Stoeltje (5146)

The ways in which people order their lives and understand themselves as individuals who belong to communities is at the heart of social and cultural anthropology. As social beings, all peoples have to confront and resolve similar challenges: survival and well-being; balancing the needs and desires of individuals with those of society; establishing relationships, defining marriage and kinship; resolving conflict; finding a satisfying identity; reproduction of people and society; explaining one's place in the world and interpreting the events of life. We will explore the ways different societies deal with these and other issues.

We will also examine the ways in which social and cultural anthropologists understand people and their lives. As anthropologists, we spend extended periods of time with those peoples whose lives we hope to understand, at a minimum one year and for many, a lifetime. The results of such empirical field research are ethnographic texts that tell the stories of people's lives. Such ethnographies provide the reading for this course.

As we read about and work through the different topics, two kinds of questions will guide our understanding: the first examines how individuals shape their lives within specific cultures; the second examines the processes by which anthropologists understand the cultures in which they work.

Texts for the course:

Faces of Anthropology: Raffery and Ukaegbu.

Thunder Rides a Black Horse: Farrer, Claire.

Remotely Global: Village Modernity in West Africa: Piot, Charles.

One other ethnographic text and a few readings on e reserve.

Requirements:

Reading is to be done on the first day of the time period for a particular topic.

Two mini-field projects

One journal article

Class Participation and short assignments

Midterm, Quizzes, and Final

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Phillips (13095)

1-2:15p T/R _________________________________________________________________________________ Across the world, ideas about and experiences of health, "dis-ease,"and medicine are profoundly shaped by culture. This introductory medical anthropology course introduces students to cross-cultural approaches to understanding health and illness, covering topics such as ethnomedicine, ritual healing, gender and health, and international development and global health.

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Fulemile (26584)

Above class meets 1st eight weeks only

The course will offer a unique combination of practical dance instructions together with theory, history and ethnography of European folk dance with a special focus on Hungary and her neighbors in East Central Europe. Classes will be 2.5 hours each time, spending 1 hour with lecture/discussion and 1.5 an hour with dance instructions.

The course will discuss Hungarian folk dance in the context of European dance-history from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Social and culture history, visual iconography of dance, ethno-choreology, anthropologic and ethnographic material will be presented alongside with field materials (photos, music, documentary films) and video-recordings of stage performances. Dance on stage, trends of choreographic interpretations will also be discussed.

Assessment:

Weekly assignments 40%

8-10 pp Final term paper 40%

Class attendance and effort to participate in learning 20%.

Weekly assignments will require work with selected articles from various authors, web-sources and video materials (provided on DVD by the instructors).

Preliminary dance background is not required only an interest, sense and motivation to dance. Grades will be decided based on effort and not on actual dancing skills.

(Please dress conveniently, have appropriate shoes.)

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AI (11562)

1:00-2:15p T/R _________________________________________________________________________________ Students learn approaches and methods of conducting anthropological research, especially ethnography, through a semester long hands-on class research project. The research is a service-learning project through which the students work with a community organization in Bloomington to both learn research methods and to assist the organization. The service to the organization is two-fold as the students have to spend some time there as well as present a class report to the organization based on the finding of the class research. Students complete a series of ethnographic lab assignments on observation, participant observation, mapping and visual technologies, interviewing, analyzing, and writing up research findings.

Prerequisite: ANTH E105 or E200 or permission of the instructor

This course carries S&H credit

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Bahloul (13099)

This course is devoted to the analysis and discussion of one of the major global processes observed in human behavior in modern times. The focus will be on international migration. Why do people migrate? Where do they go and why? How do they migrate and how do they integrate into the host societies? How do the mainstream societies welcome them? By which social, economic, cultural, and political processes? These are the questions students will have to explore and try to answer. The course takes both a theoretical and an ethnographic approach. We shall cover a large number of situations and geographical areas of migration, in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Asia. Students will have an opportunity to deal with a variety of social and cultural forms of expression of the migrants’ condition, in family organization, religious practice, collective memory, the arts, associations. They will have a unique opportunity to conduct a fieldwork project here in Bloomington, under the instructor’s direction and methodological support.

