Anthropology (Anth)
A. THE CORE CURRICULUM
I. Basics
Anth 1, 2, and 3 are taught each semester. Anth 101 and S Sci 15 are taught
once each year.
1. Introduction to Physical Anthropology (3)
This course examines the biological basis of being human. It compares us
with our primate relatives, traces the evolution of our species from 4 million-year-old
austra lopithecines, and accounts for the great anatomical and biochemical
diversity among modern human populations. (CAN ANTH 2)
2. Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3)
Not open to students with credit in Anth 15 or S Sci 15. Examines the nature
of culture, humanity's unique mechanism for adapting to the changing environment.
It explores the varieties of human life and explains how culture has made
possible the range of different and successful societies, from hunters and
gatherers to industrial civilization. (CAN ANTH 4)
3. Introduction to Prehistory (3)
An exploration of human prehistory as revealed by the archaeological record.
Traces the evolution of culture, from its earliest expression in crude stone
tools more than 2 million years old, through the emergence of agriculture
and the first civilizations. (CAN ANTH 6)
15. Man's Place in the Natural Environment (5)
A special introduction, involving extended field trips, which integrates
introductory cultural anthropology and archaeology to explain how past and
present peoples have adapted to and altered biological and geological processes
and features. Offered only in the fall as part of the 17-unit "Man
and the Natural Environment" program which requires concurrent enrollment
in Biol 15, Geol 15, and N Sci 15. (Field trip fees: $150)
50. Anthropology, Science, and Knowledge (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2 and either Anth 1 or 3; or permission. This course
explores the scientific concepts which underlie all four subfields of anthropology.
It discusses the basic methodology employed in anthropological research
and analyzes the cultural factors which influence the way in which scientific
inquiry and interpretation are conducted.
101. Field Work in Anthropology (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 106 or 108. An introduction to the role, the theory,
and the rudimentary techniques of fieldwork in archaeology, and ethnology.
Requires some field trips, including weekends.
II. Method and Theory
These courses are offered once each year.
102. Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 1 or 2. A compendium of current thinking on language
from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives. Discusses brain functions
and language process in human and nonhuman communication systems, and the
roles of language in human evolution, behavior, and thought.
104. History and Theory of Anthropology (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. A history of the growth of anthropological thought
through an analysis of the informational and explanatory powers of five
major theoretical schools: Nineteenth-century Evolutionists, British Functionalists,
Boasian Historical Particularists, Neo-Evolutionists/Marxists, and Cognitivists.
106. Contemporary Archaeology (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2, 3, or permission of instructor. An overview of the
nature of archaeological data and its use in reconstructing the lifeways
of prehistoric peoples. Special emphasis is given to the development of
modern archaeological theory, the current state of the profession, and its
present trends and limits.
108. Urban Anthropology (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2, 3, or permission. The uneven distribution and explosive
growth of humanity during this century evolved a lifestyle whose implications
are poorly understood: urban existence. Reviews cross-cultural and interdisciplinary
evidence and explanations for urbanization, with a focus on American life.
B. THE ELECTIVE CURRICULUM
III. Area Surveys
121. Peoples and Cultures of South America (3)
Prerequisites: Anth 2. A survey of South American Indian tribes and
civilizations since prehistoric times, based on archaeological and ethnographic
data. Explores the interplay between environment and local cultural adaptations,
and examines the effect of historical contact with European peoples.
123. Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. An introductory survey of the cultural and historical
adaptations of societies in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam;
and of Insular societies in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Examines
the major effects of culture contact between East and West.
124. Peoples and Cultures of East Asia (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. Examines cultural pluralism. Considers cultural adaptations
and change among minorities such as Moslems, Tibetans, and Mongolians in
China, and ethnic groups of Japan and Korea. Outlines kinship, religion,
organization, and technological factors in the Asiatic culture complex.
127. Peoples and Cultures of the Southwest (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. A survey of Native American cultures of the Southwestern
United States and Northwestern Mexico from their prehistoric origins to
the present. Emphasis is placed on cultural continuity and change during
the past 400 years of contact with western culture.
129T. Topics in Area Surveys (1-3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. Special surveys of peoples and cultures in regions
not covered in the regular curriculum, such as Africa, the Caribbean, or
the Middle East. The contributions of the Etruscans, Scythians, Slavs, Germanics,
Celts, Vikings, Brits, and others to the birth of history.
