ANTH

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Examines some great discoveries in the history of art and archeology. Cultures studied include those in Africa and the Americas, and ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Topics include discovery of tomb of Tutankhamen, invention of photography, excavation of Teotihuacan Mexico, and Chinese Bronze technology. Cross listed as ARTH 104.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This introductory course explores the history of English and looks at its use today as a global and a vehicle of emerging national and ethnic identity. In exploring the evolution of English from an Anglo-Saxon creole to language of world dominance, we will come to understand better the diverse peoples who use English and the social, cultural, and political contexts of its use.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This class introduces you to the field of historical archaeology with a special focus on archaeological sites excavated in NYS and dating from the Contact Period to the early 20thcentury. Through case studies, you will learn about what historical archaeologists have revealed about the everyday lives of a range of New Yorkers who helped make history here. The experience of those traditionally left out of our history books but often revealed in the archaeological record will be highlighted.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) A general survey class which examines Native American societies of North America. The diversity of Native American societies is studied from an anthropological perspective that includes language, kinship, political economy, oral tradition and religious belief both historically and currently. Counts for Native American Studies.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Sport and leisure activities are more than idle play. Cultures around the world have produced a wide variety of ways for people to relax, exercise and compete. Looking closely at these activities we may see how closely these seemingly simple games are tied to other aspects of a culture such as religion, economy or gender roles. We will look at the origins of a number of games, past and present, from around the world, learn the rules that govern them, how they have changed and discuss how they reflect many facets of the cultures in which they take place.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) An introduction to the fundamental nature of the modern Arab World with examination of the broad, sweeping questions that U.S. students ask or need to ask about the contemporary realities and past of the Arab world. Lectures and discussion focus on topics such as the nature of Arab societies, religion, history/geography, culture and politics. Problems of culture are examined in greatest detail.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) A multidisciplinary approach to explaining the prevalence of malnutrition worldwide. A variety of solutions to be examined critically. Students engage, singly or in groups, in action projects to confront the hunger problem.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) We are, in undeniable ways, what we speak! Language lies at the heart of who we are and what we might be and it informs our conceptions of reality. In this course we explore how humans manipulate language and how we are manipulated by it. We will employ scholarly readings, fiction, poetry, and film to define language, explore it as a human attribute, and investigate its role in defining us as social beings.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

4

Credits (max)

4

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Perhaps no aspect of our behavior appears so uniquely human as language. But when did language appear? How is human language different from the communication of other creatures? How is the appearance of language related to tool use, evolving social structure, abstract thought, and self-awareness? Is there evolutionary continuity between animal and human minds? Recognizing that it is unlikely that a single factor is, in itself, responsible for the evolution of language, this course draws on research from such diverse areas as linguistics, biological anthropology, archaeology, cultural anthropology, psychology and neurology to explore ways of answering these questions.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

4

Credits (max)

4

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This class concentrates on the behavior, biology, and socioecological of primates, with special attention paid to the relationship between humans and the other primates.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

4

Credits (max)

4

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

12

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

1

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Analysis topics in physical anthropology using recent literature, including human evolution and contemporary variation. Emphasizes interaction of culture and biology and uses evidence from paleontology, genetics, archaeology, primatology and cultural anthropology.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 201 .

Credit(s) This course provides advanced training in forensic anthropology, a specialization within anthropology that applies knowledge of human skeletal biology to problems of medico-legal significance. Building on the work of ANTH295: Introduction to Forensic Anthropology, this course trains students in more advanced techniques for the recovery and analysis of human remains, the estimation of a biological profile (age, sex, ancestry, stature), and the interpretation of skeletal trauma and pathology. Likewise, students will explore more advanced debates surrounding issues both ethical and practical currently affecting the field and the work done by practicing forensic anthropologists.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 295

