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, please visit the Hub website: https://www.bu.edu/hub/
Philosophical, Aesthetic, and Historical Interpretation
Scientific and Social Inquiry
CAS AN 556S 4 credits. Summer
BU Hub Learn More Research and Information Literacy Scientific Inquiry II Writing-Intensive Course
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASAN102 OR CASBI107 OR CASBI108) or consent of instructor. - An investigation of human dietary evolution including primate and human dietary adaptations, nutritional requirements, optimal foraging, digestive physiology, maternal and infant nutrition, hunting and cooking in human evolution, and impacts of food processing and agriculture on modern diets and health. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Scientific Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS AN 559 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Oral and/or Signed Communication Scientific Inquiry II Teamwork/Collaboration
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASAN102) or equivalent. - Focuses on current research in the field of evolutionary endocrinology. Examines how hormones act as mediators of a variety of fundamental evolutionary phenomena from circadian rhythms to sexuality. Explores how and why natural selection shaped the "inputs" and "outputs" of the endocrine system. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Scientific Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
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 588 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Quantitative Reasoning II Scientific Inquiry II Teamwork/Collaboration
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASAN102 OR CASBI107 OR CASBI108 OR CASAR101) or consent of instructor. - This seminar teaches students project design and statistics using R and Rstudio. Students will become competent in coding, version control, data reports and commenting code, and implement both basic and advanced statistics to be used in student research projects. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Scientific Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
CAS AN 595 4 credits. Fall and Spring
BU Hub Learn More Quantitative Reasoning II Scientific Inquiry II Teamwork/Collaboration
Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASAN102 OR CASBI107 OR CASBI108) or consent of instructor. - An exploration of field and laboratory methods used in biological anthropology, with students participating in hands-on exercises. Topics include health assessment, body composition, diet, energetics, morphological adaptations, reproductive status, habitat composition, spatial movements, and conservation. Professional skills are also developed. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Scientific Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
Diversity, Civic Engagement, and Global Citizenship
CAS AN 568 4 credits. Fall and Spring
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Research and Information Literacy Social Inquiry II
Historical overview of ritual behavior, the role of symbolism in the study of culture, and the narrative quality of worldview and belief. Emphasis on verbal performance and public display events in specific cultural contexts. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
CAS AN 571 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Creativity/Innovation Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Social Inquiry II
Advanced seminar on the study of emotion as culturally and historically specific experience, cognition and symbolic system. Focus on specific emotions including shame, anger, melancholy, hope, hate and love. Special attention to affect and the politics of emotion. Effective Fall 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II, Creativity/Innovation.
CAS AN 573 4 credits.
BU Hub Learn More Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy Social Inquiry II Writing-Intensive Course
Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior or senior standing or consent of instructor; First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR100 or WR120). - Reading of major ethnographies and modern histories as a basis for examining changing Taiwanese and Chinese culture and society. Attention to ethnography as a genre, as well as to the dramatic changes of the past century. (Counts towards the East Asian Studies minor.) Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II.
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.