49 courses with the subject ANT, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
ANT 101Intro Cultural Anthropology
Instructor Bowles Cross-cultural study of systems of knowledge and belief, social and political institutions, economic behavior, and human ecological adaptation. Anthropological approaches to traditional tribal and peasant societies as well as complex contemporary societies. Required course for the major in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement for the minor in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Cho Introduction to humanity’s biological heritage. Topics include introductory evolutionary theory, population genetics, primate biology and behavior, and the primate fossil record. Principal emphasis upon the fossil evidence for human evolution, with particular focus on biological adaptations and the emergence of culture. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Anthropology Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement . Prerequisites & Notes Offered in alternating years.
Instructor Brown Introduction to how archaeologists reconstruct the past. Methods of dating, artifact analysis, excavation, and interpretation, using examples drawn from prehistory. Contributions of archaeology to anthropology, as well as the use of other disciplines by archaeologists. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Brown This introductory course covers the thematic and methodological approaches associated with the historical archaeology of the African Diaspora. Students interested in Africana studies, ‘race,’ historical archaeology, or the maritime archaeology of the Transatlantic Slave Trade should find this course useful. The course covers archaeological research throughout the wide geographical breadth of the African Diaspora in Latin America, North America, the Caribbean, and East and West Africa. Students will be introduced to major debates within the subfield and explore topics such as ‘race,’ Black liberation, and ethics. Satisfies Anthropology major and minor requirement. Satisfies Historical Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality and Community requirement.
Instructor Brown Maroon Societies, is an in-depth exploration of Captive African maroon societies through the lens of archaeology, examining the rich cultural heritage and historical significance of communities formed by self-liberated enslaved Africans in the Americas. In this course, students will examine the archaeological remains of maroon settlements, analyze material culture, spatial organization, and subsistence practices of African descendant communities to understand the social, political, and economic power of these resilient communities. Satisfies Anthropology major and minor requirement. Satisfies Social and Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality and Community.
Instructor Samson Social and cross-cultural aspects of religious belief and practice in local and global context. Special emphasis on ritual behavior and collective identity in ethnographic perspective, religious revitalization, new religious groups, and the shifting global religious landscape. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary major and minor. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement.
Instructor Samson This course addresses human-environment relations in Latin America from the standpoint of environmental history and ethnographic case studies in the region. Issues such as biodiversity, land use and agriculture, transnational flows of natural and food resources, ethnoecology, and social mobilization around environmental issues are examined using theoretical perspectives from cultural and political ecology. Particular attention is given to the relationship between indigenous peoples and the environment and to alternative models of “development” in Mesoamerica, the Andes, and Brazil. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor.
Instructor Staff Examination of Ghanaian family structure, gender roles, religious beliefs, social stratification, political economy, and inter-ethnic relations. Special emphasis is placed on understanding the legacy of colonialism and efforts to develop a national culture. Fulfills a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Fufills a requirement in the Africana Studies major (Geographic Region: Africa). Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity Requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Offered in alternating years as part of the Davidson in Ghana summer program.
Instructor Staff This course will examine performance aesthetics and traditions from various West African Cultures and contexts. Special consideration will be given to how these approaches to music and dance shape in particular inform the diasporic cultural practices of Afro-descended people in the US and Caribbean. Satisfies a requirement in the Anthropology major and minor. Satisfies a requirement in the Africana Studies major (Geographic Region: Africa). Satisfies the Visual and Performing Arts requirement. Satisfies the cultural diversity requirement
Instructor Bowles and Wiemers Though ethnographic texts, this course explores the intersections of gender, ethnicity and class in African societies in the 20th and 21st centuries. This course also examines representations of Africa within the nation-state and transnationally. Topics of discussion include tourism, national identity and ethnicity, popular culture, the dichotomies of urban and rural Africa and the cultural politics of development and the state. Satisfies Anthropology major and minor requirement. Satisfies History major and minor requirement. Satifies a cultural production and expressions requirement in the Africana Studies major (Geographic Region: Africa). Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement.
