Course Description:

This course introduces the theories and methods of cultural anthropology through a look at how different anthropologists have explored what it means to be human in particular times and places. We will learn about how anthropologists approach the study of diverse dimensions of social life, including race, kinship, family, exchange, economics, religion and globalization. In addition, we will consider the role of culture in shaping the above aspects of social life. In particular, we will explore cultural contact and change over time. What is anthropology’s role in culture change? How do people adapt to new circumstances? How has the concept of culture change taken on new urgency with globalization? Coursework will include readings in anthropological theory and ethnography (the primary written form of anthropology). Through ethnographic readings in the particular, we will come to understand in general how people across different cultures organize, understand, and adapt to their social worlds.