Queens College

Department of Anthropology

FALL 2014

Updated 8/19/2014

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 101                  INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

1

41501

M/W

7:45AM - 9:00AM

PH 114

SALVI, CECILIA

2

41509

M/W

9:15AM - 10:30AM

KY 150

COLLINS, JOHN

3

41530

M/W

10:45AM-12:00PM

KY 250

SALVI, CECILIA

4

41549

M/W

1:40PM-2:55PM

KY 250

ELISHA, OMRI

5

41690

M/W

3:10PM-4:25PM

KY 250

ELISHA, OMRI

8

41724

T/TH

7:45AM-9:00AM

RZ 347

CHOI, JIMEE

15

42266

T/TH

9:15AM-10:30AM

KY 250

PEREZ, RAMONA

9

41738

T/TH

10:45AM-12:00PM

KY 250

PEREZ, RAMONA

10

42218

T/TH

12:15PM-1:30PM

RZ 347

MESWICK, SUSAN

11

42226

T/TH

1:40PM-2:55PM

KY 150

STRASSLER, KAREN

12

42238

T/TH

3:10PM-4:25PM

KY 150

STRASSLER, KAREN

13

42248

F

9:15AM-12:00PM

KY 250

MESWICK, SUSAN

14

42260

SA

9:00AM-12:00PM

PH 114

SALVI, CECILIA

EVENING

 

 

 

 

 

06

41707

M/W

5:00PM-6:15PM

PH 114

CHRISLER, MATTHEW

07

41716

M/W

6:30PM-7:45PM

PH 114

AUGUSTYNIAK, NADIA

                                                                   

Anthropology 101 examines customs, manners and ways of life – what anthropologists call culture – in selected groups around the world.  By describing and comparing varieties of political and economic systems, family and kinship, personality and sexual behavior, art and leisure, this course offers insights about human culture, how it works, and what causes differences and similarities in human behavior.  If the course is really successful, you should begin to see how anthropologists look at the world around us, what they perceive the human place in nature to be, and from what perspective or point of view they attempt to define and answer questions involving humankind.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: None

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 102                  INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN EVOLUTION

01

41513

M/W

9:15AM-10:30AM

KY 250

MADIMENOS, FELICIA

02

41589

M/W

3:10PM-4:25PM

KY 150

FORREST, FRANCES

04

41719

T/TH

7:45AM-9:00AM

PH 114

LAMELA LOPEZ, RAQUEL

05

41727

T/TH

9:15AM-10:30AM

KY 150

PLUMMER, THOMAS

06

41736

T/TH

10:45AM-12:00PM

KY 150

SWEDELL, LARISSA

07

42251

F

12:15PM-2:55PM

PH 114

ESPOSITO, LAUREN

08

42256

SA

1:00PM-4:00PM

PH 114

SUTTON, WESLEY

EVENING

 

 

 

 

 

03

41711

M/W

5:00PM-6:15PM

RZ 347

SUTTON, WESLEY

 

This course presents an overview of the study of the biology and evolution of the human species.  Topics include the nature of the scientific process, the fundamentals of evolutionary theory and genetics, the biology and behavior of nonhuman primates, biological variation and adaptation in modern humans, and the fossil evidence of human evolution.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: None

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 103                  INTRODUCTION TO ARCHAEOLOGY

01

41502

M/W

7:45AM-9:00AM

RZ 347

FEELEY, FRANCIS

02

41507

M/W

9:15AM-10:30AM

PH 114

FRISSELL, CARA

03

41527

M/W

10:45AM-12:00PM

KY 150

PUGH, TIMOTHY

04

41542

M/W

1:40PM-2:55PM

PH 114

FEELEY, FRANCIS

05

41748

T/TH

12:15PM-1:30PM

KY 150

TACHE, KARINE

06

42230

T/TH

1:40PM-2:55PM

KY 250

TACHE, KARINE

07

42241

T/TH

3:10PM-4:25PM

PH 153

SURI, MIRANDA

EVENING

 

 

 

 

 

08

46872

M

5:00PM-7:45PM

KY 250

MANFRA MCGOVERN, ALLISON

 