Requirements

Undergraduate:

Class diary (40%); Fieldwork project (40%); Class participation (20%)

Graduate:

Class diary (40%); In-class presentations (20%); fieldwork project (40%)

Readings

- Bretell C. & Hollifield J.F., (ed.) 2000, Migration Theory, Routledge

- Cohen R., 1997, Global Diasporas, Univ. of Washington Press.

- Malkki L., 1995,Purity and Exile, Univ. of Chicago Press.

- Sassen S., 1999, Guests and Aliens, The New Press.

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Bahloul (13854)

Urban society has been studied in various social scientific disciplines for several decades, but at the onset of the 21st century, the exploration of the city has broadened its social and cultural perspectives. Cities have become destinations for large-scale migration, dense and diverse population centers, and global economic, cultural, and political crossroads. As this process has developed in the five continents, suburban and small urban communities have grown concurrently to metropolitan life. This course will take a cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural approach to the exploration of urban society. Students will discuss the varieties of contemporary urban life, in different cultural contexts, among migrants, cultural personnel, religious and financial communities. They will have an opportunity to conduct a fieldwork exercise in Bloomington.

Readings

Eade J., Placing London

Fernea E., A Street in Marrakesh

Rotenberg R., Time and Order in Metropolitan Vienna

Rotenberg R. and McDonogh G., The Cultural Meaning of Urban Space

Sassen S., The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo

Course Requirements

1. For undergraduate students

- Class diary in 4 submissions (40%),

- Fieldwork exercise (10 to 15 pages, 45%),

- Class attendance and participation (15%).

2. For graduate students

- Class diary in 4 submissions (40%),

- Fieldwork exercise (15 pages min., 40%),

- Two oral presentations (20%).

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Girshick (26586

9:30-10:45am T/R _________________________________________________________________________________ This course will explore the social, economic, political and aesthetic aspects of tourism from an anthropological perspective. It will focus on the sites of tourism (theme parks, heritage travel, eco-tourism, cultural villages) as well as the players (tourists, guides, cultural brokers), the objects (souvenirs), and the performances that characterize the tourist experience. This course will be conducted as a seminar. Short papers and class presentations will be required.

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Tucker (15247)

Do you start your day with coffee? Coffee is an integral part of life for consumers and producers around the world, and it is one of the world’s most valuable commodities in terms of total trade dollars. This course will consider the diverse expressions and ramifications of “coffee culture,” from the farmers who see it as their life, to the buyers and traders who know it as a living, to the consumers who start their day with cups of java. We will explore the historical roots of coffee production and trade, including its roles in nation-building and international power relations, and its modern implications for environmental change, economic justice, and economic development. Alternatives to dominant coffee production and marketing practices will be considered, such as Fair Trade coffee, shade-grown coffee, and organic coffee. In light of the recent crisis in coffee prices, we will address the impacts of market volatility on producers, processors, distributors and consumers. Why do consumers in the United States see little change in coffee prices while international prices experience drastic declines? We will place current events in the context of coffee's volatile history, including the continuing controversies over coffee and health. The course will be run as a seminar, and involve a fieldwork dimension in Bloomington’s coffee shops. Students will be graded on their participation in class discussions, fieldwork, a midterm exam, a research paper, and class presentations.

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Phillips (26587)

The meanings of "health" and disease, and the experience of one's body, are often taken for granted. However, our ideas about and experiences of health, "dis-ease," and medicine are profoundly shaped by culture, transnational flows of people, ideas, and resources, histories of colonialism and structural inequalities, and the development of new technologies. An informed understanding of a person or group's health and illness trajectories must begin by exploring the multiple contexts-cultural, geopolitical, and socio-economic-from which those experiences are generated. In this course, students will learn to think about issues of health, disease, and medicine in cross-cultural and global terms.

