Anthropology

Archaeology of Japan and China
This course surveys the archaeology of East Asia from the Paleolithic through the era of classical civilizations. Special attention is given to the growth and development of cities in this region, but other aspects of the record are not neglected. Students study the “underground army” of the first emperor of China, the monumental mounded tombs of early Japan, the extraordinary pottery of the Jomon culture, and more. Students discuss the overall trajectories of China and Japan in a social evolutionary perspective.

North American Indians
The course is a survey of the experiences and sociocultural systems of past and present indigenous American peoples north of Mexico. Examined are relationships between ecological factors, subsistence patterns, modes of social organization, language, architecture, art, gender relations, ways of knowing, and religious beliefs.

Food, Meaning, Voice
Everyone eats and the meanings attached to food are bountiful. Anthropologist Jack Goody notes that cuisine like music is not hampered by language and is able to easily cross cultural barriers. So food communicates within language and can also communicate like language. Food speaks. But what does food have to say? This course explores anthropological approaches to the study of food and cuisine.