IV. Archaeology
131. Prehistory of North America (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 3. Traces the development of Native American cultures
from the Arctic to Mesoamerica, from the peopling of the continent to early
historic times. Examines the archaeological evidence for the antiquity,
spread, and variation of cultural adaptations to changing ecological conditions.
132. Prehistoric Europe (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 3. Outlines the peopling of the European continent, and
the origin and spread of its cultures from Neanderthal times through the
Middle Ages. The contributions of the Etruscans, Scythians, Slavs, Germanics,
Celts, Vikings, Brits and others to the birth of history.
135. Origins of Civilization (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 3. The emergence o1 agriculture between 10,000 and 5,000
years ago led to the evolution of state organization and urban society,
which completely transformed human existence. This course examines the archaeological
evidence and theories that seek to explain these crucial developments.
139T. Topics in Archaeology (1-3)
Prerequisite: varies with title. Special studies in archaeological methods,
techniques, history and theory, or of prehistoric culture areas not covered
in the regular curriculum.
V. Social Organization
140. Organization and Inequality (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. Examines cooperation, competition, dominance,
and predation in the division of labor and its rewards. Achievement and
ascription of roles and statuses on the basis of sex, age, and perceived
value in bands, tribes, feudal states, caste, and class systems.
142. Anthropology of War (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. An interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution
of violence and aggression. Examines theoretical explanations for warfare
from biological determinism to elite predation, and indicates its costs
and benefits to individual and group welfare at different stages of cultural
complexity.
144. The Design of Cultures (3)
Normally open only to students who have completed the core curriculum.
Analyzes culture change and its management from the perspective that any
culture represents only one of many possible sets of responses to evolutionary
challenges. Stresses decision-making in cultural evolution. Students collectively
design a culture to fit specific hypothetical conditions.
149T. Topics in Social Organization (1-3)
Prerequisite: varies with title. Special studies in the theory and practice
of organized cooperation and conflict in nature and culture.
VI. World View
150W. Anthropology of Religion (3)
Prerequisites: Engl 1, Anth 2. Examines the patterned belief systems of
the world's tribal, peasant, and sectarian societies. Stresses the role
of religion in individual and group perception, cognition, ritual, and social
organization. Topics include myth, magic, shamanism, mysticism, witchcraft,
trance, hallucinogens, and cultism. Meets upper-division writing skills
requirement for graduation.
153. Anthropological Psychology (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. Outlines the psychocultural evolution of human learning,
cognition, motives, values, and decision-making. Indicates axiomatic assumptions
in cultures, and the effects of their acquisition and loss. Explains identity
and personality as dynamic adaptations to impermanence in physiology and
environment.
155. Folk Medicine (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2. A cross-cultural examination of health practices and
of the cultural assumptions and attitudes on which they are based. Reviews
ethnomedicine, ethnopsychiatry, and epidemiology in the health care systems
of non-Westerners and of ethnic communities in pluralistic America.
159T. Topics in Ideology (1-3)
Prerequisite: varies with title. Special studies on the form and function
of ideology or of specific ideological systems, constructs, or practices.
VII. Physical Anthropology
161. Fossil Man (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 1. A critical examination of the fossil evidence for
hominid forms and behaviors in the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. Focuses
on the specific evolutionary factors which led to the emergence of modern
humanity.
162. Primates (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 1. An introduction to the study of primate biological
and behavioral evolution. Explores sociobiological theory in order to explain
the unity and diversity of social behavior in prosimians, monkeys, and apes.
163. Human Variation (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 1. A cross-cultural examination of variations in human
morphology, physiology, and biochemistry. Establishes the correlation between
variations in human biology and variations in climate, culture, nutrition,
and disease.
164. Human Osteology (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 1. Introduces a range of analytic techniques for extracting
information from human skeletal remains: sexing and aging, osteometry, odontometry,
the examination and diagnosis of epigenetic traits and pathological lesion,
and the statistical interpretation of skeletal data.
169T. Topics in Physical Anthropology (1-3)
Prerequisite: Anth 1. Special studies of the discovery and interpretation
of information in physical anthropology, and of the application of this
subdiscipline in legal, medical, and scientific research.
