Anthropology - Courses Offered

Academic Programs

Introduction to Global Black Studies
ANT 1400 / 3 credits / Alternate years (Fall)
Investigates life in the African diaspora, including a historical grounding in studies of precolonial Africa, slavery, colonialism, and resistance movements. Contemporary issues include resistance movements, underdevelopment, race/racism, and reparations. The course draws on interdisciplinary texts in history, sociology, anthropology, and literature.

Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology
ANT 1500 / 3 credits / Fall
The major fields of interest and contributions of social and cultural anthropologists. Accounts of life in different societies are read to illustrate how institutions vary in different cultural settings and to explore what it means to be a member of a culture different from one’s own.

ANT 2000–2999:

Urban Life in Africa
ANT 2055 / 3 credits / Spring
Introduces students to the everyday lives of people in African cities. Topics include urbanization in Africa from ancient times to the present; migration to and from African cities; wealth and poverty; work and leisure; gender and sexuality; and responses to African city life as expressed in art, religion, and politics.

Indigenous Peoples and the Environment
ANT 2120 / 3 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Focuses on the relationships between indigenous peoples and the environment through readings and discussions on ethnobotany, ecological anthropology, environmental history, and political ecology. Indigenous resource use and perceptions are explored from a global perspective, with special emphasis on Latin America and, in particular, Amazonian indigenous peoples. Also offered as ENV 2120.

Social Issues
ANT 2140 / 3 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to a topic of broad interest or concern; examples include (but are not limited to) violence and terror, the global AIDS crisis, poverty, and racism. It is team taught by faculty members in at least two distinct disciplines. Lectures are supplemented by visual presentations and guest lectures.

Culture and Personality
ANT 2170 / 3 credits / Spring
Ruth Benedict’s pioneering work, Patterns of Culture, laid the foundations for investigation into the relationship between cultural ethos and individual personality. Starting with Benedict, this course considers a variety of approaches to this general question, including those suggested by Mead, Linton, LaBarre, and others.

Language, Culture, and Society
ANT 2175 / 3 credits / Spring
Explores the different roles that language plays in the lives of people, communities, and nations. Topics include language and thought, language and power, poetics and verbal art, bilingualism, African-American English (“Ebonics”), pidgin and creole languages, Native American language revitalization, “politically correct” language, and the rise of English as a global language.

American Culture
ANT 2180 / 3 credits / Fall
A sociocultural perspective on American life from de Tocqueville’s time to the present. Major emphasis is placed on the contradiction between equality, the highest American value, and the historical realities of race, class, gender, and kinship. Also offered as SOC 2180.

American Identities
ANT 2190 / 3 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
What makes one white, black, Hispanic, or Asian? Far from being inherent, racial and ethnic identities are socially constructed. This class explores the construction of U.S. identities, looking at the ways in which immigrants and native-born Americans come to see themselves and others as they negotiate life with each other and with their environment.

The Origins of Society
ANT 2210 / 3 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
The processes and events of social change, with emphasis on three basic transitions in human history: the emergence of village society; the origins of food production; and the growth of social and economic stratification, urbanism, and the state. Theoretical approaches to social change are studied.

Sociology of Gender
ANT 2211 Refer to SOC 2210 in Sociology Courses for description.

Film and Anthropology
ANT 2250 / 3 credits / Alternate years (Spring)
How useful a tool is film for the study of peoples who come from cultures entirely different from one’s own? Appropriate readings accompany the visual material, in addition to ethnographic accounts of the societies viewed in class and discussions of the problems encountered in filming non-Western peoples.

Performing Arts in Cross-Cultural Perspective
ANT 2320 / 3 credits / Spring
An introductory survey of music, theatre, and dance in Western and non-Western cultures, including the relationships between music and religion, dance and weddings, theatre and curing. The course also explores the performing arts as aesthetic phenomena in their own right. Live performances by non-Western performers and optional field trips are planned. Also offered as MSA 2320.

