Courses

Note: The following is a list of all courses that comprise the department’s permanent offerings. Given the importance of current research and disciplinary debate to our graduate curriculum, many of the important course offerings any year are topical seminars and special topics courses (e.g., Historical Archaeology; Political Economy of Health; Research Design; Hunter/Gatherers; Environmental Archaeology; Contemporary Evolutionary Theory), which are not included by title in this list. For more detailed information on courses offered, please consult the course list available in the department office (215 Machmer Hall) or consult the department’s website at www.umass.edu/anthro, where course lists, schedules, and descriptions are posted and frequently updated.

All courses carry 3 credits unless otherwise specified.

515 Primate Anatomy
Lecture, laboratory dissection. Emphasizes the structural-functional analysis of skeletons as joint-link systems. Prerequisite to seminar on comparative structure and phylogeny of primates, emphasizing evolutionary trends and adaptive radiations. (Limited to 15 students.) Credit, 4.

520, 521 Economic Anthropology I, II
Patterns of production, distribution and consumption in traditional societies, and social and political matrices in which these occur. Alternative theoretical approaches to selected problems.

525 Archaeology and Law
Federal and state laws, regulations, and administrative procedures for protection of archaeological resources. Training for effective involvement in cultural resource conservation. Basic introduction to professional work in cultural resource management.

529 Archaeology of Northeastern North America
Prehistoric record of northeastern North America (Pennsylvania to Labrador). Initial peopling of the area and subsequent demographic and cultural growth, against background of climatic and geomorphic changes of past 12,000 years. Major area problems stressed over regional sequences.

574 Cultures of the Far East
Survey of culture-history and ethnography of representative peoples of East Asia peasant subcultures of traditional and contemporary China. Japan, and Korea. Consent of instructor required.

577 Summer Field School in Archaeology
Practical training in archaeological field and laboratory techniques, problem formulation and appropriate methodologies. Emphasis may vary from survey to excavation of prehistoric or colonial sites. Prerequisite: ANTHRO 102 or equivalent. Credit, variable.

578 Theory and Method in Archaeology
Intensive examination of the scientific approach to modern archaeological research and utilization of this approach for deriving and testing theories of prehistory and behavioral patterns. Consent of instructor required.

582 History of Archaeology
Events, major ideas, and researchers important in development of archaeology during the 19th and 20th centuries. Emphasis on theoretical and technical advances related to present state of archaeology.

591-595 Seminars

596 Independent Study

597 Special Topics

621 Prehistoric Cultural Ecology
Analysis of cultural ecology approaches to interpretation of the prehistoric record. Consent of instructor required.

625 Andean Archaeology
Selected problems in excavation, analysis, and interpretation of Andean prehistory. Emphasis on later stages of development of native American civilizations.

641, 642 Theory and Method in Social Anthropology I, II
Two-semester sequence devoted to structural functional analysis as developed in British social anthropology. Emphasis on method in analysis of social and political theoretical issues. Credit, 6 (3 each).

649 European Prehistory
Analysis of prehistoric cultures of Europe to end of the Iron Age. Cultural evolution, and long range trends in natural and cultural adaptation emphasized. Consent of instructor required.

660 Seminar in European Anthropology
Particular attention to problems resulting from students’ field investigations in Europe.

664 Problems in Anthropology
Current anthropological thought in regard to specific problems chosen from physical anthropology, archaeology, and cultural anthropology. Consent of instructor required.

670 Problems in North American Archaeology
Selected problems in North American archaeology, emphasizing the anthropological interpretation of prehistoric data.

680 Field Course in Cultural Anthropology
Field course for advanced undergraduates and graduates. Supervised training in cultural anthropological research. Location varies from year to year. Credit, 6.

681 Quantitative Methods in Anthropology
Interpretation and analysis of data from all fields of anthropology. Descriptive statistics, formulation and testing of hypotheses, correlation and regression. Current trends in methodology of anthropological research.

683 Contemporary Anthropological Theory
Nature of social science paradigms and their relationship to society; critique of structural-functional paradigms, including modernization theories; in-depth examination of ecological, evolutionary, Marxian, and neo-Marxian theories in anthropology; implications of anthropological theory for general social science.

685 Seminar in European Anthropology II
Seminar for returning participants of European Field Program in Anthropology.

691-695 Seminars

696 Independent Study

697 Special Topics

698 Practicum

699 Master’s Thesis
Credit, 1-9.

712 Seminar in Social Biology
Interaction of social, biological, and ecological factors involved in various aspects of human biological and cultural diversity.

737 The History of Anthropological Theory
Origin and development of anthropological theory, cultural evolution, culture history, and cultural dynamics with a primary focus on trends in American anthropology up to mid-20th century.

745 Revolution and Social Change
Drastic social and cultural change. Emphasis on historical background and social contexts of political revolutions and their role in modernizing nations.

748 Language and Culture
Linguistic prehistory and classification; methods and interpretations of comparative linguistic analysis; linguistic methodology and “ethoscientific” approaches; the “Whorf hypothesis” and linguistic relativity.

750 Seminar in Comparative Symbol Systems
Current theory and analytic method in symbolic analysis of sociocultural systems.

761 Anthropology of Communication
Various communicative codes, from a biological and sociocultural viewpoint.

762 Linguistic Anthropology: The Social Dimension
Seminar. Phenomena, methods of investigation, and interpretation of social correlates of linguistic usage and variability.

775 Methods in Anthropological Research
Methods of studying cultures of homogeneous and heterogeneous societies among peoples of the world. Emphasis on various techniques of field work.

780 Physical Anthropology: The Skeleton
The human skeleton considered in its functional aspects and with reference to evolution, age, and sex. Methods of osteological investigations and osteometrics.

782 Physical Anthropology of the Living
Field and laboratory methods used to assess a group’s biological and social well-being. Topics include nutritional assessment, health surveys, human growth, time allocation, energy flow analysis and social support and measurement of environmental and social stress.

783 Seminar in Biological Anthropology
Advanced treatment of current topics and debates in biological anthropology such as anthropological genetics, demography, growth and development, nutrition, medical anthropology and human adaptability. Emphasis on advances in these areas in past decade and future research directions.

784 Human Adaptability
Seminar. Mechanisms of human adaptation to environmental stress; emphasis on human variation. Cultural and biological modes of adaptation. Prerequisite: ANTHRO 372 or consent of instructor.

791-795 Seminars

796 Independent Study

797 Special Topics

802 Research in Archaeology
Directed individual research in archaeology. Credit, 1-12.

803 Research in Physical Anthropology
Directed individual research in physical anthropology. Credit, 1-12.

804 Research in Cultural Anthropology
Directed individual research in cultural anthropology. Credit, 1-12.

805 Research in Linguistic Anthropology
Directed individual research in linguistic anthropology. Credit, 1-12.

899 Doctoral Dissertation
Credit, 10.