U69 Anthro 100 Introduction to Anthropology

Anthropology is a field that seeks to synthesize and integrate all aspects of what it means to be human, including the study of human diversity across time and space. Anthropologists are collectively interested in studying humans from a holistic perspective, including cultural, linguistic, and biological anthropology and archaeology. This course aims to introduce students to basic concepts within anthropology, integrating the perspectives and methods of each of the subfields into the approach. We will examine how culture, environment, and biology are intertwined in the variation seen within humans both past and present. Topics addressed will include aspects of human evolution and variation, non-human primates, Paleolithic cultures, subsistence strategies, kinship, political organization, the rise and fall of complex societies, religion, language, globalization, and anthropology in the present and future.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 150 Introduction to Human Evolution

The fossil evidence for human evolution, the genetics of human variation and evolution, the study of living nonhuman primates, and the fossil record and its interpretation.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 150M Introduction to Human Evolution

Online version of the course U69 150. This course is a survey of the fossil evidence for human evolution. The course includes discussion of the genetics of human variation and evolution, the study of living nonhuman primates, and the fossil record and its interpretation. An evolutionary perspective is used in an attempt to understand modern humans from the naturalistic point of view.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 160 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Equality, hierarchy, and stratification in tribal, peasant, and industrializing societies from past and present cultures. Comparison of the ways in which different cultures legitimize social difference; myth and ritual in relation to the social order and social process; patterns of authority and protest; theories of sociocultural change and evolution.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 1751 Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology

This course provides an introduction to the theoretical foundations of linguistic anthropology, the study of language use in cultural contexts. The readings, lectures, and discussions will focus on linguistic anthropology's integration of theory and ethnographic practice.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 190 Introduction to Archaeology

Archaeology plays a critical and unique role in understanding the human past. Through study of the methods and theories of archaeology, and a survey of important firsts in the human past, this course introduces students to the way archaeologists use material culture to reconstruct and understand human behavior. Chronologically ordered case studies from around the globe are used to look at social, ecological, and cultural issues facing humans from the earliest times to the present. Students gain practice reconstructing the past through hands-on participation in two 1-hour labs focusing on lithics and animal bones. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to think critically about how the past is presented, and why, and the importance of the past as it relates to the present and future.

Credit 3 units. Arch: SSC

U69 Anthro 190B Introduction to Archaeology

Archaeology plays a critical and unique role in understanding the human past. Through study of the methods and theories of archaeology, and a survey of important firsts in the human past, this course introduces students to the way archaeologists use material culture to reconstruct and understand human behavior. Chronologically ordered case studies from around the globe are used to look at social, ecological, and cultural issues facing humans from the earliest times to the present. Students gain practice reconstructing the past through hands-on participation in two 1-hour labs focusing on lithics and animal bones. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to think critically about how the past is presented, and why, and the importance of the past as it relates to the present and future.
Same as L48 Anthro 190B

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S

U69 Anthro 2091 Achievements of Past Civilizations

This course is a selective survey of some milestone achievements of past civilizations that have a far-reaching impact on our modern society. Using examples from archaeological sites around the world this class will explore how these achievements have changed the developmental trajectory of humanities. A feature of this course is that it will not only discuss the achievements of the so-called cradles of civilization but also those areas that receive much less scholarly attention in the study of ancient civilizations, such as Central Asia and Sub-Sahara Africa. Besides learning about archaeological facts, students who take this course will also get exposure to basic archaeological theories and methods. Some topics we will cover in this class include the domestication of crops and animals, the emergence of early cities, the invention of metallurgy, and the arrival of state societies.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 260 Topics in Health and Community

A survey of current topics in community health and medicine, with an emphasis upon social science approaches to issues affecting medicine and medical care in contemporary U.S. society. Issues include ethical debates in health care delivery, social stratification and health, access to health services, and factors affecting community wellness at local, national, and global levels. Presented as a weekly series of topical presentations by community health experts from the St. Louis area. Required for students enrolled in the Medicine and Society Program, and also open to other interested students.

