2012-2013 - Sweet Briar College

ANTH
317
CR 3.0
Ecological
Anthropology
Prerequisite: ANTH 112, one anthropology course at the 200-level, or
ENVR 101. Ecological approaches in anthropology are introduced in
this course through topics such as human population growth,
biodiversity, sustainability, and climate change, especially in
international contexts. A comparative study of global versus regional
environmental concerns in both Western and non-Western contexts will
be covered through readings and discussions. Offered alternate years.
V.5
ANTH
325
CR 3.0
Special Topics in
Anthropology
Prerequisites: Two ANTH courses, at least one of which is at the 200-
level or above. An intensive study of a selected topic in anthropology,
to be determined by the students and the instructor.
ANTH
328
CR 3.0
Ritual and
Worldview
Prerequisites: Two ANTH courses, at least one of which is at the 200-
level or above. A study of how ritual and religious symbolism define
cultural categories and individual experiences. The course will focus on
initiation and death ritual, taboo, witchcraft and other idioms of
affliction, and some of the theories anthropologists have used to
interpret religious behavior and ideas. V.4, V.5
ANTH
334
CR 3.0
Gifts and
Commodities: The
Construction of
Value in Social Life
Prerequisites: Two ANTH courses, at least one of which is at the 200-
level or above. How do objects, such as gifts, money, commodities, art
and aesthetic products, become “valued” How do exchanges of valued
objects shape relationships among people The place of value and
exchange in everyday life is examined through classic statements (for
example by Marx, Mauss, and Simmel), and also in selected
ethnographies. Offered alternate years. III.O
ANTH
361
CR 1.0
Special Study
Prerequisites: Three ANTH courses, at least one of which is at the 200-
level or above, and permission of the instructor. The study of an
intermediate level topic by an individual student or by a small group of
students under the immediate supervision of a faculty member. This