PDF of the 2012-2013 Academic Catalog - Scripps College

28 Courses of Study Anthropology Scripps College Catalog
power, domination and resistance; and globalization in relation to identity, the state and political
action. Staff.
99. China in the 21st Century. This class will examine China in the 21st Century. Particular
attention will be paid to the shift from communist to nationalist discourse; labor unrest and the
declining state sector economy; land seizures and rural protest; generational differences and
tensions; sex and gender; consumer culture; the rule of law; popular ritual practice; and modernity.
E. Chao.
100. Cannibalism, Shamanism, Alterity. Students will read and discuss contemporary theories on
alterity (otherness), focusing on indigenous forms of producing otherness involving humans, nonhumans,
and non material subjects. Alterity and subjectivity in Amerindian societies are produced
through the manipulations of bodies; cannibalism and shamanism are particular forms of creating
the social body and different types of subjects. Offered fall. L. Martins
101. Theory and Method in Archaeology. This course considers theoretical approaches in
archaeology and compares their assumptions, methods, and results. Problems of interpreting
archaeological data will be discussed. Students will have practical experience with field methods of
excavation and laboratory analysis of artifacts. Enrollment is limited. S. Miller.
102. Museums and Material Culture. Material culture consists of artifacts that represent the
behaviors of humans who create, utilize, value, and discard things in culturally significant ways.
This course will investigate the cultural and individual meanings of objects from several different
groups. A major section of the course will focus on museums: how they present cultural materials
(and possibly misrepresent). In required lab section meetings throughout the semester, students will
cooperate to design and mount an exhibition of early American material culture. S. Miller.
103. Museums: Behind the Glass. The focus of this course is on the museum as a cultural
institution. In the class we will consider why our society supports museums, and why we expect
that a museum will conserve materials which are deemed of cultural value and exhibit these for the
education of the public. A significant part of each student’s experience in the course will consist of
a working internship in a nearby museum. S. Miller.
105. Field Methods in Anthropology. An investigation of various methods used in the study of
culture, e.g., participant observation, key informant interviewing, linguistic analysis. Students will
learn techniques of both collecting and analyzing sociocultural data and will carry out a range of
research projects during the course of the semester. Prerequisite: Anthropology 2. Offered annually.
C. Strauss; L. Martins.
108. Kinship, Family, Sexuality. How do cultures organize human reproduction and integrate
it into social life? Because of the universality of biological reproduction, anthropology has used
kinship to compare greatly diverse cultures and societies. Tracing the history of anthropology’s
concern with kinship, the course examines marriage patterns, descent, and family structure in
Western and non-Western societies. It also considers emerging forms of kinship involving new
reproductive technologies and lesbian and gay kinship ties in a global perspective. L. Deeb; D.
Segal.
110. Nature and Society in Amazonia. The course investigates the relations between humans and
the environment, focusing on the interplay of social and natural Amazonian worlds in material,
political, cultural and economic terms. The course has ethnographic and historical components: we
will study different Amazonian groups and the ways their lives connect to the forest and its beings.
We will consider the history of the human presence and the colonization of the Amazon to tease out
the different roles that the region has played in the political-economy and the imaginary of Western
societies. L. Martins.
111. Historical Archaeology. This course examines the goals and methods of historical
archaeology, as well as the archaeology of specific sites. Its focus is North America and the
interactions of European immigrants with Native Americans and peoples of African and Asian
ancestry. Archaeological data are used to challenge accepted interpretations (based on written
documents) of such sites as Monticello and the Little Bighorn Battlefield. We will look at early
Jamestown’s relationship with the Powhatan Indians, the lives of Thomas Jefferson’s slaves, and
other examples as seen through the archaeological evidence. S. Miller.