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Medical Anthropology graduate-level courses are also offered through the Boston Healing Landscape Project (BU Medical School) at http://www.bu.edu/bhlp/pages/masters/courses/index.html
An introduction to the basic concepts, principles, and problems of cultural
anthropology, emphasizing study of both traditional and complex societies. Special
attention to the evolution of human societies and culture; the changing organization
and meaning of religion, economic life, kinship, and political order; and the
problems of cultural variation in the modern world.
4 cr. Satisfies divisionall studies requirement (SS).
Biology relevant to the behavioral sciences. Introduces basic principles of
evolutionary biology, animal social behavior, primate adaptations, human origins,
genetic/hormonal/neural bases of behavior, and issues of human socio-ecology
and adaptations. Discussions highlight nature versus nurture issues.
4 cr. Satisfies divisional studies requirement (NS).
Examines human health in cross-cultural context. Focuses on interaction of
physiological, ecological and social factors in determining variation in both
physical and mental health. Considers the role of cultural practices in shaping
the understanding of and response to illness and disease.
4 cr.
Survey of urban phenomena in evolutionary perspective
using illustrative materials from records of the past and from current descriptions
in all world areas; contrasting social processes under different historical,
geographical, political and economic circumstances.
4 cr.
An introduction to the anthropologists' approaches to law. Investigation of
the relationship among society, culture, and law focuses on how different societies
generate and structure competition and conflict. Examines the range of social
and symbolic mechanisms for regulating dispute.
4 cr. Satisfies divisional studies requirement (SS).
The ways individuals, families, and communities express themselves, their beliefs,
and their values within their own culture. Emphasis on meaning carried by oral
literature, folk arts and crafts, social customs and festivals, and family folklore.
4 cr.
Political and cultural factors underlying ethnic and nationalist sentiments
examined through case studies drawn from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Discusses factors underlying ethnic boundaries, as well as such boundary-transcending
influences as the media.
4 cr.
Cross-cultural examination of changing gender roles, expectations, and activities.
Focuses on economic, social, political, and ideological determinants that structure
the hierarchy of power and privileges accorded the thoughts, activities, and
experiences of women and men in various societies.
4 cr. Satisfies divisional studies requirement (SS).
Prereq: Consent of Instructor.
A movement-oriented course on the performance styles, history, and folklore
of the seasonal Morris dances and mummers' plays, that traditionally thrive
in England.
4 cr.
Explores the ways ordinary Africans are coping with problems of security, environmental
degradation, forced migration, economic decline, and disease. Readings and lectures
contrast outsiders' interpretations of these "crises" with the way they are
experienced by those they effect.
4 cr.
Explores the way various cultures shape the lives and social development of
children. Topics include cultural concept of childhood; the acquisition of culture;
socialization and moral development; cognition, emotion, and behavior in childhood;
children's language and play; and the cultural shaping of personality.
4 cr.
A comparative examination of family, concentrating on marriage, reproduction,
power, and relations with kin. Three Asian societies are treated: Japan, India,
and the People's Republic of China. Ethnographic materials are used and lectures
provide a theoretical focus.
4 cr.
Social and cultural diversity of the modern Middle East with particular attention
to Turkey. Focus on the interplay of tradition and socio-economic changes that
have occurred during the 20th century and their implications for the future.
4 cr.
Study of foodways, culinary social history, and diet and food ecology with
special attention to Asian societies and Boston’s food culture. Examines the
use of food and cuisine as a focus for identity, national development, and social
change.
4 cr.
Prereq: Consent of Instructor.
A survey including an appreciation of the traditional background and heritage of native North Americans, an analysis of the history and contact with Europeans and governmental policies, and an examination and evaluation of the contemporary situation.
4 cr.
Survey of the continent with attention to ethnohistory, traditional cultures,
and cultural change.
4 cr.
Peoples and cultures of the Middle East from Afghanistan to Morocco and from
the Caucuses to Yemen. Focuses on social organization, family structure, the
relationship between the sexes, and the development and maintenance of authority.
4 cr.
