Anthropology

An 22. Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. The course will introduce students to the concept of culture, including systems of belief, psychology, healing, and ritual from a cross-cultural perspective. It will also cover topics such as ecological adaptation, social and political organization, kinship, family structure, and economics from a cross-cultural and evolutionary perspective. The course will offer a substantial section on cultural change that will include discussions of globalization, development, and urbanization. Throughout the course, examples will be taken from ethnographic sources. While many of the examples in this course will be from relatively exotic places, parallels to the lives of those in contemporary developed societies will also be discussed. Not offered 2005–06.

An 23. Human Evolution. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. An exploration of how humans evolved, and the implications of human evolution for understanding the human condition. The course surveys natural selection theory; basic Mendelian, population, and molecular genetics; systematics; nonhuman primate ecology, behavior, and cognition; the human fossil record; the emergence of modern human morphology and behavior; patterns of modern human genetic variation; the human life cycle; human behavioral ecology; evolutionary psychology; and gene/culture coevolution theory. Instructor: Manson.

An 101. Selected Topics in Anthropology. 9 units (3-0-6). Offered by announcement. Instructor: Staff.

An 102. Culture, Cognition, and Language. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisite: An 22. This course explores the evidence both in favor of and against the well-known Sapir-Whorf hypothesis of linguistic relativity and determinism, which appears to be making a comeback. Topics covered include color cognition and language, spatial cognition and language, child language across cultures, cognition and language among the deaf, and language dysfunction across cultures, including the aphasias and semantic category deficits. Instructor: Staff.

An 103. Biology of Women. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. An evolutionary perspective on the biology of women, encompassing life events from conception to old age. This course will focus on biological sex differentiation, menarche, reproduction and lactation, and menopause in light of current research on genetics, hormones, development, and culture. Topics include sexuality, PMS, and pregnancy sickness. Instructor: Abrams.

An 104. Primate Behavior. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. This course examines the behavior patterns of nonhuman primates (apes, monkeys, and prosimians), and theory-driven explanations of these patterns. Topics include evolutionary theories of social behavior (e.g., kin selection, reciprocity, and sexual selection); dominance hierarchies; conflict and reconciliation; coalitions, alliances and “friendships”; mate competition and mate choice; parental behavior; communication, the evolution of intelligence; social learning; tool use; and cultural transmission. Implications of these findings for understanding human behavior are briefly covered. Instructor: Manson.

An 124. Peoples and Cultures of Latin America. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. This course introduces and explores some of the main themes in the anthropology of Latin America. After a brief discussion of geography, it will discuss the archaeology of state-level societies, such as the Inca, and foragers, such as Amazonian groups. In both cases, it will link modern descendants of these populations with the archaeological record and known history. From this base, the course will move on to cover population, religion, social organization, race, and economics in contemporary societies, with numerous ethnographic examples. This course seeks to explore differences as well as present commonalities within the region. Not offered 2005–06.