Courses
Course Descriptions 10000s-20000s
Course Descriptions 40000-43999
Course Descriptions 44000-49999
ANTH 10109.01-10109.02
Introduction to Anthropology
FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY
Elective
An introduction to one of the most exciting of the social sciences. Anthropology helps answer some of the most basic questions about ourselves and others—How and why did humans evolve? How did human culture develop, and why do there appear to be so many differences between cultures? How did human communication come about? Is language understood only in terms of words? How does human language work, and in what ways does it affect our ability to perceive the "real" world? Why are there so many different cultures? Are human behavior and human nature best explained by reference to genes, race, adaptation to environment, or to the symbolic nature of culture itself? Exploring the answers to these questions offers students a fascinating opportunity to learn more about their own as well as other cultures. Regardless of whether the student's major is science, engineering, business or the liberal arts, Anthropology 10109 is an elective of significance to a liberal education.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 10195
Introduction to Anthropology Honors
FIRST YEAR HONOR STUDENTS ONLY
Elective
Human beings may be classified as one species among many in biological terms, although a strict physical determination marks only the starting point for a broad inquiry into what we mean by human nature. Anthropology moves forward from this beginning to explore, in theory and by empirical investigation, the particular forms of cultural expression that characterize the development of human societies and account for their richness and their remarkable variety. This course examines the fundamental elements of this fascinating social science. It addresses the sometimes controversial evidence related to such questions as evolution and genetics, as well as issues of ecological adaptation and the emergence of complex societies. It looks into language and other symbolic systems as central components of distinctively human behavior. It concentrates with special emphasis on the vast domain of social and cultural life, drawing upon many ethnographic examples from near and far, to illustrate how anthropologists seek to study all dimensions of human experience, from kinship to kingship and from cyborgs to shamans.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 13181
Social Science—University Seminar
For descriptions of specific sections, please consult the First Year of Studies.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Exploring Anthropology
FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ONLY
Anthropology, the holistic study of humanity, is the focus of this seminar course. Through discussion and analysis of a variety of anthropological texts and topics this seminar course aims to develop writing skills among first year students while exposing them to some central problems and issues of being human in an amazingly complex world. This seminar will encourage students to explore topics though both academic and popular texts and media, and attempt to conceptualize the complex biocultural nature of humanity. We will engage in topics such as:
Anthropology as a way of seeking knowledge
Human diversity: facts, myths and misunderstandings
Human behavior and communication: language and symbol
Human strategies for subsistence and survival: meeting the challenges of the past and present
Human nature(s) and what they mean for understanding our world
(This course satisfies the University social science requirement.)
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20010
Cine de la Raza: Perspectives from Contemporary Latino Filmmakers
Elective
1-credit-hour course, Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory credit
This mini-course will explore the Latino experience from the perspective of contemporary Latino filmmakers. Ranging from cross-border organizing, to economic globalization, transnational communities, American society, and the impact of gentrification, Latino filmmakers are giving voice to the complexity of La Raza in the United States. This course will examine these themes through documentary, independent film, and lectures and discussion with the filmmakers themselves.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20020
Irish Folk Custom and Belief: Popular Religion & Rural Ireland
Elective
Cross-listed from: IRST
'Irish Folk Custom and Belief' is both the title of a popular work from 1967 by Seán Ó Súilleabháin (1903-1996), archivist of the Irish Folklore Commission, and an approach to the study of rural Irish popular religion. That approach was long dominant among Irish folklorists. It tended to frame rural popular religion ahistorically and to fudge the issue of its relationship to specific social groups. At the same time it led to the recording of extraordinarily rich data, mostly from the Irish-speaking population of the West.