Credit 1 unit.

U69 Anthro 280 Introduction to Anthropological Genetics

Anthropology is the study of humans, past and present. In the post-genomic era, we now have the capability to uncover the genetic basis of being human. This course will examine the intersection of genetics and anthropology. Students will be taught the basic principles of molecular evolutionary analysis and population genetics that are applied to the study of humans and other primates. In addition, students will learn how genetic data can supplement the archaeological, linguistic, cultural, paleoanthropological, and comparative primate research of traditional anthropology. Specifically, we will survey (1) methods of measuring and drawing inferences from human genetic variation, (2) theories of modern human origins and peopling of the world, and (3) recent advances in studying the genetic underpinnings for human disease. The first portion of every class will be devoted to lecture while the latter half will be a discussion of the assigned articles. There will be one in-class laboratory in which we explore some of the electronic resources available to anthropological geneticists. Finally, we will spend part of one class engaged in lively scientific debate over the question: are modern humans still evolving? Students should leave this class with a basic understanding of the contribution of genetics to the field of anthropology and how anthropological knowledge can illuminate genetic findings.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 300 Independent Study

Credit variable, maximum 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3004 Second Sight: Topics in Visual Anthropology

Visual anthropology is as old as the camera, and, like North Atlantic anthropology, it shares a long history with colonial exploitation and expansion. This course examines the history of both ethnographic film and photography and considers the ethics of visual anthropology in the 21st century. This survey of ethnographic film and photography aims to familiarize students with the concepts of visual anthropology and to introduce a variety of ethnographic and media studies concepts, theories, methods, and ethical considerations. Drawing from a broad spectrum of materials, we will focus on analyzing film and photography in class, discussing ethics, challenging the boundaries of ethnographic conventions, and inviting filmmakers and photographers into conversation via Skype.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3014 Wining and Dining in the Classical World

The focus of this course will be food culture in Greek and Roman societies from the Archaic to the late Roman period. However, foodways from adjacent contemporary cultures will also be briefly examined. Sources will include textual evidence, as well as ethnographic studies of ancient people, iconographic and archaeological evidence, specifically osteological and botanical remains from archaeological sites. Experimental studies will be conducted in class to augment the learning experience of students.
Same as U02 Classics 3031

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 302 People and Cultures of the Middle East

This course will introduce the cultural diversity and unity of the peoples of the Middle East. The emphasis is on historical and ethnological relationships, social and political structure, religious pluralism and contemporary youth issues. We will explore the lived experiences of the peoples in the modern nation-states of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and Iran. We will access this material through short stories, poetry, biographies, essays, videos, blogs, and political and anthropological reports.
Same as L48 Anthro 302B

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: IS

U69 Anthro 3030 Introduction to Human Ecology

Human ecology investigates the complex relationships between humans and their environment. The discipline is typically divided into two primary fields of research: cultural ecology (the study of cultural solutions to environmental challenges) and human biological ecology (the study of physical changes that occur in response to environmental stressors). This course examines both biological and cultural human adaptation to the earth's major ecosystems and surveys human subsistence strategies within these environments. Students will investigate the consequences of population growth, modernization, nutritional disparities, medical ethics, and environmental stewardship in a globalized world. The final section of the course will focus on world globalization, modernization, inequality, and health.

Credit 3 units. UColl: ML

U69 Anthro 3038 Ancient Technologies

This course is designed to examine technologies developed in the ancient world, from Prehistoric to Roman times. The course is structured around the use of key materials such as wood, textile, stone, clay, and metal. Larger themes, such as agriculture, warfare, and seafaring, combine these technologies to fulfill necessary and desired functions. The main focus of this course is Greek and Roman technologies, though some references will be made to adjacent cultures, such as Mesopotamian hunting, Egyptian engineering, Scythian tattooing, and the foodways and medicines of Germanic tribes. After the first two sessions, class will meet every alternate week for this hybrid course. Two meetings will include field trips to make pottery and observe cuttlebone metal pendant molding at Craft Alliance (material costs included in the fees), and examine manufacturing techniques from real artifacts at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
Same as U02 Classics 3036

