Course Descriptions - Undergraduate Calendar 2012-2013

University of Waterloo Home Page | Undergraduate Calendar | Course Description Index | Contact Us | Privacy
University of Waterloo
A N T H R O P O L O G Y 

ANTH 100s


ANTH 101 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003389
Human and Cultural Evolution
This course surveys the evolution of the human species and outlines our cultural development from the earliest tool use through the beginnings of civilization. Lecture topics include evolutionary theory, human and primate fossil remains, and archaeological evidence concerning the origins and development of culture.
Also offered Online

ANTH 102 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003391
Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology
The dynamic nature of cultural systems is examined. Topics include language, technology, social organization, economics, politics, and religion. Data are drawn from a broad global and historical ethnographic base.
Also offered Online

ANTH 200s


ANTH 201 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003396
Principles of Archaeology
An introduction to the working assumptions, analytic approaches, and integrative and descriptive methods of archaeological anthropology.
Antireq: CLAS 205 taken before Fall 2009
(Cross-listed with CLAS 221)

ANTH 202 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003399
Principles of Cultural Anthropology
This course explores ways in which anthropologists have adapted and innovated ethnographic approaches, methods, and questions to explore the challenges of colonialism, development, disease, genocide, displacement, nationalism, and militarism.
Prereq: ANTH 102

ANTH 233 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003422
Inuit and Eskimo Cultures
An examination of Inuit and Eskimo cultures of Alaska, Canada and Greenland from their prehistoric origins to the present. Administrative systems imposed upon the Inuit and Eskimo will be analysed and compared, as will the contemporary problems these communities face.
Prereq: Level at least 2A

ANTH 260 LAB,LEC 0.50Course ID: 003426
Human Evolution
Data, methods and theory in the study of the origin and evolution of humans are surveyed. Topics will include genetic theory, primate evolution, human fossils and modern human adaptation.
Prereq: ANTH 101

ANTH 261 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003427
Primate Behaviour
An introduction to the behaviour of non-human primates and its relevance to human evolution. Topics will include social organization, ecology, conservation, and communication, as well as the history of primate studies.

ANTH 290 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003432
Visual Anthropology
Ethnographic and documentary photographs and films as well as indigenous media are examined from the standpoint of contemporary anthropological thought. Topics include the role of advocacy and activism, the place of the imagination and performance, the role of museums and representation, and global media and transnationalism.

ANTH 300s


ANTH 300 LEC,PRJ 0.50Course ID: 003433
Design of Anthropological Inquiry and Practice
This course systematically examines research design and methodology in anthropology.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: ANTH 202

ANTH 302 LEC,TUT 0.50Course ID: 013559
Anthropology of Violence: Political Conflict and Change
In this course, we explore anthropological perspectives on political violence and conflict. Emphasis will be placed on developing an anthropological understanding of structural, direct, and symbolic violence, memorialisation and recovery, and the conduct of fieldwork in violent contexts.
Prereq: ANTH 202

ANTH 303 LEC 0.50Course ID: 013560
Anthropology of Digital Media
The course views digital media and culture through the various lenses of anthropology. It incorporates themes on globalization, transnationalism, diaspora, gender and expressions of modernity as studied by anthropologists working with digital media around the globe and examines research in both Western and non-Western societies and the substantive contributions made by a distinctively anthropological approach.
Prereq: ANTH 102.
Antireq: ANTH 400 section 001 taken Winter 2010

ANTH 305 LAB,LEC 0.50Course ID: 014127
Paleopathology of Health and Disease
This course introduces students to the identification and interpretation of skeletal evidence for disease, the literary evidence for ancient medicine, and current clinical literature on disease. The laboratory component includes pathology in archaeological remains and the process of developing a differential diagnosis of skeletal lesions.
Prereq: ANTH 260

ANTH 320 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003445
Studies in Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology
Detailed consideration of prehistoric cultural developments from earliest toolmaking to the transition to agriculture. An examination of the human mode of adaptation and the increasing complexity of cultural systems among prehistoric hunters and gatherers. Areas and periods of emphasis will vary from year to year.
Prereq: ANTH 201/CLAS 221 or CLAS 205 taken prior to Fall 2009

ANTH 321 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003446
Archaeology of Complex Cultures
Cultural development from the agricultural revolution to the rise of literacy. Special attention to the development of agriculture as a means of subsistence and to the rise of early civilization. Areas and periods of emphasis will vary from year to year.
Prereq: ANTH 201/CLAS 221 or CLAS 205 taken prior to Fall 2009
(Cross-listed with CLAS 321)

