Department of Anthropology

Brooks Hall
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400120
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4120
(434) 924-7044 Fax: (434) 924-1350
www.virginia.edu/anthropology

Overview Anthropology is the study of culture and cultural diversity throughout the world. It is a broad field that is classically divided into four areas: socio-cultural anthropology, the study of contemporary societies; archaeology, the study of the material remains of past societies; linguistics, the study of the structure and principles of language; and biological anthropology, the study of human evolution and human biological diversity.

Faculty There are currently 28 anthropology faculty members. Six of the faculty are archaeologists who specialize in North American prehistoric and historic archaeology, the ancient Middle East, and Africa. Five are linguists, with particular expertise in African, Native American, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian languages and sociolinguistics. One member of the faculty is a folklorist who focuses on the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. The majority of the faculty consists of socio-cultural anthropologists, whose teaching and research interests span the globe. Particular geographical concentrations include the cultures of South Asia, East Asia, Indonesia, Melanesia, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and North America.

Students There are currently about 200 students majoring in anthropology. While this number represents a diverse group of students with a wide range of interests, it is small enough to maintain a high rate of faculty-student interaction. Students are encouraged to participate in faculty research, and many have worked with faculty conducting archaeological field and laboratory work.

Upon graduation, some students pursue graduate degrees in specialized areas, preparing themselves for careers in teaching, research, or applied anthropology. Many go on to careers in law and medicine, aided by their knowledge of anthropological concepts, such as cultural diversity and human evolution. In addition, there are more business opportunities open to the anthropologist today, as our current era of global economics demands the appreciation of different cultural perspectives. Still, many enter educational fields and social services: teaching in the U.S. and abroad; joining the Peace Corps; and working in museums and on archaeological excavations.

Requirements for Major Ten courses (31 credits) taken within a program approved by a departmental undergraduate advisor are required for a major. These ten courses may include courses taken before declaration of the major, and up to two from outside the Department of Anthropology. Courses taken outside the anthropology department, including courses transferred from other institutions or study-abroad programs, may count toward the area requirements for the major (subject to approval by a major advisor, usually limited to six credits), but normally they may not count toward the above-300-level requirement for the major. In order to declare a major, a student must have completed two courses in the anthropology department. No course for the major may be taken on a CR/NC basis. Normally at least 18 credits must be taken after declaration of the major. The major requires a distribution of courses in the following areas:

Each semester the department publishes a list of the current courses that satisfy the above requirements on our website.

Students frequently find that anthropology provides a cognate discipline which can be paired with other studies in the humanities and sciences. Many of these students choose to double-major in anthropology and another discipline. Up to six credits in another department major may be counted toward an anthropology major if they are consistent with a student’s overall program. Specific courses, therefore, may be counted toward both majors, but the student must receive approval from a departmental advisor in advance.

Exceptions to any of these requirements are made only upon written petition to the Undergraduate Committee of the Department of Anthropology. No petitions are accepted after the completion of a student’s seventh semester.

A number of informal activities are associated with the department. Among these is the Anthropology Association of the University of Virginia. Majors are encouraged to attend meetings of the group and to attend lectures and symposia sponsored by the department.

Requirements for Minor Students majoring in a diverse array of disciplines choose to minor in anthropology. Courses taken in other disciplines may not count toward a minor. A maximum of one anthropology course taken at another institution may count toward the minor, if approved by a major advisor.

A minor consists of six three-credit courses. In addition all minors must take one course in three of the following four areas of anthropology: principles of sociocultural analysis; ethnography; archaeology; and linguistics, and at least one course in anthropology that fulfills the major's non-Western perspectives requirement. There are no requirements as to level.

Independent Study in Anthropology For students who want to work on an individual research project, ANTH 496 allows considerable flexibility. There is no formal limitation on the kind of project as long as a faculty member is willing to direct it, but the project should not duplicate what is already available in a regular course. Applicants should have their projects roughly defined when they apply to the faculty member. The normal requirements for ANTH 496 are a reading list comparable in substance to those in regular courses and a term paper and oral examination at the end of the semester.

Distinguished Majors Program in Anthropology Students with superior academic performance are encouraged to apply for the departmental Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) in which they write a thesis demonstrating independent study of high quality. The requirements for admission to the DMP are:

After gaining admission to the DMP by selecting a topic approved by an advisor, students register for three credits of ANTH 497 in the first semester of the fourth year. In this course, students conduct their research and produce an outline and the first draft of their thesis. In the second semester, students register for ANTH 498 and, taking into account the criticisms and suggestions of their advisor and other interested faculty members, produce a finished thesis of approximately 10,000 words which must be approved by a committee of two faculty members and deposited in the departmental office. Students wishing help in setting up their program should contact a major advisor.