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 308M Race Matters! How Race and Racism Affect Health and Medicine

This course grapples with the relationships among race, racism, health, and medicine, both in the United States and abroad. It examines the historical roots of medical racism, the role of medical and genetic research in constructing and deconstructing race as a biological concept, and the ways that systemic racism harms health. This course will also consider how race operates with other intersecting social and political identities (e.g., ethnicity, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability) to influence health outcomes. Although anthropological and critical race theories will frame our learning, we will read broadly across other disciplines, including (but not limited to) sociology, the history of medicine, law, public health, and science and technology studies.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 3093 Anthropology of Modern Latin America

A survey of current issues in the anthropological study of culture, politics, and change across contemporary Latin American and the Caribbean. Topics include machismo and feminismo, the drug war, race and mestizaje, yuppies and revolutionaries, ethnic movements, pop culture, violence, multinational business, and the cultural politics of U.S.-Latin American relations. Attention will be given to the ways that anthropology is used to understand complex cultural and social processes in a region thoroughly shaped by globalization.
Same as L48 Anthro 3093

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: IS EN: S

U69 Anthro 310C Ancient Civilizations of the New World

An examination of the Inca empire in Peru, and the Maya and Aztec empires in Mexico through the inquiry into the roots, development, form, and evolutionary history of pre-Colombian civilization in each region from its earliest times to the rise of the classic kingdoms. Examples of respective artistic accomplishments will be presented and discussed.
Same as L48 Anthro 310C

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM, LCD Arch: SSC BU: HUM

U69 Anthro 3137 The Pandemic: Science and Society Follow-up

This course is an extension of The Pandemic: Science and Society (Anthro L48 3515/U69 3136). Drawing from topics covered in the first course, this course will provide further examination of the societal and environmental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic now and in the future. This course will offer students the opportunity to reflect on and apply the knowledge and critical-thinking skills acquired in Anthro L48 3515/U69 3136 to current events as well as their own experiences regarding the global pandemic. A core component of this course is its focus on the interconnectedness of the COVID-19 pandemic to health and racial disparities, education, climate change, and the human-animal-environment interface.

Credit 1 unit. UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 3143 Plants in the Life of New World Cultures: Past and Present Perspectives

This course looks at the diverse ways in which past cultures in the New World domesticated, processed, consumed, and ritualized plants. Looking at pre-Columbian societies, we will study how certain plants native to the New World were used in daily and sacred activities, and how some are featured in myths and creation stories. We look at the period after the Columbian exchange to understand how colonialism in the New World and the introduction of Old World plants impacted societies in the New World. We will also consider how some of these New World plants shape the world we live in today. We will study both archaeological and historical perspectives, and learn to evaluate archaeologic evidence that relates to the plant world in the Americas.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 3151 Evolution of the Human Diet

Many researchers and health enthusiasts believe that the abandonment of our "Paleolithic" diet and lifestyle with the onset of agriculture some 10,000 years ago has lead to a rapid decline in health and perpetuated countless "diseases of civilization." While diet fads come and go, it seems this new enthusiasm for "Paleo diets" is here to stay. But what is a "Paleo diet" anyway? Through a comparative evolutionary and anthropological approach, we will examine the diets of extinct hominins, our extant primate relatives, ethnohistoric and contemporary foraging peoples, and even our own dietary habits. We will strive to answer key questions about diets in prehistory and their implications for living people today: How do we know what our ancestors ate? How have dietary hypotheses been used to explain processes in human evolution? When and how did the gendered division of labor come about in human dietary evolution? How bad is agriculture for global health? What role did certain foods play in shaping our modern physiology? Are we maladapted to our contemporary diets? What does it mean to eat "Paleo"? A mix of discussion and lecture will encourage students to develop their own interests in human evolutionary nutrition, which will be presented as a short presentation and final paper.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3164 Origins of Chinese Civilization and Arts

