Loyola University Chicago

Introduction to biological anthropology and anthropological archaeology--those portions of the discipline concerned with human prehistory and our continuing development. Reconstruction of the human career based on fossil and artifactual evidence of human biological and cultural change over time, as well as primate behavior and human genetics. Consideration of alternative theories of human biological evolution and the emergence of culture, humanity's unique ecological niche. Application of the scientific method to excavated data. Use of the comparative framework provided by contemporary primates in formulating hypothesis about early human adaptation.

An introduction to some of the anthropological insights into human life-ways arrived at by study of living people in a fieldwork context. Special emphasis is given to the nature of human language and its relationship to culture. Goals of this course are to give a basic appreciation for the fact that a comparative approach reveals fundamental similarities in all cultural traditions and to provide and explanation for cultural variation.

Draws from the biological sciences, ethology, and anthropological primatology in order to introduce a modern set of perspectives to which the elaborate patterns of human behavior may be compared, contrasted, and analyzed. Emphasis on the study of animal behavior in the context of its applicability to the understanding of human behavior.

Study of human/land interactions in past and contemporary cultures. Processes of landscape formation and the study of people's impact on these processes. How the development of culture and technology affects land use patterns. Archaeological and geographical methods of environmental analysis.

Study of the relationships between human biological diversity and adaptation through out the world. Scientific approaches to the concept of human variation, how genetic differences may have evolved, and the effects of genetics and different environments on the human body will be examined. Topics include adaptation to stressors (e.g., high altitude, nutritional, heat, cold, overcrowding, and infectious disease), polymorphisms and genetic disorders, blood groups and evolution, and the concept of races and alternative approaches to the understanding of human variation. Analysis of the dynamic interactions between biology and culture to understand the adaptations that present populations possess in order to survive in less than ideal conditions.

An introduction to the study of sex and gender in physical anthropology. Students will study: recent anthropological theories concerning the role of sex in human adaptation, evolution, biology and behavior; the history of physical anthropological thought concerning sex and gender; and the roles and contributions of women scientists.

This course explores the cultures and civilizations that rose and fell in our distant past; its coverage is global in character and historical in content.

This course investigates the form, construction, and symbolic characteristics of visual representations of human groups and identities. Consideration and analysis is focused on traditional anthropological visualization, such as ethnographic film, as well as more popular forms, such as National Geographic Magazine. A central aim of the course is to develop a critical visual "literacy" among students on matters relating to how other cultures are represented.

Anthropological analysis of cultural diversity in recent and contemporary Latin America. Geographical survey of the major cultural regions of Latin American, including the Amazonian, Andean, Caribbean, and Mesoamerican areas. Topics include: social, political and economic organization; colonial heritage; race and ethnicity; urbanization; and the modern situation of indigenous people. The social history of Latin American cultures to the present is covered briefly; selected cultures will be studied in some detail.

History and culture of the indigenous peoples of North America. Survey of Native American societies from the time of European Contact to the present. Culture Areas of North America are examined in detail in terms of the nature of contact, historical processes, and the diversity of culture. Economic, social, political, and religious practices of selected groups are described, analyzed, and compared. Consideration of the contemporary situation of indigenous North American peoples is given focusing on acculturation, genocide, reservations, ethnicity, and government policies.

This course attempts to recontextualize and explain former images (both popular and anthropological) of African peoples as "timeless," "traditional," and "tribal." By focusing on the later period of colonial contact and the present (stressing West Africa) the interplay of African and European institutions, ideas, and communicative patterns is stressed rather than the reconstruction of supposedly "pristine" pre-colonial cultures. The course also considers the recent development of trans-ethnic popular culture and globally oriented media culture in an African context. Forms of African cultural creativity and expressive culture are considered in the light of their impact beyond Africa itself.

This course considers the influence of African cultural patterns in the New World context, the historical role of slavery in shaping distinctive culture patterns of diverse African-Americans. Topical focus is directed to family, kinship, religion, language, expressive arts, and the relationship of African-Americans to the larger political and economic structures of New World communities.

This course will critically evaluate popular and scholarly characterizations and theories about Japan through investigation of contemporary social diversity, ethnicity, gender roles, sociolinguistics, demographic change, and the impact and role of global popular culture. Of particular interest will be the manner in which the "sarariiman" (salaried worker) has become a stereotype and symbol of post-war ideology. Topical foci will be explored in a seminar format through various readings, ethnography, films, "manga" (comics), novels, music, and popular artifacts.

