357 - Anthropology of Gender - 3 Cultural construction of gender differences in human societies; shifting definitions of proper male and female roles across cultures and through time.
Interactions among behavioral, technological, organizations, and ideological features of human cultures that serve to adapt societies to their physical environment. Prerequisite: 3 hours in ANTH.
Comparative analysis of forms of human social organization; range of kinship and marriage arrangements found in pre-industrial societies; explanations of similarities and differences among kinship systems.
Comparative analysis of political structures and process throughout world, focusing on non-Western forms; anthropological attempts to understand complex interplay of culture and power in human societies.
Comparative ethnology of economic organizations and processes in non-industrial societies. Pre-capitalist social settings and transformations of pre-capitalist economies that have occurred, and are occurring, as result of development and expansion of industrial capitalism.
Human life in cities from cross-cultural perspective; process of urbanization in ancient civilizations, colonial empires, and modern-day Third World.
Holistic approach of ethnomusicologists to study of music. Role of musicians in society; their training and instruments. Methods for documenting and transcribing, social functions and economic context, and theories of performance and creativity. Ghanaian and Indian musical traditions studied with other music, including Western, included as appropriate.
Survey of the incorporation of rural Mexican communities into the country's developing industrial economy.
Characteristics of musical styles in various cultures throughout world. Prerequisite: MU 120
Special Topics in Anthropology.
Study of symbolic forms in myth and ritual and overview of theoretical approaches. Anthropological theory and practice relevant to health care professions in medicine, nursing, public health, psychology, etc. Anthropological perspectives on practice of health care and practical applications of anthropology in providing health care to culturally diverse people. Prerequisite: ANTH 101
Comparative survey of New Kingdom Egypt and Aztec Mexico Advanced Undergraduate and Graduate Courses Prerequisite: 9 semester hours in anthropology and/or sociology or permission of instructor, unless otherwise noted.
The identification of human skeletal remains. This laboratory/lecture course provides the groundwork for much of the work in physical anthropology.
Applied human osteology, emphasizing ability to identify age, sex, and population type of skeletal material. Effects of disease and behavior on bones.
Varied theoretical approaches, including film theory, media theory, literary criticism, and linguistic analysis, to compare language of visual imagery with other communicative modes. How meaning is conveyed through film style, nested and/or contradictory visual messages, narrative structure, and technical choices used to convey mood in classic documentaries. Ethics of representation, filmmaker/subject relations, and role of film as cultural object.
Joint American Studies/International Studies seminar surveying international perceptions of U.S. culture.
Holistic preview of Pacific Island societies in the past. I will draw from archaeological literature and to a lesser degree ethnographic, linguistic, and biological data. Issues of historic contact, historic archaeology, prehistory, and cultural development in the regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia will be addressed with attention to problems and contributions to anthropology.
Archaeological field and laboratory techniques, including excavation, surveying, and artifact analysis and description; general problems of archaeological interpretation; prehistoric data from southeastern U.S. Prerequisites: ANTH 101
Ethnographic Field Methods classroom instruction and practical experience in techniques of ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, household surveys, structured and unstructured interviewing, and genealogies. Study abroad program in Chilapa, Guerrero, Mexico.
Theories about the origins of agriculture, examination of the archaeological record concerning different pathways leading to the domestication of plants and animals.
The course will cover the techniques and strategies employed by archaeologists to reconstruct past landscape, which involves scientific testing, remote sensing, GIS, survey, excavation and environmental analysis. Examples will be drawn from projects across diverse landscape types in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Central America and Asia. In-field and laboratory application of techniques will be emphasized.
Methods and theories of zoo archaeological research. Practical experience in processing, identification, and interpretation of animal bone remains from archaeological sites. Prerequisite: ANTH 106
The course will give students the ability to analyze remotely sensed data from satellite images as part of the newly established Joint Programs for Remote Sensing and Health. Students will learn about the physics and mathematics behind remote sensing. They will also learn about wide range of satellite images and techniques to analyze them via ERDAS Imagine, ER Mapper and other programs. Applications of remote sensing to a variety of fields will form a key component of the class. The course will culminate in a term project involving remote sensing applications to the UAB faculty-led initiatives in health, medicine, geography and anthropology. There will be a weekly lab component of the course.
Approaches and contributions of anthropology to study of health, sickness, and healing. Physical environment and human adaptations as key determinants of health systems; culturally defined concepts of sickness, health, and healing; healing as social and physiological activity. Topics may include life stages, medical knowledge among different human groups, impact of culture contact on medical systems, ecological balance and population control, cultural definitions and treatment of abnormal behavior, healers, health and supernatural, social roles of sick, and illness and social control.
Application of anthropological approaches to efforts in public or private sector.
This course will be offered as a research seminar focusing on real world applications of remote sensing technology. The course will take place in UAB's Laboratory for Global Health Observation. Students will work closely with UAB professors and scientists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville doing original remote sensing research on new satellite datasets. These datasets cover diverse areas including terrorism, global warming, health, anthropology / archaeology, atmospheric studies, urban expansion and coastal management. Students will be responsible for analyzing the satellite imagery and presenting "solutions networks" papers to NASA.
Principal theoretical approaches of 20th century archaeology: historical, processual, and post-processual.
Historical development of theory and field practice of linguistics; acquisition, sociolinguistics, nonverbal communication, semiotics, and ethnosemantics; applied linguistics.
Human evolution and primatology; race; human genetics. Tasks performed by physical anthropologists.
Individually designed program that places students in local environmental organizations, divisions of local businesses or government, or special projects to gain professional experience in preparation for an environmental career.
Supervised study of multimedia applications to anthropological topics. Topics determined by student and instructor interest.
Supervised study of specified topic area; defined problem explored in depth; topics determined by student and instructor interest.
Supervised in-depth study of specified topic area in archaeology. Topics determined by student and instructor interest.
Supervised in-depth study of specified topic area in linguistics. Topics determined by student and instructor interest.
Supervised in-depth study of specified topic area in linguistics. Topics determined by student and instructor interest.
Supervised, in-depth study of specified topic area in physical anthropology. Topic determined by student and instructor interest.
Supervised, in-depth study of specified topic area in physical anthropology. Topic determined by student and instructor interest.
Independent development of research project.
Directed studies in probability and practical statistics. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods for laboratory and field research. Univariate and bivariate methods (description of distributions, single and multi-sample analysis of means, correlation, regression, non-parametric methods).
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