Anthropology Courses

101 Biological Anthropology. A survey of major topics in biological anthropology, including: background material in genetics and evolution, non-human primate behavior, human evolution and biological variation, skeletal studies, and the concept of race. Emphasis on biocultural interactions. Occasional laboratory experiences complement lectures, reading, and discussion. (Meets the requirement for Natural Science credit.) (Meets the CP: Scientific Inquiry requirement) (Does not meet the divisional requirement in the Social Sciences or the outside unit requirement for students majoring in the natural sciences.) 1 unit — Department.

102 Cultural Anthropology. The study of human societies through the central concept of culture. Explores such topics as meaning, adaptation, social organization, kinship, religion, environment, technology and conflict. Presents anthropological themes including holism, comparison, dynamism and cultural relativism, as well as methodological approaches to studying human experience in naturally occurring contexts. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) 1 unit — Hautzinger, Montaño.

103 Introduction to Archaeology. Archaeology is the multi-disciplinary quest for knowledge about ourselves and our human past. This course provides students with an initial exposure to modern archaeology. A brief survey of the history of the field provides a background to understanding the relationship between the “why” and the “how” of archaeology. Basic methodologies are explored. Theoretical bases for the major kinds of archaeology carried out today provide a good key to understanding how they differ in specific goals. Effective record keeping is emphasized as it is the means to archaeological success. Prehistory is the end product of archaeological research involving analysis, synthesis, and interpretation. (Also listed as SW 230.) 1 unit — Department.

105 Language and Culture. Examines the interconnectedness of language and culture from ethnographic and sociolinguistic perspectives. Comparative study of speaking in cultural context aimed at understanding the ways in which people use talk to cooperate, manipulate, structure events, and negotiate identities. Cross-cultural focus, with examples from such languages as Japanese, Navajo and Apache, African-American Vernacular, and French. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) 1 unit — L. Watkins.

123, 124 American Sign Language I. Introduction to American Sign Language. Practice in signing and comprehension in American Sign Language (Ameslan or ASL). 1/4 unit each — VonFeldt.

155 Civilization: An Evolutionary and Ecological Perspective. This course first examines the evolution and growth of civilization. Then it moves on to look at it as a human development that occurs at a particular time in our own existence. We see that civilization is an adaptation that allows us to live together closely in orderly, structured ways. Civilization provides us with effective ways to harness human intellectual and physical energies. (January half-block.) (Not offered 2007—08.) 1/2 unit — Nowak.

201 Human Evolution. The fossil record of human and non-human primate evolution. Emphasizes how the paleoanthropologist goes about understanding and interpreting the fossil record, including problems of classification, evolutionary relationships, dating and behavioral reconstructions. Complementary laboratory work enhances classroom experience. Prerequisite: 101 or consent of department. (Meets the requirement for Natural Science credit.) (Meets the CP: Scientific Inquiry requirement) (Does not meet the divisional requirement in the Social Sciences or the outside unit requirement for students majoring in the Natural Sciences.) (Also listed as BY 100.)1 unit — Torres-Rouff and Bertrand.

202 Human Biological Variation. Beginning with the genetic base, this course provides an anthropological approach to understanding biological variation within and between human populations. Traits of known and unknown inheritance, physiological adaptations, concept of race and interactions of human biology and culture are emphasized. Some laboratory exercises. Prerequisite: 101 or consent of instructor. (Meets the requirement for Natural Science credit.) (Does not meet the divisional requirement in the Social Sciences or the outside unit requirement for students majoring in the Natural Sciences.) (Not offered 2007—08.) 1 unit — Department.

203 States and Empires in the Ancient Andes. Andean South America was home to some of the first and most complex societies in the Western hemisphere. People in the Andes built large cities and established states that came to control large areas. This course will focus exclusively on the development and expansion of states and empires in the pre-Columbian Andes, concentrating attention on Moche, Wari, Tiwanaku and the Inka. Emphasis will be placed on the use of ceremonial and monumental architecture, the development of pristine states, urbanism, and imperial expansion. No credit if taken after AN 207: Prehistory of the Andes. (January half block) (Not offered 2007—08.) 1/2 unit – Torres-Rouff.

204 Prehistory. Human habitation of a single continent or other major areas from earliest times, with emphasis on human interaction with environment. Changes in cultural patterns over time as manifested in the archaeological record. (Prehistory: North America is also listed as CS204 and NA204.) 1 unit — department.