Added Spring 2009 (9/16/08):
New Immigrants in the United States
ANT 2330 / 3 credits / Alternate years
Drawing on anthropological studies, students examine how refugees, immigrants, guest workers, and undocumented workers have shaped U.S. society through their interaction with the U.S. government, with communities already in the U.S., with each other, and with communities and ideologies originating beyond the borders of the U.S. The focus is on the contemporary Muslim, Asian, and Latino immigrant experience.
Prerequisite: ANT 1500 or permission of instructor

Drugs, Bodies, Design
ANT 2340 / 3 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Using texts and films, students analyze how street drugs and legitimated pharmaceuticals become entangled with the economic and aesthetic practices of marginal and mainstream social worlds. Topics include rural Midwestern methamphetamine production as a cottage industry; the ways that steroids and methamphetamine refashion the HIV+ body and identity; and the designs of “performance enhancers” like Adderall that make machines out of bodies. Also offered as MSA 2340.

Anthropology of South Asia
ANT 2400 / 3 credits / Alternate years
Using ethnographic case studies, this course introduces students to a broad range of anthropological research on South Asia. Topics include colonial forms of knowledge and early descriptive accounts of the region; the caste system; constructions of transgender, feminine, and masculine identities and communities; postcolonial and diasporic identities and communities; and globalization and ethnoreligious conflict in India and Pakistan.

Urban Sociology
ANT 2500 Refer to SOC 2500 in Sociology Courses for description.

Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion
ANT 2550 / 3 credits / Fall
Magic, witchcraft, and religion from an anthropological perspective, including theories about the origins and functions of religious beliefs and practices in different cultures. Readings include theoretical writings and ethnographic studies.

Black Popular Culture
ANT 2710 / 3 credits / Spring
Examines the nature and origin of black popular culture, with a focus on such dimensions as music, film, television, political movements, and dance. The contexts in which this culture is explored include representation and the politics of production, together with an analysis of the culture as resistive.

Critical Perspectives in Black Studies
ANT 2720 / 3 credits / Alternate years
An ethnography-based course that examines black issues from the 1920s to the present from an anthropological perspective. The course features contributions of black anthropologists to the discipline across the four subfields and discusses their methodologies, including the issues on which they focused. Texts include Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston; Black Metropolis, St. Clair Drake; Deep South, Allison Davis; and Black Corona, Steven Gregory.

New Black Ethnographies
ANT 2730 / 3 credits / Alternate years (Fall)
Ethnography, the signature methodological tool of anthropology, has historically been used to objectify minority communities and groups, including members of the African diaspora. However, in our global and postcolonial world, minority subjects have increasingly redeployed the ethnographic gaze. After reviewing classic ethnographies of blacks, this course reviews recent ethnographies of black communities.
Prerequisite: ANT 1500 or permission of instructor

Global Sexualities
ANT 2755 / 3 credits / Alternate years
Explores and compares the diverse ways in which sexuality and gender are practiced, experienced, and regulated in different communities around the world. Particular attention is paid to how sexual identities and practices have influenced, and been influenced by, global political, economic, and cultural movements, including colonialism, capitalism, feminism, queer activism, and the spread of world religions. Also offered as GND 2755.

ANT 3000–3999:

Myth and Ritual
ANT 3070 / 4 credits / Alternate years (Spring)
The social anthropology of myths and rituals in both simple and complex societies. Some attention is given to the approaches of Durkheim, Lévi-Strauss, Edmund Leach, Victor Turner, and Clifford Geertz, who have made contributions within the theoretical schools of structuralism and symbolic anthropology.

Women Cross-Culturally
ANT 3140 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An examination of some of the theoretical literature about gender and the debates concerning the position of women cross-culturally in both “simple” and complex societies. Also offered as GND 3140.

Classics in Anthropological Literature
ANT 3150 / 4 credits / Spring
Theoretical concepts and their use in analyzing empirical data. Students read and critically analyze the work of some of the major thinkers in anthropology, including Benedict, Mead, Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Geertz, Turner, and Lévi-Strauss. Recommended for majors only.

Media Representations and Identity
ANT 3175 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Many ideas that people develop about others and self come from the media; think for a moment about one’s source of information on Native Americans or one’s own ethnic group. This class takes a cross-cultural look at the role of media in shaping identity. Different sources of representation, including museums, film, literature, and performance media, are examined. Also offered as MSA 3175.
Prerequisite: MSA 1530

Global Media, Local Cultures
ANT 3185 / 4 credits / Spring
Explores how media technologies and genres are produced, used, and interpreted in different cultural contexts around the world. Emphasis is placed on the effect of different media on people’s social identities and communities, including families, nations, and religions. Anthropological theories of media and performance are applied to ethnographic research projects in and around the Purchase College community. Also offered as MSA 3185.
Prerequisite: ANT 1500 or MSA 1530 or permission of instructor

