Hartwick college

The Hartwick Department of Anthropology offers courses from three subfields of anthropology: archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology. Each professor has doctoral training in anthropology and the relevant subfield.

Courses immediately below are offered spring 2013. Please scroll down for complete catalog offerings. Descriptions may be taken from previous offerings. Please contact professors for current information.

Spring 2013

ANTH-105-Ab, Introduction to Anthropology (Antrosio). This course introduces anthropology as a four-field discipline, encompassing biological anthropology, archaeology, socio-cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. Although popular notions of anthropology dwell on its archaeological and biological aspects (“stones and bones”), anthropology takes the whole of humanity as its subject matter. Aspiring to a holistic understanding, anthropology is at the intersection of the humanities and the sciences, the most scientific of the humanities or the most humanistic of the sciences. (See also Four Fields Introduction to Anthropology for more on this course.)

ANTH-235-34, Biological Anthropology (Anderson). A review of current evolutionary theory as it applies to the fossil evidence for human evolution, human genetics and natural selection today; genetic and environmental factors in the origin of the human family; introduction to primate behavior and ecology. Biological anthropology focuses on describing and explaining the range of human biological diversity. Our main questions are: What are the differences among us? What causes these differences? What is their significance?

ANTH-239-Cd, Old World Prehistory (Anthony). This course covers what archaeologists think they know about some of the people who lived in Europe, Egypt, the Near East, and Central Asia before the rise of the Roman Empire. Most of them lived before writing was invented, so human memory was the only medium they had to preserve their history, and their stories have slowly been forgotten. Prehistory is the study of all of those people whose names and ethnicities and landmarks never got written down. Archaeology is the necessary tool of the prehistorian. In the Old World, prehistory began to turn into history when written documents first appeared in a few brilliant centers of innovation around 3000 BC. The societies that invented writing are the first ones where we can talk about people by name and interpret the past with the help of first-person written accounts. But before that date, and even long after that date in most places, most of the cultures of the Old World lived without writing until about the time of the Roman Empire. They are the subject of this course.

ANTH-250-Ef, Anthropological Linguistics (Antrosio). An introduction to how anthropologists think about language, stressing communicative acts in social context and the relationship of language and perception. Surveys classic questions in linguistic anthropology, including how language interrelates with thought; how beliefs and values influence language; how languages grow and change; the relationship between language evolution and human evolution; language acquisition during childhood; language and power; and to what degree languages form coherent systems.

ANTH-350-Gh, Archaeological Theory (Anthony). This course is intended to introduce upper-level students to the subject of how the past might be explained and interpreted. Discovering and excavating archaeological sites is one step in archaeology; analyzing the artifacts and features, sometimes with lab methods like radiocarbon dating or organic residue analysis, is another step; and then figuring out what it all means in terms of past human behaviors and cultural meanings is the final step. That last step depends entirely on theory. Theoretical approaches will affect lab methods and in many cases will determine the choice of sites excavated. You can’t really do archaeology without theory, and this course is the only one at Hartwick that explores the variety of theories that archaeologists commonly use.

ANTH-381-05, Anthropological Forensics (Anderson). This course is a bare-bones introduction to what we can learn from human bones. Students who hope to attend graduate school in forensic anthropology or who wish to take an intensive summer course can benefit from working with the bones, learning to identify them; they will learn how to identify age and sex, fractures and other injuries, diseases, etc. and how to estimate height in order to identify individuals and/or compile information about past populations.

ANTH-388-Ab, Classics of Anthropological Thought (Woost). The history and integration of anthropological theory as social science. An introduction to anthropology's great thinkers; major issues of 19th and 20th century thought. Required core course for anthropology majors. Prerequisite: ANTH 105, 223 and 237.

ANTH-405-9W, Capstone in Anthropological Issues (Woost). As a capstone this course is meant to test advanced majorsʼ knowledge of the discipline and their skills in applying that knowledge to the world around them. At this advanced stage of study students are expected to be able to take what they have learned and enter reasonably into debates about current events and about issues in their chosen discipline. In short, this course is meant to be a mechanism through which students become more acutely aware of difficulties and rewards of taking anthropological knowledge into the world they live in. As part of this endeavor, students will be faced with making decisions about where they should stand on issues and events in the world. In this process of decision-making they must face the realization head on that anthropology itself is not of one mind, that anthropologists themselves often vehemently disagree with one another about “what is to be done” (to borrow a phrase from V.I. Lenin) in this world. Thus they should leave this course with the ability to take a position in a given debate and be able to provide empirical support their decision.

