Anthropology
ANTH 101. Introduction to Anthropology (4E)
This course provides an overview of anthropology’s approach to understanding humanity and the human condition from a holistic perspective. Students examine the four subfields of anthropology: archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology and cultural anthropology. Students learn how anthropology provides useful knowledge, perspectives and skills to better understand and meet contemporary challenges facing humanity. This course satisfies the Core Exploration requirement in Social and Behavioral Sciences.
ANTH 197/297/397/497. Directed Research in Anthropology (1-4E)
Under the direct supervision of a faculty member, a student participates in primary (field) or secondary research. A learning contract that specifies the research goals and methodology must be filed with the Office of the Registrar. A maximum of four credit hours of directed research in anthropology (397 or 497) may be applied to major requirements in anthropology. The course may be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Learning contract filed in the Office of the Registrar. Prerequisites for 497 for Anthropology majors: ANTH 201 or 202, 349 and 385.
ANTH 199/299/399/499. Independent Study (1-4E)
This course consists of an independent creative or research project designed by the student and supervised by an anthropology faculty member. The nature of the project, the schedule for completion and the means of evaluation must be formalized in a learning contract prior to registration.
ANTH 201. Anthropology Toolkit (4F)
This course provides an introduction to the basic anthropological concepts and tools used by anthropologists to collect, analyze and interpret data; and to report findings in written, verbal and multimedia formats. Students begin to develop basic fieldwork skills such as taking field notes, genealogical and network analysis, survey research and collaborative ethnography. Students learn to use the electronic Human Relations Area Files and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Issues arising from anthropological fieldwork and ethics are discussed. Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or permission of instructor.
ANTH 202. Archaeology Practicum (4S)
This course introduces students to the pleasures and challenges of using archaeological collections to document and interpret life in the past. A single collection will be analyzed over the course of the semester. Students help create a catalog record of a very important archaeological site. Students learn to wash, label, catalog, photograph, conserve, research, archive and report on materials recovered from an important archaeological collection. Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or permission of instructor.
ANTH 230. Cultural Anthropology (4S)
This course provides an introduction to the ways societies use culture to structure behavior and interpret experience. Students learn methods and theories anthropologists use to study culture; examine aspects of culture such as language, social organization, gender, marriage, family and religion; and analyze historical, biological and social determinants of cultural institutions. This course satisfies the Core Exploration Cultural Literacy requirement.
ANTH 243. Biological Anthropology (4F)
This course addresses the relationships between culture and human biology. Topics include primate classification and behavior, human origins and evolution and human variation and genetics. Students work with fossils, as well as geological and other data, to understand the biological dimensions of human populations.
ANTH 250. Language and Culture (4S)
This course provides a broad introduction to linguistic anthropology. Students learn how anthropologists study the relationships between language, culture and society and how language both reflects and shapes human behavior. Topics addressed include historical and comparative linguistics, descriptive linguistics and sociolinguistics. This course satisfies the Core Exploration Cultural Literacy requirement.
ANTH 281. Archaeology and Prehistory (4F)
This course provides an overview of the methods and theories employed by archaeologists to study prehistoric populations. Students learn the methods used by anthropologists to collect, analyze and interpret archaeological data. Students survey the development and composition of past human cultures.
ANTH 302. Food and Culture (4AF)
This course focuses on the role of food in human evolution and the cultural dimensions of food practices. Students learn what people eat across cultures and why; how groups get, process and prepare food; how food is used to build and maintain social, economic and political relationships; and how food is linked to gender, age, social class and ethnicity.
ANTH 306. Principles of Applied Anthropology (4AF)
This course provides an overview of applied anthropology and the work of practitioners from a historical perspective. The course examines the contexts in which practitioners work, the types of problems they face and the political and ethical challenges associated with their work. Students become familiar with and begin to develop requisite skills to undertake applied work by carrying out a service-learning project in the local community.
ANTH 311. Native American Culture and History (4AS)
This course provides an interdisciplinary anthropological and ethnohistorical analysis of Native American societies and cultures in the Americas from the first peopling of the New World through interactions with Euro-Americans from the 17th to the early 20th century. Archaeological, ethnographic and ethnohistorical approaches are employed. Cross-listed as HIST 311. Students may receive credit for either course but not both.
ANTH 323. Introduction to Historic Preservation (4AF)
Historic preservation in the US is an exciting, growing and interdisciplinary field. This course provides a general overview of historic preservation as an applied practice, including historical and cultural resources sustainability and management. We will explore the history, method, theory, ethics and law of historic preservation as currently practiced in the United States. Students who previously took this as a topics course, ANTH 352, may not take again for credit.