Provides an in-depth introduction to the cultural traditions and contemporary
development of Southeast Asia. Examines the contemporary society and culture
through the optic of political and cultural history, so as to understand the
"imaginative revolutions" that have shaped this region and are transforming
it still today.
4 cr.
Muslim societies are today being buffeted by a struggle
over the forms and meanings of Muslim culture and politics. This course examines
this struggle, and its implications for religious authority, gender ideals,
and new notions of citizenship, civil society, and democracy.
4 cr.
A cross-cultural approach to the diversity and complexity of women's lives in the Muslim world, including the United States. Looks at issues such as gender equality, civil society and democracy, sex segregation and sexual politics, kinship and marriage, and veiling.
4 cr.
Investigation of the relationship of cognition and culture, focusing on the
problem of evolution and mind, public acts and private thought, the "primitive
mentality" debate, socialization theory, cultural aspects of mental illness,
and the role of innate vs. cultural variables in shaping cognition.
4 cr.
Prereq: Consent of Instructor.
Using the example Hinduism in India and overseas Indian communities, the course will examine current debates on globalism, religion, transnationalism, and fundamentalism with an emphasis on cultural, social and political changes.
4 cr.
Prereq: CAS AN 101 or consent of instructor.
Exploration of religious and secular poetry worldwide
with emphasis on the ethnography of communication. A focus on performance in
oral tradition and its consequences for literary form, as well as the impact
of mass media and literacy on orality.
4cr.
Prereq: CAS AN102; or CAS AR 101 and CAS BI 107 or equivalent.
Introduction to human paleontology and methods for reconstructing the ancestry,
structure, diet, and behavior of fossil primates and humans. Survey of primate
and hominid fossils, primate comparative anatomy, radioactive dating, molecular
and structural phylogenies, climactic analyses, and comparative behavioral ecology.
4 cr.
Prereq: CAS AN102; or CAS BI 107 and one of BI 119, BI 302, or consent of instructor.
Introduction to behavioral biology of the primates. Topics include: social behavior,
grouping, and activity patterns, reproduction, feeding ecology, locomotion,
life history, conservation issues, geographic distribution, and evolution.
4 cr.
Prereq: CAS AN102; or CAS BI107 and one of BI119, BI211, BI303; or consent
of instructor. Human population biology and ecological adaptations: Human demography,
life history patterns, population genetics, and physiological adaptability.
Topics: Population dynamics of human societies, mortality and fertility schedules,
evolution and genetics of human life history traits, physiological adaptability,
and ecological correlates.
4 cr.
Prereq: CAS AN102; or CAS BI107 and one of CAS BI119, CAS BI303. Critical Analysis
of human behavior from an evolutionary perspective. Emphasis placed on viewing
humans as products of biological evolution. Topics include: evolution of language
and intelligence, cultural evolution, sex and reproduction, kinship and family
dynamics, cooperation, aggression, warfare, and status.
4 cr.
Prereq: AN102 and BI119 or BI107; or consent of instructor.
Introduction to primate social behavior, focusing
on the apes. Examines how chimpanzee behavior can be used to understand
human behavior. What is unique about humans, and how did we evolve? Topics
include diet, social relationships, sexual behavior, aggression, culture, cognition.
4 cr.
Prereq: AN102.
This course covers the various theoretical approaches to understanding the evolutionary
ecology of wild primates. Topics to be covered include functional anatomy, genetic
approaches to mating systems, demography, behavioral ecology, community ecology,
and conservation.
4 cr.
Prereq: Sophomore standing or consent of instructor.
Anglo-American folk songs and singing styles considered as expressions of personal,
social, and cultural history. Topics include finding and using regional and
thematic song collections; performance of traditional music; preparation and
presentation of song materials in selected projects.
4 cr.
Approaches contemporary Japanese society through a focus on family, school,
and workplace. The readings and lectures treat these institutions historically
and in terms of the contexts they provide for the individual.
4 cr.
Prereq: CASAN101
The movement of people across national boundaries
as a cultural, economic and political phenomenon. Examines voluntary border-crossing
in its various cultural and historical meanings as well as in the representations
of journals and contemporary accounts.
4 cr.