Urban Anthropology
ANT 3190 / 4 credits / Fall
The experiences and problems of city dwellers in the Third World and migrants from Third World countries to Western cities, including New York. Topics include urbanization and family life, adaptation of migrants, ethnicity and class, the culture of poverty, and methods of urban anthropologists.
Prerequisite: ANT 1500 or 2055

Reinstated Spring 2009 (10/07/08):
Anthropology of the Bible
ANT 3201 / 3 credits / Alternate years
The Bible, which may be treated in several different ways (as literature, history, revelation, and spiritual guide), has rarely been considered as a guide to the cultures and peoples who wrote it. Likewise, people have rarely investigated the cultures that produced the books of the Bible as aids in their interpretation of the texts. This course uses modern methods of anthropological analysis to examine the Bible, its texts, and the diverse cultures of the ancient Near East.

Race, Ethnicity, and Migration in Italy
ANT 3250 / 4 credits / Alternate summers (offered in Italy)
An examination of three migration waves to, from, and within Italy, focusing on how each one affected cultural understandings of race, ethnicity, and Italian nationality: the migration of southern Italians to northern Italy; Italian emigration to the Americas (concurrent with Italian colonization in Africa); and the recent immigration of people from Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Media, Music, and Culture in Brazil
ANT 3260 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Brazilian culture is explored through an emphasis on the role of media in the construction and negotiation of identities. The course examines the role of music, television, and film in mediating national, Afro-Brazilian, and indigenous identities in both historical and contemporary contexts. It also explores the role of media in new social movements. Also offered as MSA 3260.

Theatre and Performance in Africa
ANT 3345 / 4 credits / Fall
Explores how African performing artists and audiences have responded to the cultural, political, and economic circumstances of the times and places in which they live. Performance media include music, song, dance, and the spoken word, with a special focus on western and southern Africa. Students draw on anthropological theories to produce, perform, and critique their own versions of African theatrical texts.
Prerequisite: ANT 1500 or MSA 1530 or permission of instructor

Culture and Values
ANT 3405 / 4 credits / Alternate years (Spring)
Examines how culture is represented and sustained. Through this examination, the meaning given to some sociocultural systems is identified, including the role of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class. Students also study how values are transformed by contestation and resistance. Also offered as GND 3405.
Prerequisite: ANT 1500

Anthropology of Art and Aesthetics
ANT 3410 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An exploration of the arts of a variety of cultures, both Western and non-Western. Topics include the relationship of art to other social institutions; the role of the artist in society; the ways that people make aesthetic judgments; and the evolutionary significance of art.

Rebels, Freaks, and Prophets: Deviance Revisited
ANT 3430 / 4 credits / Spring
An interdisciplinary course that examines the lives of people who were considered extraordinary or different. Problems of stigma and “freakishness” are linked to individual and collective rebellion. Various sociological theories of “deviance” are considered. Also offered as SOC 3430 and GND 3430.

Peoples of the Southwest
ANT 3450 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An overview of the prehistory and history of the region sets the stage for a comprehensive analysis of three distinct cultures (Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo) and their interrelationships, using annual ceremonies and rituals as a focus for analysis.

Anthropology of Europe
ANT 3490 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An examination of the contemporary cultures of Europe, with a special focus on Eastern Europe in the post-communist era. The cultures studied in depth include Croatian, Turkish, and Finnish enclaves in the Russian Federation and Britain. Emphasis is placed on the tension between nationalism and ethnic identity. Indigenous performing arts, especially as they relate to issues of ethnic and national identity, are also highlighted.
Prerequisite: ANT 1500 or permission of instructor

Performing Arts and Social Analysis
ANT 3510 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
A practicum course, comparable to MSA 3410. Students design and execute projects reflecting their own interests by combining the tools of social science inquiry with the problems of a particular performing arts field. Analysis of general topics in this area directs the formulation and completion of individual projects.

Fieldwork: Qualitative Methods
ANT 3560 / 4 credits / Fall
The methodological, political, and ethical issues of participant observation. Students read and discuss classical examples of participant-observation research. Each student conducts a participant-observation field research study and presents a preliminary version of the results to the seminar before submitting the written report.

