Curriculum
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Courses Relevant to the MA in Applied Anthropology

• ANTH-A 532 The African Diaspora (3 cr.) This course examines the cultural formation of the African Diaspora in the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa. The course focuses specifically on the theorization of the African Diaspora within the discipline of Anthropology

• ANTH-A 560 Graduate Topics in Anthropology (3 cr.) P: May be repeated for up to 9 credits. This seminar course provides a conceptual examination of selected topics in the field of anthropology.

• ANTH-A 565 Anthropological Thought (3 cr.) This course traces the development of anthropological theory from the early 20th century up to the present. Students will examine what is distinctive about an anthropological perspective and will analyze how anthropological ideas have shifted over the last century in accordance with the emergence of new social and political imperatives.

• ANTH-B 526 Human Osteology (3cr.) Descriptive and functional morphology of the human skeleton with emphasis on the identification of fragmentary remains. Determination of age, sex, and stature; craniology; and research methods in skeletal biology. Guided research project in the identification of skeletal material required.

• ANTH-E 501 Fundamentals of Applied Anthropology (3 cr.) This is a graduate-level introduction to the history and underlying principles of Applied Anthropology. We will examine how understanding a specifically anthropological perspective can provide new insights into the workings of contemporary social policies and programs.

• ANTH-E 507 Popular Culture (3 cr.) This course studies how traditional anthropological insight can analyze social and political complex­ities of contemporary popular cultural phenomena. Focuses on how anthropological subjects such as class, racism, and region­alism lurk within popular cultural phenomena including post-1950 music subcultures, civil religion, and consumer culture.

• ANTH-E 509 Modern Material Culture (3 cr.) This course examines how contemporary social experience is impacted by material culture ranging from toys to theme parks. Focuses on how con­sumers perceive themselves and others in modern consumer culture through the medium of commodities and examines sys­tems of inequality that are reproduced and subverted through consumption.

• ANTH-E 521 Indians of North America (3 cr.) Assesses the complexi­ties of the academic study of the Indigenous peoples of North America, emphasizing the diversity of Native cultures, repre­sentations of them by the public and by scholars, and examin­ing cultural adaptations from Pre-Contact to Contemporary.

• ANTH-E 606 Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology (3 cr.)This course provides an introduction to the use of ethnographic field work methods, including participant-observation, semi-structured interviewing, and use of mapping, among others. Every year this course will focus on a community-based research project.

• ANTH-E 681 Seminar in Urban Anthropology (3 cr.) Anthropological perspectives on contemporary American cities. Topics to be covered include (among others): changes in nature of cities from manufacturing sites to spaces for consumption and tourism; gentrification; racial and ethical diversity in cities; urban social movements and new models for social services.

• ANTH-P 501 Community Archaeology (3 cr.) Community archaeol­ogy implies direct collaboration between a community and archaeologists. Collaboration implies substantial adjustment in archaeological methods and epistemologies incorporating community members in setting research agendas, working on excavations, and interpreting results. This course examines a wide range of issues and looks at both successful and unsuc­cessful projects to arrive at an assessment of best practices.