Undergraduate Studies - Course Descriptions

Please find additional information on the University of Cincinnati web page.

15-ANTH-101,102,103. Cultural Anthropology. An introduction to the study of culture and its aspects. Emphasizes the evolution of cultural systems, by using ethnographic case studies.

15-ANTH-104,105,106. Physical Anthropology. An introduction to Physical Anthropology. Emphasizes human origins, evolution, (racial) variation, and adaptability. Discusses both prehistoric and modern human population biology. Fulfills one 9-cr. sequence in the Natural Science requirements.

15-ANTH-195,196,197. Honors Individual Study/ Research. 1-15 ug. cr. Honors topics and credit to be arranged with the instructor. Prereq.: Honors standing and P.I.

15-ANTH-201. Introduction to Archaeology. Introduces goals of archaeological research; survey, excavation, and dating techniques; artifact classification; analysis and interpretation of data.

15-ANTH-204. Great Discoveries in Archaeology Surveys important prehistoric discoveries worldwide and examines them from the perspective of archaeological science and anthropological theory. Critiques popular culture presentations of the past.

15-ANTH-230. Languages of the World I. Studies how language and languages work, with examples from major and representative minor language families in ethnological, geographic, historical, and typological perspectives.

15-ANTH-231. Languages of the World II. See 15-ANTH-230. Prereq: Anth 230 or P.I.

15-ANTH-232. Language and Culture. Looks at relationships of linguistic variation to other cultural variables including social organization and world view; the linguistic relativity hypotheses; linguistic inference about prehistoric culture. Prereq: A course in linguistics and a course in cultural anthropology or sociology, or P.I.

15-ANTH-250. Religion in Culture. A cross-cultural comparative study of systems of ritual and belief, particularly as related to other aspects of culture.

15-ANTH-276. World Prehistory. A survey of selected prehistoric cultural sequences in the Old World up to the time of the Romans and in the New World before European contact.

15-ANTH-278. Old World Prehistory. A developmental approach to the prehistory of the Old World from human origins in Africa to the initial experiments in statecraft.

15-ANTH-279. Medical Anthropology. A cross-cultural introduction to the epidemiology, causation, and treatment of disease in different ecologies and cultures.

15-ANTH-303. Southwest Prehistory. An introduction to the prehistoric cultural patterns and trends in the archaeological record of the American Southwest. Topics include the development of political, settlement, and economic systems.

15-ANTH-305. Maya Prehistory. An introduction to the prehistoric cultural patterns and trends in the archaeological record of the ancient Maya and their immediate neighbors. Topics include agricultural systems, settlement systems, and exchange systems.

15-ANTH-308. New World Prehistory. Examines the development of selected cultural systems in North, Middle, and South America prior to European contact.

15-ANTH-309. Ohio Valley Prehistory. Examines the sequence of cultures prior to European contact and development of archaeological research in eastern North America with emphasis on the Ohio Valley.

15-ANTH-320. Balkan Peoples. Presents peoples and cultures of SE Europe (Greece, Serbia, Bosnia, Rumania, etc.). Topics include peasant life amid the larger societies, ethnogeneses and interrelations of groups and the Balkan language area, and sources of ethnic conflict.

15-ANTH-322. Peoples of Siberia, Central Asia, and Turkey. Surveys representative peoples, cultures, and the nature of their adaptations to the arctic and subarctic ecological base. Investigates the cultural base of modern Turkey.

15-ANTH-326. Peoples of Japan. Reviews anthropological work on the nature of sociocultural systems of Japan. Attends to modernization and the maintenance of cultural integrity.

15-ANTH-327,328,329. Anthropology Junior Readings. 1-15 ug. cr. Topic and credit to be arranged with the instructor. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-330. Honors Special Topics. Topics may vary and will be announced in advance.

15-ANTH-333. Caribbean Peoples. The peoples and cultures of the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean region. Overview of European colonialism and slavery and their impact on indigenous populations and on the social, religious, and ethnic identities of contemporary Caribbean peoples.

15-ANTH-334. Indians of Mexico and Guatemala. Presents aboriginal Indian and contemporary peasant cultures of Mexico and Guatemala.

15-ANTH-341. The Anthropology of Food. An exploration of the different approaches that archaeologists, ethnologists, biological anthropologists and linguists take to the study of food and its role in human societies.