The development of Mexican culture from prehistoric times to the present day, including the history of Mexican-Americans. Discussion of the major pre-Spanish civilizations including Toltec, Maya, Aztec, Zapotec. Effects of Spanish conquest and social history of colonial and national Mexico. The diversity of peoples in contemporary Mexico is explored by contrasting traditional Indian cultures. The history of Mexican-Americans from the early Southwest to the present.

This course explores the culturally diverse region of Southeast Asia, including the peoples of Indonesia, Phillipines, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. Considers historical dynamics, religious orientations, gender and ethnic relations, nation-building and its ramifications for indegenous peoples, and expressive arts (architecture, carving, film, literature and media). Also addresses the lives of Southeast Asian refugees and migrants in the USA.

An introduction to the varied cultures of Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia. We will consider traditional village societies and modern nation states, addressing topics such as gender relations, ceremonial exchange, kinship and clans, ritual, cargo cults, arts, the impact of development on ritual communities, contemporary uses of "tradition," urbanization, migration, and contemporary issues in these societies.

Social-anthropological study of aging and the elderly in a cross-cultural perspective. Age as a principle of social organization and classification. Effect of domestic and kinship organization, cultural values, modernization, and community formation upon the prestige of older people. Demographic and culture examination of the current position and the future of older people in industrial societies.

This course investigates language from an anthropological perspective. The scope of our interest will extend beyond description of linguistic units to include language as part of our evolutionary and primate heritage. Topics include the functional roles of language in social interaction, the relationship between language and thought, the use of language as an index of social and cultural change, inter-ethnic conversation, and linguistic ideology. We will also investigate other aspects of human communication such as nonverbal behavior, paralinguistics, and prosodics.

Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or ANTH 104.

Introduction to methods used by archaeologists to reconstruct prehistoric cultures, covering excavation and fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and archaeological theory. Methods presented in the context of their use in such areas as Paleolithic society, early farming villages, prehistoric Illinois, and the first civilizations. Application of archaeological method and theory to contemporary society and the modern relevance of archaeology.

This course provides an archaeological exploration of major precolumbian Mesoamerican cultures. Emphasis will be on the process of culture change as represented in artifacts, art, and architecture. Coverage includes the Olmec, Maya, and Aztec civilizations and their interactions with other groups. Issues of culture contact, ideology, and hieroglyphic scripts will also be considered.

Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or ANTH 104.

This course provides a survey of the archaeological evidence of North American prehistory. Emphasis is on the diversity of adaptations and the reasons for culture change. Specific issues include the initial occupants of North America, the relationships between humans and their environment, the development of farming and sedentism, and the effects of European contact on indigenous people.

In this course we examine the diversity of human cultures on a global basis. Emphasis is on the development of anthropological fieldwork and ethnography as European colonizers came into contact with indigenous peoples in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific. The course surveys diversity in cultures prior to the emergence of industry and cities in all parts of the world. The course also examines the causes and consequences of the social transformations that produced state societies. Concepts of race, ethnicity, and identity are considered, as is the theme of communication across cultural boundaries. The plight of native peoples in the face of global changes, economic development, and urbanization are discussed.

This course considers the interplay between indigenous peoples and environmental resources utilizing current perspectives from evolutionary and community ecology, conservation biology, anthropology, political ecology and economics. Students will demonstrate an understanding of factors influencing this interplay, including environmental ethics, traditional environmental knowledge, resource management, community-based conservation, property rights, common-pool resources, sustainable development, land tenure, indigenous movements, and eco-tourism.

Prerequisites: ANTH 102.

Addresses the historical contexts in which anthropological theory has developed since the 18th century. Examines relationships between historical circumstances and leading theorists, and the questions they asked. Topics include: Victorian evolutionism, the American historical school, cultural materialism, symbolic and structuralist anthropology, past and present functionalism, feminist anthropology, political economy, and post modernism.

This course examines the complex relationships between violence and culture using the ethnographic method as practiced by anthropologists and other social scientists. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the ways violence destroys, alters or produces forms of cultural meaning and social action and the ways in which cultural difference impacts patterns of violence.

This course examines the concept of universal human rights, and the social movement that has developed to promote human rights, from an anthropological perspective. Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the social and historical origins of the concept of human rights and analyze the debates that arise out of applying the concept of human rights in cross-cultural contexts.

This course examines the significance and nature of surface and deep culturally originated modifications of the human body. The student will demonstrate an understanding of the cultural importance and meaning of body modifications through the use of a cross-cultural perspective on past and contemporary modification practices.

