Spring 2020/Fall 2020 - ANTH 100 - Dr. Secil Dagtas 

Course Description 

ANTH 100 examines what it means to be human, both in the past and present, from various anthropological perspectives. These include 1) Biological Anthropology, the study of evolutionary trends and biological diversity among human and non-human primates; 2) Archaeology, the study of past human activities using material remains; 3) Linguistic Anthropology, the study of human languages and how they reproduce, transmit, and transform cultural practices, and; 4) Sociocultural Anthropology, the study of social and cultural organization among groups of varying complexity. In seeking to understand the many facets of human experience from these perspectives, ANTH 100 simultaneously provides scope for exploring contemporary issues confronting humanity, be they biological, environmental, technological, economic, or political in nature.   

 

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to: 

• Demonstrate introductory knowledge of Biological Anthropology. 

• Familiarity with human evolutionary theory and the sources of human variation. 

• Understanding the relationship between humans and other primates. 

• Demonstrate introductory knowledge of Archaeology. 

• Familiarity with archaeological methods. 

• Understanding origins of early human societies and major events in human history, including the appearance of sedentism and food production, the development of cultural complexity, and the advent of urbanism. 

• Demonstrate introductory knowledge of Linguistic Anthropology. 

• Understanding elements of human language and nonverbal communication. 

• Familiarity with sociolinguistics. 

• Demonstrate introductory knowledge of Cultural Anthropology. 

• Understanding key concepts in ethnographic theory and methods, worldview, ritual, political and economic anthropology, kinship, gender and inequality. 

• Understanding anthropological contributions to contemporary global issues and the human condition. 

 

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Spring 2019 - ANTH 100 - Dr. Nicole Hayes 

Course Description 

Anthropology aims at understanding what it is to be human and to examine how humanity is manifested in the diversity of cultures and societies across time and space. This course gives the student an overview of the breadth of anthropology and orients them toward thinking anthropologically in our shared worlds. 

Course Goals and Learning Outcomes 

This course will use lectures, slides and films to introduce students to the fundamentals of anthropology. Students will demonstrate knowledge of biological anthropology, archaeology, anthropological linguistics, and cultural anthropology in two written midterm examinations, one final examination and a paper. 

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Fall 2018 - ANTH 100 - Dr. Götz Hoeppe 

Course Description 

This course is a general introduction to anthropology, the study of the human condition past and present. We examine the four sub-fields of anthropology: biological anthropology (the study of human evolution, variation and biocultural adaptation), archaeology (the study of past human material culture), linguistic anthropology (the sociocultural study of language), and sociocultural anthropology (the study of human society and culture). The course focuses on     (1) understanding humans as biocultural beings, on (2) how, throughout history, humans have transformed themselves and their livelihood through techniques and technologies, as well as on (3) how the perspective of anthropology helps making sense of contemporary, often global, social and cultural issues.  

Course Goals and Learning Outcomes 

• Gain an understanding of the four subfields of anthropology and how their combination allows unique insights into the human condition. 

• Gain an understanding of the methods used by anthropologists to study ancient peoples and human societies across space and time. 

• Be familiar with basic elements of anthropological thought about evolution, culture, society, kinship, language, the economy, politics, ethnic conflict and religion. 

• Articulate how an anthropological perspective helps to make sense of contemporary cultural and social issues, many of which are global in scope.