Instructor Brown, Cho Examines the concept of race from a biocultural perspective, deconstructing race by exploring evidence from population genetics and human origins. Contemporary racial issues such as classification of racial/ethnic groups, and evaluating intelligence and achievement on the basis of race/ethnicity are explored. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Samson Overview of Latin American culture from an anthropological perspective. An ethnographic focus demonstrates linkages between life in local communities and forces of cultural, social, and political change at the level of the nation-state. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies one of the introductory course requirements in Latin American Studies. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Bowles This course introduces the African Diaspora as a theoretical framework within anthropology for investigation of the dispersal of people of African descent throughout the world. This course examines African cultural influences that inform a diaspora connected through migrations, both voluntary and involuntary, as well as colonization and the globalization of capitalism. Topics of discussion include the cultural production of blackness, roots tourism, resistance to oppression, revolutions, rebellions and maroon communities. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Lozada How do science and technology impact society, politics, and culture? This course, essentially an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Science, Technology, and Society (aka Social Studies of Science, Science and Technology Studies), is designed to explore how modern science has become a dominant social and political force in the twenty-first century. STS emerged in the 1960s-70s as scholars began questioning the social and political implications of scientific and technological progress; relevant fields in STS include the history of science, philosophy of science, and science communication. While this course is grounded in anthropology, it is most relevant to interdisciplinary programs including Environmental Studies, Communication Studies, and Policy Studies. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies major and interdisciplinary minor. Satisfies a requirement in Film, Media, and Digital Studies Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor.
Instructor Bowles This course examines issues in social activism from both a theoretical and ethnographic perspective. How do social activists think about and make social change happen? By examining theories and issues in social justice, from macro-level issues in the international arena to local mobilization for community issues, this course will introduce students to social movement and civil society theory. This course will study social movements, community activism, and the cultural practices of community groups. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary major and minor. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Lozada This course introduces the ways in which food practices shape societies and cultures throughout the world. Food ways will be examined from an anthropological perspective for their social and cultural implications; this is not a survey of nutritional or dietetic sciences. Topics to be covered include: the use of food in social contexts, the symbolism of food, and the political economy of food. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor. Prerequisites & Notes (offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Cho Human biological variation among and within living populations. Evolutionary, genetic, ecological, demographic, and especially cultural factors that contribute to biological variation are explored. Topics include biological adaptations to hot/cold climates, high altitudes, and lactose intolerance, among others. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Cho The application of the techniques used in biological anthropology to the law. Various topics and methodologies related to the identification of human skeletal remains, including the excavation of human remains, estimation of age-at-death and sex, trauma analysis, cause and manner of death, and mass disasters are introduced. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Offered in alternating years.
Instructor Cho The study of human and non-human remains from archaeological sites to reconstruct past human behavior and biology, and their environmental and cultural conditions. Topics include human skeletal indicators of diet, activity level, and disease, and faunal skeletal indicators of ancient human behavior, such as hunting and paleoecology. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Historical Thought requirement. Satisfies depth (not breadth) course requirement in the Natural Science and Social Science tracks of the Environment Studies major.
Instructor Cho We examine the extant species in the primate order, our closest living relatives, from evolutionary and ecological perspectives to better understand humankind and the evolution of human characteristics such as bipedality, large brains, concealed ovulation, and extensive culture. Diverse anatomy and social behaviors of non-human primates such as foraging strategies, mating systems, sexual dimorphism, intelligence, and communication are addressed. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Bowles This course examines racism through socio-cultural perspectives on colonization, decolonization, global capitalism, and white supremacy. Drawing on anthropological approaches to systemic and institutional racism, this course helps students to understand how indigenous and marginalized people in various regions of the world experience and resist racialized oppression. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary major and minor. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Staff Examines authority, organization, power, and legitimization of authority using a comparative perspective. Community-based learning model facilitates exploration of environmental justice and grassroots change with an emphasis on the symbolic aspects of power, structural inequity, and social movements. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies Communication Studies major and minor requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Samson Advanced study of how borders and borderland regions shape social, religious, political, and economic relationships in Latin America, and examination of the tensions created when people and resources cross cultural and political borders. Particular emphasis on Mexico and Central America, as well as the Latino experience in the United States. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary major and minor. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement
Instructor Samson Anthropological perspectives on human rights agendas in Latin America. Case studies examine the tension between universal and culturally relative conceptions of human rights in relation to issues such as state violence, violence directed toward minorities, and social justice movements. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies major & minor elective credit in Latin American Studies. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Fall; offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Samson Cultural perspectives on human-environment relations and linkages between the environment and the global economy. Special emphasis on the integration of current knowledge in ecological anthropology, economic production, and the impact of human activity on the environment. Environmental justice issues and proposals for sustainable development are included. Satisfies Social and Scientific Thought requirement.