Introductory, 100-level courses

105 Introduction to Anthropology (4 credits) An introduction to anthropology and the study of human culture. Basic concepts, aims, and methods of biological, archaeological, and cultural anthropology. Emphasis on the origins of humankind, the relationship of the human past to present and the comparative study of contemporary cultures. Required preparatory course for anthropology majors and minors.

Intermediate, 200-level courses (ANTH 105 Prerequisite unless otherwise indicated)

223 Cultural Anthropology (3 credits) The comparative study of cultures and societies. The nature of culture and its relation to society; patterns, similarities and differences found in material culture, language, and kinship; economic, political, and religious institutions of different peoples; and their interpretations.

225 Fundamentals of Archaeology (3 credits) The systematic study of the fundamental principles of method and theory in archaeology: establishing cultural chronologies, reconstructing extinct life ways and interpreting the archeological record. General theory in archaeology. Contemporary archaeology.

235 Biological Anthropology (4 credits) A review of current evolutionary theory as it applies to the fossil evidence of human evolution; human genetics and natural selection today; genetics and environmental factors in the origin of humans; introduction to primate behavior and ecology. Lectures and laboratory. (EL, QFR)

237 Peoples and Cultures (of selected areas) (credits vary by specific course, 3 to 4 credits) Survey of peoples and cultures of different regions of the world including: Native North America, Mesoamerica, South America, Pacific Islands, Africa, the Middle East, Caribbean, American Southwest, Asia. Specific emphases vary by instructor. May be taken more than once for credit.

239 Old World Prehistory (3 credits) A survey of major developments in Old World prehistory including: the origin of technology, food production, and complex civilizations. Emphasis on Near East and Europe. No prerequisite.

241 Native North American Prehistory (3 credits) Survey of major developments of the prehistory of North America from the peopling of the continent to the arrival of Columbus. Emphasis on the origins of domestication and development of complex societies. No prerequisite.

250 Topics in Anthropology (credits vary by specific course, 3 to 4 credits) Special topics of current interest are considered in depth. Examples have included South African Culture, History and Ecology; Language and Culture; South Africa and the Media; Political Anthropology; Anthropology of Development; Ethnic Conflict; Subcultures; Contract Archaeology; Pop Archaeology. More than one topics course may be taken for credit.

Seminars, 300-level courses. (ANTH 105 Prerequisite unless otherwise indicated)

305 Hunters and Gatherers (3 credits) Comparative analysis of hunting and gathering societies in today's world as well as the prehistoric past. Emphasis on specific cultural groups and environments to demonstrate diversity and continuity; examination of such societies as exemplars of "human nature." (ILS)

307 Sex and Gender (3 credits) A critical examination of anthropological data and theory on sex and gender, comparison of biological and social explanations, stereotyping of sex roles in different societies, and the gender component in social relations.

322 The Anthropology of War (4 credits) Cross-cultural description of warfare and organized violence, critical evaluation of explanations of causes of war. Consequences of war for demography, biology, and culture. Peaceful and violent means of conflict resolution. (ILS)

325 Material Culture Analysis in Anthropology (4 credits) Firsthand experience in laboratory and quantitative analysis and interpretation of prehistoric and contemporary ethnographic artifacts: implements of chipped stone, bone, wood, pottery, basketry, ritual objects. Three perspectives will be emphasized: technology, function, and style. The behavioral and cultural implications of the analyses will allow students to see for themselves how economic, stylistic, symbolic, and chronological interpretations are made from material culture. (ILS)

326 The Anthropology of Religion (3 credits) The relation of religious belief and practice to patterns of culture and society; mythology, magic, soccer, witchcraft, sacrifice, supernatural beings, shamanism, divination, and totemics in traditional and modern societies with focus on non-Western traditions; religion and culture change.

327 Psychological Anthropology (3 credits) A study of personality development in cross-cultural and historical respective: an examination of the bio social basis of the self; socialization patterns, life cycle characteristics, and configurations of adult personality in various cultures; contrasts in primitive and modern cognitive styles; contrasts in definitions of mental health and illness.