Learning Objectives

After taking this course, students should be able to

1) talk about how the methods and theories of anthropology can be applied to issues of health, illness, disease, and medicine in cross-cultural contexts;

2) think and write about their own illness experiences utilizing anthropological principles and modes of analysis;

3) question accepted knowledge about mind-body dualism, medical authority, and the desirable effects of new medical technologies;

4) recognize and question social inequalities of health within the U.S. and other societies, and in students' own communities;

5) recognize the links between globalization and international public health, and the epidemiological effects of the widening gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" in global contexts.

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Royce (26588)

Despite the fact that dance and movement are integral parts of virtually every society, past and present, the field of Anthropology has not come to terms with these embodied phenomena with the same thoroughness that it has applied to other aspects of culture. Embodied ways of knowing, especially dance, are the focus of this course. We will examine dance in its theatrical and cultural contexts, explore its formal qualities through such issues as technique, artistry, innovation, and style, look at who dances and how they are "trained" and regarded in their societies, trace dance used as a political expression of identity, and search out the meanings of dance across multiple cultural domains. We will use examples from historical and contemporary dance, theatrical and culturally embedded forms, and from a range of cultures.

Understanding by thinking and understanding by doing are different matters. It is impossible to "understand" dance and movement by intellectual means alone. That is why we call it "embodied." Anthropologists commonly learn in the field by doing. We will have opportunities in class to share experiences of movement that may include dance but also such embodied forms as martial arts, yoga, sports, and ordinary movement and posture.

"Native" knowledge of a dance genre is valuable not only to understanding that genre but also to knowing how to understand other forms. We will tap into the expertise of class members and special guests as well as take advantage of performances, classes, rehearsals. The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange will be performing in February at the IU Auditorium and members of the company will be in residence from February 16 to February 27. The class will have opportunities to attend workshops and seminars around the theme of the performance piece Ferocious Beauty: Genome.

Requirements will include attendance and class participation, an essay midterm, a research paper (or film) on a topic of your choosing, and a reflective final essay.

Requirements and readings will be different for graduate students.

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Sterling (28381)

11:15am-12:30p M/W _________________________________________________________________________________ Anthropologists have been increasingly concerned with the conflict between “cultural relativist” respect for local culture and the notion of “universal” human rights. With this key issue in mind, “The Anthropology of Human Rights” investigates the discipline’s theoretical and practical engagements with global social justice. The course examines a number of documents and theoretical texts central to the development of the notion of human rights. In light of these works, it explores several studies oriented around such historical and contemporary human rights issues as colonialism and imperialism; refugees’ experiences; indigenous people’s, women’s and children’s rights; genocide; and development and corporate transnationalism. The course supplements assigned readings with interdisciplinary, documentary, and other material.

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Linguistics

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LeSourd (10986)

How do the languages that people speak reflect their cultures and their traditions? Does the language that a person speaks influence the way he or she thinks and perceives the world? What does a child have to learn to learn to speak and understand a language? How does linguistic variation reflect distinctions of race, class, and gender? This course seeks to address such questions through case studies of languages and their cultural contexts. It provides an introduction to the methods of modern linguistics, but requires no previous experience with the discipline. Work for the course includes a series of problems that provide students with hands-on experience with the methods of linguistic analysis, four response papers, and midterm and final exams.

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Parks (25828)

SB 138 4:00-5:15pm M/W/F _________________________________________________________________________________ This course is the 4th in a four-semester sequence designed to introduce students to the language and culture of an American Indian people, the Lakota (Western Sioux) of North and South Dakota. Study is designed around an introductory Lakota language textbook, weekly lessons, tape recordings, and readings on Lakota culture. The course requires both oral and written exercises (inside and outside the classroom), and will teach both speaking and reading.

The four semester sequence fulfills the COLL foreign language requirement.

