Anthropology Course Offerings

SPRING 2020

ANTH 120 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

ANTH 130 Introduction to Archaeology

ANTH 135 Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology

ANTH 342 Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean

ANTH 360 Applied Anthropology

ANTH 366 Special Topics: Bioarchaeology

ANTH 366 Special Topics: The Archaeologist Looks at Death

ANTH 388 Foodways

ANTH 395 Lab Practicum in Archaeology or Biological Anthropology

ANTH 399 Field Methods in Ethnography

ANTH 449 Ethnographic Video Production

ANTH 470 Museum Procedures and Preservation Techniques

ANTH 493 Archaeology Stewardship

ANTH 495 Directed Study

ANTH 499 Senior Seminar

 

FALL 2019

ANTH 120 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

ANTH 125 Introduction to Biological Anthropology

ANTH 130 Introduction to Archaeology

ANTH 316 Archaeology of Environmental Change

ANTH 335 Old World Prehistory

ANTH 343 Anthropology of Gender

ANTH 360 Applied Anthropology

ANTH 382 Medical Anthropology

ANTH 388 Foodways

ANTH 395 Lab Practicum in Archaeology or Biological Anthropology

ANTH 399 Field Methods in Ethnography

ANTH 448 Visual Anthropology

ANTH 493 Archaeology Stewardship

ANTH 495 Directed Study

ANTH 499 Senior Seminar

ANTH 120 INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Introduction to the cross-cultural study of human behavior and society. Topics normally include environment and food, economics, social and political organization, marriage and family, culture and personality, religion, social movements, and social change.

ANTH 125 INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Introduction to primatology, human origins and evolution, modern human biological variation, and other topics of biological anthropology, emphasizing biological adaptations within the framework of evolutionary theory.

ANTH 130 INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY (three credit hours)

Introduction to the scientific study of the archaeological record, emphasizing location methods, recovery methods, dating methods, archaeological classification, and interpretative models.

ANTH 135 INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Introduction to the study of the relations among language, culture, and society. Topics include language origins and history, language and gender, multilingualism, verbal art, and applied linguistic anthropology.

ANTH 300 FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Prerequisite: ANTH 125 or BIOL 131 or junior standing.

Analysis of human skeletal remains and other evidence in a medicolegal context, emphasizing bone identification, race and sex determination, age and stature estimation, trauma and pathology assessment, and taphonomy evaluation.

ANTH 305 PALEOANTHROPOLOGY: HUMAN ORIGINS AND EVOLUTION (three credit hours)

Prerequisite: ANTH 130 or BIOL 113 or 131 or GEOL 112 or junior standing.

Examines the origin and evolution of humans, emphasizing fundamentals of paleoanthropological research, evidence of human evolution, evolutionary theory, nonhuman primate evolution, trends in human evolution, important fossil finds and sites, and phylogenetic relationships.

ANTH 316 ARCHAEOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE (three credit hours)

The archaeological study of the impact of the environment on humans and of humans on the environment.

ANTH 333 ARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT CHINA (three credit hours)

Culture-historical overview of Ancient China from the Paleolithic to the Qin Empire focusing on major anthropological themes in Chinese archaeology and world prehistory.

ANTH 335 OLD WORLD PREHISTORY (three credit hours)

A survey of prehistoric indigenous developments in the Old World, focusing on regional adaptations, representative sites and artifacts, food production and complex society, and chronologies.

ANTH 336 NEW WORLD PREHISTORY (three credit hours)

Survey of prehistoric indigenous developments in North, Central and South America, focusing on peopling the New World, regional adaptations, representative sites and artifacts, food production and complex society, and chronologies.

ANTH 340 PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF LATIN AMERICA (three credit hours)

Study of the history and development of present cultures in Latin America with emphasis on economics, politics, religion, folklife and world view of indigenous, peasant and urban peoples. Cross-listed with FLK 340.

ANTH 342 PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF THE CARIBBEAN (three credit hours)

Examination of the variety of cultural practices found in modern-day Caribbean societies with attention to historical roots. Topics include, but are not limited to, definition of the region, unique religious practices, carnival, musical traditions, migration and everyday social life and conditions. Cross-listed with FLK 342.

ANTH 343 ANTHROPOLOGY OF GENDER (three credit hours)

A comparative study of the role gender plays in various aspects of culture. Topics include distribution of labor, environmental impact, and ideological constraints on gender constructs in a cross-cultural concept.

ANTH 345 PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF NATIVE NORTH AMERICA (three credit hours)

Survey of the cultures of the original peoples of North America, with emphasis on the ethnographic present. Cross-listed with FLK 345.

ANTH 350 PEOPLES AND CULTURES OF AFRICA (three credit hours)

Survey of the cultures of Africa, with emphasis on historical development and contemporary cultural diversity. Cross-listed with FLK 350.

ANTH 360 APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY - UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING CONTEMPORARY HUMAN PROBLEMS (three credit hours)

History and development of applied anthropology emphasizing identification of and solutions to social, economic, ecological, and technological problems.

