Courses
Anthropology
Check back on December 15th for Summer 2010 courses.
College of Arts and Sciences
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
CAS AN 101
An introduction to the basic concepts, principles, and problems of cultural anthropology, emphasizing study of both traditional and complex societies. Special attention to the evolution of human societies and culture; to the changing organization and meaning of religion, economic life, kinship, and political order; and to the problem of cultural variation in the modern world. 4 cr.
Human Behavioral Biology and Evolution
CAS AN 102
Biology relevant to the behavioral sciences. Introduces basic principles of evolutionary biology, animal social behavior, primate adaptations, human origins, genetic/hormonal/neural bases of behavior; and issues of human socioecology and adaptations. Discussions highlight nature-versus-nurture issues. 4 cr.
Medical Anthropology
CAS AN 210
Examines the influence of culture on health care beliefs, practices, and institutions. Special topics include cross-cultural approaches to birth, aging, and death; drug use and abuse; and socialist models of health care service. 4 cr.
Sex and Gender in Anthropological Perspectives
CAS AN 260
Cross-cultural examination of changing gender roles, expectations, and activities. Focuses on economic, social, political, and ideological determinants that structure the hierarchy of power and privileges accorded the thoughts, activities, and experiences of women and men in various societies. 4 cr.
Food, Culture, and Society
CAS AN 308
Study of foodways, culinary social history, and diet and food ecology with special attention to Asian societies and Boston's food culture. Examines the use of food and cuisine as a focus for identity, national development, and social change. 4 cr.
Power and Society in the Middle East
CAS AN 317
Peoples and cultures of the Middle East from Afghanistan to Morocco and from the Caucasus to Yemen. Focuses on social organization, family structure, the relationship between the sexes, and the development and maintenance of authority. 4 cr.
Culture and Environment
CAS AN 362
Examines how the social construction of environment, nature, and culture varies cross-culturally and historically as well as how it influences economic change, environmental movements, international politics, and public policy. Primary examples include several African countries, Papua New Guinea, and the United States; as well as contemporary global climate change. 4 cr.