This course traces Chinese civilization from its formative period, extending from the Neolithic period (10,000 BP to circa 3000 BCE), through the Bronze Age (from circa 3000 BCE to the Shang and Zhou dynasties) to the early dynastic period (Qin and Han dynasties). We cover a wide variety of contributions and achievements from early Chinese civilization, such as bronze vessels and metallurgy, porcelain, jade, writing systems, martial arts, and cuisine, as we become familiar with the history and material culture of the critical formative period of Chinese civilization.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 3206 Global Gender Issues

This course compares the life experiences of women and men in societies throughout the world. We will discuss the evidence regarding the universal subordination of women, and we will examine explanations that propose to situate women's and men's personality attributes, roles, and responsibilities in the biological or cultural domains. In general, through readings, films, and lectures, the class will provide a cross-cultural perspective on ideas regarding gender and how gendered meanings, practices, and performances serve as structuring principles in society.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3215 Food, Culture, Power

The foods we eat, the way we get them, the way we produce them, and the way in which we eat them speak volumes about our beliefs, our technology, our understanding of how the world works, and our ability to function within it. Food connects consumers and producers through vast global supply chains that enable cheap fresh food year-round for some but require others to live on desperately low wages. Throughout the world, the way we eat has serious consequences for how we make a living, manage our environment, and stay healthy. This course is designed to make students think critically about the food they eat and the way it is produced. This course is divided into four parts and each week will have a thematic focus. We will begin at the beginning — the origins of agriculture, modern hunting and gathering, and pastoralism. What did we evolve to eat? Is agriculture "better" than hunting and gathering? What does it mean to say that? The third section of the class will introduce us to the commodity chain — the way by which people who do not produce food themselves eat. How have the history and politics of our economy shaped the way that we eat globally? How has food been used to understand other cultures? Then we will discuss the views of food and agriculture that have informed our modern perception of food and production. Are there too many people? What does the future of food look like? Why do some foods make us nauseous while people love them? We will conclude by examining the recent wave of interest in alternatives to that system, questioning how food came to take such a prominent place in our society after such a long period of neglect.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3281 Introduction to Global Health

This course provides a general introduction to the field of public health. It examines the philosophy, history, organization, functions, activities, and results of public health research and practice. Case studies include infectious and chronic diseases, mental health, maternal and reproductive health, food safety and nutrition, environmental health, and global public health. Students are encouraged to look at health issues from a systemic and population level perspective, and to think critically about health systems and problems, especially health disparities and health care delivery to diverse populations. No background in anthropology or public health is required.

Credit 3 units. BU: SCI

U69 Anthro 3283 Introduction to Public Health

This course provides a general introduction to the field of public health. It examines the philosophy, history, organization, functions, activities, and results of public health research and practice. Case studies include infectious and chronic diseases, mental health, maternal and reproductive health, food safety and nutrition, environmental health, and global public health. Students are encouraged to look at health issues from a systemic and population-level perspective, and to think critically about health systems and problems, especially health disparities and health care delivery to diverse populations. No background in anthropology or public health is required.

Credit 3 units. BU: SCI

U69 Anthro 3306 Introduction to Forensic Anthropology

This course is an introduction to the field of forensic anthropology, which involves the analysis of human skeletal remains within the context of a legal investigation. We will explore how forensic anthropologists use their knowledge of human osteology, dentition, skeletal variation, and pathology to identify human remains. Specifically students will learn how to attribute sex, age, ancestry, and stature to skeletal material as well as how to establish the forensic context, estimate time since death, crime scene investigation, trauma identification, and recovery scene methods. A number of invited guest speakers will expose students to the multidisciplinary nature of this field. We will also discuss the application of forensic anthropology to human rights issues. This course will involve both lecture and hands-on labs during which students will be working with skeletal materials.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 3308 Race Matters! How Race and Racism Affect Health and Medicine