Minor in Global Culture and Commerce The minor in Global Culture and Commerce (GCC) focuses on the intersection of two sets of issues: (1) cultural translation and cross-cultural knowledge, and (2) local and global economic and cultural development. The minor consists of six courses in Anthropology and other departments, plus one co-requisite language course, to be chosen in consultation with the minor Directors. Admission to the minor is competitive, with applications submitted by April 1 of the student's second or third year. For more information, see Richard Handler or Rachel Most (Garrett Hall).

Additional Information For more information, contact Adria LaViolette, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Anthropology, Brooks Hall, P.O. Box 400120, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4120; (434) 924-7044; Fax: (434) 924-1350; www.virginia.edu/anthropology; laviolette@virginia.edu.

Course Descriptions

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Courses at the 100 and 200 levels have no prerequisites and are open to all students. Courses at the 300 level are advanced undergraduate courses and assume that students have already taken ANTH 101 or other relevant 200-level courses. These are general prerequisites, and individual professors may consider other courses within or outside the department to be sufficient preparation. Courses at the 500 level have third- or fourth-year status and prior course work in anthropology as a general prerequisite. These courses are designed primarily for majors and graduate students, but are open by permission to other qualified, sufficiently motivated undergraduates.

General and Theoretical Anthropology

ANTH 101 - (3) (S)
Introduction to Anthropology
This is a broad introductory course covering race, language, and culture, both as intellectual concepts and as political realities. Topics include race and culture as explanations of human affairs, the relationship of language to thought, cultural diversity and cultural relativity, and cultural approaches to current crises.

ANTH 109 - (3) (IR)
Colloquia for First-Year Students
Colloquium designed to give first-year students an opportunity to study an anthropological topic in depth in a small-scale, seminar format. Topics will vary; may be repeated for credit.

ANTH 301 - (4) (S)
Theory and History of Anthropology
Overview of the major theoretical positions which have structured anthropological thought over the past century.

ANTH 401 - (3) (S)
Senior Seminar in Anthropology
Integrates the major subdivisions of anthropology, emphasizing selected theoretical topics and primary sources. Primarily for majors in their final year.

Principles of Sociocultural Analysis

ANTH 221 - (3) (Y)
Marriage and the Family
Compares domestic groups in Western and non-Western societies. Considers the kinds of sexual unions legitimized in different cultures, patterns of childrearing, causes and effects of divorce, and the changing relations between the family and society.

ANTH 223 - (3) (Y)
Fantasy and Social Values
Examines imaginary societies, in particular those in science fiction novels, to see how they reflect the problems and tensions of real social life. Focuses on “alternate cultures” and fictional societal models.

ANTH 224 - (3) (Y)
Progress
An ideal of progress has motivated Westerners since the Enlightenment, and is confirmed by rapid technological innovation. Theories of social evolution also foresaw, however, the extinction of those left behind. This course addresses the ideological roots of our notion of progress, the relation between technological and social progress, and what currently threatens our confidence in the inevitability of progress.

ANTH 225 - (3) (Y)
Nationalism, Racism, Culture, Multiculturalism
Introductory course in which the concepts of culture, multiculturalism, race, racism, and nationalism are critically examined in terms of how they are used and structure social relations in American society and, by comparison, how they are defined in other cultures throughout the world.

ANTH 226 - (3) (S)
Poverty and Meritocracy
Provides an anthropological perspective on American ideas about achievement and failure in relation to individualist ideology. Readings include Locke, Rousseau, and Tocqueville; ethnographies of non-Western alternatives to modern societies; and contemporary readings on poverty, welfare, meritocracy, and social class.

ANTH 227 - (3) (Y)
Race, Gender, and Medical Science
Explores the social and cultural dimensions of biomedical practice and experience in the United States. Focuses on practitioner and patient, asking about the ways in which race, gender, and socio-economic status contour professional identity and socialization, how such factors influence the experience, and course of, illness, and how they have shaped the structures and institutions of biomedicine over time.

ANTH 228 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Medical Anthropology
The course introduces medical anthropology, and contextualizes bodies, suffering, healing and health. It is organized thematically around a critical humanist approach, along with perspectives from political economy and social constructionism. The aim of the course is to provide a broad understanding of the relationship between culture, healing (including and especially the Western form of healing known as biomedicine), health and political power.

ANTH 231 - (3) (IR)
Symbol and Myth
Studies the foundations of symbolism from the perspective of anthropology. Topics include signs and symbols, and the symbolism of categorical orders as expressed in cosmology, totemism, and myth.

ANTH 232 - (3) (Y)
Anthropology of Religion
Explores anthropological approaches to religion, in the context of this discipline's century-old project to understand peoples' conceptions of the world in which they live.

ANTH 234 - (3) (IR)
Anthropology of Birth and Death
Comparative examination of beliefs, rites, and symbolism concerning birth and death in selected civilizations.

ANTH 235 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Folklore
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Introduces the materials and methods of folklore study, emphasizing practical experience in the collection and analysis of folklore.