Block 8: The American Southwest. This course provides a detailed look at the lifeways of the prehistoric peoples of the American Southwest. We will examine archaeological evidence and explore the major research issues for the Paleoindian, Archaic, and Ancestral Puebloan peoples who occupied the Colorado Plateau and adjacent areas between 11,500 B.C. and Spanish contact at A.D.1540. No previous knowledge of archaeology is required. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Also listed as SW 204.) 1 unit — Department.

207 Prehistory of the Andes. This course will examine the patterns of development of Andean culture from its earliest roots over five millennia ago through the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. We will look at how this unique environment gave birth to highly efficient adaptations and cultural systems. Emphasis will be placed on trade and interaction in the Andean sphere, the development of complex social and political structures, and early contacts with Europeans. The focus will be on recent archaeological investigations and interpretations combined with appropriate analogy from ethnohistory and ethnography. No credit if taken after AN 203: States and Empires in the Ancient Andes. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Not offered 2007—08.) 1 unit – Torres-Rouff.

208, 209 Topics in Anthropology. Courses taught occasionally by visiting professors or by permanent faculty. Topics will vary from year to year. 1 unit — department.

Block 1: Language and Speech in American Society. This course surveys the various ways of speaking found in American society and explores the foundations for such linguistic diversity from the perspective of linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics. Hands-on field projects exploring language use will be a key component of the course. (Also listed as CS200) 1 unit — Peterson.

Block 2: Indigenous Film and Media. This course examines the role of media in Native American/First Nations representation and self-representation. We will explore what constitutes "media," including photographs, print, radio, and the internet, and what constitutes "representation," including the ways in which images and texts are circulated, commodified, and appropriated in mediated forms. (Also listed as SW 200, CS 200, and FS 205) 1 unit — Peterson.

211 The Culture Area. Culture history and contemporary ethnic relations in geographic regions of non-Western areas of the world or of minority groups in the Western world. Areas offered vary; examples: native cultures of the Pacific Islands, the Arctic, Meso-America, North American Indians, etc. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) 1 unit — department.

Block 7: Native Peoples of the Southwest. Introduces the First Nations people of the American Southwest, including some prehistory but focusing on the present and recent past. Contemporary tribes considered are the Pueblos, O'odham, Yaqui, both the Upland and River Yuma, Southern Paiute, Navajo, and various Apache groups. Also considered are the laws that empower and restrict Native lives. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Also listed as SW 258 and CS 200.) No prerequisites. 1 unit — Peterson.

215 Research Design: Method and Theory. A comprehensive approach to research design, method and theory across the discipline of anthropology. Topics include selecting research problems and sites, engaging literature, data-gathering and analysis, IRB approval, and ethical issues. Theory and application of contrasting paradigms (i.e. positivist, interpretivist) across each of the four major subfields forms the course’s core. Commonalities across the discipline in major theoretical currents (i.e. cultural ecology, functionalism, symbolic, historical materialism, postmodernism, feminism, and practice theory) are emphasized. Prerequisite: AN101, 102, 103, 105 or COI. 1 unit — Montaño.

216 Human Adaptability. Explorations into the biological and cultural mechanisms that exist permitting humans to live on and occupy most of the earth’s land surface. To what extent do cultural adaptations reflect geography and environment? (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Nowak.

221, 222 Topics in Ethnomusicology. Special topics in ethnomusicology, approached through emphasis on a particular musical area, theoretical issue, genre or repertory, compositional technique, or instrument. The course is devoted to non-western musical cultures. (Also listed as MU 221, 222.) (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) 1 unit — Bhattacharjya, Schormann, White.

236 Peoples of Latin America. Introduces anthropological perspectives on Latin America, including South and Central America and with some references to the Caribbean. A historical and geographical overview is followed by investigation of key cultural themes and problems faced throughout the region: the legacy of European colonialism and U.S. imperialism; dependent development; political forms from authoritarian to democratic; machismo and marianismo as gendered ideologies; the Protestant challenge to Catholic ubiquity; environmental crises; urbanization; foreign debt; and ethnic conflict. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

237 Blacks in the Caribbean and Latin America (with Emphasis on Writing). Compares the experiences of diverse groups of the African Diaspora, with special emphasis on the Caribbean basin and Brazil. Topics include: race, racism and nation-building; the legacy of slavery and contemporary labor processes, conceptualizing the “Africa” in African-American cultures; variable social constructions of racial categories; maroons and other communities of resistance; and several African-American religions (Candomblé, Umbanda, Voudoun, Santeria, Rastafarianism). (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