This course grapples with the relationships among race, racism, health, and medicine, both in the United States and abroad. It examines the historical roots of medical racism, the role of medical and genetic research in constructing and deconstructing race as a biological concept, and the ways that systemic racism harms health. This course will also consider how race operates with other intersecting social and political identities (e.g., ethnicity, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability) to influence health outcomes. Although anthropological and critical race theories will frame our learning, we will read broadly across other disciplines, including (but not limited to) sociology, the history of medicine, law, public health, and science and technology studies.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 3310 Health, Healing, and Ethics: Intro to Medical Anthropology

A cross-cultural exploration of cultures and social organizations of medical systems, the global exportation of biomedicine, and ethical dilemmas associated with medical technologies and global disparities in health.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD, ML, OLI

U69 Anthro 333 Culture and Health

A survey of cultural dimension in health, disease, wellness, illness, healing, curing, as seen in selected alternative medical traditions. Shamanism, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, chiropractic, and others surveyed and compared with conventional biomedicine. Lectures, video case studies, approximately eight textbooks.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 3381 Media, Politics and Religion

What are media and mass media? How are we to understand mass media in relation to politics and religion? With the emergence of mass media, political and religious movements have been consolidated among increasingly diverse and larger populations. This course will address the origins and development of these media, movements, and populations in both local and global contexts. Specifically, we will investigate how information technologies -- from books and newspapers to radio, television and the internet -- engage with democracy, nationalism, and a wide range of political and religious movements around the world. We will discuss the current dynamics of these phenomena as well as what to expect in the coming years.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3391 Economies as Cultural Systems

Many contemporary approaches to economics downplay or bracket the importance of culture in the workings of economic systems. In this class we will focus on approaches to distribution and exchange in which culture and social institutions figure prominently, if not pre-eminently. We will sample a diverse array of economies, from gift exchange to the ceremonial destruction of wealth, from Melanesia to Wall Street, in order to evaluate some of the assumptions that undergird market capitalism. These assumptions include the perception of market actors exclusively as calculative, maximizing individuals. Topics to be covered include the Industrial Revolution; utilitarianism; economic anthropology; the formal vs. substantivist debates; ethnography of finance, and Marxist sociology.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3421 Becoming Human

Paleolithic cave paintings, elaborate burials, engravings, and figurines have long been celebrated by scholars and the public alike as some of the earliest evidence of human artistic expression. This course will survey the evolution of Paleolithic art and symbolic behaviors among Homo sapiens and closely related species such as the Neanderthals. We will explore explanations for the origin(s) of symbolic expression and spend some time situating the evidence within its appropriate archaeological contexts. We will then investigate the many possible meanings and functions of Paleolithic symbolic objects (e.g., personal ornaments, figurines, rock art, burial goods), and we will explore the range of technologies and actions involved in creative expression. Some topics covered include "shamanic" interpretations of Paleolithic art, the so-called "Venus" figurines, the origins and elaboration of human burial, rites of passage, and the diversity of Paleolithic rock art. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the symbolic underpinnings that make us human through a mixture of hands-on activities, projects, and discussion.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3422 American Indian Art, Symbol and Meaning

An introduction to the arts among a broad range of native peoples who inhabited North, Middle, and South America. Course begins with basic concepts of art and anthropology. Emphasis is on the iconography found in various art styles, particularly the prehistoric rock carvings and paintings left by Native Americans throughout the New World. Oral traditions and myths found in the ethnographic record provide fascinating associations and interpretations.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 3423 Body Art/Body Modification Across Cultures

All cultures practice one form or another of body modification. It can be in the form of face or body painting, piercing, tattooing, scarring, or re-shaping. Body modification is usually done to indicate social position, family, marital status, identity with a particular ethnic, age, or gender group, perform a rite of passage such as puberty, ward off or invoke the spirits, or send a message. This course explores body art and body modification in several world cultures -- including our own.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 3471 Archaeology of the St. Louis Region