ANTH 236 - (3) (Y)
Don Juan and Castaneda
Analyzes the conceptual content in Castaneda’s writings as an exploration of an exotic world view. Focuses on the concepts of power, transformation, and figure-ground reversal.

ANTH 237 - (3) (Y)
The Culture and History of Still Photography
Covers the nature of still photography as a form of communication from its introduction in 1839 to 1940. Four broad topics are examined: the phenomenology of photography—its distinctive character, which sets it apart from other graphic media; the history of photography from its very beginning; the use of photography in “viewing” the world; and the development of documentary photography in the first half of the 20th century. This course counts toward the Humanities, rather than Social Science, distribution requirement in the College.

ANTH 250 - (3) (SI)
The Health of Black Folks
An interdisciplinary course analyzing the relationship between black bodies and biomedicine both historically and in the present. The course is co-taught by Norm Oliver, M.D. (UVa Department of Family Medicine), and offers political, economic, and post-structuralist lenses with which to interpret the individual and socio/cultural health and disease of African-Americans. Readings range across several disciplines including anthropology, epidemiology/public health, folklore, history, science studies, political science, sociology and literary criticism. Topics will vary and may include: HIV/AIDS; reproductive issues; prison, crime and drugs; and body size/image and obesity; the legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Trials. Cross listed as AAS 250.

ANTH 267 - (3) (Y)
How Others See Us
Explores how America, the West, and the white racial mainstream are viewed by others in different parts of the world, and at home.

ANTH 268 - (3) (IR)
Reading the New York Times
An introduction to anthropological perspectives, using a major American newspaper as a window on contemporary culture. Articles from the daily paper will be supplemented by relevant readings by anthropologists and other culture critics.

ANTH 289 - (3) (J)
Unearthing the Past
The study of past cultures through their material remains. Students gain an understanding of how archaeologists study ancient civilizations as well as the everyday lives of people who lived in these societies. Archaeological methods are reviewed to demystify the process of reconstructing the past. The course also covers some of the major developments in prehistory such as the origins of modern humans, the rise of the first villages and cities, and the emergence of ancient civilizations in North America.

ANTH 290 - (3) (Y)
The Cultural Politics of American Family Values
This course provides a broad, introductory survey of the range of cultural understandings, economic structures, and political and legal constraints that shape both dominant and alternative forms of kinship and family in the United States.

ANTH 317 - (3) (Y)
Visual Anthropology
The study of visual means of representation in Anthropology.

ANTH 318 - (3) (Y)
Social Histories of Commodities: Linkages between Africa and the Americas
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Following the social history of three of the major world commodities the course situates the current discourse on globalization within a socio-historical and cultural context. It offers a comparative analysis of the cultural dynamics associated with the production, exchange and consumption of sugar, coffee and tobacco as they have unfolded in different times and places.

ANTH 320 - (3) (Y)
Marriage, Gender, Political Economy
Cross-cultural comparison of marriage and domestic groups, analyzed as a point of intersection between cultural conceptions of gender and a larger political economy.

ANTH 321 - (3) (IR)
Kinship and Social Organization
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Cross-cultural analysis and comparison of systems of kinship and marriage from Australian aborigines to the citizens of Yankee city. Covers classic and contemporary theoretical and methodological approaches.

ANTH 322 - (3) (IR)
Introduction to Economic Anthropology
Comparative analysis of different forms of production, circulation, and consumption in primitive and modern societies. Exploration of the applicability of modern economic theory developed for modern societies to primitive societies and to those societies being forced into the modern world system.

ANTH 323 - (3) (IR)
Introduction to Legal Anthropology
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Comparative survey of the philosophy and practice of law in various societies. Includes a critical analysis of principles of contemporary jurisprudence and their application.

ANTH 324 - (3) (Y)
Plantations in Africa and the Americas
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Comparative analysis of plantation culture, economy and polity in Africa, the US, and the Caribbean.

ANTH 326 - (3) (Y)
Globalization and Development
Prerequisite: one course in Anthropology or instructor permission.
Explores how globalization and development affect the lives of people in different parts of the world. Topics include poverty, inequality, and the role of governments and international agencies.

ANTH 327 - (3) (Y)
Political Anthropology
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Reviews the variety of political systems found outside the Western world. Examines the major approaches and results of anthropological theory in trying to understand how radically different politics work.

ANTH 329 - (3) (Y)
Marriage, Fertility, and Mortality
Explores the ways that culturally formed systems of values and family organization affect population processes in a variety of cultures.

ANTH 330 - (4) (Y)
Tournaments and Athletes
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
A cross-cultural study of sport and competitive games.

ANTH 332 - (3) (Y)
Shamanism, Healing, and Ritual
Prerequisite: At least a 200-level ANTH course, or instructor permission.
Examines the characteristics of these nonmedical practices as they occur in different culture areas, relating them to the consciousness of spirits and powers and to concepts of energy.