Concentrating on the work of 19th century antiquarians and 20th century folklorists and anthropologists, the course will examine the study of rural popular religion in Ireland. It will contextualise it both in terms of historical, sociological and anthropological knowledge of Irish rural society and specifically of Irish peasant society, and in terms of the scientific study of religion. Specific topics often identified under the headings of 'folk custom and belief' will be discussed, in particular ritual, festival, magic, supernatural beings, sacred places and the oral narratives that deal with them. Specific scholarly texts, including texts by leading contemporary scholars of Irish rural popular religion, will be discussed as well as ethnographic texts recorded by the Irish Folklore Commission.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20025 Majors and minors only
World Religions
Elective
Cross-listed from: THEO
A theological exploration of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, Islam, and the relationship of Christianity to those religions. The goal of this exploration is specifically (1) to set forth the essential characteristics of the world's great religions, (2) to disengage the essential differences between Christianity and the other world religions, (3) to identify the distinctiveness of Catholicism within the family of Christian traditions, and (4) to examine historically and systematically the Christian theological appraisal of other world religions. Thus, the course will enable the students to gain a deeper understanding of Christianity by "passing over" into and experiencing as well as appraising the different major religious traditions of the world. To enhance the learning experience, the course will use the BBC film series titled THE LONG SEARCH. Each of these hour-long films focuses on perspectives of the world's major religions.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Pagee
ANTH 20030 Majors and minors only
World Religions in Christian Perspective
Elective
Cross-listed from: THEO
The course examines the foundations of several world religious traditions (e.g., Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism). Focusing on key religious ideas and practices, it compares and contrasts them with one another and in relation to the Christian design for life worked out in Catholic experience and theological reflection.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20041
Music and cultures of the Non-West
Elective
Cross-listed from: MUS
This course introduces a wide variety of musical systems, emphasizing the integration of culture-specific concepts about musical sound with the particular historical, social, and political contexts that shape and are shaped by that sound. Select musical case studies from South Asia, Africa, and Latin America will be explored and juxtaposed to reveal relationships to relevant themes such as nationalism, migration/diaspora, spirituality, the social position of music/musicians, improvisation, and social protest. No background in music is required, only open ears and minds.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20045 Majors and minors only
Appreciating World Music
Elective
Cross-listed from: MUS
This course introduces students to the methods for conducting field research, reviewing live musical events and evaluating World Music recordings. Through discussions about music from South Africa, Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia and China, students learn about the musical practices of these other cultures and understand their motivations for musical production. Challenges faced by musicians from colonialism, racism, nationalism, cultural imperialism and commercialism are also engaged. In addition, students are encouraged to 'discover' world music among the diasporic communities within their own societies, and get the opportunity to perform music of some of the cultures studied.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20046 Majors and minors only
Music and Globalization in Asia
Elective
Cross-listed from: MUS
This course explores musical production in India and China, the 'new cultural cores' that are gradually replacing the USA and Western Europe in cultural influence in Asia and the Asian diaspora. Taking into account these countries' colonial and semi-colonial histories, their political and economic development, and the increasing transnational movement of their citizens, this course charts the development of commercially successful music from these countries—bhangra; Bollywood; Chinese pop; and fusion music popularized by bands like Twelve Girl Band and composers like Tan Dun in films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon—that have not only captured Asia but the West as well, and shaped the imagination of what Indian-ness and Chinese-ness are, both to the Chinese/Indians and non-Chinese/Indians. In addition, this course examines Filipino entertainers, a group of musicians who provide live entertainment of a transnational capacity throughout Asia. They represent important channels for the dissemination of Indian and Chinese popular music in that region. Globalization and cosmopolitanism theories will be discussed in this course.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20047 Majors and minors only
Music of Africa and the African Diaspora
Elective
Cross-listed from: MUS
Students explore music from West Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa, and the Carribean, South America, and the United States, paying close attention to how their reception and performance inform and influence each other historically and contextually. The seminar emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, drawing from ethnomusicology, African and African American studies, anthropology, colonial and post-colonial studies.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20048 Majors and minors only
Music and World Religions
Elective
Cross-listed from: MUS
Through this ethnomusicology course students will learn the roles music occupies in world religions. More than a world music course, we will examine the creative expression of the divine through the universal language of organized sound as music, as music plays a major role in the practice of most religions worldwide. This study involves all the major continents, highlighting new perspectives as to the confluence between religious culture and musical expression. Knowledge of music is beneficial but not required, just open ears and minds to the diverse ontological understandings comprising various worldviews.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20075
Pirates, Planters, and Peasants
Elective
The Caribbean is often depicted as a sea inhabited by pirates, filled with exotic islands, picturesque beaches and bucolic landscapes. What is often overlooked is the culture and history of the people who actually lived there. Who were the pirates of the Caribbean, why were the islands so important to European powers, and what were the effects of slavery? Focusing on Jamaica, Belize, and Barbados, this course charts the emergence of a multi-ethnic anglophone Caribbean through an examination of plantation colonies and the aftermath of slavery. Specifically it will focus on cultural encounters between Native Americans, Africans, and Europeans through a combination of ethnography, history and archaeology.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20100
Human Origins and Evolution
Elective
This is a course for non-majors/minors in anthropology on the current state of research on human origins. It is pitched at a general audience assuming no background other than capable critical thinking and writing skills. The course will be structured around key questions about human evolution. What is evolutionary theory and how does it contrast with other ways of explaining humanity's place in nature? How do we go about finding and identifying fossil human ancestors? How do we know their antiquity, and what clues are there about the behavior of our forbears? In particular, when and why did they start walking upright, making tools, building living shelters, populate different parts of the world, and master fire? What, if anything, does our evolutionary past imply about our modern lifestyles and the biological variation in current human populations? Finally, what is the future of human evolution?