An investigation of relationships between new forms of mediated communication and cultural transformation. The characteristics of "oral", "literate", and "electronic" cultures will be compared ethnographically. The course highlights parallels between the historical transformation of oral cultures by literacy and the current transformation of both oral and literate cultures by electronic media (reflected in the rise of electronically integrated pop-consumer culture of global reach).

Prerequisite: ANTH 102 or ANTH 271.

This course investigates the anthropology of complex societies and city life. Consideration is given to the major problems of method and analysis involved in urban ethnography. Examination of selected issues in urban anthropology will include the comparative growth and structure of urban systems past and present, and the globalization of contemporary urban life. The problems and pathologies of urbanism are placed in a comparative perspective.

Prerequisite: ANTH 102.

Examination of theories of evolution. Culture viewed as the human adaptation to the total environment. Emphasis on patterns of energy capture, production, exchange, and territorial regulation of human populations. Examples drawn from past and present adaptations to major environmental types.

Prerequisite: ANTH 102, or ANTH 271, or Culture Area Requirement.

This course introduces students to the recent turn in cultural anthropology away from an over reliance on "objectivist" models for ethnography towards more "humanistic" ones. Students will be exposed to a selection of contemporary interpretive ethnographies. These works will be analyzed as crafted texts, with anthropologists as authors rather than reporters. Students will be expected to engage in some creative ethnographic writing based on a field project.

Prerequisite: ANTH 102.

This course will survey the applications of anthropological data, methods, and theory in the analysis and understanding of contemporary human problems. Topics range from cross-cultural differences in the experience of illness, curing and health, cultural meanings and practices involved in substance abuse, the role of culture in educational practice and learning, and the influence of culture in business and workplace settings.

Prerequisites: ANTH 102, or ANTH 271, or Culture Area Requirement.

This course provides an introduction to the anthropological literature and debates pertaining to race, ethnicity, and nationalism. We will draw on case studies from Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Pacific, and Europe in order to explore the nature of ethnic identity and the dynamics of ethnic change. Concepts such as race, caste, and class will be addressed. We will also consider the role of religion, social stratification, state formation, migration and gender in the elaboration of group identities. The course will close with an exploration of current theory pertaining to the politics of identity.

Prerequisite: ANTH 102, or ANTH 271, or Culture Area Requirement.

Explores the variety of human religious expression and considers whether common features underlie the diversity of religious practices in the world. Topics addressed include: What is special about the anthropological study of religion?; How does religion relate to other aspects of life?; Can religion be explained?; What are the dynamics of the interactive process between indigenous religions and world religions (e.g. the indigenization of Christianity)? Attention will be devoted to ritual, including performances that some may regard as secular, rather than religious (highlighting the question of what is meant by "religion").

Prerequisite: ANTH 102, or ANTH 271, or Culture Area Requirement.

This course is designed to offer an introduction to the major qualitative methods of social inquiry. In addition to learning anthropological (and sociological) methodologies such as participant observation, unstructured, semi-structured and structured interviewing, and document analysis, we will also address ethical issues in field research. Moreover, students will be encouraged to explore the interrelations between particular theories (e.g. symbolic analysis or network analysis).

Prerequisite: ANTH 102, or ANTH 271, or Culture Area Requirement.

This course offers an introduction to anthropological perspectives on art and expressive culture. Over the semester we will survey classic anthropological writings on the nature of expressive culture and aesthetics. We will look at different models for understanding the arts, exploring the types of questions evoked by these models. The course will address the social organization of art and performance, symbolism and meaning, psychological approaches to expressive culture, gender issues, political aspects of art, and change in culture and art (evolution of new meanings, tourist art, etc.). Case studies will be drawn from Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and the Americas.

Prerequisite: ANTH 102, or ANTH 271, or Culture Area Requirement, or Instructor Permission.

This course explores the phenomenon of tourism from an anthropological perspective. Drawing on case studies from Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, the course addresses the social, cultural, economic, and environmental impact of tourism on host communities and nations. Also examined are the history and cultural structure of tourism, the psycho-cultural motivations of contemporary tourists, and the role of tourism institutions (museums, souvenirs, travel literature, etc.) in the construction of "exotic others." Throughout the course, case data are related to anthropological theories of cultural and economic change, cross-cultural communication, identity, ethnicity, and gender.

Recommended: ANTH 101 or ANTH 103, or background in biology.

Interdisciplinary examination of animal behavior from the perspective of the biologist and anthropologist. Biological bases of behavior, including function and evolution of behavioral patterns.

Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or ANTH 103.

A detailed analysis of the fossil evidence and surrounding controversies of human evolution. The integration of interpretations of the skeletal and archaeological material, the processes of evolutionary theory, and information from related scientific fields to provide a unified view of human evolution.