Instructor Samson The emphasis in this course is on the contemporary religious pluralism that has resulted from the encounter of the Old World with the New. Religious change in Latin America since Vatican II and the advent of liberation theology is examined alongside the burgeoning presence of Protestantism in the region during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Particular attention is given to indigenous and Afro-Latin American traditions. Case studies in the course are selected for their use of ethnographic methods, and the geographic focus centers on the Andean region, Mesoamerica, Brazil, and the Caribbean. Satisfies the Ethics, Theology, Politics, Society requirement of the Religious Studies major. Satisfies a requirement in the Latin American Studies major. Satisfies the Philosophical and Religious Perspectives requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement.
Instructor Cho Cross-cultural study of belief systems concerning health and illness, practices of diagnosis and treatment, and roles of patients and practitioners. Western biomedicine and non-Western health care systems are examined. The interaction of ecological and cultural factors that influence disease manifestations, and the bio-cultural context of sickness and therapy are explored. Satisfies Public Health major and minor requirement. Satisfies a major & minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes Offered in alternating years. Some semesters may include an optional week-long trip to Guatemala.
Instructor Bowles Explores how gender ideologies shape the exercise of power upon men and women in different societies and cultures. Topics include the construction of masculinity and femininity, commodification and consumption of gender, social position, agency, and the political economy of gender. Emphasis on developing an understanding of different theoretical perspectives in the cross-cultural study of gender. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary major and minor. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
ANT 360Anthropology of Development and Environmental Sustainability
Instructor Samson Issues of development and sustainability from the standpoint of environmental anthropology and anthropological approaches to development theory. Considers the human face of development, including local and global scales of analysis, environmental justice, and discourses of community sustainability. Satisfies a major and minor requirement in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Satisfies depth and breadth course requirement in the Social Science track of the Environmental Studies major or interdisciplinary minor. Prerequisites & Notes (offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Staff Theoretical and interpretive perspectives in modern cultural anthropology. Issues include functionalism, historical analysis, cultural evolution, ecology, cultural materialism, structuralism, and symbolic analysis. Writings of major thinkers, including Radcliffe-Brown, Harris, Levi-Strauss, Douglas, Geertz, Turner, Godelier, and Sahlins. One of the courses satisfying the Theory requirement for the major in Anthropology. Satisfies the Social-Scientific Thought requirement. Prerequisites & Notes ANT 101 or permission of the instructor. (Fall)
Instructor Staff Approaches to ethnographic and ethnohistorical research and analysis in cultural anthropology. Examination of selected studies that demonstrate a variety of approaches to the study of single cultures and to cross-cultural comparisons. Students design and complete research projects. With advance departmental approval, an off-campus ethnographic field school course may be substituted for credit toward the major. One of the courses satisfying the Methods requirement for the major and minor in Anthropology. Prerequisites & Notes ANT 101 or permission of the instructor. (Spring)
Instructor Bowles Introduction to the theories and methods necessary for making ethnographic films. Students will conduct fieldwork and make a documentary film on a particular aspect of social and cultural behavior. Emphasis is placed on developing the critical skills needed for resolving some of the ethical, technical, and aesthetic problems that may emerge during the documentation of social and cultural behavior. One of the courses satisfying the Methods requirement for the major and minor in Anthropology. Satisfies a requirement in the Communication Studies interdisciplinary major and minor. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Bowles This course examines the theoretical and interpretive perspectives of contemporary anthropologists outside of the US and Europe. Disciplinary issues such as the “crises of representation” alongside the decolonization of the Global South will be explored. Writings that explore the tensions between the universal and particular, theory and practice, power and knowledge and the limits of objectivity and subjectivity will also be discussed. One of the courses satisfying the Theory requirement for the major in Anthropology. Satisfies the Justice, Equality, and Community requirement. Prerequisites & Notes ANT 101 or permission of the instructor.
Instructor Cho This course concerns forensic taphonomy, the study of postmortem and postdepositional processes that occur in human and non-human animals in the medicolegal context. Students will design research projects on the decomposition process in piglets, and learn to collect, analyze, interpret, and present data. One of the courses satisfying the Methods requirement for the major and minor in Anthropology. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Cho Identification of bones in the human skeleton and basic skeletal biology. Osteological methods and analyses applicable to bioarchaelogy and forensic anthropology are introduced. One of the courses satisfying the Methods requirement for the major and minor in Anthropology. Counts as an elective for the Biology major.