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20105
Introduction to Human Ethology
Elective
Human ethology studies various aspects of human development, not just within our own culture, but across diverse cultures. This science is most unique because it looks at both evolutionary processes and the behavior of monkeys and apes to more holistically understand contemporary human behavior. For example, using cross-cultural and cross-species data, this course conducts an exploration of the cultural and evolutionary origins of language, non-verbal communication, laughter, sleep, deception, morality, infant behavior, parenting, human aggression, sexual behavior, gender development, and human courtship rituals.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20111
Anthropology of Human Sexuality
Elective
Sexuality is a complex and multi-faceted suite of biological and cultural/behavioral components. It is an important part of the human existence, especially in modern day North American society. This course seeks to examine human sexuality in an anthropological context. We will review sexuality in an evolutionary perspective via a comparison of nonhuman primate sexual behavior and the theoretical constructs surrounding adaptive explanations for human sexuality. The physiology of sex and the development of the reproductive tract will also be covered. The remainder of the course will consist of the evaluation of data sets regarding aspects of human sexual practice, sexual preference, mate choice, gendered sexuality, and related issues of human sexuality.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20120
Current Topics in Bioanthropology
Elective
This course explores the latest developments in biological anthropology such as, but not limited to, aggression and cooperation in human and nonhuman primates, population genetics, human diversity, the concept of race, primate evolution and behavior, patterns of adaptation, and evolutionary medicine. Emphasis will be on the role of biological systems and evolutionary theory.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20220
Alcohol and Drugs: Anthropology of Substance Use and Abuse
Elective
This class will cover biological, cultural and applied aspects of how anthropology approaches the diversity of substance use practices around the world, as well as resultant social problems and social reactions. The course will draw on both historical and ethnographic analyses to situate alcohol and drug use in the realm of human behavior and experience. Addiction as a concept will be critically analyzed from both biological and cultural perspectives. Policy implications of an anthropological understanding of substance use and abuse will be developed in the later part of the course.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20320
Introduction to International Development Studies
Elective
This course will serve as an introduction to the field of international development, with particular focus on the various disciplines that have contributed to and shaped the development discourse over the past 8 decades. Readings and lectures will draw from economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, environmental and technological sciences, public health and epidemiology, area studies, ethnic studies, and gender studies. A large component of this course will focus on in-class discussions and presentations that engage the broader debates within development studies to critically evaluate the development discourse/process, as well as understand emerging critiques of international development. Required course work will include group or individual student projects that critically investigate ongoing development issues and propose engaged solutions that include restoration and social justice and human dignity.
