Faculty of Arts

Anthropology Courses

AN101 Sociocultural Anthropology 0.5

An introduction to the field of social/cultural anthropology, dealing with such topics as kinship, marriage and the family, language, social and political organization, economic systems, magic, religious belief and ritual.

AN102 Physical Anthropology and Human Prehistory 0.5

An introduction to the study of human evolution and biological variation; a survey of cultural development from the earliest origins of humans through to the Upper Paleolithic period.

AN200 Key Concepts in Social and Cultural Anthropology 0.5

This course introduces techniques, concepts and theories used by anthropologists for understanding sociocultural practices in all their diverse forms. Emphasis is placed on analysis of the intercultural dynamics of local everyday life. Students will learn how to identify various ways of investigating and articulating issues concerning gender, ethnicity, environment, health and human rights within a cross-cultural understanding of the world.

Prerequisite: AN101, AN102.

AN201 First Nations Peoples of Canada: Ethnohistorical Perspectives 0.5

A survey of the traditional cultural patterns of Indian peoples of Canada.

Prerequisite: AN101.

AN202* Archaeological Field Seminar 1.0

(Cross-listed as AR202*.)††

AN205 Inuit of the Canadian Arctic 0.5

An introduction to the study of the cultural patterns of the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic with consideration of such areas as subsistence and exploitation, social organization, magico-religious belief, and ritual and mythology.†

Prerequisite: AN101.

AN210 Introduction to Anthropological Linguistics 0.5

Language in its sociocultural context: theories on the evolution of human language; language acquisition of the child; the brain and language; structuralist and transformational-generative linguistic theory.

Prerequisite: AN101.

AN218* Archaeological Laboratory Methods 1.0

(Cross-listed as AR218*.)

AN220 Introduction to Human Osteology 0.5

(Cross-listed as AR220.)

AN223 Emergence of Urban Civilization 0.5

An introduction to human prehistory in Europe, Africa, West Asia and Meso-America from the Upper Paleolithic period to urbanization. (Cross-listed as AR223.)

Prerequisite: AN102.

Exclusion: AN204*/AR307*.

AN224 Anthropology of the Lifecourse 0.5

An introduction to cross-cultural perspectives on human development and aging, beginning with conception and proceeding through infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, elderhood and death.

Prerequisite: AN101.

AN225 Writing Cultures 0.5

An introduction to reading ethnographic texts. Historic and contemporary ethnographies are examined as forms of literariness, social action, and knowledge about cultures and collectivities.

Prerequisite: AN101.

AN229 First Nations Peoples of Canada: Contemporary Issues 0.5

Ethno-historical and sociological perspectives on the social, economic and political situation of native Canadian people.

Prerequisite: AN200 and AN201.

Exclusion: AN329.

AN230 Hunting-Gathering Band Societies 0.5

A comparative course examining the ecology and social organization of hunting-gathering societies of the world.

Prerequisite: AN101.

Exclusion: AN306.

AN231* Special Topics 1.0

A concentrated study of specific problem areas reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: AN101 or permission of the instructor.

Irregular course

AN232 Special Topics 0.5

A concentrated study of specific problem areas reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: AN101 or permission of the instructor.

Irregular course

AN235 North American Prehistory 0.5

(Cross-listed as AR235.)†

AN241 Historical Archaeology of North America 1500-1900 0.5

(Cross-listed as AR241.)†

AN242 Current Issues in Historical Archaeology 0.5

(Cross-listed as AR242.)†

AN300 Field Methods in Cultural Anthropology 0.5

A survey of the methods of cultural anthropological inquiry including such issues as the relationship between theory and research, research design and problem formulation, participant observation, genealogical research, sampling procedures, interviewing, life history documentation, archival research, data organization and analysis, and the ethics of conducting anthropological research.

Prerequisite: AN200 and one other 200 level AN course.

Exclusion: AN307k.

AN305* Special Topics in Anthropology 1.0

A concentrated study of specific problem areas reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: AN101 or permission of the department.

Irregular course

AN307 Special Topics in Anthropology 0.5

A concentrated study of specific problem areas reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Irregular course

AN312 Language and Culture 0.5

The issues in the anthropology of language and thought: linguistic relativity, ethnoscience, semantic systems, componential analysis, cognitive structuralism; the ethnography of speech and discourse.†

Prerequisite: AN200; AN210 or permission of the instructor.