A cultural history of Asian immigrants in the United States from the 1850's to the present, focusing on family structure, gender, generational differences, religion, and education. The implications of the Asian experience for understanding mainstream American culture.
4 cr.
Introduction to basic concepts, problems, and methods used by anthropologists
in the investigation of relationships among language, culture, and society.
Topics include language and conceptual systems, language and role, language
and social context, and language and thought.
4 cr.
Anthropological study of the global phenomenon of religious fundamentalism.
A product of the modern world, fundamentalism is perceived as counter-cultural
and anti-nationalist. Cases drawn from North America and Islamic Middle East,
with special attention to women's interpretation of religion.
4 cr.
Ethnographic and historical examination of nomads in Africa and Eurasia focusing
on the ecology of pastoralism, nomadic social organization, political relations
between nomads and states, the rise and fall of steppe empires, and the future
of nomads.
4 cr.
Examines how the social construction of environment, nature, and culture varies
cross-culturally and historically, as well as how it influences economic change,
environmental movements, nature tourism, and public policy. Primary examples
include India, China, Native American cultures, and the West.
4 cr.
Examines the concepts of political anthropology and applies them to the analysis
of the origins and development of the modern political world. Special attention
to nations and nationalism, the state and modern development, comparative political
culture, and urban and agrarian political change.
4 cr.
Introduces students to some key theoretical perspectives and controversies
in the cross-cultural study of psychology. The reading is of classic texts and
cross-cultural studies of emotion, sexuality, concepts of the person, national
character, consciousness, authority, and religion.
4 cr.
Ethnographic and historical introduction to the Indian subcontinent with a
focus on the impact of religion on cultural practices and social institutions.
4 cr.
Examines daily life in China and Taiwan, tracing how opposed economic and political
paths transformed a common tradition. Topics include capitalism and socialism;
politics and social control; dissidence; gender relations; religion, arts, and
literature; and pollution.
4 cr.
Explores vital cultural dimensions of production, exchange, and consumption
in varied settings. Asks how social ties relate to property, wealth, and poverty.
Examines how people classify, control, and allocate resources, and how resources
in turn influence people.
4 cr.
Prereq: CAS AN101 or consent of instructor.
An introduction to the anthropological study of myth, ritual, and religious
experience across cultures. Special attention to the problem of religious symbolism
and meaning, religious conversion and revitalization, contrasts between traditional
and world religions, and the relation of religious knowledge to science, magic,
and ideology.
4 cr.
Considers the history and development of anthropological, ethnographic, and
transcultural filmmaking. In-depth examination of important anthropological
films in terms of methodologies, techniques, and strategies of expression; story,
editing, narration, themes, style, content, art, and aesthetics.
4 cr.
Prereq: Approval of the Honors Committee.
4 cr.
Prereq: CAS AN/SO344 or consent of instructor. Use of primary and secondary
source materials to treat changes in Japanese society since 1868, emphasizing
developments since 1945. Topics include population and labor force, employment,
diversity and stratification, affluence and consumer culture, and ideologies
and public opinion.
4 cr.
A fieldwork practicum in which students conduct collaborative research projects
examining the impact of popular culture on aspects of American cultural identity
and the organization of social life. Focusing on specific case studies, the
course integrates ethnographic research with current theoretical debates in
anthropology.
4 cr.
Prereq: AN101 or equivalent.
Discussion and analysis of major concepts, methods, and theories in social anthropology
using case studies on ritual, politics, leadership, social control, and kinship
belief.
4 cr.
Prereq: CAS AN461 and completion of principal courses for concentrators or
consent of instructor. Required for concentrators.
Examines the background and philosophy of current anthropological theory and
method. Discussion focuses on current issues in evolutionary, linguistic, and
sociocultural theory.
4 cr.
Prereq: Concentration in department, junior or senior status, consent of instructor,
and approval of the Academic Advising Center.
Individual instruction and directed research in anthropology.
Variable credit
How women's lives in China, Japan, and India have been affected by economic
development and social change. Women's education, health, child rearing, and
labor force participation are considered in the context of socioeconomic and
cultural influences.
4 cr.