ANTH 20325
Business, Economics, and Culture
Elective
Economic, political and cultural interactions between geographically distant groups have been intensifying over the past century and the 21st century is being seen as the Global century. In this rapidly changing world, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the role of cultural (religious, ethnic and political/socio-economic) factors in determining and shaping interactions. In this course, we will use an ethnographic focused approach to explore the impact of cultural variations on many issues that have arisen or will potentially arise in the course of contemporary global economic interactions. These include the relationships between reciprocity, redistribution and market behaviors, cultural differences in business strategies, relationship building and formation of partnerships, marketing techniques, consumer behavior, and political and environmental situations. We will also look at the impact of business interaction on regional and local economies in Asia (India), Africa (Kenya and the Sudan) and Latin America (Mexico and Guatemala). Course work will include discussions based on readings, documentaries, an individual ethnographic project and report, and a final paper on the application of cultural factors for global interactions.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20330
Societies and Cultures of South Asia
Elective
This course provides a broad introduction to societies and cultures of South Asia (including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives). Emphasis will be on the Indian subcontinent. Central themes and topics of the course include: religious pluralism and communalism; linguistic pluralism and ethnonationalism; the ideologies and practices of caste, class, and gender; colonialism and postcolonial development projects; aesthetic traditions (film, dance, music, art); and experiences of the South Asian Diaspora (particularly in North America). The course with combine lecture, discussion, and films. There will be a mid-term and final exam, a final paper, and a map quiz.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20335
Peoples of Southeast Asia
Elective
An Islamic matriarchy; the world’s busiest waterway and second busiest port both today and five hundred years ago; old Hindu and Buddhist temples which surprised their western re-discoverers with their grandness and opulence; modern states which are home to both high tech centers and slash-and-burn agriculturalists; the site of the oldest recorded use of the zero; a complicated and efficient wet-rice irrigation system operated by priests using a calendar which does not in the first instance measure the passage of time; former colonies of Britain, France, the United States, Spain and Portugal as well as never subjugated peoples who call themselves free.
All these can be found in Southeast Asia. Yet for most westerners Southeast Asia is probably the least known and least often thought about of all of Asia’s major cultural regions. Some have even suggested that whatever unity this large, various and sometimes extremely densely populated region possesses is more apparent, the result of geo-political convenience, than real. This course will introduce Southeast Asia through close readings of important accounts of some of its peoples, some of them long civilized and highly cosmopolitan while others are apparently more back woodsy. It will examine the regions history, religions and social organizations tracing out themes and variations which give this region its unity and, for all its diversity and its many waves of immigration, make Southeast Asia a field of related cultures.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20350
Chinese Society and Culture
Elective
From headlines we often have the impression that China is becoming “capitalist” and will soon be just like us. It is true that China is rapidly changing, yet it will not soon resemble the United States. It is also wrong to regard everything about it as radically new. This course introduces students to the complexities of contemporary Chinese society in the context of the past. Topics covered include food, family and gender, political activity, ethnicity and identity, urban and rural life, work and unemployment, economic complexity, multilingualism, arts, religion, medicine and the body, and literature. We will look at film, fiction, the Internet, ethnographies, standard historical accounts, and other sources to ensure a multifaceted understanding of China beyond its usual superficial portrayal as a vast potential market of consumers (though that’s not entirely wrong!). Students will be encouraged to investigate a topic of their choosing in greater depth.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20360
Societies and Cultures of Latin America
Elective
This course is a broad introduction to the societies and cultures of Latin America. We will cover the history of the region – from the colonial past, independence movements and revolutions, postcolonialism and race relations – as well as the current events, trends, and cultures that have been shaped by this history. The latter will include important present-day issues such as power relations and class, violence and politics, secular and religious ideologies, family and gender relations, migration and transnationalism, ethnic relations, art and literature, and globalization and change. I expect students to understand and appreciate the diversity of cultures in Latin America as well as to explore how the current societies and events have been shaped by the unique histories of the region.
Students who have completed the Notre Dame language requirements in Spanish are eligible to register for an additional 1-credit discussion section as part of the Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC) initiative in the College of Arts and Letters, ANTH 22360 (see below).