238 Gender and Class in Latin America. Introduces anthropological perspectives on gender and class dynamics, including South and Central America along with the Hispanophone Caribbean. Readings center on women’s role in production, reproduction, and development, while also incorporating specific approaches to masculinity and men’s social roles. Emphasizes ethnographic analyses in which class and gender are treated as interconnected categories. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Also listed as FG238.) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

239 Women, Men, and “Others:” Gender Cross-Culturally. A cross-cultural approach to gender, emphasizing variability in the ways gender shapes social interaction and organization. After addressing the relationship between biological sex and culturally constructed gender and diverse sex-gender systems, the course proceeds to closely examine non-binary gender systems, where “third” (or more) genders emerge: hijras in India, berdaches in diverse Native American peoples, and travestis in Brazil. Various anthropological and feminist theoretical frameworks are applied. (Also listed as FG239.) (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

242 The Anthropology of Food (with Emphasis on Writing). This course will explore food concepts, analytical methods, and the food habits of different ethnic groups. The class will have a field trip to the San Luis Valley, and to Northern New Mexico to document the production of food among farmers, cattle ranchers and restaurateurs. (Also listed as SW242.) (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Limited to 12 students.) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Montaño.

243 Hispanic Folklore of the Southwest (with Emphasis on Writing). This course is designed to introduce students to several approaches in folklore studies and to Mexican material culture, religion, music, and prose narratives in the Southwest region of the United States. We will examine how the different approaches used by historians, literary critics, anthropologists, and folklorists can enhance the study of Hispanic folklore and material culture. (Also listed as SW243.) (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Limited to 12 students.) 1 unit — Montaño.

245 Popular Culture. This course will present students with different concepts related to popular culture, as exemplified by diverse cultural forms: film, music, literature, and material culture. Through the course students will become acquainted with the theories of structuralism and post-structuralism, Marxism, feminism, and post-modernism. These theories will allow students to develop a clear understanding of the different paradigms and their limitations in cultural studies. (January half-block.) 1/2 unit — Montaño.

251 The Study of Folklore, I. A survey of the main forms of folklore, with emphasis on definition, identification, and collection of traditional oral forms (tales, legends, myths, ballads, beliefs, jokes, riddles, etc.) Includes a collecting project designed to introduce students to the traditional expressions of ethnic or other cultural groups. (Also listed as EN 251.) (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) 1 unit — Seward.

255 Language Acquisition. Explores the way in which humans learn their native language. Topics include developmental stages, the biological basis for language acquisition, and the relationship between cognitive and linguistic development. Critical examination of primate language ability. Students work with young children in the early period of language learning. (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — L. Watkins.

258 Introduction to Linguistics. Explores the structures and functions of languages throughout the world, seeking to uncover both shared and variable patterns across languages. Introduces the tools of modern linguistics for recording and analyzing sound systems, words, syntactic and semantic structures, and the communicative uses of language. Provides background for understanding contemporary issues relating to language. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) 1 unit — L. Watkins.

260 Language and Gender. Explores how language is used by women and men in sociocultural context. Examines and critiques anthropological and sociolinguistic research on the relationship of language and gender. Readings provide a cross-cultural perspective and students collect and analyze samples of language use in their own speech community. (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — L. Watkins.

291 Southwest American Indian Music. Music and culture of Southwest American Indians, with emphasis on Pueblo and Athabascan peoples. Considers origins narratives, cosmology, ritual drama, dance, and other aesthetic modes as related to Southwest Indian musical performance. Addresses traditional as well as new music. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (Also listed as MU 291 and SW 291.) This course meets the ethnomusicology requirement for the music minor. No prerequisites. 1 unit — Levine.

295 Indonesian Music. Surveys Indonesian history, culture, society, religion, and aesthetic values through music. Students become familiar with a variety of Indonesian musical repertories, styles, and performance contexts, including court traditions of Java, Sunda, and Bali and village traditions throughout the Indonesian archipelago. Traditional as well as new music are discussed. (Also listed as MU 295 and PA 295.) (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) 1 unit — Levine/ Lasmawan.