Explores the idea of the authentic self in Western culture in readings from
authors such as Montesquieu, Hegel, Rousseau, Diderot, Moliere, and Nietzsche.
Historical and cross-cultural perspective is provided through examples from
medieval Europe, Pakistan, America, Bali, and China.
4 cr.
Marriage, the family, and the use of kinship principles in human social organization.
Examines moral and legal rules and social customs affecting alliance, descent,
filiation, residence, inheritance, and property rights.
4 cr.
Prereq: Senior standing or consent of instructor.
Explores classic and contemporary studies of Nilotic and Bantu speaking cultures of the middle and upper Nile (Nuer, Dinka, Shilluk, Luo, and others) and through them, a British African tradition of ethnography and theory central to anthropology.
4 cr.
Introduction to language in its social context. Methodological
and theoretical approaches to sociolinguistics. Linguistic variation in relation
to situation, gender, socioeconomic class, linguistic context, and ethnicity.
Integrating micro-and macro-analysis from the conversational level to societal
language planning. (Formerly CAS LX520)
4 cr.
Prereq: Senior standing or consent of instructor. Provides
a conceptual foundation for interpreting and understanding ritual and its role
in shaping political and social identity and worldview. Focus on cases drawn
from the contemporary Muslim World.
4 cr.
Prereq: Consent of instructor.
Topics in the behavioral evolution of Homo sapiens include social
and sexual behavior, tool traditions, diet and hunting, language and intelligence,
and locomotion. Will consider (inferred) behavioral transitions that characterized
the origin of our genus and our species.
4 cr.
Four themes of twentieth-century change are explored: demographic growth, the
redistribution of population through migration and urbanization, the intensification
of resource use, and disasters and recoveries. Classic theories of the processes
are related to African data.
4 cr.
Prereq: Consent of instructor. Introduction to the anthropological study of art and aesthetics. Examples from Africa, Native America, Oceania and Australia. The deeper aim is to examine the degree to which aesthetics reflect, express, and inform the cultures in which they are found.
4 cr.
Prereq: Junior standing or consent of instructor. Selected
current issues and debates in current anthropology focusing on contemporary
Muslim societies and Islamic civilizations.
Fall 2007 Topic: Afghanistan: Problems and Prospects. Ethnographic
and historical account of Afghanistan's traditional social organization., ecology
and economy, political organization, and relationship among ethnic groups as
a basis for examining the consequences of domestic political turmoil and foreign
interventions over the last twenty years. The current situation in Afghanistan
and the country's prospects for the future will also be addressed.
Fall 2004 Topic: Media, Market and Material Culture in Muslim Society.
This course examines the role of media, market, and material culture
in shaping the intersection of Islam and society. We will consider Islam as
commodity and fashion, as fiction and film, as popular discourse, as global
as well as local narratives, and the effects of these on the lives of Muslims
in a variety of settings, and on the image of Muslims or Islamic civilization
elsewhere.
4 cr.
Prereq: Junior standing or consent of instructor. Selected
current issues and debates in current anthropology focusing on contemporary
Muslim societies and Islamic civilizations.
4 cr.
Prereq: AN331 or BI106 or consent of instructor.
Function, development, variation, and pathologies of the human musculoskeletal
system, emphasizing issues of human evolution. Basic processes of bone biology;
how the skeleton is affected by use, age, sex, diet, and disease. Meetings are
predominantly lab oriented.
4 cr.
Prereq: AN102 and consent of instructor.
Surveys the theory and methods of evolutionary genetics as supplied to human
populations. Emphasis on the relevant aspects of transmission genetics, population
genetics, and phylogenetics. Considers intersection of human genetics with social
issues such as racism, bioethics, and eugenics.
4 cr.
Prereq: AN331 or AN332 or BI473 or consent of instructor.
The evolutionary history of the primate radiation-particularly that of monkeys, apes, and humans-is examined through investigation of the musculoskeletal anatomy of living and fossil primates. Comparative and biomechanical approaches are used to reconstruct the behavior of extinct species.
4 cr.
Prereq: AN102 and AN333 (CAS BI 215 strongly recommended); or CAS BI 303 and
one of BI 111, BI 215. Considers ecological perspective on human reproduction.