Credit(s) Introduction to techniques of linguistic (phonological, morphological and syntactic) analysis and their application in anthropological and literary research.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Provides a systematic inquiry into human language, centering on the study of phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Additional topics may include the rapidly growing areas of pragmatics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Today, about one-half of all professional anthropologists work in non-academic settings. Applied, or practicing, anthropologists may be trained in any or all of the sub-fields of anthropology and work in various contexts. This course will build on the ways in which anthropological theory and method are used practically in occupations related to health and medicine, international development, environment, government, business and education, immigration and poverty. Through an exploration of case studies, students will come to understand the ethical, financial, social, methodological and practical issues of applying anthropological theory to real-life situations.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Challenging the notion of a monolithic Eurocentric influence, this course explores the evolution of one dominant, western, Christian philosophy - Anabaptism - and investigates the way in which this philosophy has influenced widely varying responses to different environmental, cultural, political, and historic conditions. In investigating the cultures of the Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites, the goal will be to understand better the ways in which a people’s belief system is shaped by particular cultural, economic, and social situations and, in turn, shapes the way in which adherents deal with these situations.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course explore the natures and functions of religion, witchcraft and magic in various social and cultural contexts.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This seminar in anthropology/archaeology examines the principles and practice of experimental archaeology. Each semester the course will center around a particular theme (food, metallurgy, watercraft, woodcraft, architecture, etc.). In doing so, students will learn to make and use a variety of tool types as well as workshops with professional craftspeople ranging from flint-knappers to blacksmiths. Using experiential learning techniques, this course challenges students to formulate and evaluate hypotheses by carrying out methodologies grounded in experimental archaeology. This applied learning environment will provide students with a hands-on approach to understanding artifacts and site formation processes. Junior or Senior standing required.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

6

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

100-level course in anthropology and permission of instructor.

Credit(s) Preservation, preparation for preliminary analysis of results of field research (field data and artifacts). Sophomore Standing Required.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course is designed to help students prepare to be professional archaeologists in the 21 st century. Today, archaeologists find employment in a variety of institutions both inside and outside of academia. Although career options are numerous, there are certain fundamental skills that all archaeologists should possess to successfully and professionally operate in the modern world. These include, but are not limited to, good communication, presentation, and writing skills, and a working knowledge of legal and ethical issues within the discipline. In this course students will learn about the varied employment opportunities for archaeologists, develop knowledge and skills they will need as professional archaeologists, and produce tangible materials using these skills that will help them successfully enter the professional world of archaeology in the 21 st century.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Advanced study in a course format, this course gives students experience in working with and solving problems posed by the basic functions of the museum, from administering collections (folklore, oral history, material culture) to designing and building exhibits, planning lecture series and developing public school programming. Counts for Native American Studies.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

4

Credits (max)

4

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) An investigation of issues affecting and concerning women’s health cross-culturally through the life cycle.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 202 .

Credit(s) Mental health is defined and discussed in terms of our human evolution, cultural mechanisms which promote mental health and challenges to it.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course examines cross-cultural evidence of the principal forms which the human-nature relationship has taken. Ecological principles and environmental problems faced by our species today are also addressed.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 201 or ANTH 202 .

Credit(s) An examination of the various roles of women in Native American cultures and how an anthropological and feminist analysis of those roles has led to a re-examination of the development of gender roles. Counts for Native American Studies.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) An examination of the diversity of religions, rituals, symbols, ceremonies and myths found among the Native American populations of Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Counts for Native American Studies.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) An examination of anthropological and other social science theories concerning Native Americans and how these theories were influenced and interpreted by the general populations of Europe and the Americas. Will examine journals, newspapers, books and films from 1492 to the present. Counts for Native American Studies.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) The phrase “Wild West” conjures up images of gun-slinging cowboys, saloons, and noble Indians living close to nature, among many others. Although some of these notions may be accurate, many are more the product of Hollywood than an actual reflection of past life in western North America. In fact, the region has been romanticized to such an extent that it is difficult to distinguish myth from reality. In this class, we will explore many of the widely held ideas of the American West and examine what both prehistoric and historical archeology has revealed to either confirm or debunk these. In the process, we will learn about the many different peoples who have occupied western North America over the last 13,000 years, and better understand what the “West” was really like for them.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 106 or ANTH 204 .