301 Human Osteology. This lab-based course is a detailed study of the anatomy of the human skeleton as a dynamic, living system. Special emphasis will be placed on the interpretation of skeletal remains from archaeological and forensic contexts. Consideration is given to the growth, structure, and function of bones, and to bioarchaeological and forensic aspects such as the determination of age, sex, stature, and pathology from skeletal remains. We will combine theory, its applications, and the limitation of osteological methods with laboratory analysis. The relevant techniques for the reconstruction of past populations and the assessment of human biological variation will be introduced. (Meets the CP: Scientific Inquiry requirement) (Fulfills the Lab designation requirement.) Prerequisite: 201 or 202; statistics suggested. 2 units —Torres-Rouff

303 Bioarchaeology. An investigation of how information from human skeletal remains in archaeological contexts, both prehistoric and historic, is obtained and interpreted. Examples include disease, stress indicators, injury and violent death, physical activity, tooth use and diet, and demographic histories. Emphasis on the interactions between biology and behavior and the influences of environment and culture on skeletal and dental structures. Strong laboratory component with complementary lectures and discussion. Prerequisite: 201 or 202 or consent of instructor; statistics suggested. (Limited to 15 students.) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Torres-Rouff.

304 Forensic Anthropology. The study of human skeletal remains from contexts with legal implications - crimes, unexplained deaths, mass disasters, etc. The fundamental questions of human identification (age at death, sex, ancestry, and living stature), other characteristics used to identify people, estimating time since death, cause and manner of death, and the limitations of methods used in these investigations. Legal and ethical considerations are examined. Emphasis on case studies and laboratory analysis. Prerequisite: 201 or 202 or consent of department; statistics suggested. (Limited to 15 students.) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Fulginiti.

306 Primatology. Social structure and behavior of various primates. Contrasts made between behavior as free-living forms in natural habitats and in captivity. Physiological characteristics and environmental adjustments of primates explored. Inferences about social life of earliest humans made from behavior of contemporary non-human primates. Prerequisite: 101 or consent of instructor, statistics useful. (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Department.

307 Museums and the Presentation of the Southwest. (Also listed as SW307.) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Larkin.

308, 309 Topics in Anthropology. Problems on the frontier of anthropology or on the frontiers between anthropology and other disciplines. Examples may be primitive government or religion, cognition, folklore, cultural ecology. Prerequisite: 101 or 102 or consent of instructor. 1 unit — department.

Block 4: Language Ideologies and Cultural Identities. This course explores the relationship between how people think about language (language ideologies), attitudes about language use, and the construction of group and individual identities. Special attention will be given to language and prejudice, different forms of identity, and the construction of difference through symbolic and linguistic expression. (Also listed as SW308) Prerequisite: 101 or 102 or consent of instructor. 1 unit — Peterson.

Block 8: Language and Representations in Native North America. (Also listed as CS200) Prerequisite: 101 or 102 or consent of instructor. 1 unit — Peterson.

310 Anthropology and the History of Ideas. The intellectual history of sociocultural anthropology will form the foundation of this course. It will discuss the ideas and intellectuals who contributed to the development of anthropology as a scholarly discipline and will consider the following theoretical perspectives: evolutionism, functionalism, historical particularism, cultural materialism, and interpretive approaches. Also, it will examine field research strategies that shaped anthropology. Prerequisite: 102 or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Montaño.

315 Advanced Integrative Seminar. This course focuses on a topic that can be examined from the perspective of multiple subfields of anthropology, including but not limited to: violence, warfare, domestication, evolution, expressive culture, gender race and ethnicity, social complexity or globalization. The course is team-taught by faculty from distinct anthropological subfields, whose guidance is complemented by departmental guest speakers. The seminar will emphasize the complementarity of multiple subdisciplinary perspectives on the selected topic, as well as exemplary integrative and interdisciplinary research in the area. Prerequisite: AN215 or COI. 1 unit —Torres-Rouff and Hautzinger..

320 Field Archaeology. Methods and concepts employed by the archaeologist in excavation. Both field and laboratory techniques are utilized to obtain the information from which site reports are written. What kinds of inferences about culture can be made from excavated material and the excavation process? Four weeks in the field. (Also listed as SW320.) Prerequisite: 230 or consent of instructor. (Limited to 14 students.) 2 units — Department.

321 Rio Grande - Culture, History and Region. An interdisciplinary course based on history, culture, and water issues. It will explore the cultural heritage and creativity of groups whose historical experience has been shaped by the Rio Grande basin from its origin in Colorado to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. The course will engage a broad American and international public in the exploration of how the river basin and the people who live within it change, evolve, and develop together, and can affect each other. (Also listed as SW 321) Prerequisite: 102 or consent of instructor. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Not offered 2007–08.) Limited to 12 students. 2 units - Montaño.

