Spring 2007 Courses

Students will learn to critically analyze how films, both feature and documentary, affect the way in which we view and approach the past. Movies have been a powerful medium for the last one hundred years, through which ideas about history and even deep prehistory have been projected to the broader public. However, their effect is still rarely subjected to closer scrutiny. In this class movies will be viewed by students outside class time. In class, movie excerpts will be watched and the films discussed. Students will learn how to analyze the films critically  from the point of view of media literacy and film content rather than film technique. We will focus on the creators of the media (screenplay writers, directors, editors, and their archaeologist and historian consultants); the "reality" about the past that is created; the social and historical context of the films' creation;  the impact of the films on their audiences in terms of their message about history; even movies about history for purposes of propaganda. To help in this endeavor students will watch not only matching documentary and feature movies (e.g. Iceman (1984) and Nova's (1998) Return of the Iceman), but also matching remakes of similar movies (The Mummy (1932) and The Mummy Returns (2001) that have different styles and messages. This course is designed for any student who likes to watch films and wants to learn how to watch them with eyes wide open. The focus is on films about the past, so that any students hoping to major in history, anthropology (archaeology), Near Eastern history (esp. Egyptology), and Classical history would find it especially useful. The course would also be valuable for students hoping to major in Film Studies, Mass Communications, and Journalism, since it deals with the authorship, audience, and content of films, rather than techniques and styles of film-making.

An extraordinarily difficult, demanding, intensive, and rigorous introduction to the human skeleton. Identification of all elements of the human skeleton will be stressed. Aging, sexing, individuation, stature, reconstruction, demography from skeletal samples will be introduced. Paleopathological diagnosis, skeletal reconstruction, cleaning and curation will be taught. Metric analysis of skeletal material will be undertaken and computerization of skeletal data will be introduced. Prerequisites: Anthropology 1, Bio 1B

Three hours of lecture and six hours of lab per week.

Medical anthropology looks at the interaction of biology, social environment, and medical rationalities. The course introduces theoretical and conceptual tools for a critical understanding of cultural, political, economic, and moral dimensions of health, affliction, care and cure in cross-cultural perspective.  It challenges assumptions of universalism and dichotomous categories, such as nature/culture, individual/society, mind/body, that are embedded in biomedical approaches to disease causality and curing, and explores how the human body and human being (anthropos) are historically and culturally shaped.
The second part of the course brings these tools to the analysis of contemporary forms and problems in global health and life.  Building on ethnographic case studies, we  examine social roots and dimensions of public health problems -- such as the impact of disaster and everyday violence, the AIDs pandemic, infant mortality, and work-related stress and illness -- through frames of power and social suffering.  We explore the complex dynamics around the increasing importance of the BIO and Bio-power in contemporary life (bio-science, bio-technology, bio-ethics, bio-politics) in producing and re-defining understandings and strategies not only around health, risk, and illness, but also the body, subjectivity, identity, race, kinship, reproduction, ageing, death, and life itself. We conclude by reflecting on the contributions of an anthropological gaze and participation in today's world.   
Guest lecturers, film, ethnographies, media reports, and medical journal articles supplement the lectures.  Students will learn to collect and interpret  individual illness narratives as well as to analyze  the cultural and political dynamics of problems and developments around health and life.

Prerequisites:  This class is open to upper division undergraduates and to graduate students in social sciences, biological sciences, and public health. It assumes a general background and familiarity with social science concepts and ideas.

Course Requirements:  Completion of weekly reading assignments and active participation in a weekly discussion section.   A short paper based on an interview conducted with a person about a illness-related experience (5-6 pages);  book review of an ethnography of choice (2 pages);  a research paper (10-12 pages) addressing  social dimensions of  a disease or condition,  an epidemic, a medical/social controversy, or a development in bio-medicine, bio-technology, or bio-ethics.  A midterm and final.

The purpose of this course is to provide an introduction to the native peoples of California from an archaeological perspective. The course also includes examinations of ethnology, linguistics and applied subjects where appropriate. The course examines the development of diverse native Californian societies over the last 11,000 years. We begin with a brief overview of the history of archaeology in California that considers the field methods, chronologies, and research problems of early investigators. We will also address the diverse range of hunter-fisher-gatherer lifeways that flourished in prehistoric California. As part of this topic, we consider evidence for diverse material culture, gender systems, economic organizations, sociopolitical complexity, long distance exchange networks, and religious practices by examining case studies of native societies in the coastal, valley, desert and mountain regions of the state. Finally, we consider native peoples responses to European exploration and colonization in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.

Students will be graded on the basis of short written summaries of assigned readings, a midterm exam, and a research paper in lieu of a final exam.