15-ANTH-346. Country and City. The anthropological literature on movements between rural and urban spaces; cultural and symbolic transitions, hybridity, and identity transformations.

15-ANTH-354. Identities: Ethnic, Gender, Class, (Trans)National. Presents anthropological perspectives on identities, how they are formed, and how they change. Emphasizes ethnic identities and their interaction with other types of identities, such as gender, class, national, and transnational identities.

15-ANTH-360. Origins of Agriculture. The processes by which people domesticated plants and intensified plant use are examined. Although a worldwide perspective will be taken, New World examples will be emphasized.

15-ANTH-362. Origins of Civilization. The origins of complex community organization in both New and Old Worlds are examined. The effects of trade, warfare, large scale irrigation systems, and the influence of population growth will be assessed. Examples of these developmental trends will draw principally from Middle America and the Near East.

15-ANTH-379. Medical Anthropology II. This course builds on the Introduction to Medical anthropology (279) with an emphasis upon clinically applied anthropology. Prereq.: A course in cultural or physical anthropology or P.I.

15-ANTH-385. Stars, Time, and Culture. Examines the use of astronomy and calendars in tribal and pre-industrial state societies and theories on the origins of primitive astronomical knowledge.

15-ANTH-413. Economic Anthropology. Covers contemporary and classic readings that focus on theories of households and women, especially in times of globalization with new forms of labor organization, migration and revised gender roles; looks at these factors at the household level and their relation to the larger world and includes research project on the effects of that larger world on households and individuals. Prereq.: Anth 101.

15-ANTH-418. Applied Anthropology. Pro-seminar on the practice and theory of applied anthropology (mainly, cultural anthropology), in both domestic and international, or cross-cultural, contexts. Prereq.: Recommended 101,102,103 and Jr/Sr Anthropology Major.

15-ANTH-422. The Archaeological Record and Its Interpretation. Approaches for understanding the origins and the inferential potential of the archaeological record are presented. Case studies are drawn from prehistoric occupational horizons worldwide. Prereq.: Anth 201 or 276.

15-ANTH-423. Principles of Archaeological Analysis. An exploration of the theories and methods that archaeologists use to obtain chronological, behavioral, and organizational information from different kinds of archaeological assemblages and data bases. Prereq.: Anth 201.

15-ANTH-437, 438, 439. Anthropology Senior Readings. 1-15 ug. cr. Topic and credit to be arranged with the instructor. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-471. Field Course in Archaeology: Southwest. 3-6 ug. cr. Archaeological field methods involving participation in actual site survey and/or excavation in the American Southwest. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-472. Field Course in Archaeology: Mesoamerica. 3-6 ug. cr. Archaeological field methods involving participation in actual site survey and/or excavation in Mesoamerica. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-473. Field Course in Archaeology: Midwest. 3-6 ug. cr. Archaeological field methods involving participation in actual site survey and/or excavation in the American Midwest. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-474. Field Course in Archaeology: Asia. 3-6 ug. cr. Archaeological field methods involving participation in actual site survey and/or excavation in Asia. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-489. Human Adaptation. Examines adaptations of humans to the environment, emphasizing climate, altitude, disease, nutrition and population density. Prereq.: Anthropology 104 or Biology 101,102,103 or equivalent.

15-ANTH-500. Sex and Gender in Language. 4 ug. cr. Examines grammatical gender and noun classifier systems and their relations with other features of language and of culture. Includes cross-cultural studies of men's and women's dialects. Noun classifiers and grammatical gender related to other features of language and of culture. Prereq.: A course in Linguistics and a course in Cultural Anthropology or Sociology.

15-ANTH-501. Seminar in Economic Anthropology. 4 ug. cr. Examines basic history and theory of economic anthropology. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-504. Ethnographic Methods. 4 ug.cr. Introduction to ethnographic research. Survey of qualitative research methods, experience in skills such as interviewing, observation and record-keeping. Prereq.: Anth 101,102,103 and Jr/Sr Anthropology Major.