Gender and Popular Culture in South Asia
ANT 3610 / 4 credits / Fall
Drawing on anthropology, sociology, history, and cultural studies, students examine the relationship between constructions of gender identities and popular culture in two major South Asian nations, India and Pakistan. “South Asian popular culture” is broadly and inclusively conceptualized to incorporate lived and textual cultures, the mass and new media, different ways of life, and discursive modes of representation. Also offered as GND 3610.

Anthropology of Poverty
ANT 3715 / 4 credits / Spring
Examines poverty, primarily in the U.S., with a focus on theoretical explanations for the persistence of poverty. Through close reading of ethnography, particular emphasis is placed on the strategies people use to address poverty in their lives.
Prerequisite: ANT 1500 or 3190

Sexuality in Western Culture
ANT 3750 / 4 credits / Fall
Historical and anthropological approaches to prescribed and proscribed forms of sexuality (i.e., homosexuality, pornography) from classical times to the present are examined, with special emphasis on the Anglo-American tradition. Readings consider new social theories of sexuality. Also offered as GND 3750.
Prerequisite: SOC 2020 or GND 1520

Sexuality and Society
ANT 3755 / 4 credits / Spring
Sexuality is grounded in bodily experience, but meanings of both body and experience are socially constructed. This advanced seminar examines contemporary sexual constructions and their cultural and historical roots. Also offered as GND 3755.
Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing and either GND 1015, GND 1520, SOC 2020, or ANT 3750

Culture and Society in South Africa
ANT 3760 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
An examination of social and cultural anthropological approaches to understanding the varied and diverse population of South Africa. From classic monographs to the struggle against apartheid and current debates over nonracialism, topics include: colonialism, Bantu homelands, migration, witchcraft, HIV/AIDS, gender, sexuality, urbanization, poverty, and ethnicity.

Women in Africa
ANT 3780 / 4 credits / Spring
An introduction to the lives of women in Africa. Course themes include the power and resilience of women; the benefits and challenges of “tradition”; concerns about politics, family, work, and friends; and how class, region, age, and status differentially affect women in Africa. Also offered as GND 3780.

Black Feminist Theory
ANT 3785 / 4 credits / Alternate years (Fall)
What is black feminist theory? What critique of feminist theory in general does it present? This course examines the development of black feminist thought from the 19th century through the present, including works by Maria Stewart, Angela Davis, Kim Crenshaw, and bell hooks. Particular attention is paid to understanding the transformative political agenda of black feminist theorists. Also offered as GND 3785.

Human Ecology
ANT 3801 Refer to ENV 3801 in Environmental Studies Courses for description.

The Caribbean
ANT 3830 / 4 credits / Spring
Focuses on the nations of the Commonwealth Caribbean, examining the legacy of plantation slavery and colonial rule, the social and cultural life of rural West Indians, and the problems of social change. Readings include historical, sociological, and anthropological studies, as well as novels by West Indian authors.

ANT 4000–4999:

Current Anthropological Literature
ANT 4070 / 4 credits / Fall
For senior anthropology majors and students with a substantial background in anthropology. The first half of the course focuses on recent theoretical texts in cultural anthropology. Students are expected to present short oral reports on these texts and to lead class discussion. The second half of the course features presentations by the students on their senior project research.

Pan-Africanism, Civil Rights, and Radical Black Politics
ANT 4170 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
European powers have dominated members of the African diaspora since the 16th century. However, movements have been deployed in the struggles against the unjust and unlawful oppression experienced by these members. This course takes an in-depth look at the development of three approaches used to address the sociopolitical position of the African diaspora.
Prerequisite: ANT 1400, ANT/GND 3785, or HIS 3635, and permission of instructor

Special Topic: Geographic Area
ANT 4860 / 4 credits / Special topic (offered irregularly)
Special anthropological topics by geographic area.
Fall 2008 topic: Culture and Media in Italy
Focuses on cultural forms drawn from literature, film, music, and the visual arts across two centuries of Italian history to the present. Students examine, in Italy and elsewhere, various representations and performances of gender, race and ethnicity, region, and diaspora that produce “Italians.”

Senior Project in Anthropology
ANT 4990 / 4 credits (per semester) / Every semester
Students are required to submit a senior project in order to complete the major in anthropology. Students work with individual faculty members to develop a project design that focuses on some substantive problem in anthropology. The project may be based on fieldwork or library research. Must be taken for two semesters (8 credits total).

Updated Oct. 7, 2008

For the current (or upcoming) semester schedule, search the schedule of classes at Student Services.

The Anthropology Program: Courses