This course traces the major developments in human history and illustrates the methods archeologists use to study the past. The origins of cultural behavior, the invention of agriculture and its consequences, and the development of civilization are examined.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: None                

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 104                  LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND SOCIETY

01

41544

M/W

1:40PM-2:55PM

KY 150

MAKIHARA, MIKI

02

42216

T/TH

12:15PM-1:30PM

KY 250

SCHMITT, DOREEN

03

42224

T/TH

1:40PM-2:55PM

PH114

RODRIGUEZ, JUAN

04

42236

T/TH

3:10PM-4:25PM

PH 114

RODRIGUEZ, JUAN

 

This course examines the nature and structure of human language, traces its origins, and compares it with communications systems of other animals (the bee dance, the gestures of apes, the calls of monkeys, the chemical signals of fish, etc.)  While humans employ virtually every mode of communication used by other animals, our uniqueness lies in the way we communicate verbally. What is it, where did it come from, who ‘invented it’ and what evidence do we have from biology, anthropology and archaeology about this?  We will look at primate communication, the lessons learned from teaching symbolic gestures to apes, and the ways in which children acquire language.  We will examine the relationship between language and thought, language and reality, and language and emotions, as well as how language reflects our social world.  Why do males and females speak differently?  What is a dialect and where do dialects come from?  How does class affect language, and how does language affect social mobility?  What is Black English and why is it so controversial?  What have we learned about languages and about the basic structure of the human mind from the studies of Pidgins and Creoles?  Almost everything about communication is fair game for this course, from body language to dress codes; from questions like should English be declared a national language to the meaning of the latest rap music.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: None

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 200                  HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY

01

41520

M/W

9:15AM-10:30AM

PH 351

BIRTH, KEVIN

02

41539

M/W

10:45AM-12:00PM

PH 351

BIRTH, KEVIN

 

As a field represented in college departments, anthropology is only about 100 years old.  Its roots go back thousands of years, however.   This course examines the development of anthropology from the time of the first university appointments to around 1970.  A great deal has happened in that time, and it is not possible to cover everything.  For that reason, this course emphasizes the connections between the Queens College department of anthropology as it exists now to the conceptual evolution of the field.  As you will learn, the professors in this department are closely connected to the major figures who influenced anthropological thinking between the 1870s and 1960.  Indeed, your professors here are direct intellectual heirs of the figures you will learn about in this course.  The aim of the course, then, is to communicate the basic features of the history of anthropology, but also to show how you are intellectually connected to this history.

3 hr.; 3 cr.               Prerequisite: 6 credits in anthropology or permission of instructor.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 201                  ESSENTIALS OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

01

42232

T/TH

1:40PM-2:55PM

RZ 347

PEREZ, RAMONA

 

In this course, students will have an opportunity to closely examine ethnographic studies and ethnographic material. Selected ethnographies will be read that address issues such as social structure, worldview, political rebellion, nationalism, gender and science and medicine and represent a variety of world areas including Africa, Latin America, South Asia and the United States. Students will be trained to develop the ability to examine the theoretical orientations of the authors of these ethnographies, and analyze closely the fieldwork methods, results and rhetorical and analytic styles in these works.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: 6 credits in social science or sophomore standing.

 

 

 

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 210                  PEOPLES OF EAST ASIA

01

41732

T/TH

9:15AM-10:30AM

RZ 347

CHOI, JIMEE

 

This course examines various cultures in East Asia from an anthropological perspective drawing on ethnographic and theoretical readings. The primary topics include cultural performance, religion, gender, ethnicity, media and globalization. Students will learn about the diverse cultures of East Asia with special attention paid to historical contexts and power relations.   Students will conduct a research project with a final paper.  Class discussion and presentations are required.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: 6 credits in social science or sophomore standing.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 219                  PEOPLES OF SOUTHEAST ASIA          

01

41735

T/TH

10:45AM-12:00PM

PH 114

STRASSLER, KAREN

 

 Long a crossroads of trade and migration, Southeast Asia is one of the most diverse, dynamic and complex regions of the world. Home to inland peasants and coastal traders; Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and Animists; economic “miracles” and crushing poverty; fledgling democracies and cruel dictatorships; bustling global cities and remote highlands, Southeast Asia defies easy description.  This course will introduce students to this culturally diverse region and to some contemporary themes in the anthropology of Southeast Asia.  