15-ANTH-512. Public Archaeology Internship. 3-8 ug. cr. Practical experience in the conduct of preservation and/or contract archaeology, including the preparation of National Register nominations and field work and/or laboratory analysis and report preparation. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-515. Water Management. 4 ug. cr. A comparative treatment of water management systems in the archaeological and ethnographic record. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-520. Anthropology and Archaeology. 4 ug.cr. Explores the historical roots and contemporary relationship between sociocultural anthropology and archaeology. Employing case studies by British and American ethnographers and archaeologists, the course examines how each sub-discipline has influenced the another, the emergence of theoretical and methodological tensions, and the prospects for future synergistic. Prereq.: Recommended Anth 201,308.

15-ANTH-550. Anthropology of Race. 4 ug.cr. Interdisciplinary course on biological, archeological, linguistic and cultural research and perspectives on contemporary human variation: race. Covers the history of concepts and their use in the public domain, as well as the scientific evidence and debate.

15-ANTH-555. Spatial Archaeology. 4 ug. cr. Examines the manipulation and use of physical space and settlement by past societies. The construction, maintenance, and distribution of vernacular architecture, both domestic and public, will be studied. Focuses on archaeologically retrieved data. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-581,582,583. Individual Work in Anthropology. 1-15 ug. cr.; Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-590. Human Osteology. 4 ug. cr. A laboratory course on the identification of complete and fragmentary human remains. Prereq.: Anth 104 or P.I.

15-ANTH-593. Skeletal Biology and Archaeology. 4 ug. cr. Examines how physical anthropologists and archaeologists use skeletal materials to address questions about lifeway, populational relations, health, social organization and symbolic thought. Prereq.: Anth 104,105,106 or P.I.

15-ANTH-594. Human Origins. 4 ug cr. Examines evidence and theories on the origin and evolution of human kind. Prereq.: Anth 104 or 590 or Biology 101, 102, 103.

15-ANTH-595. Evolution of Homo Sapiens. 4 ug. cr. Examines evidence and theories on the origin and evolution of prehistoric and modern Homo sapiens. Prereq.: Anth 104 or 590 or Biology 101,102,103.

15-ANTH-630. Language and Linguistics. 4 ug cr. Examines the nature of form and process in languages of the world from the perspective of linguistics as a social science. Prereq.: Graduate Standing or P.I.

15-ANTH-631. Language Types. 4 ug cr. A pro-seminar on strategies of non-historical language classification and typological change. Surveys major language families. Reviews pertinent literature and recent research. Prereq.: Advanced Standing in Linguistics, Graduate Standing in Anthropology or P.I.

15-ANTH-632. Ethnolinguistics. 4 ug. cr. Examines relationships of linguistic variation to other cultural variables including social organization and world view. Reviews the linguistic relativity hypothesis, linguistic inference and prehistoric culture. Prereq.: A course in Linguistics and a course in Cultural Anthropology or Sociology, or P.I.

15-ANTH-643. Special Topics in Anthropology. 4 ug. cr. Topics may vary and will be announced in advance. May be repeated for credit if topics vary. Prereq.: P.I.

15-ANTH-645. Seminar: Cross-Cultural Research. Surveys anthropological research using the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample and other ethnographic data banks. Examines problem formation, data retrieval, limitations. Prereq.: Anthropology Major, Graduate Standing, or P.I.

15-ANTH-647. History and Theory of Anthropology. 4 ug. cr. Examines major theoretical positions in cultural anthropology. Prereq.: Senior standing in Anthropology Major, Graduate standing, or P.I.

15-ANTH-648. Contemporary Anthropological Theory. 4 ug. cr. A treatment of anthropological theory since 1960, with emphasis on cultural anthropology. Prereq.: Anth 647 or P.I.

15-ANTH-677, 678, 679. 4 ug.cr. Advanced Research in Urban Anthropology. An intensive field and seminar-based research course in urban anthropology. Training in quantitative and qualitative data analysis in specific urban sites. Prereq.: Permission of instructor only.

15-ANTH-696. Archaeological Theory. 4 ug. cr. Presents an historical survey of, and recent trends in, archaeological theory, with emphasis on the scientific aspects of archaeological research. Prereq.: Anth 101 or 104, and 201.

© Copyright 2004, University of Cincinnati
481 Braunstein (ML:0380), Cincinnati, OH 45221-0380
Phone: 513.556.2772 Fax: 513.556.2778
Email technical questions or comments