324 Archaeologies of Landscape. Ancient places were imbued with values, histories, and meanings that can tell archaeologists about many things, including political authority, social identity, and ritual practices. This course considers current theoretical and methodological approaches to the reconstruction of past social landscapes emerging from within archaeology, anthropology, and geography. Diverse landscapes are examined from the across the ancient world. Field trip to archaeological landscapes in the Southwest. Prerequisite: 230 or consent of instructor. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit - Van Dyke.

326 Religion and Ritual. Introduction to the comparative study of religion based on anthropological research among native peoples and folk traditions. Topics may include: shamanism, peyotism, witchcraft, the genesis of religious cults, syncretism of native religions with major religious traditions, ritual processes. Consideration of major cultural theories arising from the study of religion and ritual. (Meets the Alternative Perspectives: B requirement.) Prerequisite: 102 or consent of instructor. (Also listed as RE 300.) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

360 Historical Linguistics. Introduces the principles of language change and linguistic reconstruction. Topics include mechanisms of change, sociocultural factors favoring the spread of changes, and methods for determining linguistic relationships. Considers reconstruction of an unattested language and possible inferences about the environment and culture of its speakers. Examples and problems from a wide range of families, including Indo-European, Austronesian, Bantu, Sino-Tibetan, and languages of native North America. Prerequisite: 258 or consent of instructor. 1 unit — L. Watkins.

361 Grammar in Global Perspective. Investigates grammatical structures and their uses in a wide range of languages. Comparison of the varying ways in which meaning is encoded in grammar in languages of the Americas, Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and Europe. Emphasis on analysis and identification of recurring cross-linguistic patterns in morphology, syntax, and semantics. Prerequisite: 258 or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2006–07.) 1 unit — L. Watkins.

371 Culture Contact and Writing Cultures. This course will incorporate the work of anthropology and cultural studies to introduce students to how foreign cultures were experienced and represented by travelers, explorers, colonial administrators and anthropologists and will focus on forms of writing associated with conquest and colonialism. Students will then be introduced to the travel and tourism genre of representation and will analyze travel writing as cultural politics and the politics of tourism. The course will conclude with an examination of the new ethnography and writing cultures. (Also listed as SW 371.) (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) Prerequisite: 102 or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Montaño.

375 Peoples on the Move: Nomads, Migrants, Sojourners and Settlers. Emphasizes the interconnectedness and interpenetration of the world’s peoples, offering an alternative to the atomized and bounded implications of concepts like “culture” and “society.” Course topics include: patterns of prehistorical expansion; forager vs. nomadic vs. sedentary societies; gypsies; the Navajo-Hopi land dispute; expatriate communities; and diverse cases of modern immigration and globalization. Prerequisite: 102 or consent of instructor. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

376 Culture and Power: Political Anthropology. A comparative, holistic study of formal and informal politics in diverse societies. The course focuses on three major themes: examining diverse political systems with emphasis on the emergence of the state; the relationship between power, ideology, and symbolic systems; power and controlling processes, with special attention to dominance, hegemony and resistance. Emphasis on full-length ethnographies. Prerequisite: 102 or consent of instructor. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

377 Living in the Material World I: Economic Anthropology. Economic anthropology examines how people organize their material world to survive and to create meaningful systems of value. A variety of economic forms — small-scale societies with limited accumulation, gift economies, and commodity-based capitalism — are considered from a holistic, comparative perspective. The course concludes with an anthropological critique of colonialism, core-periphery relations, and globalization. This one-block course prepares interested students for a follow-up field course. Prerequisite: 102 or consent of instructor. (Meets the CP: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement) (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

378 Living in the Material World II: Colorado Livelihoods. A field course that continues the study of economic anthropology through team-based fieldwork and rigorous, hands-on methodological training. Two distinct Colorado research sites — Trinidad and Vail — allow for in-depth, ethnographic research and comparison. Trinidad’s relatively long history, based largely in a mining-ranching-farming complex, contrasts Vail’s relatively recent, ski-and-tourism concentration. The two sites have one point in common: both are rapidly changing, in responses to global economic forces. (Limited to 12 students.) Prerequisite: 377 or consent of instructor. (Not offered 2007–08.) 1 unit — Hautzinger.

400Research in Anthropology. Student research projects, either independent or in collaboration with ongoing faculty research, based on field, laboratory or library research. Projects must be approved at least one block in advance of the actual block of research. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. 1 unit — department.