This advanced (upper division and graduate) seminar in archaeology will explore the method and theory of using contemporary observations to interpret the past. The meaning of archaeological data is seldom self-evident, and archaeologists must use some frame of reference for interpretation. In some cases, these frames of reference are sought by
observing contemporary processes of site formation and human behavior. These research strategies include ethnoarchaeology, the observation of natural processes relevant to site formation, and controlled experimentation. In using these sources to analyze data from the past, archaeologists must verify that the comparisons they make are relevant. Despite the difficulty this sometimes presents, some have argued that direct observation provides the strongest support for interpretation.

The course will be divided into two parts. In the first part, we will examine ethnoarchaeology ÷ its history, methods, and the use of resulting data. In the second part of the course, we will focus on actualistic studies in which natural and experimentally controlled processes are
observed.

This is a discussion course with a substantial amount of reading and some writing. Students will be evaluated on the basis of two papers and their participation in class.

NOTE: This class satisfies the PHYSICAL core + methods, or the ARCHAEOLOGY core + methods.

Zooarchaeology is the study of animal remains (primarily bones, teeth, and shells) from archaeological contexts. The goal of most zooarchaeological studies is to determine how animals fit into to human economic and ecological strategies. Zooarchaeological research is therefore applicable in virtually all archaeological contexts (as long as animal remains are preserved) and is an integral component of archaeological analysis. This course introduces students to the important issues and analytical techniques of zooarchaeology, including taphonomic processes (that is, how faunal assemblages are formed and altered), quantification of skeletal elements, distinctions between major taxonomic groups, season of death, interpretation of mortality profiles, application of optimal foraging theory, and biometric data analysis. Laboratory sessions complement lectures and provide hands-on instruction in skeletal identification.

This survey and lab course will touch upon a broad range of scientific techniques used in the field and in the analysis of geoarchaeological materials.  The focus will be on current advances in physical science applications in archaeology and the integration of results into the planning and resolution of archaeological problems and projects.  The course will include field and laboratory studies in analytical chemistry, geology, petrology/petrography, and a survey of dating methods in archaeology, the historical development of archaeological science, archaeological conservation, and other aspects of archaeological science as applied to geological materials.  Laboratory work will be in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science, the Berkeley Geochronology Center, as well as the Department of Anthropology and its Geoarchaeological XRF Laboratory.  A number of specialists in the field will participate including), Dr. Paul Renne (Berkeley Geochronology Lab,  Leah Morgan (Earth and Planetary Science), Dr. Vicki Wedel (Post-doc, Anthropology)  as well as the instructor and GSI. 

The course is not designed to train you as an archaeometrist, but is designed to familiarize you with the scientific methods used as tools by archaeologists to solve archaeometric  problems.

Required texts:  (1) Henderson, J. (2000), The Science of Archaeology and Materials: An Investigation of Inorganic Materials: (2) Course reader available at Copy Central, 2560 Bancroft Ave, Berkeley (848-8649).  (3) Dictionary of Geological Terms, Third Edition. Bates and Jackson 1984..

Recommended texts: (1) Obsidian: Geology and Archaeology of the North American Southwest, Shackley; (2) Geoarchaeology, G. Rapp and C.L. Hill.  It is also recommended that you get a 10x - 20x magnifier or jewelers loop obtainable at the Bear Stores (ASUC) sometimes or from Forestry Suppliers.

Required of you:  This is a combination survey and laboratory course.  You are required to participate in all lectures, labs, and the one field trip.  The syllabus, assignments, announcements and exam study guides will be posted on the web site.  Look at the site at least once per week. 

You will be evaluated on four mainly objective criteria each worth 25% of your grade: 
(1)  2 exams: 1 mid-term and 1 final exam (50% of grade)
(2)  Lab quizzes and homework (25% of grade)
(3)  A term paper on any aspect of geoarchaeological science cleared with the instructor

This class is designed to introduce the basic procedures of archaeological laboratory methods required for archaeobotanical identification and data analysis. We will be studying the major classes of plant remains likely to be encountered in archaeological sites, how to collect and process the material from the excavations, how to identify them and then how to organize the data in order to make interpretable conclusions. The course will emphasize the use of plant remains to answer archaeological questions, rather than study the plant remains for their own sake. The class is designed with both a lecture discussion section where interactive discussions occur on assigned readings and a laboratory practicum portion. The discussion will focus on major issues in the sub- will focus on major issues in the sub-discipline from preservation and taphonomy, to analytical identification methods, to sampling and collection, to interpretation. The laboratory portion will work through identification procedures. Some field trips are organized.

