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Courses Descriptions for Anthropology

ANT 1010-3 Physical Anthropology and Prehistory (2 + 2)

Prerequisites: minimum performance standard scores on reading, writing, and mathematics preassessment placement tests

This is an introductory course covering the basic concepts and position of humans in nature, human and cultural evidence of the past, and modern diversity. A brief survey of the discipline of anthropology and its subdivisions will also be included. The laboratory will include firsthand experience in identifying fossil hominids, lithic technology, and human variation. (General Studies-Level II, Natural Science)

ANT 1310-3 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: minimum performance standard scores on reading and writing preassessment placement tests

This course provides a comparative perspective on human behavior and thought by exploring a variety of world cultures in the domains of kinship, social organization, language, ecological adaptation, economics, and religion. The applied aspects of anthropology are also investigated. (General Studies-Level II, Social Sciences)

ANT 2100-3 Human Evolution (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1010 or permission of instructor

An intense look at Darwin's century and the ideas that have contributed to our present understanding of human evolution. The hominid fossil record is presented as living history in light of what fossils reveal about the populations they represent, their behavior, and their social organization.

ANT 2330-3 Cross-Cultural Communication (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: permission of instructor or satisfaction of Level I General Studies course requirements

Designed to help the nonspecialist gain an understanding of culturally conditioned behavior as it relates to intercultural relations among people of different nations. The course will move from the fundamentals of culture, language, and meaning to viewing the cultural barriers causing communication interference and failure across cultures. (General Studies-Level II, Social Sciences; Multicultural)

ANT 2350-3
(AAS 2300) African Peoples and Cultures (3 + 0)

Examines traditional cultures of African peoples. Gives added understanding of culture and people in relation to human problems and experiences. Credit will be granted for only one prefix: ANT or AAS.

ANT 2360-3
(CHS 2000) Living Culture and Language of the Mexican and Chicano (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: CHS 1000 or CHS 1020

Traces the fusion of cultures and dialects of the Spanish-speaking Southwest into elements that characterize Chicano intracultural and intercultural diversity. Credit will be granted for only one prefix: ANT or CHS.

ANT 2640-3 Archaeology (3 + 0)

This course will be an examination of how archaeologists discover and interpret the material remains of human behavior from the past.

ANT 2710-3 Archaeological Field Research (1 + 4)

Archaeological field investigations that may consist of surveying, mapping, testing of sites, and/or excavations. Course may be repeated for up to a maximum of six hours. No more than three credit hours may be applied toward a major or minor in anthropology.

ANT 3110-3 Human Variation (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1010 or permission of instructor

The varied forms and features of humanity can be grouped and understood in terms of their adaptive costs and benefits. Modern appreciation of human variation lies in the processes that have developed differing human populations. The course will search out the fundamental features of these processes and analyze them.

ANT 3150-3 Primate Studies (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1010 or permission of instructor

From the jungle to the zoo, non-human primates are fascinating. Through observation and recent contributions from the field and laboratory, the student will analyze the behavior and structure of living primates. Resulting interpretations will assist in understanding human behavior and human development.

ANT 3250-3 Doing Anthropology (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1310 or permission of instructor

An application of the special ethnographic skills related to the collection, management, interpretation, and analysis of cultural information. The study will include examination and practice of participant observation and focused ethnography.

ANT 3300-3 Exploring World Cultures: Variable Topics (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1310 or permission of instructor

The focus of study will be an exploration of selected non-Western cultures. Using films and various ethnographic procedures, the student learns how culture-and by extension, human culture-is a living thing shaped by the people who carry it. The course may be repeated under different topics.

ANT 3310-3 Ethnography of North American Indians (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: ANT 1310 or permission of instructor

Studies the nature and consequences of distinctive Indian cultures that occupied North America at the time of European contact. Includes a close analysis of the many different aspects of social organization and environment that contribute to the unique cultures we call American Indian. (General Studies-Level II, Social Sciences; Multicultural)

ANT 3340-3 Native Americans in Historical Perspective (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1310 or permission of instructor

A survey of the response of Native American societies to the overrunning social, economic, and political structures of EuroAmerica. Broad areas of cultural change are covered, and the fundamental issues of land, economic development, and cultural integrity are looked at.

ANT 3350-3 Vanishing Cultures and Peoples (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1310 or permission of instructor

Industrial civilization is now completing its destruction of technologically simple tribal cultures. Intense contextual and comparative analysis of the cultures undergoing drastic modification enhances awareness of the fundamental right of different lifestyles to coexist and develop analytical skills to help understand cultural changes.

ANT 3390-3 Understanding Cultures (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1310 or permission of instructor

Cultural norms have an enormous influence over the kinds of behavior found in any society. Using contemporary theories of anthropology, the course expands on the means to both understand and mitigate cross-cultural differences.

ANT 3460-3 Social Organization and Evolution (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1310 or permission of instructor

An intensive look at forms of social organization, with a focus on kinship, arranged in evolutionary sequence from the hunting-and-gathering band to the complex social networks of a complex society.

ANT 3480-3 Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness (3 + 0)

Prerequisites: permission of instructor and satisfaction of Level I General Studies course requirements

Prepares students to understand the many different viewpoints and concepts related to health and illness in other cultures. Emphasizes the need and means to provide culturally appropriate health care. (General Studies-Level II, Social Sciences; Multicultural)

ANT 3610-3 Archaeology of North America (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1010 or permission of instructor

Prehistory of North America emphasizing the peopling of the New World, earliest Indian cultures, and later regional developments.

ANT 3620-3 South American Archaeology (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1010 or equivalent, or permission of instructor

This course focuses on the origins and developments of prehistoric South American cultures. Starting with the first people to arrive in South America and culminating in the conquest of the Incas by the Spanish, coverage ranges from the Andean highlands to the tropical jungles of the Amazon.

ANT 3660-3 Ancient American Civilizations (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 1010 or equivalent, or permission of instructor

The course will concentrate on the study of the emergence, culmination, and fall of Central and South American civilizations. The cultural situation of precivilization America will be presented at the beginning of the course. Throughout, the contributions of American civilizations to our culture will be stressed.

ANT 3680-3 Practical Archaeology (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: ANT 2640 or equivalent, or permission of instructor

A course emphasizing the practical application of selected archaeological methods and techniques consisting of lectures and demonstrations. The students will have an opportunity to get acquainted with various field and laboratory equipment and work with archaeological material. Active class participation is expected. The application of computers in archaeological work will also be discussed.

ANT 4400-3 Recent Issues in Anthropology: Variable Topics (3 + 0)

Prerequisite: permission of instructor

An examination of current issues related to new discoveries and ongoing or completed work in archaeology, cultural anthropology, or physical anthropology. Each section will address different areas of anthropology and may be repeated under different topics.

ANT 4710-3 Advanced Archaeological Field Research (1 + 4)

Prerequisite: permission of instructor

Advanced-level archaeological field work, including survey design, map-making, transit survey, sampling strategies, artifact conservation, student supervision of excavations and survey, field sample preparation, computer coding of artifact types and distribution, archival research, site recording, and report writing. Course may be repeated for up to a maximum of six hours. No more than three credit hours may be applied toward a major or minor in anthropology.


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