Course Offerings
Anthropology Course Offerings 2017/18
AN100: Cultures Today
An introduction to the study of world cultures, focusing on the exploration of ethnographic case studies and the development of inter-cultural competencies through a problem-based approach, including participation in the Community Action Project developed by the Center for a Public Anthropology.
AN110: Money Makes the World Go Around
Introduces the cultural worlds of exchange and consumption by focusing on how and why people acquire things ranging from so-called ”basic necessities” to more discretionary items like Lamborghini cars, Chanel suits and high-end coffee. The course begins by covering foundational ideas of money, markets and reciprocity, before considering the social and cultural importance of material acquisition (whether products or services) in both local and international settings.
AN200: Theories of Culture
This course introduces concepts and theories used by anthropologists for understanding sociocultural practices in all their diverse forms. It will address concepts such as ideology, hegemony, discourse, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, nationalism, globalization and neoliberalism.
AN210: Intercultural Competencies
Examines perceptions of cultural differences and miscommunication across social, cultural, ethnic, economic and historic barriers. Students explore the various approaches used to mitigate cultural differences including intercultural competency, diversity, anti-oppression, and anti-racism training. Using Canada as its context, students examine the historical outcomes and future opportunities for growing diversity at work, in the classroom, and in society.
AN237: Cross-Cultural Study of Change
A study of such world questions as food, population, health care and the environment: the impact of technological change in rural and urban areas. Social, political, economic and technological development will be examined from a number of theoretical perspectives. The roles of business, government and non-government organizations in developing contexts are explored.
AN242: Race, Ethnicity and Nationalism
This course focuses on the study of race, ethnicity and nationalism as social structures of inclusion and exclusion. Themes to be addressed include how one’s citizenship status determines access to labour and human rights, the links between gender, sexuality and machismo to ethnic and national matters, and the role of place in the formation of personal and collective identities.
AN300: Ethnographic Methods
A survey of the methods of cultural anthropological inquiry including such issues as the relationship between theory and research, research design and problem formulation, participant observation, genealogical research, sampling procedures, interviewing, life history documentation, archival research, data organization and analysis, and the ethics of conducting anthropological research.
AN322: Religion, Ritual and Magic
The study of ritual performances which relate society to the divine, with a focus on the collective production of meaning. Topics may include: rites of passage, spirit possession, magical beliefs, and the social and epistemological dimensions of religious systems.
AN326: Culture as Performance
Culture is a dynamic, expressive process that helps people define who they are as individuals and as collectivities. Symbolic events, festivals and rituals, as well as the everyday will be studied as sites of enactment of our human cultural drama.
AN340: Contemporary Issues in India
An introduction to contemporary society and cultures of India, with a focus on issues related to such cultural phenomena as globalization, caste politics, ethnic nationalisms, grass-roots development, media and the Indian diaspora.
AN342: Africa at the Crossroads
An examination of pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial African cultures.
AN345: Life After Socialism
This course explores the dramatic social and cultural transformations occurring in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in the aftermath of the collapse of state socialism. The course will address topics that intersect with broader debates in anthropology concerning citizenship, social suffering, nationalism, ethnicity and race, gender inequality, memory, production and consumption, poverty, religious revivals, globalization and development assistance.
AN400: Doing Fieldwork
Students develop and carry out their own ethnographic research projects under the supervision of the course director. Using a combination of skills acquired in AN300 - Ethnographic Methods, students write a proposal, develop analytical questions and undertake participant-observation in a fieldwork context chosen among options provided. The end product will document the research process and seek to answer questions formulated in the proposal stage.
AN465: Cultures of Business and Work
This course provides an understanding of some of the fundamental social and anthropological perspectives on work in modern large-scale business organizations as well as other institutional settings. It will examine historical and contemporary case studies of management and labour activity. Students will also develop a variety of applied analytical and critical thinking skills appropriate to the workplace environment.
Anthropology-Approved Courses
As part of their anthropology degree, students can take up to 1.0 credit worth of Anthropology-approved courses in other programs in the Faculty of Arts. See the LORIS dynamic schedule for current course offerings.
Community Engagement
- CMEG300: Introduction to Community Engagement
- CMEG301: Social Inclusion, Local Democracy and Community Enterprise
- CMEG305*: Semester in Community Engagement
Communication Studies
- CS202: Nonverbal Communication
- CS212: Language, Communication and Culture
English
- EN220: Reading Culture: Strategies and Approaches
- ES295: Ecotourism and the Environment
Global Studies
- GS201: Theories in Global Studies
- GS220: Being Human: Cultural Analysis in a Global Age
- GS221: Globalization and Cultures: The Cosmopolitan Village?
- GS355: Indigenous Peoples in Global Context
- GS361: Disasters and Development
History
- HI389/MU310: Music, Sound and Environment
Mediterranean Studies
- MI201: Mediterranean Culture and Civilization I
- MI202: Mediterranean Culture and Civilization II
Religion and Culture
- RE211: Indigenous Religions
- RE285: Religion and Culture of the African Diaspora
- RE308: Conducting Fieldwork
- RE333: Food and Religion
Languages and Literatures
- SP220: Topics in Spanish Culture
Sociology
- SY332: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
- SY338: Women and Development
Women and Gender Studies
- WS212: Food and Feminism