Note: This course meets the method requirement for the Anthropology major.

This course is about ethnographic fieldwork, public archaeology, the anthropology of pedagogy and education, the anthropology of technology, collaborative learning, and the material and media representation of culture. The course is designed to provide an opportunity for undergraduates to work with 6th graders in exploring the worlds of archaeology, history, and computer-based technologies. There is no mid-term or final examination for this course. Students enrolled in Anthropology 128m are expected to mentor and interact with cultural diverse middle-school children in the Expedition Program, an after-school program at Roosevelt Middle School in Oakland. The course fulfills the methods requirement for Anthropology majors; it provides an opportunity to learn and use a variety of ethnographic skills, from the writing of field notes and the identification of research questions to the development of a research paper. The focus of the course this semester is on multi-cultural expressions of material culture in the world of children, as reflected in the production of  digital storytelling.

The Expedition After-school Program is designed to bring the archaeological experience to 6th graders through facilitated play with a variety of media, including: digital storytelling (video production), computer games, web browsing, hands-on exploration of real artifacts, etc. The facilitator for the Expedition Program is Tamara Sturak.

Pre-requisites: Students from fields other than archaeology and anthropology are welcome to participate. Bilingual students are strongly encouraged to apply. The Introduction to Archaeology (Anthro.2) or its equivalent or the permission of the instructor are the only prerequisites. Regular access to an email and internet account are essential.

Requirements: This course is a practicum field research/service-learning course. Participation in the Roosevelt School after-school program (approx. 2-3 hrs one afternoon each week) is a required part of the course. You will be expected to keep fieldnotes of your observations and enter them into the course database each week.

Required reading: Kozol, J. (2000) Ordinary Resurrections: Children in the Years of Hope. Crown Publ, New York.  A course reader of weekly required readings will also be available for course.

Note: This course satisfies the method requirement for Anthropology majors. 

This class is a hands-on experience in ethnographic video production.  Students work together in teams to produce short video projects in the Bay Area.  Projects will be chosen from proposals submitted by students of 138A.  Students share equally the responsibilities of fieldwork, directing, camera, sound recording, and editing.  Please note that students will often need to meet with the instructor and/or with their teammates outside of class time. 

Prerequisite:  Anthro 138A

Note: This course satisfies the method requirement for the Anthropology major. 

This course will discuss key theoretical concepts related to power and control and examine indirect mechanisms and processes by which direct control becomes hidden, voluntary, and unconscious in industrialized societies.  Readings will cover language, science and technology, law, politics, religion, medicine, sex, and gender.  The manner of thinking about controlling processes emphasizes connections rather than disciplinary boundaries in the anthropological perspectives. 

Prerequisites:  There are no prerequisites.  Scientists and engineers welcome.

This course focuses mainly on the folklore of the Indian sub-continent and the history of its study, use and abuse since 1860s. In the middle of the nineteenth century Indian folklore became a matter of scholarly and cultural interest to the colonial British rulers who published voluminous collections of Indian folklore. From those volumes to nationalist folklore collections in the early twentieth century to the appearance of Indian folklore in comics and films has been a journey in which the materials and interpretations of Indian folklore have grown and changed along with history and technology.  

The readings will include:
Mary Frere, Old Deccan Days
William Crooke and Ram Gharib Chaube, Folktales From Northern India
Ramanujam, A. K., Folktales from India
Nasreen Munni Kabir, Bollywood: The Indian Cinema Story
Lalit Mohan Joshi, Bollywood: Popular Indian Cinema
Simon Charsley, and Laxminarayana Kadekar, Performers and their Arts

This course examines the complex relationships between language, culture and society. The materials in the course draw on the fields of anthropology, linguistics, sociolinguistics, philosophy of language, discourse analysis, and literary criticism to explore theories about how language is shaped by, and in turn shapes social relations, identities, power, aesthetics, and our understandings about the world. We will explore how language relates to such social phenomena as class, gender, ethnicity, education, politics, the market, popular culture, technology, and globalization. We will also discuss how different uses of language in society facilitate communication and cause misunderstanding, promote similarity and increase difference, establish domination and express resistance, maintain stability and introduce change. In addition to theories and concepts we will also learn some techniques for the analysis of language, communication, discourse, and text.

Pre-requisites: Anthro 3 or an introductory linguistics class. Interested students who have not completed the prerequisite course(s) are welcome, but are advised to consult with the professor.