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: 6 credits in social science or sophomore standing.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 240                  ESSENTIALS OF ARCHAEOLOGY

01

41553

M/W

1:40PM-2:55PM

PH 311

PUGH, TIMOTHY

 

This course emphasizes the methods and concepts used by archaeologists to gain reliable information about what happened in the past.  Its purpose is to get you to think like an archaeologist rather than to memorize a mass of prehistoric events.  To assist in this purpose, students will be given a series of take-home exercises that are designed to illustrate various aspects of archaeological analysis.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: 6 credits in social science or sophomore standing.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 241                  THE AZTECS, MAYAS AND OLMECS

01

42244

T/TH

3:10PM-4:25PM

RZ 347

BRACKEN, JUSTIN

 

The development of complex societies in Mexico and Central America focusing on the Olmecs, Maya, Aztecs, Mixtecs, and Teotihuacan. Pre-16th-century development of agriculture, the concept of zero, intricate calendars, writing, political and religious hierarchies, and immense ceremonial architecture in relation to general explanations for the emergence and collapse of complex societies.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisites: 6 credits in social science or sophomore standing.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 249                  WORLD OF THE VIKINGS                     

01

41517

M/W

9:15AM-10:30AM

RZ 347

FEELEY, FRANCIS

 

Between 700 and 1050CE Scandinavian traders, settlers, pirates, and conquering armies left a permanent mark on the history, populations, and landscapes of Europe. Viking Age traders connected silver mines in Afghanistan with cattle markets in Ireland and fostered the creation of new trading towns from Novgorod to Dublin. They also sacked innumerable villages, towns, and cities and their sea-borne raids spread terror widely, leading to many hostile mentions in surviving documents. Escalating warfare across the North Sea in the 10th and 11th centuries contributed to state formation on both sides, creating the later medieval kingdoms of England and Denmark. Viking age settlers also made more peaceful use of new seafaring technology and colonized the Atlantic islands from the Shetlands and Orkneys westwards to the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, and (for a brief moment) to North America/Vinland. In the last twenty years archaeology has come to provide a rich record of the Viking Age and this course provides an overview of the recent evidence for this critical period in world history, placing the Vikings in their wider social and environmental context.

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisites: 6 credits in social science or sophomore standing.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 259                  ARCHAEOLOGY OF IDENTITY           

1

42214

T/TH

12:15PM-1:30PM

PH 114

SURI, MIRANDA

 

Archaeology is about more than piecing together chronologies and reconstructing the events of prehistory.  It is also about people -- about men, women and children, the elderly, warriors, priests, farmers, artists, scribes, kings, queens, and criminals.  This course will focus on archaeological investigation of the individuals who peopled the past.  Through exploration of the anthropological literature on identity formation we will consider how people living in times and places quite different from our own experienced, altered, and reproduced their identities.  Data such as skeletal remains, art, written documents, artifacts, and the remains of shrines, houses, workshops, and palaces will be used to illuminate topics such as childhood, aging, and the lifecycle, gender, women, and masculinity, and class, occupation, and power.                                                                                                                                       3hr., 3 cr.                Prerequisites: Anthropology 103 or 240.Corse may be repeated provided the topic is not the

same.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 260                  ESSENTIALS OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

01

41533

M/W

10:45AM-12:00PM

PH 311

FORREST, FRANCES

 

Using an anthropological and evolutionary perspective, this course combines an anatomical and functional approach in order to acquaint students with the human skeleton and identification of skeletal remains. Also introduces students to metric studies and to the use of osteometric and anthropometric instruments.

3 hr.; 3 cr.                              Prerequisite: Anthropology 102 or any college biology course.