ANTH 334 - (3) (Y)
Ecology and Society: An Introduction to the New Ecological Anthropology
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or significant/relevant exposure to courses in EVSC, BIOL, CHEM, or HIST (which tie in to concerns of this course), or instructor permission.
Forges a synthesis between culture theory and historical ecology to provide new insights on how human cultures fashion, and are fashioned by, their environment.

ANTH 335 - (3) (Y)
The Museum in Modern Culture
Topics include the politics of cultural representation in history, anthropology, and fine arts museums; and the museum as a bureaucratic organization, as an educational institution, and as a nonprofit corporation.

ANTH 336 - (3) (O)
Life History and Oral History
Introduces oral history methodology and life history as a sociocultural document. Readings focus on various uses that have been made of oral history and of life histories. Students conduct interviews and write a life history.

ANTH 337 - (3) (Y)
Power and the Body
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or permission of the instructor.
Studying the cultural representations and interpretations of the body in society.

ANTH 360 - (3) (E)
Sex, Gender, and Culture
Examines the manner in which ideas about sexuality and gender are constructed differently cross-culturally and how these ideas give shape to other social phenomena, relationships, and practices.

ANTH 392 - (3) (Y)
Transnational Kinship
Prerequisite: ANTH 290 or permission of instructor.
This course focuses on the shifting nature of kinship relations in the context of the global economic restructuring, increased labor migration, and the political, religious, racial, and gender hierarchies that are characteristic of the emerging global political economy.

ANTH 493 - (3) (Y)
Kinship and the New Reproductive Technologies
Prerequisite: ANTH 290 or permission of instructor.
The course explores the manner in which cultural understandings of kinship relations both give shape to and are transformed by the new reproductive technologies-including surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, pre-implantation diagnosis, cloning and amniocentesis.

ANTH 519 - (3) (Y)
Science and Culture
Prerequisite: Previous anthropological course work or consent of instructor.
This course explores the cultural context of science and science as a cultural production. It investigates the cultural history of science as well as its national and transnational manifestations; the relation between scientific authority and social hierarchy; and the relation between cultural and scientific categories and practices.

ANTH 520 - (3) (O)
History of Kinship Studies
Critical assessment of major theoretical approaches to the study of kinship and marriage (from the 19th century to the present), and of the central role of kinship studies in the development of anthropological theory.

ANTH 521 - (3) (E)
Reconfiguring Kinship (Studies)
Prerequisite: ANTH 520 or instructor permission.
Examines the ways in which the forms of kinship have been reconfigured in contemporary societies, and the ways in which traditional kinship studies have been reconfigured by their intersection with culture theory, feminist theory, gender studies, postmodern theory, gay and lesbian studies, and cultural studies of science and medicine.

ANTH 522 - (3) (E)
Economic Anthropology
Considers Western economic theories and their relevance to non-Western societies. Includes a comparative analysis of different forms of production, consumption, and circulation.

ANTH 524 - (3) (IR)
Religious Organization
Analysis and comparison of social organization in selected communities from the perspective of systems of belief, ritual, and ceremonialism.

ANTH 525 - (3) (Y)
The Experience of Illness in American Society
Starting with the basic premise that the experience of illness/disease is at once a biological and cultural condition, the course focuses on narratives of the sick as a lens into the interrelationships between the body and society, medicine and culture. While the point of entry is the individual experience of illness and self in one Western society, the course intends to build a theoretical framework with which we can begin to conceptualize cultural institutional responses to and definitions of disease and ill-health.

ANTH 526 - (3) (SI)
History Production and Collective Memory
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
This course is an examination of the meanings and relationships between the past and present, memory, and history writing in anthropological practices and debates.

ANTH 528 - (3) (Y)
Topics in Race Theory
Prerequisite: ANTH 101, 301, or other introductory or middle-level social science or humanities course
This course examines theories and practices of race and otherness, in order to analyze and interpret constructions, deconstructions and reconstructions of race from the late 18th to the 21st centuries. The focus varies from year to year, and may include “race, ‘progress’ and the West,” “gender, race and power,” and “white supremacy.” The consistent theme is that race is neither a biological nor a cultural category, but a method and theory of social organization, an alibi for inequality, and a strategy for resistance. Cross listed as AAS 528.

ANTH 529 - (3) (Y)
Topics in Social Anthropology
Seminars and classes in topics of specific interest to faculty and advanced students will be announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 530 - (3) (Y)
Foundations of Symbolism
Interdisciplinary course on selected topics in the study of symbolism. Emphasizes symbolic anthropology.

ANTH 531 - (3) (E)
Feminist Theory in Anthropology
Critical overview of the historical development of the issues central to feminist theory in anthropology and their relation both to specific ethnographic problems, and to other theoretical perspectives within and outside anthropology.

ANTH 533 - (3) (E)
Folklore and Ethnohistorical Research Methodology
Prerequisite: Graduate student standing or permission of the instructor.
Introduction to folklore, and to folklore and ethnohistorical research methods and analysis.