Credit(s) What does it mean to be male or female? How do females and males learn their appropriate social roles? Particular attention paid to African and Native American cultures.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 150 or ANTH 202 .

Credit(s) This course examines critically the interaction between language and gender. Beginning with an investigation of beliefs about language and about gender and the interaction between the two, the course proceeds to explore the research of male and female speech, seeking to understand the social, psychological, and linguistic processes that underlie sex differences in language use. Finally, in studying the role played by language, speech and communication in defining notions of “male” and “female,” the goal will be to understand better the way in which language reflects and reinforces social and cultural patterns of behavior and identity. Cross-listed as LNGS 342 .

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Relationship among health, culture, individual, and environment, cross-cultural look at healer-patient, relationships, western and non-western perceptions of disease paleopathology, psychiatry and applied aspects of medical anthropology. Coursework in biology helpful.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 202 .

Credit(s) A continuation of

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 150 .

Credit(s) Humans, Disease, and Death explores disease from a broadly and explicitly evolutionary perspective. Infectious and chronic diseases have evolutionary origins. As humans have changed their behavior, demography, diet, and social organization, the diseases we are afflicted with have changed also. We will examine what diseases are, what causes them, how we have evolved with diseases, how disease patterns have changed over human history, and we will discuss the future of disease.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 201

Credit(s) Archaeology of Mexican and Central American cultural groups from early times to Spanish conquest. Emphasis on archaeological reconstructions of major cultural groups.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome as reflected in the paintings, sculpture and architecture revealed by archaeological excavation at the great sites of Troy, Knossos, Athens, Delphi, Rome and Pompeii. Cross-listed as ARTH 385 .

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

4

Credits (max)

4

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course emphasizes the methods of environmental archaeology (the study of past human interactions with the natural world) including zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, geoarchaeology, and behavioral analysis. We combine lab exercises, case study discussions, and participation in an on-going archaeological investigation using environmental archaeology techniques.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) The cultural and technical aspects of producing and distributing the world’s food supply are examined in their ecological and political contexts.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course will examine two principal themes. The first theme will focus on Neanderthal biological evolution, cultural behavior, disappearance, and the origins of anatomically modern humans. Students will learn the basics of Neanderthal anatomy and behavior. The second theme is the misconceptions that surround the Neanderthal phase of human evolution. Students will examine how the entertainment industry, popular literature, the scientific community, and Western intellectual history have misinterpreted the importance of Neanderthals in our prehistoric past.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course introduces students to the physical environments of the world, human interaction with those environments, the world’s political units and the social issues that different countries and peoples of the world must face. We will be looking at several issues that are pertinent to our world today: ethnic struggles, racism, population trends, problems of urbanization, the effects of global market economies, environmental impacts, and others. Examples will be drawn from contemporary, recent and past cultures from around the world.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

4

Credits (max)

4

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) How can the term “art” be applied in a cross-cultural context? This course approaches the changing definitions of this category from both contemporary and historical perspectives. Our study will include material from four broad cultural areas in detail: Native American, Aboriginal Australian, African and Chinese. We will consider how contemporary artists in all four areas have had to negotiate between the continuity of tradition and social change. The course will address broad topics such as the ritual use of art, authenticity, aesthetics, tradition and modernity, art education, social memory, politics and creativity. Counts for Asian Studies.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 202 or ARTH 100 or ARTH 101 or ARTH 102