This course introduces students to archaeology of the St. Louis region and explores the cultures of its early inhabitants, from 12,000 years ago through the 19th century. We study a number of very important archaeological sites in the region, including Mastodon State Park, where artifacts of human manufacture were found in direct association with extinct mastodons dating to about 12,000 years ago, and Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (a World Heritage Site) in Illinois, dating to the Mississippian period AD 1050-1350. We also examine methods and theories used by archaeologists to understand archaeological remains.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3476 Archeologies of Graffiti from Antiquity to the Present

The modern story of graffiti — revolving around social, economic, and political contexts such as bathroom stalls, subways and alleys steeped with urine and trash, decrepit buildings and train cars situated in less reputable areas of cities and towns — leads people to associate it with antisocial behaviors, dissent, and the vandalism of public and private property. However, some people consider graffiti as a legitimate form of art, communication, and a somewhat anonymous expression of current social climates. The disparity between these two perspectives has provided a great deal to study for social scientists. However, a consideration of graffiti's simple definition — words or drawings etched or painted on some surface in a public place — leads us to recognize that feats of graffiti originate way before the inner-city movements of the 1970s. In this class we will draw upon a range of studies from archaeology, anthropology, sociology, art, and history to broadly explore the creation and meaning of graffiti from antiquity to the present. Our goal is to learn how to examine the form, function, and context of graffiti across cultures and through time, with regard to the circumstances of its creation. In doing so, we aspire to better understand what lies behind the human urge to leave a mark. Prerequisite: Introduction to Archaeology.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3531 Love, Courtship, and Marriage in Africa: The Anthropologies of Intimacy and Conjugality

This course is an exploration of past and present anthropological inquiry into love, courtship, and marriage across the African continent. The course explores the various reasons that love on the continent has been of great interest to social scientists in certain historical moments while completely ignored in others. Other key questions in this course revolve around making connections between love and political economies, kinship, gender, health, labor migration, colonialism, and the law, among other key topics. The course will begin by introducing students to earlier anthropological assumptions, which presumed that intimacies in African contexts were tied to urbanization or development theory. Early anthropological works often ignored long histories of companionate relationships and love, setting them at odds with kinship involvement. Only since the 1990s has anthropological inquiry begun to consider intimacy and affect in Africa more fully. The bulk of the semester will be spent exploring these recent contributions. Course goals include tracing the history of scholarship on love in Africa, exploring contemporary ethnographies in local and global context, and thinking critically through anthropological inquiry and methodologies. Course materials will include a mix of ethnography, scholarly journal articles, and popular news clips as well as films and novels by African scholars and artists.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 361 Culture and Environment

An introduction to the ecology of human culture, especially how "traditional" cultural ecosystems are organized and how they change with population density. Topics include foragers, extensive and intensive farming, industrial agriculture, the ecology of conflict, and problems in sustainability.

Credit 3 units. Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: ETH EN: S UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 3621 Anthropology of Human Birth

This course will examine the interaction between human biology and culture in relation to childbirth. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the cultural challenges posed by the physiology of human reproduction, the ways various cultures have attempted to meet those challenges, and the resultant consequences that this has had for women's lives. The course will draw on material from human anatomy and embryology, paleoanthropology, clinical obstetrics, public health, social anthropology, the history of medicine, and contemporary bioethics.
Same as L48 Anthro 3621

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: ETH EN: S

U69 Anthro 3625 The Female Life Cycle in Cross-Cultural Perspective

This course will examine the biology of the female reproductive cycle — menarche, menstruation, and the menopause — and its cultural interpretation around the world. Topics covered will include the embryology of human sexual differentiation, the biology of the menstrual cycle and how it influences or is influenced by various disease states, contraception, infertility, cultural taboos and beliefs about menstruation and menopause, etc. The course will utilize materials drawn from human biology, clinical gynecology, ethnography, social anthropology, and the history of medicine and will examine the interplay between female reproductive biology and culture around the world.
Same as L48 Anthro 3625