Inxtructor Cho A comparative study of animals in various taxa, including humans, and the reconstruction of diet, locomotion, and evolutionary history from skeletal anatomy. Applications in paleoanthropology, primatology, zoology, and biomechanics. One of the courses satisfying the Methods requirement for the major and minor in Anthropology. Counts as an elective for the Biology major. Prerequisites & Notes Offered in alternating years.
Instructor Staff The use of geographical information systems (GIS) to analyze, model, and present spatial relationships in the biological and social sciences, supplemented by other packages such as Google Earth. Field collection of spatial data with GPS units. Course is computer-based and emphasizes individual research projects. Satisfies the Methods requirement for the major and minor in Anthropology. Counts as an elective in the Data Science interdisciplinary minor. Satisfies Environmental Studies major requirement. Satisfies Gender and Sexuality Studies major requirement. Prerequisites & Notes (Offered in alternating years.)
Instructor Brown This interdisciplinary course explores the intersection of material culture and archival research. Focusing on the American South from the colonial period through the 20th century, this course investigates the lives of Mecklenburg County’s founding families through archaeological evidence and archival documentation. Students will examine the material remains of plantation life-such as tools, dwellings, plant use, ceramics, and landscape features-alongside written records including plantation ledgers, Freedmen’s Bureau papers, oral histories, and other Black-authored and institutional archives. Through case studies, field reports, and primary source analysis, the course interrogates how race, power, and memory shape the production and preservation of knowledge about the past. Students will gain hands-on experience curating a historic archaeological collection, evaluating historical sources, analyzing cultural landscapes, and understanding the ethical dimensions of researching marginalized histories. The course will also critically engage with public history practices and the politics of commemoration. Satisfies Anthopology major and minor requirement. Satisfies Historical Thought Ways of Knowing requirement. Satisfies Justice, Equality, and Community requirement.
Instructor Staff One-time seminars in selected topics in anthropology. Topics announced in advance. Satisfies a major requirement in Anthropology Prerequisites & Notes Not open to first-year students.
Instructor Cho The discussion-based course explores the various medical systems, practices, and concepts in the Asian continent including acupuncture, chi, herbalism, Tibetan Buddhism, shamanism, yoga, and Ayurveda. Definition of health, illness etiology, diagnoses, and treatment methodologies of a medicine must be addressed within the context of other social institutions such as religion, history, gender, and political economy. Experiential learning is integrated and complements course content. Satisfies Anthropology major and minor requirement. Satisfies East Asian Studies minor requirement. Satisfies Public Health major and minor requirement. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought Ways of Knowing requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement. Satisfies South Asian Studies minor requirement.
Instructor Samson Political thought is produced by people who are themselves situated within global networks of economic and political power. Scholars, activists, and other thinkers in the global south produce theories about politics that are different from the theories produced by scholars who are closer to centers of political, social, and economic power. In this course, we will explore some of the political thought produced by scholars in the global south. We will read the works of decolonial and postcolonial thinkers, feminist theorists, indigenous scholars, activist communities, etc., focusing on the challenges that their ways of thinking represent for Western forms of knowledge production. Further, we will ask what these challenges show us about global power relations in the production and circulation of knowledge. Finally, we will consider how these theoretical perspectives have been taken up by anthropologists and other scholars in Western academic settings. Satisfies Social-Scientific Thought requirement Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement
Instructor Staff Independent research under the direction of a faculty member who reviews and approves the topic(s) of the research and determines the means of evaluation. Satisfies a major requirement in Anthropology Prerequisites & Notes Two previous courses in anthropology. Limited to sophomores and juniors.
Instructor Staff Advanced seminar required of all senior majors, exploring in depth an anthropological issue of critical importance. Students choose a topic related to this issue and prepare seminar presentations and a major research paper. Required course for the major in Anthropology. Prerequisites & Notes Limited to senior majors and minors. (Fall)
Instructor Staff Proposal formulation, research and writing of the honors thesis. ANT 498 is taken in the fall semester by qualifying senior majors and is graded in P/F mode. ANT 499 follows in the spring semester. Both courses are required for the granting of honors. Required for honors but does not count as a course satisfying the anthropology requirements. Prerequisites & Notes Departmental permission required. (Fall)
Instructor Staff Research and writing of the honor thesis. Concludes with a departmental oral examination. Open to qualifying senior majors. Required for honors and may be counted as one of the upper-level seminar requirements for the anthropology major. Prerequisites & Notes Departmental permission required. (Spring)