Provides a basic understanding of human reproductive biology and discusses current
issues about reproduction from a biocultural perspective. Topics: biocultural
aspects of sexual behavior, sexually transmitted diseases, and cultural knowledge
and practices surrounding reproduction.
4 cr.
Prereq: AN331 or consent of instructor
Current issues in human brain evolution research and theories of the origins
and neurological basis for human language abilities. Topics include animal communication,
brain size evolution, intelligence theories, innateness debate, brain and vocal
tract anatomy, and dual inheritance theories.
4 cr.
Prereq: Junior standing and AN101, AN102 or AN210, or
consent of instructor. Considers mental illness from an anthropological point
of view, including cultural, biological and evolutionary perspectives. Focuses
on the interaction of biology and culture in major mental disorders. Consideration
is given to ethnomedical practices of healing mental illness.
4 cr.
Prereq: Sophmore standing and AN102, AN334. Why are men
and women different? This course adopts an evolutionary, adaptive perspective
to investigate sex differences in human behavior, physiology and cognition from
develolpmental, mechanistic, and phylogenetic perspectives. Topics include sex
differences in aggression, mate choice, parenting, affiliation and cognition.
4 cr.
Historical overview of ritual behavior, the role of symbolism in the study
of culture, and the narrative quality of worldview and belief. Emphasis on verbal
performance and public display events in specific cultural contexts.
4 cr.
A comparison of theories of charismatic leadership and romantic love from sociology
and psychology. Case studies from literature will be discussed for illustration
and comparison.
4 cr.
An examination of money and economic life in a variety of historical and contemporary
societies with a focus on cultural, symbolic, religious, and philosophical perspectives.
Special issues include value, trust, credit, debt, fairness, and movements between
sacred and profane.
4 cr.
Understanding of the ways in which various cultures allocate and control resources.
Special attention to economic models and alternative manners of modeling allocation
and exchange processes. Discussion of the interrelation of economic variables
and cultural values that affect production-consumption and exchange decisions.
The transformation of subsistent economies.
4 cr.
The purpose of the course is to examine the elements of
social order and their constitutive large scale units which must be dealt with
if one is to provide adequate and comprehensive, theoretically-based descriptions
of societies. The elementary forms of social life will be explored, building
up to societal and inter-societal and levels of order such as class and state.
4 cr.
Explores ecological adaptation, kinship, social organization,
religious thought and practice, and creative expression. Special focus on the
history of theory, method and narrative style in the construction of Aftican
ethnographies.
4 cr.
The overall objectives of this seminar are:
This seminar is intended for students with a background in social/cultural
anthropology and a serious interest in development. Students who have not studied
anthropology should discuss the feasibility of taking the course with the instructor
and be prepared to undertake additional background reading.
4 cr.
Prereq. Consent of instructor.
Traditional and modern methods of ethnographic field research: data collection,
research design, and analyses.
4 cr.
Prereq: Concentration in department or consent of instructor.
(Fall 2007 Topic section A1) Ethnography of Taiwanese Society. This
course examines the modern history and especially ethnography of Taiwan and
its relationship to Chinese culture and society. Students will read major recent
ethnographic and historical treatments of Taiwan, with an eye on methodology
and theory, as well as on Taiwan's dramatic changes over the last century. Topics
include Taiwan's well-known economic and political transformations, but also
changes in daily life, family, culture, and religion. Some material fro China
will also be included.
(Fall 2007 Topic section A2) Child Development
in Diverse Cultures. This seminar presents a comparative approach to the
child's maturation and learning during infancy, early childhood and middle childhood
in diverse cultural environments. After considering basic concepts (plasticity,
heritabilty, environmental variations, cultural practices, contextual methods),
the seminar will examine topcs such as parenting, attachment, language socialization,
social interactions and relationships, children's work and play, the formation
of self.
Prereq: Concentration in department or consent of instructor.
Selected issues and debates in current anthropology.
