Courses in anthropology help students develop all six essential capacities outlined by BU’s Hub program. Browse our courses by Hub essential capacity below. To learn more about Hub requirements for anthropology students, visit our Hub Resources page here .
Philosophical, Aesthetic, and Historical Interpretation
CAS AN 562 4 credits. Fall
BU Hub Learn More Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings Scientific Inquiry II Writing-Intensive Course
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent) - Did humans evolve to have war' Is war in human nature' We explore the foundations of war through reviewing studies of non-human animals and hunter- gatherers. Focus is on understanding how and why war evolved. Effective Fall 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings, Scientific Inquiry II.
CAS AN 565 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Creativity/Innovation Digital/Multimedia Expression Historical Consciousness
Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing. - Memorials and the spaces around them are charged zones, time portals where past and present co-exist. In this course we focus on the development of memorial culture in America, along with a comparative examination of the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome. The distance afforded by stepping outside our own time and place provides perspectives on aspects of form and message, as well as on how the meanings of memorial can change. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation.
CAS AN 575 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Historical Consciousness Writing-Intensive Course
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - Using archaeology to understand the cosmopolitan world of the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East, from Alexander through the Romans. We travel to cities and sanctuaries, estates and farmsteads, to learn how people at all levels of society displayed their affiliations, ideals, and personas. Through the prism of personal identity we track cultural capital: what that meant, how it changed, and how people used it in order to assert who they were and how they mattered. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Historical Consciousness.
CAS AN 708 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Aesthetic Exploration Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Writing-Intensive Course
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - Explores historical and cultural ecologies of foodways. Field trips focus on history, immigration and taste identity in Boston¿s neighborhoods. Main text: Wurgaft and White, Ways of Eating: Exploring Food through History and Culture. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Aesthetic Exploration.
CAS AN 708S 4 credits. Summer
BU Hub Learn More Aesthetic Exploration Critical Thinking Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - 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.
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Scientific and Social Inquiry
CAS AN 335 4 credits. Fall and Spring
BU Hub Learn More Quantitative Reasoning I Research and Information Literacy Scientific Inquiry II
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASAN102 OR CASBI107 OR CASBI119) or consent of instructor. - Introduction to primate social behavior, focusing on the apes. Examines how great ape behavior helps us understand what is unique about human behavior and how we evolved. Topics include diet, juvenile development, social relationships, sexual behavior, aggression, culture, and cognition. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS AN 335S 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Quantitative Reasoning I Research and Information Literacy Scientific Inquiry II
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASAN102 OR CASBI107 OR CASBI119) or consent of instructor. - Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning I, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS AN 336 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Creativity/Innovation Quantitative Reasoning I Scientific Inquiry II
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASAN102) - Introduction to the various theoretical approaches to understanding the diversity and evolutionary ecology of wild non-human primates. Using lemurs, marmosets, chimpanzees and more, this course delves into behavioral ecology, genetic approaches to mating systems, foraging theory, community ecology, and conservation. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning I, Scientific Inquiry I, Creativity/Innovation.
CAS AN 337 4 credits.
A critical survey of the creation/evolution dispute in historical and intellectual context. By discussing key texts and issues, participants will gain understanding of the history of science, its relationship to ethical and religious ideas, and the polarization of American society. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
CAS AN 348 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Contemporary ethnographic investigation of globalization. Special attention to the impact of global capitalism on local communities, identity and reflexivity, transnational populations, women and work, cultural authenticity, tourism, and the relationship between social media and changing cultural norms and experiences. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
Diversity, Civic Engagement, and Global Citizenship
CAS AN 348 4 credits. Fall and Spring
Contemporary ethnographic investigation of globalization. Special attention to the impact of global capitalism on local communities, identity and reflexivity, transnational populations, women and work, cultural authenticity, tourism, and the relationship between social media and changing cultural norms and experiences. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
CAS AN 348S 4 credits. Summer
Ethnographic and historical investigation of globalization. Special attention to the impact of global capitalism on indigenous communities; popular culture and consumerism; transnational populations; women and work; and relationships between novel forms of communication (i.e., Facebook and email) and changing cultural norms. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
CAS AN 349 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Critical Thinking Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Social Inquiry I
Examines imaginings and stereotypes of savagery in change, comparing and contrasting them with real humans. Treats African, Native American, and European civilizations and their interrelations of perception, prejudice, and performance. Links history and human geography; connects culture, society, and psychology. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking.
CAS AN 351 4 credits. Fall and Spring
BU Hub Learn More The Individual in Community Research and Information Literacy Social Inquiry I
Examines the ways that language both reflects and shapes thought, culture, and relations of power. Particular emphasis is placed on three broad topical areas: language, ethnicity and race; language and the performance of gender; and the linguistic performance of youth identities. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, The Individual in Community, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS AN 355 4 credits.
Anthropological study of the global phenomenon of religious fundamentalism. A product of the modern world, fundamentalism is perceived as counter- cultural and anti-nationalist [should be "anti-rationalist". Cases drawn from North America and the Islamic world, with special attention to women's interpretation of religion. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: The Individual in Community.