ANTH 366 SPECIAL TOPICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Opportunity for in-depth examination of anthropological topics of current disciplinary and student interest.

THE ARCHAEOLOGIST LOOKS AT DEATH (three credit hours)

Examines how archaeologists investigate, analyze, and interpret human remains from archaeological contexts, focusing on reconstructing past cultural patterns, mortuary practices and rituals, social structure and dynamics, ideologies, attitudes about the afterlife, and value systems.

BIOARCHAEOLOGY (three credit hours)

Prerequisite: ANTH 300 or consent of instructor.

Study of human remains from archaeological sites, focusing on skeletal evidence of health and illness, diet and nutrition, lifestyles and activity patterns, mortuary alterations, paleodemography, and culture contact.

FANTASTIC ARCHAEOLOGY! (three credit hours)

Examines hoaxes, myths, and mysteries in archaeology to show how to use science to learn things about the human past, focusing on how to properly evaluate archaeological and scientific evidence.

ANTH 378 SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN FOLKLIFE (three credit hours)

Folklife of southern Appalachia, as reflected in the material folk culture, traditional folk customs and practices, legends, anecdotes, songs, language, and literature. Cross-listed with FLK 378.

ANTH 382 MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Cross-cultural examination of definitions of health and wellness, attitudes towards and cultural construction of illness, treatments for disease, and aging. Particular emphasis on examples from non-Western societies.

ANTH 388 FOODWAYS (three credit hours)

Exploration of the relationship between food and culture. Cross-listed with FLK 388.

ANTH 395 LABORATORY PRACTICUM IN ARCHAEOLOGY OR BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Prerequisites: ANTH 125 for biological anthropology practicum, ANTH 130 for archaeology practicum, ANTH/FLK 470 for educational displays practicum, or consent of instructor. Course pass required.

Practical experience in artifact accession, inventory, curation and documentation or in preparation of educational displays using archaeological and biological collections at the WKU Anthropology Lab. Graded pass-fail. Repeatable for 9 hours, 3 hours of which may count in the first 30 hours in the major or 21 hours of the minor.

ANTH 399 FIELD METHODS IN ETHNOGRAPHY (three credit hours)

An examination of the history, theory, techniques, and ethics of ethnographic fieldwork, including practical fieldwork experience. Cross-listed with FLK 399.

ANTH 400 ETHNOMUSICOLOGY (three credit hours)

Survey of the concepts and methods of ethnomusicology. Topics include history of ethnomusicology, transcription and analysis, musicians, musical instruments, music acculturation, and the function of music in society. Cross-listed with FLK 400.

ANTH 410 AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSIC (three credit hours)

A survey of selected musical styles created and developed by African-Americans from the 17th to the 20th century: spirituals, blues, popular music forms (e.g. soul, reggae, rap music). Emphasis will be placed on the historical factors and sociocultural trends that influenced the development of African-American music. Cross-listed with FLK 410.

ANTH 432 FIELD COURSE IN ARCHAEOLOGY (one to nine credit hours each)

Prerequisite: ANTH 130 or consent of instructor.

Includes archaeological survey, site mapping, artifact recovery, recording, and cataloging. Work is usually conducted on prehistoric Indian sites. The number of credit hours will be determined in consultation with instructor. May be repeated for a maximum of nine hours of credit.

ANTH 434 GRAVEYARD ARCHAEOLOGY (three credit hours)

Application of archaeological methods in the documentation of historic graveyards, emphasizing legal mandates, formation processes, subsurface prospecting, remote sensing, mapping, and headstone recording. Students must arrange own travel to field site(s).

ANTH 436 APPLIED ARCHAEOLOGY (three credit hours)

Prerequisite: ANTH 130 or consent of instructor.

Examines contract archaeology and public archaeology within the context of cultural resource management, emphasizing legal mandates, field methods, public education programs, and ethics.

ANTH 438 ARCHAEOLOGICAL LAB METHODS (three credit hours)

Prerequisite: ANTH 130 or consent of instructor.

Provides practical experience in the methods and techniques for classifying and analyzing archaeological materials and interpreting the resulting data.

ANTH 442 ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Prerequisite: ANTH 120 or junior standing.

Analysis of economic systems and cultural adaptations to the environment of Western and non-Western societies with particular attention paid to Caribbean and/or Latin America.

ANTH 446 ANTHROPOLOGY OF RELIGION (three credit hours)

A cross-cultural examination of religious beliefs and practices. Topics include myth, ritual, shamanism and healing, and the role of religion in social control and social change.

ANTH 448 VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

Prerequisite: Junior level or higher.

This course examines photography and film as tools and products of cross-cultural re-search with special emphasis on cultural and political biases presented through visual means.

ANTH 449  ETHNOGRAPHIC VIDEO PRODUCTION (three credit hours)

Prerequisite: ANTH 448 or permission of instructor.