           

ANTHROPOLOGY 270                  HUMAN DISEASE

01

41740

T/TH

10:45AM-12:00PM

RZ 347

MESWICK, SUSAN

 

This course is an introduction to the principles and methods used by epidemiologists to determine the causes and study the distribution of diseases in human populations. Diseases and culture of the past and present will be examined, highlighting the interplay of human biology in the origins and evolution of disease. New perspectives in the field of evolutionary medicine and health will be explored.

 3 hr.; 3 cr.             Prerequisite: Anthropology 102 or any college biology course.

 

 

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 272                  THE HUMAN SKELETON

01

42221

T/TH

12:15PM - 1:30PM

PH 311

PLUMMER, THOMAS

 

Using an anthropological and evolutionary perspective, this course combines an anatomical and functional approach in order to acquaint students with the human skeleton and identification of skeletal remains. Also introduces students to metric studies and to the use of osteometric and anthropometric instruments.

3 hr.; 3 cr.                    Prerequisite: Anthropology 102 or any college biology course.

               

ANTHROPOLOGY 279                  EVOLUTION AND CULTURE

CROSSLISTED WITH BIO 245: EVOLUTION AND CULTURE          

02

47787

W

6:30PM-9:20PM

TBA

BAKER, MITCHELL

 

Assessment of recent evolutionary theories associated with culture: behavioral ecology, evolutionary

psychology, genetics, and bio-cultural co-evolution. These theories are comparatively examined and

compared by discussing current research, critiques, and their application to human and animal cultures.

3 lec. hr.; 3 cr.       Prereq.: Anth 102 or any Biology class.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 289                  TOPICS IN LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY:

LANGUAGE AND LAW

01

42167

T/TH

9:15AM-10:30AM

PH 114

SCHMITT, DOREEN

 

“The law is the language that enshrines it”. This course is designed to explore this obvious but highly complex interface between language and the law from legal, linguistic and anthropological perspectives. We will first examine the language of the law--the history of legal language, the nature of legal language, and issues related to “legal meaning”. The use of language in legal circumstances will then be investigated as a context for ethnographic discourse analysis. The course will then focus upon the specialized knowledge of “the language expert”--the linguist—and how this knowledge relates to all aspects of the legal process. In particular, the role of the linguist as a forensic expert will be investigated, and in what manner such scientific testimony is applied to criminal and civil cases, as well as to such broader issues as language rights, the plain language movement, the English-Only movement, and the crafting and drafting of law in a multi-lingual environment, such as within the European Union. Students need not be pre-law, linguistic or anthropology majors/minors to participate in this course. A brief primer in the stages of legal proceedings, the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE) as they apply to expert witnesses, the basics of trademark law and the key concepts of modern applied linguistic theory will be included in this course at appropriate junctures.

3hr.; 3 cr.               Prerequisites: 6 credits in social science or in courses in the Department of

Linguistics and Communication Disorders, or sophomore standing, or by permission of instructor. 

 

 

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 290W              TOPICS IN ANTHROPOLOGY:

EVANGELICALISM

01

41524

M/W

10:45AM-12:00PM

PH 114

ELISHA, OMRI

 

Evangelical Christianity is among the most powerful religious movements in the world today. As televangelists, revivalists, and missionaries seek to “bring new souls to Christ,” they and their followers engage in a wide array of political and cultural enterprises, sparking innovations and controversies in modern spirituality. This course takes a serious look at global evangelicalism with an anthropological lens. Topics covered include: revivalism, Contemporary Christian Music and pop culture, foreign missions, gender ideology, and Biblicism. We will explore the role of evangelicals in modern debates such as abortion, gay marriage, religion and science, and the separation of church and state. We will also investigate the cultural dimensions of evangelism and born-again faith, in an effort to better understand their complexity and global influence. 

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite: ENGL 110.  This course will have exams that include essay questions and 10-15 pages of

writing (either several short papers or one longer paper done in stages). Opportunity will be provided for

students to receive feedback on their writing and for explanation of the necessary ingredients of a good paper and good writing. May be repeated for credit provided the topic is different.

