ANTH 470 - Senior Seminar in Anthropology

Fall (4) Staff Prerequisite(s): ANTH 202 and two other ANTH courses in the same sub-field as the senior seminar section.

A small, writing intensive seminar for senior majors. Topics will vary, reflecting the research specializations of faculty teaching each section. Students will conduct original research and produce a substantial paper.

Topics for Fall

Alcohol and Culture. Alcohol is the most widely used drug and drinking is often a highly ritualized social event. In this seminar we will explore the role alcohol has played historicaly in politics, society, and the economy from a comparative cross-cultural perspective. Using historical, archaeological, and ethnographic sources, we will identify common themes in the social uses of alcohol and interpret the symbolic meanings people attach to drinking.

Topics for Spring

Bioarchaeology This senior seminar for students interested in the use of human skeletal remains from archaeological sites as evidence of the health, behavior, culture, and social and ecological conditions of archaeological populations. The course builds on basic osteological knowledge and provides examples of the statistical treatment of paleopathological and paleodemographic data. The course is meant to introduce students to the conduct of bioarchaeological research . Students are expected to conduct independent research.

Cultures of Music in North Africa. Through reading, writing, film-viewing, music-making, and discussion, and with the help of anthropological and wider social theory, we will explore a range of urban musical practices of the Maghrib, with particular attention to Algeria. Musical experience welcome but not required.

Anthropology for Social Entrepreneurs. This seminar explores anthropological theory-practice for the next generation of social entrepreneurs, community program-builders, industrial ethnographers, designers, creators, and managers of digital media, and international educators. The participants will learn how practicing anthropologists work in non-academic fields, such as business and public policy.

An Anthropology of Ritual. This course will explore a host of perspectives, both classic and contemporary, on the phenomena of ritual. We will consider a range of practices drawn from diverse contexts as we attempts to develop an account of what ritual is and how it works.