ANT 104-05 - Anthropological Inquiries

4 credits (Spring)

Human Natures. What does it mean to be human? Through hands-on investigation within the four sub-fields of anthropology–biological, cultural, linguistic, and archeology–you will seek answers to this and related questions. In doing so, you will learn the basics of each field. Together, we will investigate human cultural diversity across time and geographic space, as well as the evolution, physiology, and ecology of both Homo sapiens and the non-human primates. We will explore how views of the natural world, human nature, and who is human have varied and changed, as well as the endless feedback loops between society, the environment, and our own biology. We will address topics such as: what the kinship systems of the world can tell us in the age of 23andMe; the origin of war and the future of peace; feast and famine in the Anthropocene; and whether, and if so which, animals other than us have culture or language. The format of this course will be mostly lecture, discussion, in-class labs, and out-of-class activities.

Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Marshack