 

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 354                  TIME

01

41580

M/W

1:40PM-2:55PM

PH 351

BIRTH, KEVIN

 

Time is a crucial dimension of human experience.  It is a set of conceptions by which we orient ourselves in relationship to the multitude of rhythms in our environment.  It is a pulse of life that drives daily activity cycles. It is a means by which we organize our social lives.  It is an essential component of our awareness of our mortality.  It is time that makes us human, yet humans make time.  This course shall encourage the exploration of the topic of time from multiple perspectives that span all the subfields of anthropology.

3hr.; 3cr.                Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or 103, and 6 credits of courses which satisfy the Analyzing Social Structures

PLAS requirement, 3  credits Culture and Values, and 3 credits Natural Science; or permission by           

                             instructor.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 370                  SEMINAR IN BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

                                                            EVOLUTIONARY MEDICINE

01

41705

M/W

3:10PM-4:25PM

PH 311

MADIMENOS, FELICIA

 

This course provides an introduction to evolutionary (or Darwinian) medicine, a relatively new field that recognizes that evolutionary processes and human evolutionary history shape health among contemporary human populations. The field of evolutionary medicine emphasizes ultimate explanations, such as how natural selection and other evolutionary forces shape our susceptibility to disease; this perspective complements that of biomedicine, which generally focuses on identifying the immediate mechanisms that give rise to diseases and malfunctions. The evolutionary medicine approach has provided insights into why diseases occur at all and additionally has produced valuable insights on treatment strategies. This course will examine a variety of diseases using an evolutionary perspective, including infectious diseases, mental disorders, and reproductive cancers. The course will emphasize chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes, and will focus particular attention on the role of diet and psychosocial stress in the development and progression of these conditions.

3hr.; 3 cr.               Prerequisite: ANTH 102: Intro to human evolution.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 375                  THE HUMAN-PRIMATE INTERFACE

01

42233

T/TH

1:40PM-2:55PM

PH 311

SWEDELL, LARISSA

 

What kinds of roles do nonhuman primates play in human societies, past and present?  How are primates represented in literature, myth, and folklore around the world, and how do these representations relate to the specific cultures in which they are situated?  What are the various ways in which we, as humans, view the relationship between ourselves and animals?  How does our own behavior affect animals (and, in particular, nonhuman primates) ecologically, and vice versa?  Are these interactions positive or negative, or both?  What is human-wildlife conflict and why does it occur?  We will address these questions through an exploration of the relationship between humans and nonhuman primates around the world, with a case study focusing on baboon-human conflict in South Africa.  We will approach our topic from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing in ideas from anthropology, biology, conservation science, environmental science, history, linguistics, paleoanthropology, and philosophy.  This is a discussion-based course, thus weekly readings and participation in class discussions will be required.

4 hr; 4 cr                Prerequisite: senior standing or permission of instructor.

 

ANTHROPOLOGY 380                  GLOBALIZATION AND LANGUAGE

01

41587

M/W

3:10PM-4:25PM

PH 351

MAKIHARA, MIKI

 

Globalization is often portrayed as the deepening integration of world's societies and economies, leading to a homogenization of cultures and the loss of local traditions. Yet the movement of people, ideas, and goods has also created new transnational and local communities and identities (such as "Latinos").  It has also sparked the rise of political, social, and indigenous movements to assert rights and distinctive identities in new ways. Language is one of the most powerful ways through which individuals and groups position themselves in a globalizing world. This course examines several of the social, cultural, and political impacts of globalization drawing particular attention to language contact, use and change.  Questions posed include: when, how and why do individuals or societies become multilingual?   How are multilingualism and globalization changing the way we speak English and other languages and shaping modern popular culture, New York City, cyberspace, and elsewhere?  Should English be promoted as a single national (or global) language?  It is estimated that between 50% and 90% of the world's approximately 7000 languages will die within the next century. What factors lead multilingual communities and nations to abandon one language for another?  Why is it difficult to maintain or revitalize endangered languages?

3 hr.; 3 cr.              Prerequisite.: 12 credits in anthropology or linguistics, or by permission of  instructor. Course may be

repeated for credit provided the topic is different.