335 Third World Studies (3 credits) Studies in selected areas such as: Africa south of the Sahara, China, India, the Islamic world, Latin America, the Pacific, and Southeast Asia. An examination of the pre-colonial kinship, economic, political, and religious systems and related ecological and population patterns; the impact of European expansion upon them; the rise and fulfillment of independence movements; and contemporary political, economic, social, ecological, and population patterns--all viewed in the perspective of the world as a system of interdependent societies and states. Prerequisite: ANTH 105 or SOCI 105. May be taken more than once for credit. (ILS)

340 Primate Behavior and Ecology (4 credits) Comparative analysis of non-human primates, and application to questions of human evolution and biological bases for human behavior. Primate taxonomy, evolution, and ecology are studied for their relevance to primate behavior and adaptation. (ILS)

341 Cultural Ecology (3 credits) Analysis of the relationships between culture and environment: the ways in which populations adapt to and transform their environments; ways in which environments condition cultural developments. (ILS)

346 Race and Human Variability (3 credits) Scientific and popular conceptions of "race." Genetics and adaptation to environmental (and social) stress, including intense cold and heat, high altitudes, and disease. Survival through natural and cultural selection.

347 Human Evolution (3 credits) Human biological and cultural evolution from 5 million to 20,000 years ago: what happened, why, and what kinds of evidence are appropriate and available? A review of the evidence and interpretations drawn from it.

348 Anthropology of Development (3 credits) The analysis and interpretation of the historical expansion of the world economic system and its cultural foundations. The notion of development also is examined from a variety of critical perspectives. The relation of development practices to the problems currently facing the global system such as environmental degradation, population expansion, Third World debt, famine, etc., also are explored. This exploration ultimately leads to questions about whether prevailing notions of development have any relevance in the contemporary world system, particularly for members of the underdeveloped world. (ILS)

350 Topics in Anthropology (credits vary by course, 3 to 4 credits) For description see ANTH 250. (ILS)

361 Medical Anthropology (3 credits) Anthropological approach to the study of health problems. The use of clinical, ecological, and ethnographic material to study causes and effects of disease on humans. The impact of population growth and migration; human contact through time and space on societies around the world. A bridge between the health sciences and anthropology. (ILS)

387 Ethnographic Methods (4 credits) Problems, theories, and techniques of anthropological fieldwork. Students conduct field studies in the local area. Methods of building rapport with subjects. Data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Cross-cultural comparisons. Class presentations.

388 Classics of Anthropological Thought (3 credits) The history and integration of anthropological theory as social science. An introduction to anthropology's great thinkers; major issues of 19th and 20th century thought. Required core course for anthropology majors. Prerequisite: ANTH 105, 223 and 237. (ILS)

Advanced seminars, 400-level courses

405 Capstone in Anthropological Issues (3 credits) This course focuses on contemporary anthropological theory, seeking to introduce students to the process and emergence of anthropological discovery and debate. The emphasis is on process rather than content, with three primary features: (1) concentrating on anthropology that has been produced in the last decade; (2) relating student interests to this material through an independent research project or commentary; and (3) discussing materials that have been assembled by students, especially in the latter portions of the course. Each version of the course will be individually titled under a broad contemporary issue theme. It is therefore possible that students could take this course two times, with instructor permission. It is assumed that students will already be familiar with the history of anthropological thought, as well as an understanding of the theories and methods from the major anthropological subdisciplines. Prerequisites: Junior standing and at least 20 completed credits in Anthropology.

421 Field Research in Archaeology (6 credits) Methods in field archaeology, taught through actual field excavation. Prerequisite: ANTH 105, 225, or permission of instructor.

487 Junior Seminar in Cultural Dynamics (3 credits) Seminar focused on the application of classical and modern theories of social change and continuity. At the end of the course, students submit a research proposal for their senior thesis for departmental approval. Required core course for anthropology majors. Prerequisite: Near completion of major in anthropology, especially 223 and 388.

490 Senior Thesis in Anthropology (3 credits) Student-initiated project of substantial scope done under faculty guidance. Integration of theory, method, and fact in cultural, biological, or archaeological anthropology. Prerequisite: Consent of anthropology faculty supervisor.