Other Areas: The Arts | Business, Management & Economics | Community & Human Services | Communications, Humanities & Cultural Studies | Educational Studies | Historical Studies | Human Development | Labor Studies | Science, Math & Technology | Social Theory, Structure & Change
Liberal Study
Lower Level
Credits: 4
Meets General Education Requirement In: Other World Civilizations-Full;Social Sciences-Full
Term(s) Offered (Subject to Change) : Spring 1. Summer. Fall 1.
This course introduces students to the concepts, contributions, trends and methods of cultural anthropology, stressing the insights they offer into contemporary social issues, both in the US and abroad. We will examine the cultural practices and institutions of people living in societies ranging from hunter-gatherer groups to urban centers focusing primarily on non-Western societies. In doing so, we explore the difference, creativity and inventiveness of cultures as well as the divisive aspects of class, ethnic, racial and gender hierarchies. Topics will include: kinship and social organization; beliefs and ritual; language and communications; economic and political systems; and systems of social stratification (race, ethnicity, gender, etc.). Throughout the course we will employ a cross-cultural perspective on these topics, examining a range of societies and diverse cultures.
This course fully meets the General Education requirement in Other World Civilizations.
Effective FA1 2017 this course also fully meets the General Education requirement in Social Sciences.