ANTH 326. Anthropology of Tourism (4AF)
This course explores the history, experience of, and creation of tourist sites and landscapes through an anthropological lens. Multiple perspectives are considered in various venues including typical vacation spots such as hotels and beaches as well as those sites ‘off the beaten path’. As a broad survey course, it will begin with the ‘grand tours’ of the 18th and 19th century and continue through the present day. The various roles and experiences of the tourist, tour guide, and other stakeholders within cultural, ecological, heritage, sex and leisure tourism will be examined. Students who previously took this as a topics course, ANTH 352, may not take again for credit.
ANTH 334. African Atlantic Archaeology (4AS)
The course begins with an overview of the idea of the Atlantic World and its formation beginning with European oceanic exploration. This is followed by an examination of West African trade networks, settlements and politics at the time of European contact. Students examine the realignment of different trade networks in West Africa following the establishment of Europeans at various points on the coast, and colonial settlements and the emergence of the plantation economy involving enslaved communities in the Americas. The course addresses specific questions tied to contact, identity formation and socio-economic interactions from the perspective of Africa and Africans in the Diaspora, drawing on historical archaeological sources. Students who previously took this as a topics course, ANTH 352, may not take again for credit.
ANTH 336. The Cultured Body (4AF)
This course explores historical and cultural variations of the body and embodiment used to construct and contest identities that reflect ideas about the self, family, gender, nation, nature and the supernatural documented from a sample of cultures around the world.
ANTH 337. Atlantic World Archaeology (4AF)
This course explores the creation of the “Atlantic World” formed through ongoing contacts between Europeans, Africans and Native Americans from the late 15th century through the early 19th century. This period was characterized by exploration, contact, discovery, trade, conquest, colonization, slavery and the rise of capitalism.
ANTH 339. Archaeology of Status and Identity (4AS)
This course examines the material culture of status and identity throughout the world from an archaeological perspective. The different hierarchical relationships present in complex societies are investigated through the lens of group and personal identities such as race, gender and ethnicity. Emphasis on the various practices and material culture used by elites to assert their status as well as the strategies all members of society employ to achieve ‘upperclass’ standing are explored around the world and through time. In addition, the differing roles of men and women as well as the function of the household as an economic unit are explored in relation to class and rank. The different material expressions of these include dress and personal adornment, architecture, diet, and burial practices. Students who previously took this as a topics course, ANTH 352, may not take again for credit.
ANTH 341. Economic and Ecological Anthropology (4AS)
This course provides an overview of contemporary relationships of economy to society, culture, and environment. Students examine the major anthropological approaches to the study of human adaptation and livelihood. The course focuses on basic processes of production, exchange and consumption for societies ranging from small-scale foragers to global-scale capitalists.
ANTH 346. Analysis of Material Culture (4AS)
The purpose of this course is to examine how anthropologists, archaeologists, folklorists and other analysts of humanly constructed artifacts and environments infer cultural symbol and logic from prehistoric, historic and contemporary material culture. A cross-cultural sample of cultures and societies is considered. Material categories addressed include architecture, gravestones, measuring instruments, pottery vessels, clothing and settlement pattern.
ANTH 348. African American Culture (4AS)
This course focuses on the construction and maintenance of race and ethnicity in the United States through an exploration of African-American identity. Through the lens of ethnography, material culture, and language the development of a distinct, but diverse, culture is traced from its origins to global presence. The intent of the course is to provide a foundation for understanding ethnicity in general, as well as the breadth of African-American ethnicity and its essential role in the development of American life. Students who have taken ANTH 313 may take this course for credit.
ANTH 349. Anthropological Theory (4E)
This course provides a survey of cultural and social theory in anthropology. Students learn the history and evolution of classical and contemporary anthropology theory, as well as relationships between theory, research, and practice needed for a solid liberal arts education. The course prepares students for St. Mary’s Projects, general careers and graduate school. Prerequisites: ANTH 101 and ANTH 201 or ANTH 202.
ANTH 351. Underwater Archaeology (4AS)
This course provides an introduction to underwater archaeology at the undergraduate level. Students will learn the history of the sub-discipline and a basic understanding of the steps involved in researching, recording, interpreting and protecting submerged cultural remains. No diving is required for this class. Students who successfully complete the course will have a solid foundation on which to build experience by assisting on archaeological projects.
ANTH 352. Topics in Anthropology (4)
This course provides analysis of substantive issues in anthropology. Topics vary each semester the course is offered and reflect current interests of students and the instructor. This course may be repeated for credit.
ANTH 357. Archaeological Analysis and Curation (4AF)
This course provides students with concepts and essential skills used to analyze and curate Native American and EuroAmerican material culture of the 17th through 20th centuries specific to Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC). Students will work with a portion of the premier artifact collection recovered from the excavations in this National Historic Landmark. Students will process and catalogue artifacts using methodology developed for this collection. In addition, artifact and collection curation methods utilized by HSMC will be taught. Students
will apply these skills and complete an original research project report about their findings using HSMC artifacts and related field data.
