This course introduces students to Russia's astounding ethnic diversity. We will study the histories of the Sami, the Khanty, the Evenks, the Nenets, the Yakuts, the Chukchi, and others, from Ivan the Terrible's conquests in the 16th century to Vladimir Putin's policies today. The students will explore the impacts of colonialism and capitalism on the lives of the indigenous peoples; the issues of environment and sustainability; the struggle for preservation of the peoples' languages and traditions; the creative expression of culture through the traditional music, costumes, ceremonial dances, and literature. This course carries the following General Education designations: 1. Equity and Power-Global 2. Societies and Human Behavior.

Since 1492, religion has been central to the project of modern colonialism. Everywhere European conquerors went, they justified colonial rule in the name of Christianity, sponsored missionary projects of conversion, and regulated the traditions and practices of the colonized. Indeed, some scholars have argued that modern conceptions of religion (and its cognate, world religions) only emerged out of these colonial conquests. This course explores the constitutive relationship between colonialism and religion. Two broad questions will inform our inquiry: How did the colonial encounter shape modern knowledge of religion? How did colonial technologies of rule (law, education, the census, surveillance, welfare) effect transformations in the religious beliefs, traditions, and practices of both the colonizer and the colonized? Our readings will include materials from various modern empires in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. We will explore how religion was constitutive of modern empires and how religion relates to other sites of social power including race, gender, and nation. Themes for the course may include religious conversion and freedom of religion, religious institutions and reforms, textuality and interpretation, ritual and material cultures, and legal reforms and regulation.

An introduction to how the archaeology and management of ancient sites and artifacts from Greek and Roman civilizations is carried out in the field. Archaeologists play an important role in recovering these past civilizations, while museums help to spread the information gathered to the wider public. What happens to the thousands of objects uncovered during excavation? How do museums curate these artifacts and presented them to the public? What role do we all have in protecting and preserving these past cultures? These questions and more will be discussed through an in-depth look at archaeological projects, museum collections, and the ethical debates surrounding the study of the ancient civilizations.

Energy is framed as the source of our current climate crisis, as a crucial steppingstone for building a post-carbon world, and as an essential aspect of our sociopolitical imaginaries (tied to ideas of freedom, prosperity, and the good life). This course explores the cultural politics of energy production and consumption from a global perspective. It maps the major theoretical and empirical concerns regarding the relationship between collective life and energy as a resource. It considers the impact of energy regimes on human and non-human ecologies; the relation between energy, modern state power, and contemporary capitalism; the subjective, cultural, and affective dimensions of energy forms; and the place of energy in debates about climate change and planetary futures. Drawing on readings from anthropology, critical geography, political science, and international relations, we explore specific energy forms, from carbon-based (fire, coal, oil, natural gas) to renewables (wind, sunlight, biomass, water). Through ethnographies of energy from Latin America, Africa, South Asia, the Pacific, and the Global North, we consider how these energy sources shapes in distinct ways societies, subjectivities, and the environment.

This course introduces students to Russia's astounding ethnic diversity. We will study the histories of the Sami, the Khanty, the Evenks, the Nenets, the Yakuts, the Chukchi, and others, from Ivan the Terrible's conquests in the 16th century to Vladimir Putin's policies today. The students will explore the impacts of colonialism and capitalism on the lives of the indigenous peoples; the issues of environment and sustainability; the struggle for preservation of the peoples' languages and traditions; the creative expression of culture through the traditional music, costumes, ceremonial dances, and literature.