ANTH 535 - (3) (E)
Folk and Popular Health Systems
Surveys various medical beliefs and practices, considering the traditional health systems of several American groups, and examining in detail the input into local traditional health systems from various sources.

ANTH 536 - (3) (O)
Topics in Folklore
Seminars and classes in topics of specific interest to faculty and advanced students will be announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 539 - (3) (SI)
Topics in Symbolic Anthropology
Topics of specific interest to faculty and advanced students are announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 571 - (3) (IR)
The Interpretation of Ritual
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
Begins with an overview of anthropology’s approach to ritual during a century of diverse speculation on the nature and origins of religions, with discussion of such figures as James Frazer, A.M.Hocart, Claude Levi-Strauss, Max Gluckman, and Victor Turner. Focuses on an issue selected anew each semester to cater to the research interests of instructor and students, relating that issue to the whole tradition of interpretation of ritual in anthropology. Issues pursued in previous sessions include the nature of sacrifice, the expression of hierarchy in ritual, and the compatibility of historical approaches with ritual analysis.

ANTH 572 - (3) (Y)
Ritual Experience and Healing
Studies the ritual of different cultures, using not only anthropological terms of analysis but also examining the viewpoint of the cultures themselves. Examines changing attitudes in the study of ritual, along with the problem of the wide variability of religious expression. Explores new directions in the anthropology of experience in the light of recent work in healing and spirit possession.

Linguistic Anthropology

ANTH 240 - (3) (Y)
Language and Culture
Introduces the interrelationships of linguistic, cultural, and social phenomena with emphasis on the importance of these interrelationships in interpreting human behavior. No prior knowledge of linguistics is required.

ANTH 242 - (3) (O)
Language and Gender
Studies how differences in pronunciation, vocabulary choice, non-verbal communication, and/or communicative style serve as social markers of gender identity and differentiation in Western and non-Western cultures. Includes critical analysis of theory and methodology of social science research on gender and language.

ANTH 243 - (3) (IR)
Languages of the World
Prerequisite: One year of a foreign language or permission of instructor.
An introduction to the study of linguistic structure and relationships. Topics covered: (1) basic units of grammatical description, (2) genetic, areal, and typological relationships among languages, (3) a survey of the world’s major language groupings and the notable structures and grammatical categories they exhibit, and (4) the issue of language death.

ANTH 247 - (3) (Y)
Reflections of Exile: Jewish Languages and their Communities
Covers Jewish languages Yiddish, Judeo-Arabic, Ladino, and Hebrew from historical, linguistic, and literary perspectives. Explores the relations between communities and languages, the nature of diaspora, and the death and revival of languages. No prior knowledge of these languages is required. This course is cross-listed with AMEL 247.

ANTH 333 - (3) (IR)
Ethnopoetics
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
An exploration of the form and meaning of traditional art, poetry, and song in various ethnographic contexts.

ANTH 340 - (3) (IR)
Structure of English
An introduction to the English grammatical system. Covers phonology and morphology, lexical categories, basic sentence types, common phrase and clause patterns, and syntactic transformations.

ANTH 341 - (3) (Y)
Sociolinguistics
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Reviews and findings of sociolinguists and others concerning the way language is used to express identity and relations of social superiority and inferiority.

ANTH 345 - (3) (Y)
Native American Languages
Introduces the native languages of North America and the methods that linguists and anthropologists use to record and analyze them. Examines the use of grammars, texts and dictionaries of individual languages and affords insight into the diversity among the languages.

ANTH 347 - (3) (Y)
Language and Culture in the Middle East
Prerequisite: Previous course in anthropology, linguistics, Middle East Studies or permission of instructor.
Introduction to peoples, languages, cultures and histories of the Middle East. Focuses on Israel/Palestine as a microcosm of important social processes-such as colonialism, nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and modernization-that affect the region as a whole. This course is cross-listed with AMEL 347.

ANTH 348 - (3) (E)
Language and Prehistory
This course covers the basic principles of diachronic linguistics and discusses the uses of linguistic data in the reconstruction of prehistory.

ANTH 504 - (3) (Y)
Linguistic Field Methods
Investigates the grammatical structure of non-European language on the basis of data collected in class from a native speaker. A different language is the focus of study each year.

ANTH 542 - (3) (IR)
Theories of Language
Survey of modern schools of linguistics, both American and European, discussing each approach in terms of historical and intellectual context, analytical goals, assumptions about the nature of language, and relation between theory and methodology.

ANTH 543 - (3) (IR)
African Language Structures
Prerequisite: One course in linguistics, or instructor permission.
Introduces the major phonological and grammatical features of the languages of sub-Saharan Africa, with attention to issues in language classification, the use of linguistic evidence for prehistoric reconstruction, and sociolinguistic issues of relevance to Africa.