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, NSM Arch: NSM Art: NSM BU: SCI

U69 Anthro 3665 Observing Animal Behavior at the St. Louis Zoo

This course is an introduction to methods for the collection of behavioral data in studies of animal behavior. Students will be trained in the design of research projects and the analysis and interpretation of behavioral data. Students will learn how different methods are used to answer specific questions in animal behavior research. Research will be conducted at the St. Louis Zoo.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3667 Primate Social Behavior

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3691 Kill Assessment: An Investigation into Death, Genocide, and Other Forms of Violence

This course analyzes violence as an integral component of culture and social relations, rather than as random acts which are marginal to society. We consider different types of violence — physical, intersubjective, structural and symbolic, and focus on its complex cultural, social, and structural manifestations. We study specific examples which span different historical time periods, regions of the world, scales of experience and disciplinary paradigms. Examples include state violence and genocide in Guatemala, torture in Chile and Argentina, structural and economic violence in Latin America, murder and the alienated work of serial killers in the U.S., violence and black humor, hip-hop aesthetics in Brazil, violence in new Brazilian cinema, and violence and care in neoliberal Chile. We also explore how violence becomes an aesthetic object, a commodity, and a valued resource for cultural production and consumption. This multifaceted approach helps us to evaluate particular anthropological contributions to our understandings of violence.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 3775 Ancient Eurasia & The New Silk Roads

This course will explore the rise of civilization in the broad region of Eurasia, spanning from the eastern edges of Europe to the western edges of China. The focus of the course is the unique trajectory of civilization that is made evident in the region of Central Eurasia from roughly 6000 BC to the historical era (ca. AD 250). In addition to this ancient focus, the course aims to relate many of the most historically durable characteristics of the region to contemporary developments of the past two or three centuries. Fundamentally, this course asks us to reconceptualize the notion of "civilization" from the perspective of societies whose dominant forms of organization defied typical classifications such as "states" or "empires" and, instead, shaped a wholly different social order over the past 5000 years or more. This class provides a well-rounded experience of the geography, social organization, and social interconnections of one of the most essential and pivotal regions in world history and contemporary political discourse.
Same as L48 Anthro 3775

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: LCD, SSC, SD Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: IS

U69 Anthro 3777 Compassion Cultivation Training

Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) is an 8-week educational program designed to help students cultivate compassion, strengthen their resilience, feel more connected to others, and improve their overall sense of well-being. CCT is a distillation from Tibetan Mahyana Buddhist practices for developing compassion, adapted to a secular setting. Initially developed by Stanford University scholars with support from the Dalai Lama, CCT combines traditional contemplative practices with contemporary psychology and scientific research. The program involves instruction in a series of meditation practices starting with mindfulness-based meditation. The curriculum uses modern concepts of psychology and neuroscience to understand and enhance our ability to be compassionate.

Credit 1 unit.

U69 Anthro 3795 Anthropology and Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future

This course provides an overview for interplay between humanity and global climate change that encompasses three-field anthropological subjects. Course material includes the role of climate change in shaping human evolution, human solutions to climatic challenges through time, the impact of human activities on the climate, and modern sociocultural examinations of how climate change is affecting the lives of people around the world.

Credit 3 units. UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 3796 Ecocide and Climate Change: The Collapse of Societies

How can we use the past to help solve modern issues of climate change? In the face of modern climate change and environmental degradation, many have turned to examining how past societies successfully or unsuccessfully responded to environmental change. This seminar-style course will survey how academic and public discourse use historical and archaeological examples of past human response to environmental change to evaluate our best options to thrive in a globally warmer environment. By reading public intellectual works by anthropologists, economists, and geographers, we will first examine current theoretical understandings of why societies collapse and the impacts that future climate change may have on our modern societies. We will then turn our attention to past societies and study how past people responded to past challenges of environmental change. By evaluating discourse between the past and the present, we will examine which methods and theories are the most helpful when using the past to inform future strategies addressing modern issues of environmental degradation and climate change.