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Archaeology

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Sievert (5150)

How do archaeologists learn how old something is? How do they figure out where to dig? How do they make sense out of their discoveries? This course will introduce you to archaeology, its goals, methods, and findings. Archaeologists are famous for using other people's garbage as their main source of information, so this is essentially a course about trash. We will look at how archaeologists explore issues of food and eating in ancient times, trade, politics, world views, and technology. You will learn about scientific methods that archaeologists use, including dating, sampling, excavation strategies, and materials science. In the process we will be discussing specific ancient time periods like the Neolithic, cultures like the ancient Mississippians, and phenomena such as the development of irrigation agriculture in the Andes. You will gain an understanding of how we study the past through the lens of the things people left behind. You will also learn how archaeologists apply their interpretations to modern situations, and how we can best preserve the archaeological record.

S & H Distribution credit.

Format: There will be illustrated lectures, demonstrations, videos, and hands-on lab exercises and simulations conducted in the lab sections. Evaluation: Tests, short papers, lab assignments, and a short project. Students in the honors section read some extra and more challenging materials, and will have a more in-depth final project.

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Sievert (26596)

Description: This course takes you into the past using archaeology, historical documents, and material culture. Historical archaeology customarily focuses on North American societies after the point of contact with European cultures. This time period is one of culture contact, rapid change, population movement, immigration, and fluctuating power relations. Historical archaeology is particularly suited to looking at the archaeology of domestic life for a variety of folks, including enslaved peoples, Native Americans, and European colonists in the Americas. It is also useful for examining activities that are not well documented otherwise, perhaps because they are unpopular or illegal. During the first part of the course, we will cover general topics and methodology. We will evaluate documents and explore the kinds of documents that historical archaeologists use. You will get practice evaluating artifacts, including structures and technology (like bricks, glass and ceramics). We will then read and discuss case studies that deal with different cultural situations. Finally we will discuss the implications of historical archaeology for heritage and preservation issues. Format: There will be illustrated lectures, discussions, guests, labs, videos and field experiences. Evaluation: Your grade comes from papers/exercises, tests, and a project.

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Scheiber (26597)

_________________________________________________________________________________ This course is being offered as a second 8 weeks class.

In this course, we will read several fictionalized accounts of life in Ancient North America, written by anthropologists, Native Americans, and novelists, as a means to think critically and creatively about the past. We will use these novels to consider what we think we know about this topic – from archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence and from ethnoarchaeological and anthropological research – and to discuss the language of archaeological writing. We will explore the role and place of narrative and imagination in the constructions of the past and how these authors utilize available data. We will consider the success of each author in expanding, challenging, and constraining our understandings. Most of the novels will be set in the past, from the first inhabitants of this continent 11,000 years ago to their descendants who met European invaders in the sixteenth century, and another novel will discuss the past by presenting a contemporary archaeologist as the lead character. The grade will primarily be based on participation, discussion, and a final take-home exam. Graduate students enrolled in the course are also expected to write a short research paper and creative essay. Mondays will generally be devoted to discussions of the novels, and on Wednesdays we will discuss the archaeological evidence behind the stories.

Pre-requisites: Introduction to Archaeology (Anth P200 or equivalent) is recommended. The most important thing you can bring to the class is your enthusiasm and a willingness to read the materials on time and to participate in the discussions.

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Pyburn (26598)

Above class meets 1st eight weeks only

This is a course on the history of human beings. For much of the history of western thought, the study of people has been the study of MAN; this was not an inclusive history. Although it has always been stated that the term MANKIND refers to all people, in practice it never has. Any time women or children were included in a study or a history, they were identified as being included. Studies purporting to investigate humans were all investigations of the lives and doings of men, or at least what people thought pertained to men. The study of MANKIND has also always been the study of heterosexual men; like the lives of women, people of alternative gender identities were considered irrelevant or as deviations from the “norm” with no relation to the history of MANKIND.

In this class we will consider how ignorance about gender and assumptions about what it means to be a man or a woman or a homosexual have given us a skewed picture of the human past. Curiously, our vision of the past skewed by the bias of our present world experience is at the same time used as a justification for the way things are in the present world. The reality of the past, insofar as we can know it, is much more varied that most people realize, and the implications of this variability for what we know about ourselves as human beings and how we justify our actions in the present day are very important to consider.