AN313 Technology I: Tools, Techniques and Material Culture 0.5

The technology of prehistoric and preindustrial peoples will be examined in developmental and comparative perspective in a program of lectures and workshops. (Cross-listed as AR313.)

Prerequisite: One of AN101, AN102, AR101, AR102.

AN314 Material Culture and the Symbolic Order 0.5

The cross-cultural exploration of various issues and approaches in material culture studies.†

Prerequisite: AN200.

AN316 The Anthropology of Art 0.5

The symbolic and aesthetic dimensions of the art of ancient and pre-industrial peoples in its social and ritual context.††

Prerequisite: Registration status: senior student.

AN319 Rites of Passage 0.5

(Cross-listed as GS319 and RE319.)††

AN321 The Anthropological Study of Inequality 0.5

The cross-cultural study of forms of inequality. Gender, rank, caste, ethnicity and "race" will be considered in the light of ethnographic evidence.††

Prerequisite: AN101.

AN322 Religion, Ritual and Magic 0.5

The study of private and public rituals which relate society to the supernatural; charismatic and millenarian movements; magical beliefs and the social and epistemological dimensions of witchcraft. (Cross-listed as RE322.)†

Prerequisite: AN200 or permission of the instructor.

AN324 Symbolic Systems and Ideologies 0.5

The anthropological study of the creation and embodiment of meaning in everyday life. Topics will include symbolic, semiotic, feminist, deconstructive, structural, poststructural, and psychoanalytic approaches to cross-cultural ethnographic interpretation.

Prerequisite: AN200.

AN325* Directed Studies in Anthropology 1.0

A concentrated study of specific problem areas reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Irregular course

AN326 Culture as Performance 0.5

Culture is a dynamic, expressive process that helps people define who they are as individuals and as collectivities. Symbolic events, festivals and rituals, as well as the everyday will be studied as sites of enactment of our human cultural drama.

Prerequisite: AN101.

AN327 Directed Studies in Anthropology 0.5

A concentrated study of specific problem areas reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Irregular course

AN328 Visual Anthropology 0.5

An overview of the history of ethnographic photography and filmmaking and recent innovations in transcultural representation. Questions of authenticity, subjective voice, genre, and strategies of argumentation are addressed.

Prerequisite: AN101 and AN200 or permission of instructor.

AN331 Political Ecology and Environmental Discourse 0.5

The study of subsistence strategies and adaptations between humans and the non-human world. Particular emphasis is placed on local and global perspectives on contemporary socio-environmental problems.†

Prerequisite: AN101 and AN200.

Exclusion: AN206.

AN332 The Anthropology of Mass Media in a Globalized World 0.5

An examination of the ways in which the mass media represent and construct both Western and non-Western cultures. Attention will be paid to not only the organization and impact of global media such as CNN and the Internet but also to the development of local mass media in Third World countries. Selected media products from the Third World such as films, videotapes, newspapers and magazines will be analyzed as cultural "texts". (Cross-listed as CS310.)†

Prerequisite: AN101 or CS200.

AN333 Human Rights 0.5

(Cross-listed as SY333.)

AN334 Folklore, Myth and Oral Narrative 0.5

Topics will include myth, folklore, life histories, jokes, riddles and other forms of oral narrative. The place of folklore and myth studies in the history of anthropology will be examined. Various textual approaches, including functionalist and structuralist analyses, will be considered. Considerable attention will be paid to the social context of folklore events, myth-telling and narrative performances.†

Prerequisite: AN101.

Exclusion: AN213, AN323.

AN335 Ontario Prehistory 0.5

(Cross-listed as AR335.)†

AN336 Power and Law: An Anthropological Approach 0.5

Ethnographic approaches to the study of power in non-western, primarily non-state societies. Topics will include comparative studies of political and legal systems, leadership and action, disputes and conflict resolution, and the relationship of politics and law to ritual.†

Prerequisite: AN200.

Exclusion: AN207.

AN337 Cross-cultural Studies of Change 0.5

A study of such world questions as food, population, health care and the environment: the impact of technological change in rural and urban areas. Social, political, economic and technological development will be examined from a number of theoretical perspectives. The roles of business, government and non-government organizations in developing contexts are explored. (Cross-listed as GS337.)

