Anthropology (AN)

Introduction to the study of people and cultures around the world through the 4 divisions of anthropology (cultural, linguistic, bio-physical, and archaeology). Topics include the diversity of modern human beliefs and behaviors regarding the body, food, economy, sustainability, gender, kinship, politics, and religion, as well as their evolutionary and historical origins. Falls and Springs. (GACO)

This course examines important archaeological discoveries throughout the world and their relevance for understanding present day global dynamics. Overview of world prehistory including human origins and evolution, emergence of agriculture, and ancient civilizations around the globe. Demonstrates the types of questions that archaeologists ask and shows how cultures are reconstructed using the fragmentary remains in the archaeological record. (GACO)

Examines the archaeological and ethnohistorical data for the existence of high civilizations in Mesoamerica such as the Olmec, Maya and Aztec. Traces the prehistory from earliest people into the historic era of Spanish conquest and domination. Not open to students who have earned credit for AN 3040.

Prerequisite(s): AN 2100 or AN 2210 or SO 2220.

Surveys ethnographic research on modern human migration in the United States and around the world. Includes perspectives of both voluntary migrants and refugees. Selected topics include impacts of migration on host societies and places of origin, assimilation and acculturation, remittances and other economic impacts, immigration policies and their impacts, and New Hampshire’s “New American” community. (GACO)

Combining principles and concepts from anthropology and sociology, examines the cultural and social forces that affect economic behavior, outcomes, and inequality in the United States and around the world. Selected topics include: causes and consequences of class and status differences within societies, social mobility, and how class interacts with race and gender. Also offered as SO 3130.

Examines human belief systems from cultures around the world, from major world religions to local and animistic traditions. Introduces anthropological analysis of selected topics, such as origins and functions of religion, rituals, myths, shamanism, voodoo, witchcraft, altered states of consciousness, healing, death customs, and modern fundamentalism and syncretism. Not open to students who have earned credit for AN 3200.

Examines specialized areas in anthropology which are not covered in regularly scheduled courses.

Prerequisite(s): AN 2100 or AN 2210.

Surveys anthropological research on African peoples from the early 20th century to the present day on such topics as religion and witchcraft, social change and urbanization, sustainability, development, migration, and globalization. Contemporary challenges of the continent are contextualized in light of historical trends such as slavery and colonialism. (GACO)

Discusses and analyzes traditional Indian cultures from an anthropological perspective which includes patterns of subsistence, social organization and ideology. Culture change, conflict and the contemporary status of native groups are considered within the context of national political and legal policies.

Prerequisite(s): AN 2100 or AN 2210 or SO 2220.

Concepts of illness, wellness, and healing reflect the societies and cultures in which they are found. Compares ways in which a variety of Western (e.g., France, Germany, United States) and non-Western (South American, African) societies and cultures think about and institutionalize health and illness. Selected topics include: changing health and nutritional status from human prehistory to the present, social and cultural definitions of health and illness, ritual healing practices, ethnomedicine, the relationships of social organization and stratification to health and illness; and the social and personal construction of medical knowledge. Not open to students who have earned credit for AN 3500. Falls and Springs. (INCO) (INCP) (WECO)

Prerequisite(s): (AN 2210 or SO 2220) or (AN 2100 or SO 2225).

This course introduces key concepts from anthropology and sociology to analyze the forces that shape individual experiences of health. Select topics include major health transitions in human evolution, ethnomedicine and ritual healing practices, health inequities, and healthcare policies. Contemporary challenges in global health and the organizations working to address them are also explored. Also offered as SO 3510. Springs and Falls. (WECO)

An introduction to Forensic Anthropology, which is the scientific study of the human skeleton and its application to the law. This includes the study of age, gender, stature, abnormalities, disease, pathologies, and trauma, along with all of the other evidence that can be learned from the study of human remains. Intensive handling and analysis of human bones. Falls.

Provides an opportunity to acquire field experiences - survey, mapping, excavation, material analysis - at land or underwater sites from the Prehistoric or Historical periods. Summers.

Students learn how to critically evaluate studies in anthropology and sociology, and to design and plan a study of social phenomena of their own. Skills learned include theory, application and construction, operationalizing variables, evaluating strengths and weaknesses of research methodologies, determining causality, sampling, hypothesis formulation and testing, data collection and analysis, and proposal writing. May be taken as SO 4415. (TECO)

Prerequisite(s): MA 2300 or SS 3705 or SW 3705.

Capstone course for majors; provides an overview of anthropological and sociological methodology and theory and their application to careers. Heavily emphasizes research and the practical applications of anthropology and sociology. Spring of odd years. Prerequisite(s) to: (AN 4400 or SO 4400) or (AN 4410 or SO 4410) or (AN 4415 or SO 4415) and Junior or Senior standing as a major. (WRCO)

Students engage in work programs and thereby apply knowledge gained from major and minor courses, areas or concentrations. Qualifications to be an intern are determined by the Department Chair and a faculty member who acts as a supervising professor. Once placed, student interns have both an immediate supervisor and a supervising professor. With permission.

Provides a more intense background in some aspect of anthropology through reading and research, supplementing previous courses or broadening the student's knowledge in some subject area not presently covered by AN courses. Consent required of the instructor who will supervise the independent study and the Department Chair.