We will begin with ideas about humans that come from studies of animals that have been used to recreate human ancestors. We will go on to studies of hominids (early proto-people) to see how archaeologists have envisioned our ancestors and what data they use for these purposes. We will then move through human history ending with some discussion of very early civilizations. Much of the discussion will center on the lives of women, because it is the consideration of ancient women that most easily shows what we do not really know about ancient men.

Course Requirements

Portfolios

You will keep a 3 ring binder with a record of everything you do for this class. You will include lecture notes, written assignments, notes on readings, references to sources you use (websites, television shows, books, journals, magazines) and anything you want to add that is relevant to this class. These can be on lined paper or hole punched printed materials and drawings. You may submit hand written notes on lectures, discussions, and readings, but other materials (projects) must be typed. However, since you will be graded on neatness and usability of your notes, you will loose points if your notes are sloppy and unreadable. Your Portfolio will be collected at random to be checked for completeness and quality, so keep it up to date and bring it to class every day. DO NOT combine your Portfolio for this class with notes and assignments for another class, since sometimes I will be reviewing it.

Grading

Attendance: -3 POINTS FROM FINAL GRADE FOR EVERY MISSED CLASS AFTER 3

Final exam: 26%

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Belize Field School – Pyburn - 2nd eight weeks

P399 Maya Seminar

P405 Field Work in Archaeology

P406 Laboratory Method in Archaeology

P600 Maya Seminar

P600 Professional Methods in Archaeology

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COLL Topics Courses taught by Anthropology Faculty

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Royce (11493)

Cacao (Theobroma cacao), whose name means “food of the gods,” enjoyed a long history in the great civilizations of Mesoamerica, immortalized in art and iconography and traded as a luxury good, long before it became the New World’s gift to the Old. Europeans quickly became as captivated by it as the Maya and the Aztec, introducing the custom of chocolate parties, drinking chocolate in place of daily tea, and consuming it in the form of bars, pastilles, as ices, and as an ingredient in main dishes and desserts. It moved from a luxury item consumed by the aristocracy to the masses in the solid forms created by Van Houten, Lindt, Cadbury, and Hershey. Now, it has once again become a “luxury” item in the form of designer chocolate and Fair Trade chocolate while it remains one of the most popular “food groups” with the continued and expanded production and consumption of Hershey bars, Cadbury biscuits, and hundreds of other confections.

Some of the topics in this class will include the history of chocolate, how and where it grows, its production and marketing, its appearance in literature and art, the psychopharmacology of chocolate, the social life of chocolate, its preparation, the romantic and erotic aspects of chocolate, the great chocolate producers (Hershey’s, Cadbury’s, Lindt), the fine art of chocolate (luxury chocolate producers), and Fair Trade chocolate.

Students will be able to choose independent projects according to their interests, including hands-on activities with local producers, vendors, and preparers of chocolate.

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Cook (14518)

Above class meets first eight weeks only

Darwinian medicine may be defined as the application of modern evolutionary theory to considerations of human health and illness. Also called “evolutionary” medicine it represents the intersection of medical knowledge and practice with disciplines such as human biology, medical anthropology, psychology and physiology. This course will begin with an examination of both the evolutionary and medical explanatory models for human health and illness. It will proceed through a series of topics designed to show the breadth of impact that evolutionary theory may have on our lives today. A persistent theme will be the difference between proximate or immediate causes of disease (the medical model) and the possibility that there may also be ultimate or very long-term causes best understood through an evolutionary interpretation.

One goal of the course is to demonstrate the utility of the scientific method in suggesting answers to complex questions such as mentioned above. How do scientists from diverse disciplines use data to support their arguments? What does it mean to test a hypothesis? A second goal of this course is to try to emphasize those situations and conditions of health (or illness) that appear to require both, proximate and ultimate explanations rather than simply one or the other. In reality, it is the complex interplay of genes, environment, and human behavior that affects much of our health and illness experience today. A third goal of this course is to reduce the fear or uneasiness that many students feel towards data (numbers) that appear in tables or graphs in material that they are reading. We will devote time to the presentation and discussion of data and how the numbers can be interpreted and used to bolster or challenge an argument.

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