Recommended: ANTH 101 or ANTH 103, or background in biology or comparative psychology.

Interrelations between the behavior and ecology of monkeys, apes, and prosimians. Problems of conservation and management. Implications for human behavior.

Prerequisite: ANTH 101, or ANTH 103, or background in biology.

Introduction to skeletal anatomy, along with various methods and techniques currently being employed by physical anthropologists to determine age at death, sex, and diseases of past human populations.

This course will contrast popular ideas about language with scholarly approaches from the fields of linguistic anthropology, linguistics, sociology, ethnic studies, and other disciplines. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the consequences of linguistic ideology on language policy, language representation and the evaluations of others.

This course examines the history, diversity and beauty of the world’s writing systems, from ancient to modern. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the origins, structure, and classification of a variety of scripts from around the world.

Problems and procedures of archaeological investigations of Greco-Roman antiquities. Main explorations and achievements in the recovery of classical monuments and brief history of classical archaeology's development; extensive bibliographic background; detailed study of several key sites and their excavations and reconstruction, including Mycenae, Delphi, Olympia, Pompeii, Rome.

Offered only at Rome Center.

Mediterranean cult places before Greece; Dark Ages of Greece; Archaic Greece. Socio-political role and ritual function of Greek sanctuaries. Offered only at Rome Center.

This course surveys archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence from the Late Pleistocene in North and South America with emphasis on the initial processes of human colonization/adaptation to the New World. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the current debates and methods of critical assessment in evidence from environmental changes; megafaunal extinctions; and human biological, archaeological, and linguistic data.

Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or ANTH 104.

Archaeological evidence from around the world examined in an attempt to answer the question of why civilizations rise and fall. Focus on ancient civilizations including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, Shang China, Inca and Maya. Topics include the environment setting, economics, politics, social structure, religion and art of the major ancient civilizations. Examples from different areas are compared and contrasted. Modern anthropological theories of cultural evolution and the rise of the state are evaluated against the archaeological evidence.

See HIST 328.

A survey of the art and architecture from the pre-Classic period to the Aztecs and the Maya in Mesoamerica and to the Incas of South America.

A study of the native art forms of Africa and the Pacific and consideration of their significance as visual expressions of tribal culture prior to the intrusion of foreign influences.

See HIST 324.

Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or ANTH 104.

Specific theoretical, methodological, and research problems in archaeology will be examined. Focus will be on current research in the discipline. Topic include but are not restricted to: environmental archaeology, prehistoric trade, scientific techniques, prehistoric demography, prehistoric urbanism, North American archaeology.

Prerequisite: ANTH 102.

A specific topic pertinent to theoretical and research problems in cultural anthropology will be examined. The course may center on one of the following topics depending on instructor's preference: medical anthropology, rituals and symbols, kinship, cultural ecology, comparative economic systems, urban anthropology.

Prerequisite: ANTH 101, or BIOL 125, or NTSC 104, or equivalent.

A specific theoretical, methodological, or research problem in biological anthropology will be examined, focusing upon current work in the discipline. Topics might include anthropological genetics, osteology and forensic medicine, paleoanthropology.

Prerequisite: ANTH 231.

Examination of a current research question or area within linguistic anthropology. Topics will vary and may include: language and gender, linguistic diversity, language and cognition, language and identity, linguistic contact and change, conversation analysis, and the ethnography of communication.

This course is a laboratory analysis of archaeological stone tools through experimentation and ethno-archaeology. Students will demonstrate an understanding of causes of variability in raw material procurement, manufacturing techniques, use wear, discard, recycling, methodological and theoretical considerations of artifact classification and interpretation, data recording and analysis standardization, and computerized strategies of data management and analysis.

A survey of archaeological research in Greece covering the period from the Paleolithic through the early Iron Ages (to circa 700 BC).

Prerequisites: permission of chairperson and faculty member.

Each student will have an individualized program of instruction that has been worked out with the faculty member supervising the student's study. Topics, readings, and written assignments will vary.

Prerequisites: permission of chairperson and faculty member.

Each student will have an individualized program of instruction that has been worked out with the faculty member supervising the student's study. Topics, readings, and written assignments will vary.

6 credit hours. Prerequisites: permission of chairperson and faculty member.

Application of anthropological concepts and methods to a specific field situation under the supervision of a faculty member. Fieldwork may be undertaken in any of the four subfields of anthropology. Arrangements for individual fieldwork projects must be worked out in advance by the student and a faculty member.

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