Prerequisite: AN101; GS101 and one senior credit of courses in Anthropology or the Global Studies program, (or permission of the department).

Exclusion: DI337.

AN338 Women and Development 0.5

(Cross-listed as SY338.)†

AN340 The Social Anthropology of India 0.5

An introduction to the society and cultures of India, including the examination of continuity and change in cultural practices, as well as in social, economic and political institutions.

Prerequisite: AN101 or permission of the department.

Exclusion: AN307f.

AN341 Kinship, Marriage and Gender 0.5

An introduction to the anthropological study of kinship, marriage and gender and patterns of social organization.

Prerequisite: AN200.

Exclusion: AN221.

AN342 The Anthropology of SubSaharan Africa 0.5

An examination of pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial African cultures.

Prerequisite: AN101 or GS101.

Exclusion: AN203, AN330.

AN371 History of Anthropological Theory 0.5

Precursors of anthropology in the ancient world, anthropology and the enlightenment, the rise and fall of racial determinism, the evolutionary paradigm, the schools of Durkheim and Boas, functionalism, structuralism, the revival of evolutionary theory, cognitive and interpretative anthropology. (AN 352 - U of W)

Prerequisite: AN200.

Exclusion: AN370*.

AN405 Poverty 0.5

(Cross-listed as SY405.)

AN450* Contemporary Theory and Ethnography 1.0

Selected studies in contemporary theory and ethnography. (This course continues work begun in AN371.)†

Prerequisite: AN200, AN371 or permission of the instructor.

AN451* Directed Studies 1.0

A concentrated study of specific problem areas reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: Registration status: Year 3 or Year 4 Honours Anthropology.

Irregular course

AN454* Classics in Ethnography 1.0

A directed readings course in classical 20th century ethnographic monographs.†

Prerequisite: AN200, AN371 or permission of the instructor.

AN455 Directed Studies 0.5

A concentrated study of specific problem areas reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: Registration status: Year 3 or Year 4 Honours Anthropology.

Irregular course

AN456 Applied Anthropology 0.5

This course examines how cultural anthropologists apply their theories, methods and insights to the solution of practical problems. The historical development of applied anthropology, the ethical dilemmas of applied fieldwork and the research methods used in such fieldwork will be examined. Such areas of concentration as community development, advocacy anthropology, policy research and social impact assessment are investigated.

Prerequisite: AN300 and AN371 or permission of the instructor.

AN457 Seminar: Cosmology and Modes of Thought, A Cross-Cultural Perspective 0.5

An examination of literature concerning the problems encountered by anthropologists who endeavour to comprehend and to translate the collective representations of non-Western peoples. Topics covered include: the study of systems of classification from Durkheim and Mauss to Lévi-Strauss, Douglas and Bourdieu; the problem of relativity (Lévy-Bruhl, Evans-Pritchard, Whorf, Needham, Winch and Horton); ethnoscience and more recent developments in cognitive anthropology (D'Andrade, Nader).†

Prerequisite: AN200, AN371.

AN458 Special Topics in Anthropology 0.5

A concentrated study of specific problem area reflecting the research interests of members of the department.

Prerequisite: Registration status: Year 3 or Year 4 Honours Anthropology.

Irregular course

AN459 Seminar: Culture and Sexuality 0.5

An examination of representations of sexuality and gender in key debates in both classical and contemporary anthropological literature.

Prerequisite: AN101, AN102, AN200, AN371.

AN460* Theory in Archaeology 1.0

(Cross-listed as AR460*.)†

AN461 The Anthropology of Gender and the Body 0.5

The human body is a contested cultural site. The course will focus on the symbolic, political, and performative dimensions of gender roles and identities. Embodied dimensions of class and social representations of race will also be addressed.†

Prerequisite: AN371 or permission of instructor.

AN490* Thesis 1.0

A research project, in an area of the student's interest, carried out under the supervision of the faculty.

Prerequisite: Registration status: Year 4 Honours Anthropology.

Faculty of Arts Faculty of Arts – Programs and Courses Anthropology

Official electronic version updated at 10:33 a.m. March 31, 2005