ANTH 544 - (3) (E)
Morphology
An overview of morphological theory within the generative paradigm. Covers notions of the morpheme, theories of the phonology-syntax interface (e.g., lexical phonology, prosodic morphology, optimality theory), and approaches to issues arising at the morphology-syntax interface (e.g., inflection, agreement, incorporation, compounding).

ANTH 545 - (3) (IR)
African Languages and Folklore
Analyzes the expressive use of language in Africa with emphasis on such traditional genres as folktales, epics, proverbs, riddles, etc.

ANTH 547 - (3) (E)
Language and Identity
Prerequisite: At least one other 200-level linguistics course, 300-level cultural anthropology course, or instructor permission.
Explores the view that language is central in the construction, negotiation, and expression of social identities by juxtaposing and critically appraising social, theoretic, and linguistic treatments of identity.

ANTH 549 - (Credit to be arranged) (IR)
Topics in Theoretical Linguistics and Linguistic Anthropology
Seminars in topics of specific interest to faculty and advanced students will be announced prior to each semester.

Ethnography

ANTH 253 - (3) (Y)
North American Indians
Ethnological treatment of the aboriginal populations of the New World based on the findings of archaeology, ethnography, linguistics, biological anthropology, and social anthropology.

ANTH 256 - (3) (IR)
Peoples and Cultures of Africa
Studies African modernity through a close reading of ethnographies, social histories, novels, and African feature films.

ANTH 260 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Civilization of India
Introduces the society and culture of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Discussion of traditional social, political, and economic organization; religions, religious festivals, and worship; art and architecture; dance; and song.

ANTH 266 - (3) (IR)
Peoples of Polynesia
The peoples of Polynesia and Indonesia, sharing a cultural and linguistic heritage, have spread from Madagascar to Easter Island. Examines their maritime migrations, the societies and empires that they built, and recent changes affecting their cultural traditions.

ANTH 305 - (3) (Y)
Travel Accounts of Africa
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Analysis of how travel accounts of Africa during the 18-19th centuries influence anthropological practices and contemporary representations of the Continent.

ANTH 350 - (3) (Y)
Readings in Ethnography
Studies ethnographies, assessing the resources and devices of ethnographic writing through close readings of six or more examples. The ethnographies, for the most part, are concerned with non-Western cultures.

ANTH 353 - (3) (Y)
Anthropology of Eastern Europe
Prerequisite: one course in anthropology or permission of the instructor.
This course explores Eastern European societies through an examination of the practices of everyday social life. Topics include the changing cultural meanings of work and consumption, the nature of property rights and relations, family and gender, ethnicity and nationalism, religion and ritual.

ANTH 352 - (3) (IR)
Amazonian Peoples
Analyzes ethnographies on the cultures and the societies of the South American rain forest peoples, and evaluates the scholarly ways in which anthropology has produced, engaged, interpreted, and presented its knowledge of the “Amerindian.”

ANTH 354 - (3) (O)
Indians of the American Southwest
Ethnographic coverage of the Apaches, Pueblos, Pimans, and Shoshoneans of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Northwestern Mexico. Topics include prehistory, socio-cultural patterns, and historical development.

ANTH 355 - (3) (Y)
Anthropology of Everyday American Life
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Provides an anthropological perspective of modern American society. Traces the development of individualism through American historical and institutional development, using as primary sources of data religious movements, mythology as conveyed in historical writings, novels, and the cinema, and the creation of modern American urban life.

ANTH 357 - (3) (Y)
Peoples, Cultures, and Societies of the Caribbean
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Explores the histories and politics that have shaped the nations and dependencies that are geographically and politically defined as Caribbean, including French, English, and Spanish. Takes a regional and a national perspective on the patterns of family and kinship; community and household structures; political economy, ethnicity and ethnic relations; religious and social institutions; and relations between Caribbeans abroad and at home.

ANTH 358 - (3) (IR)
Native American Mythology
Focuses on the myths of Native Americans north of Mexico and their roles in Native American cultures. Students research and write a paper on the place of mythology in a particular culture, or on the forms and uses of a particular type of myth.

ANTH 362 - (3) (IR)
Cinema in India
Prerequisite: 200-level ANTH course or instructor permission.
An explanation of film culture in India.

ANTH 363 - (3) (E)
Social Structure of China
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Analyzes various features of traditional Chinese social organization as it existed in the late imperial period. Includes the late imperial state; Chinese family and marriage; lineages; ancestor worship; popular religion; village social structure; regional systems; and rebellion.

ANTH 364 - (3) (E)
Ethnology of Southeast Asia
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
Explores the ethnology and social anthropology of major cultures and societies of mainland ( and insular Southeast Asia from prehistoric beginnings to contemporary national adaptations. (Mainland: Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia; Insular: Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, and portions of other nations abutting the area.)

ANTH 365 - (3) (Y)
Asian American Ethnicity
Problems in ethnicity are posed through study of the experiences of the Chinese, Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, and Vietnamese in the United States. Topics include the history of immigration, early communities in the U.S., race relations, recent changes in immigration and communities, family values, and questions of identity.