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20390
Societies and Cultures of Africa
Elective
Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographically massive territory distinguished by a tremendous diversity of cultures, customs, languages, histories, identities, and experiences. In this course, we explore this wealth of diversity, alongside a survey of some of the broad historical and contemporary trends and movements that have characterized the subcontinent. A brief introduction to African geography is followed by an overview of African history in the pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial eras. The remainder of the course is devoted to the study of present-day Africa, including readings on social organization, religion, music, art, popular culture, politics, economics, as well as on the contemporary crises and challenges of warfare, poverty, and HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Readings will include historical, ethnographic, literary, and autobiographical texts, and will be supplemented by a number of African-directed films.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20501
Archaeology: Myths and Facts
Elective
2-credit-hour course
The general public views archaeologists in a highly stereotyped manner. This course explores the public’s perception of what archaeologists do and why they do it, and seeks to better understand the broader goals and contributions of the study of archaeology. We will explore this question through a range of media, including how the public and media stereotype archaeological research through films and novels, such as Indiana Jones. We will also examine the development of alternative / pseudoscientific explanations for ancient phenomena (for instance, the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, the destruction of Atlantis, and the use of the Nasca lines by Aliens). Finally, students will investigate the modern social context of conducting archaeology today: how can archaeology help us to understand the world in which we live? We will draw on case studies from throughout the world, including examples from North America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20502
Ancient Technology: Rocks to Silicon Chips
Elective
2-credit-hour course
This class explores the social, cultural and intellectual contexts of ancient technologies. In this class students will learn when and how humans developed critical technologies in the past, and discuss how they have impacted the world we live in today. Lecture and discussion topics include how ancient people initially used the earth’s elements to improve daily lives (the invention of pottery, the extraction of minerals by mining, and the development of different forms of metallurgy), how they built upon this foundation to expand their lives (the invention of optical systems, the development of concrete for building, fermentation of fruits and vegetables, the development of ancient medical technologies for mummification and brain surgery), expanded their awareness of the world they lived in (development of time keeping, calendrics, and astronomy), and eventually the manipulation of ancient technologies for conflict (siege engines, wooden warships). In each of these cases, attention is directed to the development and social context of these inventions, challenging students to understand the ancient past as a complex and rich foundation of the world today.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20503
Archaeology: Myths and Facts
Elective
This course explores the public's perception of what archaeologists do and why they do it, and seeks to better understand the broader goals and contributions of the study of archaeology. We will draw on case studies from throughout the world, including examples from North America, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20510
Origins of Human Civilization
Elective
This course is an introduction to archaeology and to world prehistory. It will provide students with a basic understanding of what archaeology is, how it is done, and what it has produced. Fundamental principles of archaeological theory and practice will be illustrated by examples from throughout the world in order to introduce important themes such as the origins of food production, the rise of cultural complexity, the peopling of the world, and the development of technology. The course covers cultural evolution from the invention of the first stone tools through the rise of ancient civilizations such as those of the Maya, Incas, Egyptians, and Near East.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20520
Archaeology of Egypt
Elective
This course introduces students to ancient Egypt, one of the most fascinating societies of the ancient world. Through lectures, films, readings, and small group projects, students will explore the origins and fluorescence of the rich cultures of Egypt, ranging from the earliest farming societies to the splendors of Roman Egypt under the rule of Cleopatra. The course structure focuses students’ attentions on key anthropological concepts, such as kinship, ritual, political economy, mortuary practices, cultural contact, and the future of Egyptian archaeology, by exploring case studies that highlight the extraordinary archaeological heritage of the country.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20540
Ancient Cities and States
Elective
Ancient civilizations are interesting not only for their often spectacular remains, but also for what they can tell us about our own urban society. This course explores the archaeology of ancient cities and states by focusing on several case studies, including ancient societies of Mesoamerica and the ancient Near East.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to the Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 20550
Archaeology of Israel, Palestine, and Jordan
Elective
This course introduces students to the rich prehistoric and early historic archaeology of the southern Levant, the region encompassing modern Israel, Palestine, and Jordan. The course will explore the archaeology of the region chronologically, and topics will include the origins of agriculture, the emergence of towns and cities, international seafaring and exchange, the Philistines and Sea Peoples, and the influence of neighboring empires.
Go back to Comprehensive List of Courses
Go back to Anthropology Home Page
ANTH 22360
Societies and Cultures of Latin America; Discussion
Students currently enrolled in ANTH 20360 and who have completed the Notre Dame language requirements in Spanish are eligible to register for an additional 1-credit discussion section as part of the Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC) initiative in the College of Arts and Letters. Students who choose this option will carry out additional reading in Spanish (approximately 10 to 15 pages a week) and meet once a week with the professor in a Spanish-language discussion. There will be additional brief writing assignments. This LAC section will be graded on a pass/fail basis, and thus is NOT eligible to satisfy an elective in the anthropology major or minor. Permission required.