(Fall 2005) The Anthropology of Performance. This course utilizes anthropological
and sociological methods to analyze artistic performances specifically staged
for an audience, such as music, dance, cinema and theater, but also ritual and
performance in charismatic movements. Areas of interest include the mechanisms
of staging, the performer's relationships with the audience, the construction
of a performance persona, and the place of the performer and the performance
within the larger social-historical context.
(Spring 2006) Political Anthropology in a Global World.
This course examines the implications of globalization for political life. The
interplay between the global and the local creates new challenges for the anthropology
of politics. The course examines these theoretical debates which deal with sovereignty,
imperialism, and the intrication between the different types of political spaces.
(Spring 2007) Culture and Emotions. This course considers
how anthropology has contributed to the understanding of emotions in humans
and where its contributions fit in an interdisciplinary field increasingly dominated
by neuroscience. Issues to be examined include the cultural meanings of emotions
in diverse populations, the value of ethnographic, linguistic and comparative
methods in revealing emotional experience, and how anthropological findings
can revise psychological generalizations.
(Spring 2008) Humans among Animals. Some people classify humans as
animals. Others insist they differ. Doubts and disagreements abound in questions
of animal consciousness. This course explores intersections between anthropology,
moral philosophy, and evolutionary psychology, asking how humans classify animals
and use (other) animals for solace, self-expression, and self-understanding
Focusing on selected species ("wild" to "domestic"), we
probe the limits of kinship, companionship, and empathy as they vary across
cultures and contexts, and as new discoveries challenge old assumptions. Symbolic,
ecological and jural-political implications are considered.
4 cr.
Prereq: CAS AN102 or BI 107 and BI 108; AN332 or AN333; and MA 115; or consent
of instructor. Hands-on instruction in non-clinical techniques of comprehensive
health assessment, including body composition, diet, energetics, health status,
psychological stress, and reproductive status. Students design and execute their
own research project.
4 cr.
Examines the use of ethnographic material and models of alternative social
or economic organization to interpret historical materials, as well as the use
of history to provide dynamic models of change in anthropological analysis.
4 cr.
Prereq: Consent of instructor.
(Fall 2007 Topic) Conserving Wild Primate Populations.
4 cr.
Biological anthropology is concerned with the human evolutionary past and its
implications for modern human biology and behavior. This course is intended
to give advanced students a chance to discuss and analyze issues arising from
this endeavor. Topics are drawn from current controversies in human evolution,
biology and behavior.
(Spring 2006) Conserving Wild Primate Populations- This course
introduces students to the primary scientific literature of primate conservation
biology. Weekly topics will focus on the economic, social, and political factors
leading to population decline as well as the genetic, ecological, and demographic
techniques used to assess the viability of wild primate populations.
(Spring 2008) Reconstructing Hominin Environments-This course will present
methods used to reconstruct early hominid environment, discuss local and global
ecological and climate events which occured over the past 15 million years and
contrasting different opinions as to their implications to key events in human
evolution such as speciation, evolution of niche structure, dispersal events
and extinctions.
4 cr.
Required of first year graduate students and open to students in related disciplines
with the consent of the instructor.
Intensive introduction focusing on classic works of ethnography, social theory
and the history of the discipline from the mid-19th to mid 20th centuries. Introduction
to the whole discipline of anthropology, its subfields, literature, history,
and contemporary research problems.
4 cr
Examination of major theoretical trends and debates in anthropological theory
from the 1960's to present. Required of first year graduate students and open
to students in related disciplines with the consent of the instructor.
4 cr.
Open to graduate students or consent of instructor.
Examination of major contributions and debates in
biological anthropology focusing on humanity's place in the natural world. Topics
include evolutionary theory, fossil and living primates, human evolution, historical
demography, human life histories, and the relationship between biology and culture.
4 cr.
This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on the civil society-state nexus. The seminar features a critical analysis of the civil society construct, including its value for understanding democratization and liberalization in developing areas, and its role in mature democracies.
4 cr.
Prereq: Student must be working on dissertation proposal or dissertation write-up. Students prearing final dissertation research proposals and post-field work dissertation drafts make presentations for thorough going criticism not only to better formulate each student's product, but also to develop collective standards of meta-theory and of criticism for application in later professional life.
0 credit.