Credit(s) This course explores African-American history as it has been reconstructed from the archaeological record. Focus will be on both contexts of slavery and freedom, and issues including race and representation will be highlighted. This course counts for Africana Studies minor requirement.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Explores the field of historical archaeology, including the theories, methods and techniques by which it is guided. Focuses primarily on archaeological sites in America from the colonial and contact period to the present. Students will consider how historical documents, ethnographic and oral accounts, and material culture can be studied to offer alternative perspectives on the past.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) Designed to familiarize the student with oral history as a method of inquiry concerning information about the past. Grapples with issues surrounding oral history, such as its validity, possible bias, elite vs. democratic historical perspectives, etc. Intellectual and technical aspects. Cross-listed with HIST 450.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course concentrates on the information that archaeologists learn about past peoples from the excavation and analysis of their graves and cemeteries. After studying the variability and similarities in modern mortuary customs, we will turn to archaeological examples to apply what we see in those contexts. Students will examine local cemeteries and using the data collected as models for archaeological cemeteries.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course analyzes and addresses contemporary environmental problems through the combined intellectual frameworks of archaeology, anthropology, ecology, and history. In doing so, it recognizes the importance of historical trajectories, and the interconnections between culture and ecological systems, in the production of modern landscapes. This course applies this interdisciplinary perspective to examine the impact of humans on the environment through time. Junior or Senior standing required.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course is a survey of European prehistory that covers the time periods from the first peopling of Europe to the centuries just after the Roman conquest of significant territory on the continent. The focus of the course is on those societies beyond the borders of the well-known civilizations of the Mediterranean, where only archaeological research, or the utilization of historical accounts checked against archaeological research, can inform us of their cultural histories. From time to time, our scope will broaden to situate events, such as the peopling of Europe, the Neolithic Revolution and the rise of societal complexity in European prehistory, into a comparative, global context.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 201 or ANTH 204 or equivalents.

Credit(s) This course investigates human origins and the prehistoric dispersal of human populations around the world through time. A series of peopling events, the first settlement of a geographic region by an anatomically modern human population, or other hominin populations, and later prehistoric events in each world region will be studied. In each region, available cultural, linguistic, archaeological and biological anthropological data will be explored in an attempt to discern a cohesive pattern of which regional modern human populations are most closely related to one another, how all modern human groups are related to each other and how all human groups are related to extinct hominin populations.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Prerequisite

ANTH 201 or ANTH 204 or HIST 100 .

Credit(s) This course is a survey of the history and culture of the Viking Age. Description of the prehistory and geography of Europe will place Viking Age Scandinavia in context. Topics will concern religion, gender, slavery, warfare, economics, art and other cultural aspects of Viking societies. The final portion of the course will follow Viking expansion into European territories beyond Scandinavia, and beyond Europe, to North America.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) The course presents a critical approach to the relationship between art and culture in China. The goal of the course is to understand the forms, meanings and circulation of the Chinese arts from the perspective of its producers. The traditional arts of Imperial China will be approached chronologically from within several thematic areas. The primary focus in these area will be the relationship between art and culture, with particular attention paid to painting produced in the literati or amateur artist tradition. The course examines issues such as the transnational circulation of Chinese artists, the representation of China’s ethnic minorities, and the Western conceptions of Chinese tradition. Counts for Asian Studies.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course explores the complex culture of China from an anthropological perspective. Issues concerning politics, gender, religion, economics, reputation, ethnicity and protest are considered in historical and contemporary contexts. Counts for Asian Studies.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) This course is a survey of the history and culture of the Celts. Description of the prehistory and geography of Europe will place Celtic populations in context. Topics will concern religion, gender, warfare, economics, art and other cultural aspects of Celtic societies. The final portion of the course will follow the diminishment of Celtic cultures, by the Roman Empire and later nation-states, and their continued survival along the western fringe of Europe.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu

Credit(s) The interplay between eating behavior and cultural institutions has had a tremendous impact on human behavior and behavior conversely influences anatomy and physiology. This course will look at the interrelationships between eating behavior, cultural institutions and human evolution. We will focus on scavengers, hunters and gatherers, pastoralists, horticulturists and agriculturalists discussing food procurement strategies, food preparation techniques, and eating behaviors. Students will prepare and eat a variety of foods common to each subsistence strategy.

Subject

ANTH

Credits (min)

3

Credits (max)

3

Credit unit

Credit(s)

Type

course

Edition

2026-2027

Catalog

2026-2027 SUNY Potsdam Academic Catalog

Source

catalog.potsdam.edu