Training in video production skills as research methodology in anthropology. Practical exercises and collaborative student projects. Students will produce their own short ethnographic videos. Explores practices of representing cultures through media. This course will include a lab fee and students will be expected to purchase their own mini DV tapes for the course.

ANTH 450 MODERN HUMAN BIOLOGICAL VARIATION (three credit hours)

Prerequisites: MATH 109 or MATH 116; and one of the following: ANTH 125, BIOL 327, BIOL 430.

Uses evolutionary theory to study biological similarities and differences among living human populations on morphological, skeletal, and molecular levels, emphasizing anthropometry, racial classification, inheritance, population genetics, adaptation, disease, and intelligence.

ANTH 470 MUSEUM PROCEDURES AND PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES (three credit hours)

Essential aspects of museums and of preservation, i.e., collecting, preserving, researching, exhibiting, and interpreting material culture. Cross-listed with FLK 470.

ANTH 493 ARCHAEOLOGY STEWARDSHIP (three credit hours)

Prerequisites: ANTH 130 and at least six additional hours in anthropology. Course pass required.

Field monitoring, assessment, and documentation of the integrity of local archaeological sites threatened by cultural and natural formation processes. Students must arrange own travel to field sites.

ANTH 495 DIRECTED STUDY (one to four credit hours each)

Prerequisites: Junior standing and consent of department head. Course pass required.

Available to superior students who wish to conduct individual, intensive reading and research in a specific area of anthropology in close cooperation with supervising faculty. Submission of such projects to student sections of regional professional meetings is encouraged. Number of credit hours will be determined in consultation with instructor. May be repeated for a maximum of 8 hours of credit.

ANTH 499 SENIOR SEMINAR (one credit hour)

Prerequisites: ANTH 120, 125, 130, 135, and one additional anthropology course. Junior or senior standing. Restricted to anthropology majors.

Seminar on anthropological concepts and theories, current topics and developments in the discipline, anthropology careers and graduate programs, and professional ethics. To be taken in the last year of the student’s program of study in anthropology.

 

EXPLORATIONS - SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

ANTH 120 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

ANTH 130 Introduction to Archaeology

 

CONNECTIONS - SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

ANTH 360 Applied Anthropology

 

CONNECTIONS - LOCAL TO GLOBAL

ANTH 316 Archaeology of Environmental Change

ANTH 388 Foodways

 

CONNECTIONS - SYSTEMS

ANTH 305 Paleoanthropology: Human Origins and Evolution

CATEGORY C - SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

ANTH 125 Introduction to Biological Anthropology

ANTH 130 Introduction to Archaeology

 

CATEGORY E - WORLD CULTURES AND AMERICAN CULTURAL DIVERSITY

ANTH 120 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

ANTH 335 Old World Prehistory

ANTH 336 New World Prehistory

ANTH 343 Anthropology of Gender

ANTH 350 Peoples and Cultures of Africa

ANTH 410 African-American Music

SPRING 2020

ANTH 449G Ethnographic Video Production

 

FALL 2019

ANTH 448G Visual Anthropology

ANTH 432G FIELD COURSE IN ARCHAEOLOGY (one to nine credit hours each)

Includes archaeological survey, site mapping, artifact recovery, recording, and cataloging. Work is usually conducted on prehistoric Indian sites. The number of credit hours will be determined in consultation with instructor. May be repeated for a maximum of nine hours of credit.

ANTH 434G GRAVEYARD ARCHAEOLOGY (three credit hours)

Application of archaeological methods in the documentation of historic graveyards, emphasizing legal mandates, formation processes, subsurface prospecting, remote sensing, mapping, and headstone recording. Students must arrange own travel to field site(s).

ANTH 436G APPLIED ARCHAEOLOGY (three credit hours)

Examines contract archaeology and public archaeology within the context of cultural resource management, emphasizing legal mandates, field methods, public education programs, and ethics.

ANTH 448G VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY (three credit hours)

This course examines photography and film as tools and products of cross-cultural re-search with special emphasis on cultural and political biases presented through visual means.

ANTH 449G  ETHNOGRAPHIC VIDEO PRODUCTION (three credit hours)

Training in video production skills as research methodology in anthropology. Practical exercises and collaborative student projects. Students will produce their own short ethnographic videos. Explores practices of representing cultures through media. This course will include a lab fee and students will be expected to purchase their own mini DV tapes for the course.

ANTH 493G ARCHAEOLOGY STEWARDSHIP (three credit hours)

Prerequisites: ANTH 130. Course pass required.

Field monitoring, assessment, and documentation of the integrity of local archaeological sites threatened by cultural and natural formation processes. Students must arrange own travel to field sites.

ANTH 495G DIRECTED STUDY (one to four credit hours each)

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Course pass required.

Available to superior students who wish to conduct individual, intensive reading and research in a specific area of anthropology in close cooperation with supervising faculty. Submission of such projects to student sections of regional professional meetings is encouraged. Number of credit hours will be determined in consultation with instructor. May be repeated for a maximum of 8 hours of credit.