ANTH 360. Kinship and Social Organization (4AS)
This course focuses on the ways societies use kinship to structure social behavior and organization. Students learn kinship terminology and systems cross-culturally with particular emphasis on feminist and postmodern challenges to critically analyze the changing landscape of kinship that will define families in the 21st century.
ANTH 377. Archaeological Field Study (6AS)
This course will expose students to a range of archaeological field techniques ranging from Phase I survey to Phase III excavations. Students will participate in all aspects of site excavation, documentation, artifact processing and initial field cataloging. This experience will culminate in a preliminary site report that will be given to the property owner and other stakeholders. The field
program will occur either in the United States, its territories, or abroad depending on the instructor’s current research program.
ANTH 385. Anthropological Research Methods (4E)
In this course students learn how to design and conduct anthropological research and critically assess a research proposal and report. Students develop research skills by completing and presenting individual or group projects. Topics include funding and the political context, research design, sampling, data collection and analysis, interpretation of data and research report writing. Prerequisite: ANTH 101 and ANTH 201 or ANTH 202.
ANTH 387. Classroom Assistantship in Anthropology (2E)
Supervised experience in the understanding, explanation and demonstration of anthropological concepts and practice. Meeting regularly with the instructor, classroom assistants help an instructor in duties that may include convening meetings with students outside of regular class time, reading drafts of students’ papers, correcting (but not grading) short homework assignments and drafting examination questions. This course will follow the general college guidelines. Students eligible for classroom assistantships must have a minimum GPA of 3.0, be of junior or senior standing or must have completed two courses of 200-level or above work in anthropology, and must have successfully completed the course which they will assist. May be repeated for a total of eight credits, but does not contribute to the minimum credit requirement for the major. Applications need the written support of a faculty member and must be submitted to the department chair.
ANTH 390. Cultures of Africa (4AS)
This course examines the principles that organize everyday life in the cultures of Africa. The wide variety of African cultural systems is examined. The origins of African peoples and their historical development are reviewed. The impact of exogenous forces on African life is discussed. Africa’s place in world affairs is explored and prospects for the future investigated.
ANTH 398/498. Off-Campus Internship (4-16E)
A variety of off-campus experiential learning opportunities can be arranged through the Career Development Center. The off-campus internship is an individually designed experience that allows the student to explore the relationships between learning in the classroom and the practical application of knowledge in everyday work situations. Prerequisites: admission to the internship program and approval of the department chair. Prerequisites for 498 for anthropology majors: ANTH 201, 349 and 385. Credit/no credit grading.
ANTH 410. Historical Archaeology Field School (8Su)
This 10-week course in archaeological methodology is sponsored by Historic St. Mary’s City and St. Mary’s College. Practical experience is supplemented by seminars. This course is cross-listed as HIST 410. Students may receive credit for either course but not both.
ANTH 412. Archaeological Curation, Conservation, and Collections Management (4Su)
The course provides an introduction to archaeological curation, conservation and collections management, with emphasis on understanding, managing and preserving historic and prehistoric artifacts and their documentation, including their use by anthropologists and historians, and ethical issues concerning preservation of the past. Students will learn to identify, document and photograph artifacts; they will learn methods of artifact stabilization, conservation and analysis, and working with advanced laboratory equipment.
ANTH 454. Archaeological Survey (4Su)
This course will expose students to basic survey techniques used in archaeological field investigations. They will design and implement a shovel test survey; process, catalog and curate artifacts according to Maryland state guidelines; explore and analyze spatial relationships among various categories of artifacts; and read, interpret and prepare Maryland archaeological site forms. Students who previously took this as a topics course, ANTH 352, may not take again for credit.
ANTH 490. Senior Tutorial (4S)
This course analyzes a selected issue from the perspectives of anthropology. The tutorial enables students to integrate knowledge gained in major coursework and apply it to a specific topic. The goal of the course is to produce a research paper for public presentation or submission to a professional conference. Prerequisites for 490 for anthropology majors: ANTH 201, 349 and 385.
ANTH 493/494. St. Mary’s Project (1-8E)
The project, which may take many forms, draws on and extends knowledge, skills of analysis, and creative achievement developed through previous academic work. The student initiates the project, identifies an area to be explored, and proposes a method of inquiry appropriate to the topic. The project should include a reflection of the social context, the body of literature, or the conceptual framework to which it is a contribution. It must be shared with the College community through posters, presentations, or other means. The project may be within this discipline, across disciplines or in an established cross-disciplinary studies option. The project is supervised by a faculty mentor. This course is repeatable for up to a total of 8 credit hours. Prerequisite: ANTH 101, ANTH 201, ANTH 349 and ANTH 385, approval of faculty mentor and department chair of the student’s major(s).