ANTH 366 - (3) (Y)
China: Empire and Nationalities
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or equivalent, a course in Chinese history, or instructor permission.
Explores the distant and recent history of Han and non-Han nationalities in the Chinese empire and nation-state. Examines the reaction of minority nationalities to Chinese predominance and the bases of Chinese rule and cultural hegemony.

ANTH 370 - (3) (E)
Contemporary India
Prerequisite: One course in Anthropology or permission of instructor.
A study of selected interrelated major cultural, religious and political changes for comprehending India after independence. The course will focus on major urban centers for explicating changing family, marriage and caste relationships; middle class Indians; status of women and Dalits; and rising religious/ethnic violence, including Hindu religious politics and religious nationalism.

ANTH 509 - (3) (Y)
Historical Ethnography
Prerequisite: At least one 300-level archaeology course or instructor permission.
Combines lectures on historical ethnography and archaeology with documentary research in primary sources on specific topics.

ANTH 518 - (3) (SI)
Labor, Capital, and States in Contemporary Africa
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
This course examines the interface between Africa and the world by focusing on the relationship between international capital, different systems of governance, and laboring people through a close reading of ethnographic case studies.

ANTH 534 - (3) (E)
Ethnographies of Illness and the Body
Prerequisite: For undergraduates: ANTH 224 and 360, SOC 428; instructor permission for graduate students.
It is often at moments of intense ruptures in the normalcy of the body’s functioning that individuals/societies reflect on the taken-for-granted assumptions about self, family, community, social and political institutions, the relation between normal and pathological, the roles of healers and patients, life, and death. Writing about illness and the body is a form of therapeutic action. Examines such claims and writings done by those facing bodily distress.

ANTH 551 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of North America
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 552 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of Latin America
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 553 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of Europe
Seminars in topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 554 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of Africa
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 555 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of the Middle East
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 556 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of South Asia
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 557 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of East Asia
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 558 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of Southeast Asia
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 559 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of Melanesia
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 560 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of Australia
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 561 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology of Oceania
Seminars on topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 565 - (3) (Y)
Creole Narratives
Prerequisite: ANTH 357 strongly recommended.
Studies eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and twentieth-century Caribbean intellectual life, Imperialism, Island nationalism, slavery, colonized values, race, class, and religion.

ANTH 566 - (3) (IR)
Conquest of the Americas
Explores the power and personhood specifically related to the Americas. Topics include cultural frontiers; culture contact; society against the state; shamanism and colonialism; violence; and resistance.

ANTH 569 - (3) (IR)
Topics in Ethnology
Seminars and classes in topics of specific interest to faculty and advanced students will be announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 575 - (3) (Y)
Buddhism, Politics and Power
Discussion of the political culture of Buddhist societies of South and Southeast Asia.

Archaeology

ANTH 280 - (3) (Y)
Introduction to Archaeology
Topics include alternative theories of culture change, dating methods, excavation and survey techniques, and the reconstruction of the economy, social organization, and religion of prehistoric and historic societies.

ANTH 281 - (3) (Y)
Human Origins
Studies the physical and cultural evolution of humans from the initial appearance of hominids to the development of animal and plant domestication in different areas of the world. Topics include the development of biological capabilities such as bipedal walking and speech, the evolution of characteristics of human cultural systems such as economic organization and technology, and explanations for the development of domestication.

ANTH 282 - (3) (Y)
Rise of Civilization
Surveys patterns in the development of prehistoric civilizations in different areas of the world including the Inca of Peru, the Maya, the Aztec of Mexico, and the ancient Middle East.

ANTH 285 - (3) (Y)
American Material Culture
Analysis of patterns of change in American material culture from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries. Consideration of how these changes reflect shifts in perception, cognition, and worldview.

ANTH 371 - (3) (Y)
Cities in History
An introduction to the history of cities around the world, from the beginnings of cities to the present, locating urban forms in their social, cultural, political and symbolic contexts, with each class meeting examining a single city in depth. Cross-listed with AR H 371.

ANTH 382 - (3) (Y)
Field Methods in Historical Archaeology
Introduces the basic field methods used in conducting archaeological investigations of historic sites. Surveying, excavation, mapping, and recording are all treated.

ANTH 383 - (3) (Y)
North American Archaeology
Surveys the prehistoric occupations of several areas of North America emphasizing the eastern United States, the Plains, California, and the Southwest. Topics include the date of human migration into the New World, the economy and organization of early Paleo-Indian populations, and the evolution of organization and exchange systems.

ANTH 384 - (3) (IR)
Archaeology of the Middle East
This course is an introduction to the prehistory/early history of the Middle East (Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Levant and southeast Anatolia) from 10,000 to 4,000 BP.

ANTH 387 - (3) (IR)
Archaeology of Virginia
Reviews the current state of archaeological and ethnohistoric research in Virginia. Emphasizes the history and culture of Native Americans in Virginia from the earliest paleoindian cultures to the period of European colonization.