Credit 3 units.

U69 Anthro 380 Environmental Justice in the Anthropocene

In recent years, the impacts of the Anthropocene -- the era of human disruption of the global environment -- are becoming increasingly apparent. The news is full of reports of massive wildfires, devastating hurricanes, floods, droughts, extinctions, and more. However, not all humans share the same risks or experience equivalent burdens from hazards associated with the Anthropocene. In this course, we will explore these unequal experiences of environmental hazards through the lens of environmental justice (EJ). EJ is both a field of scholarship and a social movement. It emerged in the 1970s and 1980s in response to the growing realization that poor and marginalized communities often experience disproportionate, harmful impacts from exposure to toxic waste. Since then, EJ scholars and activists have worked to document and understand cases in which environmental hazards compound the burdens of poverty, racism, gender discrimination, and other forms of social inequality. This seminar will focus on environmental hazards that have been caused directly or indirectly by humans, including hurricanes, rising sea levels, and toxic waste exposure. Most of the examples that we explore will come from North America, but we will also discuss ideas and concepts that are applicable elsewhere in the world.

Credit 3 units. UColl: ML, OLI

U69 Anthro 387 Medical Anthropology

This overview of the field of medical anthropology provides a perspective on health, medical systems, disease, and culture. We examine beliefs about illness, healing, and the body across cultures. We learn to distinguish physical "disease" from cultural understandings of "illness" and explore the ways that cultural conceptions shape the experience of illness. We look at the interaction of biology and culture as it affects health and medical systems. Throughout the course, we compare other beliefs and health systems with our own culture's management of health and illness.

Credit 3 units. UColl: CD

U69 Anthro 3876 Darwin and Doctors: Evolutionary Medicine and Health

Back pain, diabetes, obesity, colds, even morning sickness. These are all common human health problems. But have you ever wondered why we have these and other health conditions? In this class, we will investigate this question — and others — specifically using evolutionary theory to inform current understandings of contemporary health problems.

Credit 3 units. Art: NSM BU: SCI

U69 Anthro 3880 Multispecies World: Animals, Global Health, and Environment

Amid escalating global environmental and health crises that impact all forms of life, this course critically considers the diverse relationships of humans with other forms of life and varied ecological systems. Although the discipline has long studied humans' use of and impact on environments, anthropologists have begun to increasingly pay attention to human-animal cohabitations, engagements, and shared cultures and worlds. This seminar looks at how diverse contemporary contexts -- such as zoos, farms, forests, and laboratories -- involve fascinating human-animal relationships and contentious implications for ethics, health, and ecology. In investigating how animals are central to scientific knowledge production, debates about animal welfare, environmental sustainability issues, companionship and pets, entertainment and sports, and zoonic disease, we will explore the possibility for more richly understanding the world by fully appreciating species diversity and interconnectivity.

Credit 3 units. UColl: ML

U69 Anthro 4022 Transnational Reproductive Health Issues: Meanings, Technologies and Practices

This course covers recent scholarship on gender and reproductive health, including such issues as reproduction and the disciplinary power of the state, contested reproductive relations within families and communities, and the implications of global flows of biotechnology, population, and information for reproductive strategies at the local level. We will also explore how transnational migration and globalization have shaped reproductive health, the diverse meanings associated with reproductive processes, and decisions concerning reproduction. Reproduction will serve as a focus to illuminate the cultural politics of gender, power, and sexuality.

Credit 3 units. Art: SSC BU: BA UColl: OLI

U69 Anthro 459 Human Osteology

Analysis of skeletal material recovered in human paleontological and archaeological excavations. The development of bone and major diseases that affect skeletal structure. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.
Same as L48 Anthro 459

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: NSM Arch: NSM Art: NSM

U69 Anthro 4813 Zooarchaeology: Birds and Fishes

Methods and techniques of the analysis of faunal remains recovered in an archaeological context. Prerequisites: one course in archaeology and permission of instructor.

Credit 3 units.