There are indeed abundant anthropological studies of China already, but time has come for a new departure, because we need to clear away the problematic ideas and notions with which students of contemporary China are constantly being fed; because from time to time a new grounding for knowledge becomes necessary for continuing our work. The material and empirical impact of China is no longer questionable; but we are far from clear about what Anthropology can teach us about this social giant and its relation to the world; and we are far from clear about to whom we owe our intellectual dues. This class hopes to prepare a conceptual groundwork in order for students to better understand their immediate experiences of China. To achieve this goal, we will assemble a genealogy of "Chinese" conceptions and compassions, which, rooted in a long history of intellectual debates and political struggles, have once again come to grasp the attention of the contemporary world.

No Prerequisites.

Required Texts:
Fung, Y-L, 1948. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. Macmillan.
Weber, M. 1951. The Religion of China (Tr. H. H. Gerth). Free Press.
Levenson, J. R. 1958-65. Confucian China and Its Modern Fate: A Trilogy. California.
Walder, A. G. 1986. Communist Neo-Traditionalism. California.
Lee, C-K. 1998. Gender and the South China Miracle. California.
Liu, X. 2002. The Otherness of Self. Michigan.

Description Available Soon

China is a vast land with immense diversity-- geographic, racial/ethnic, religious and cultural. Besides the Han Chinese, there are more than ten ethnic groups following several different religious traditions in northwestern China (Xinjiang). Among them Uighurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Tartars, Tajiks and Hui follow various Islamic traditions, so Islam is a prominent religion in the area.

The course is designed as a general interdisciplinary introduction to the Islamic culture of the Muslim ethnic minorities in northwestern China (Xinjiang).  Topics to be explored include ethnohistory, religious beliefs and practices; Food, costume and architecture which mostly reflection (conveys) of Islamic identity; forms of birth, marriage and funeral, local Islamic festivals, language and folk art.

Through lecture, readings, films, and discussion, this course will survey and analyze the wide diversity and similarities found among Muslim communities in China.  In particular, this course will take as its main focus of analysis Islam and culture among the Muslim ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, China.  Muslim ethnic groups will be addressed, as well as a more general analysis of their religion, and the role of religion and culture in defining national identity. 

The course will focus on the following questions: how were the people here converted to Islam? Why do Muslim ethnic groups in China follow a different religion and cultural tradition from most Chinese? How important is everyday religious practice in understanding the formation and development of national culture? What is the role of gender in the formation and continuity of the Islam in China?  How meaningful is religious practice for these Muslim ethnic groups in a rapidly changing world? What is the relation of Islam in Xinjiang with wide Islamic world? All of these questions are explored as central to understanding Islam and Muslim ethnic identity in China.

This course explores ethnography as a methodology for studies of globalization and/or research topics whose backdrop is the globalizing world. We will read several relevant ethnographies on such themes as multinational advertising, human trafficking and the spread of media forms and consumption styles. Through these, we will examine the limits and possibilities of the ethnographic method for a study of a globalizing world, insights that students will then bring to a final research project. This final project will most likely be a research proposal, using ethnography; but it could also involve a small actual research component also.

Also offered as International and Area Studies 102 (CCN 46927). Anthropology students may enroll in either section of the course and receive major credit.

This course introduces students to classic works and debates in anthropology on kinship theory and uses these debates as an entree into discussions of a range of issues that are relevant to contemporary anthropological work, and to the world around us.  Many readings will focus on the United States though other regions and national contexts will be discussed; topics will include anthropological work on gender, kinship, and sexuality (including debates over same-sex marriage); new reproductive technologies; kinship, race, and class; and new and old debates about property and exchange. 

Note: This course satisfies the Archaeology core or an elective requirement for the major.

Being a mother, a father, a son or daughter: these are universal human conditions, yet in every human society they are experienced differently. Grounded in universals of human sexual variation, this course takes experiences of people of different sexes at many points in history as a lens to explore how history, art history, and anthropology make arguments about human beings in the past. Archaeological case studies are used to explore masculinity, motherhood, childhood and aging, and the intersection of sex with other aspects of identity such as race and ethnicity. Central to this course is the way archaeologists use expertise in the study of material remains to approach such questions, often considered accessible only through texts or direct observation of action.

Note: This course satisfies the Physical core or an elective requirement for the major.

ESPM 110 examines the ecology and behavior of different species living within the same locale--the community ecology or synecology of wild primates. Over the semester a variety of different sites will be examined with respect to the forest environment, the types of dietary resources and the morphology, ecology and behavior of some or all of the primate species found living there. Attention will be paid to comparative features of each of the three main tropical forest regions of the world--Central and South America, Africa and S.E. Asia. Conservation issues will be explored--e.g., the bushmeat trade, impacts of logging, etc. We will examine data on all of the great apes (chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas) and discuss the question of whether non-human primates have culture.