ANTH 388 - (3) (Y)
African Archaeology
Prerequisite: ANTH 280 or instructor permission.
Surveys transformations in Africa from four million years ago to the present, known chiefly through archaeology, and focusing on Stone and Iron Age societies in the last 150,000 years.

ANTH 389 - (3) (Y)
Southwestern Archaeology
The northern section of the American Southwest offers one of the best contexts for examining the evolution of local and regional organization from the prehistoric to the historic period. Readings and discussion focus on both archaeological and ethnographic studies of the desert (Hohokam), mountain (Mogollon), and plateau (Anasazi/Pueblo) cultures.

ANTH 507 - (3) (Y)
History of Archaeological Thought
Considers how archaeological thinking reflects and is related to more general ethnological theory.

ANTH 508 - (3) (Y)
Method and Theory in Archaeology
Intensive investigation of current research in the principles, methods, findings, and analysis of anthropological archaeology.

ANTH 580 - (Credit to be arranged) (SI)
Archaeology Laboratory
Field and laboratory training in the collection, processing, and analysis of archaeological material. Because subject matter varies from semester to semester; course may be repeated.

ANTH 581 - (3) (SI)
Archaeology of the Eastern United States
Studies the prehistory of the eastern woodlands with special emphasis on cultural development and change. Discussion of archaeological field techniques and methods, and examination of sites in the vicinity of the University.

ANTH 582 - (3) (SI)
Archaeology of the Southwestern United States
Studies the prehistory of the American southwest, emphasizing cultural development, field techniques, and particular sites.

ANTH 583 - (3) (SI)
Archaeology of the Ancient Middle East
Reviews and analyzes archaeological data used in the reconstruction of ancient Middle Eastern societies.

ANTH 584 - (3) (SI)
Archaeology of Complex Societies
Examines archaeological approaches to the study of complex societies using case studies from both the Old and New Worlds.

ANTH 585 - (3) (SI)
Archaeological Approaches to Economy and Exchange
A review of archaeological approaches to systems of production, exchange, and consumption. Discusses data from both the Old and New Worlds.

ANTH 586 - (3) (SI)
Ceramics, Style and Society
Critical review of the theoretical and methodological issues in the archaeological study of ceramics. Includes ceramic production and exchange, and the uses of ceramics in the study of social interactions.

ANTH 587 - (3) (SI)
Archaeozoology
Laboratory training in techniques and methods used in analyzing animal bones recovered from archaeological sites. Include field collection, data analysis, and the use of zooarchaeological materials in reconstructing economic and social systems.

ANTH 588 - (3) (SI)
Analytical Methods in Archaeology
Prerequisite: Introductory statistics.
Examines the quantitative analytical techniques used in archaeology. Includes seriation, regression analysis, measures of diversity, and classification.

ANTH 589 - (3) (Y)
Topics in Archaeology
Seminars in topics announced prior to each semester.

ANTH 590 - (3) (E)
Issues in Archaeological Analysis
Prerequisite: ANTH 588 or a basic statistics course.
Archaeological databases often violate many of the assumptions made in the application of parametric statistics. Reviews the unique characteristics of those databases and explores alternative analytical methods. Emphasizes case studies.

ANTH 591 - (3) (IR)
Gender in Archaeology
Explores the range of case studies and theoretical literature associated with the emergence of gender as a framework for research in archaeology.

ANTH 592 - (3) (SI)
Archaeology of Colonial Expansions
Prerequisite: For undergraduates, ANTH 401 senior seminar or instructor permission.
Exploration of the archaeology of frontiers, expansions and colonization, focusing on European expansion into Africa and the Americas while using other archaeologically-known examples (e.g., Roman, Bantu) as comparative studies.

ANTH 593 - (3) (SI)
Archaeology of Symbolism
Prerequisite: Undergraduates should obtain instructor permission.
Examines the ways in which archaeologists have studied symbolism in ancient societies. Some key topics include the analyses of cultural concepts of space and time, symbolism of material culture and the construction of social identity.

Independent Study and Research

ANTH 496 - (Credit to be arranged) (SI)
Independent Study in Anthropology
Independent study conducted by the student under the supervision of an instructor of his or her choice.

ANTH 497 - (3) (Y)
Distinguished Majors Thesis Research
Prerequisite: Admission to the Distinguished Majors Program in Anthropology.
Independent research, under the supervision of the faculty DMP thesis readers, toward the DMP thesis.

ANTH 498 - (3) (Y)
Distinguished Majors Thesis Writing
Prerequisite: ANTH 497.
Writing of a thesis of approximately 50 pages, under the supervision of the faculty DMP thesis readers.

Swahili

SWAH 101, 102 - (3) (S)
Introductory Swahili I
Prerequisite: limited or no previous knowledge of Swahili.

SWAH 102 - (3) (S)
Introductory Swahili I
Prerequisite: SWAH 101.