VIII. Subcultural Variation
170. Women: Culture and Biology (3)
(Same as W S 170.) Prerequisite: Anth 1 or 2. A cross-cultural and interdisciplinary
analysis of the determinants of female statuses and circumstances. Examines
theories, including biological and cultural determinism, which explain variations
in the expression of sexuality, maturation, reproduction, and the life cycle.
172. Ethnic Relations and Cultures (3)
Prerequisite: Anth 2 or permission. The cultural and social origins of ethnicity,
and its opportunities and problems for contemporary mass societies. Offers
a critical review of major theories on ethnic politics, economics, and ideology
in the light of cross-cultural evidence.
179T. Topics in Subcultural Variation (1-3)
Prerequisite: varies with title. Special studies on the origin, evolution,
manifestation and implication of subcultural differences in the modern world.
Selected topics may include criminal, sexual, physically impaired, or institutional
subcultures.
C. THE SPECIAL CURRICULUM
Courses in this division cover topics outside of the standard curriculum,
including student research projects. Credit earned in these courses applies
to the 124-unit university graduation requirement, but ordinarily may not
be applied to the requirements for the anthropology major or minor.
IX. Popular Anthropology
181. Cultures and Foods of East Asia
(3)
(Same as AsAm 151.) Treats cuisine as a systematic product of the interaction
between culture and ecology. Focuses on sociocultural rather than bio-nutritional
factors in the preparation and ritual implications of food in Mainland and
Insular Asia. Students learn to prepare and serve a variety of Oriental
dishes.
186. Tradition and Change in China and Japan (3)
(Same as Hum 140.) Examines the current aspirations and problems of the
Chinese and Japanese in terms of their traditional cultures, and explains
how their histories, values, world views, and intellectual traditions affect
their lifestyles and their international relations today.
189T. Topics in Popular Anthropology (1-3)
Anthropological approaches to topics of public interest, presented in a
fashion which does not require the student to have previous experience in
anthropology.
X. Advanced Study in Anthropology
The following courses are normally open only to students who have completed
the core curriculum.
190. Independent Study (1-3; max see reference)
See Academic Placement -- Independent Study.
192. Directed Readings (1-3)
Prerequisite: normally open only to students who have completed the core
curriculum. Supervised reading on a student-selected topic outside the regular
curriculum, conducted under regular consultation with a faculty sponsor.
199. Honors Thesis (1-3)
Prerequisites: normally open only to students who have completed the core
curriculum and who maintain a GPA in anthropology of at least 3.5. Development
of a student report or paper into a manuscript of professional and publishable
quality. Requires approval by an Honors Committee of three faculty members.
Asian American Studies (AsAm)
15. Introduction to Asian American Status and Identity (3)
Historical, social, and psychological factors in the changing status and
identity of Americans from Asia. Examines variables such as cultural heritage,
family organization, intergenerational conflict, and the experience of racism
in the changing world of Asian Americans.
30. Japanese Americans in the United States (3)
A survey of social adaptations and cultural changes among Japanese Americans
in different communities such as California and Hawaii. Considers identity,
marginality, acculturation, and cultural traditions in Japan and in American
communities.
56. Chinese Americans in the United States (3)
A survey of social adaptations and cultural changes among Chinese Americans
in such places as California, Hawaii, and New York. Considers identity,
marginality, acculturation, and cultural traditions in China and in American
communities.
110. Asian American Communities (3)
A multidisciplinary study of Asian American communities and their relations
with the larger society. Analyzes values, lifestyles, processes of group
identity and boundary maintenance, social organization, and cultural change.
Examination of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and other Asian American subcultures.
150. Asian American Expression (3)
The study of Asian and Asian American literature, art, music, and drama.
Examines the role of creative expression as a way of understanding changing
views of ethnicity and community identity.
151. Cultures and Foods of East Asia (3)
(See Anth 181.)
180T. Topics in Asian American Studies (3; max total 6)
Prerequisites: AsAm 15, permission of instructor. Detailed consideration
of a single topic concerning the past or present position of Asian Americans
in U.S. society.
190. Independent Study (1-3; max see reference)
See Academic Placement -- Independent Study.