ANTH 322 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003448
The Archaeology of the Great Lakes Area
An in-depth study of the archaeological evidence for prehistoric cultures in the Great Lakes area from their arrival ca. 11,000 years ago to the coming of Europeans. Cultural ecology and cultural evolution will be stressed.
Prereq: ANTH 201/CLAS 221 or CLAS 205 taken prior to Fall 2009

ANTH 330 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003452
Cultural Ecology
An examination of the relationships among environment, technology, society, and culture. The increasing levels of complexity will be considered in the context of hunting and foraging bands, horticultural tribes and chiefdoms, pastoral tribes and agricultural peasantry.
Prereq: ANTH 101 or 102

ANTH 345 LEC,PRA,PRJ 0.50Course ID: 003460
Directed Research in Anthropology
Directed independent research on or off campus.
Instructor Consent Required

ANTH 347 LEC 0.50Course ID: 011871
Medical Anthropology
This course is designed to teach students the fundamentals of anthropological approaches to illness, health, medicine, and bioethics. It will cover the history and major movements, debates, and topics within the field. It will also include cross-cultural examinations of healing systems and contemporary problems such as those raised by new biomedical technologies and within global health.
Prereq: ANTH 202

ANTH 348 LEC 0.50Course ID: 013324
Anthropology of Tourism
This course examines the nature of tourism as cross-cultural contact and critiques the phenomena of mass travel and globalized tourism. The various perspectives of anthropologists and tourists in understanding culture will be explored.
Prereq: ANTH 102

ANTH 351 SEM 0.50Course ID: 003462
Indigenous Practices & Relations: A Comparative Approach
An examination of the legal, social, and cultural position of indigenous communities within the nation-state. The course will compare Canada's relationships to those in the United States, New Zealand and/or Australia, and South America.
Prereq: One of ANTH 102, 230, 370

ANTH 352 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003463
Anthropological Thought
An examination of the development of anthropological theory. The primary emphasis will be on modern and post-modern perspectives.
Prereq: ANTH 202

ANTH 355 LAB,SEM 0.50Course ID: 009886
Human Osteology
This laboratory course emphasizes the recovery and identification of human skeletal material at archaeological sites and in forensic contexts.
Prereq: ANTH 260

ANTH 361 LEC 0.50Course ID: 014128
Biocultural Examination of Primate Conservation
This course examines the science of conservation biology, with a focus on the Order Primates and discusses the primary threats to primates in the wild, such as habitat alteration and hunting. It also examines and evaluates competing conservation strategies, in light of their ramifications for both the human and nonhuman residents.
Prereq: ANTH 202, 261

ANTH 365 LAB,LEC 0.50Course ID: 003466
Fossil Hominids
A detailed examination of the fossil evidence for human evolution with particular emphasis on interpretation and reconstruction.
Prereq: ANTH 260

ANTH 370 LEC 0.50Course ID: 003945
Issues in Contemporary Native Communities in Canada
Selected aspects of the contemporary native experience as defined by the local native community. The topics examined will be placed in historical perspective. Specially selected course lecturers will be representative of the wider native community.
(Cross-listed with NATST 370)
Also offered Online

ANTH 371 FLD 0.50Course ID: 012624
Anthropological Field Experience
This course features a combination of academic content and field experience.
[Note: Additional fees required.]
Department Consent Required
Prereq: ANTH 101 or 102

ANTH 390A RDG 0.50Course ID: 003471
Reading in Anthropology
Guided reading in a selected portion of the anthropological literature.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Anthropology students only

ANTH 390B RDG 0.50Course ID: 003472
Reading in Anthropology
Guided reading in a selected portion of the anthropological literature.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Anthropology students only

ANTH 391 RDG 0.50Course ID: 003473
Reading in Anthropology
Guided reading in a selected portion of the anthropological literature.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Anthropology students only

ANTH 393 RDG 0.50Course ID: 003474
Reading in Anthropology
Guided reading in a selected portion of the anthropological literature.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Anthropology students only

ANTH 395 FLD,LEC 0.50Course ID: 012749
Topics in Anthropological Field Experience
This course features a combination of academic study and first-hand field study of cultures and visits to or work experience at museums and archaeological sites.
[Note: Field trip fee may be required.]
Instructor Consent Required
Prereq: ANTH 101 and 102

ANTH 400s


ANTH 400 SEM 0.50Course ID: 003475
Special Topics in Anthropology
Seminar on current topics in Anthropology. Focus will vary from year to year.
Instructor Consent Required

ANTH 402 SEM 0.50Course ID: 013561
Palestine/Israel: Anthropological Perspectives
In this seminar, we explore contemporary ethnographies of Israel and Palestine. Emphasis will be placed on developing an anthropological understanding of historical and commemorative narratives, diaspora and exile communities, gender, political organization and the law, migrant labour, peace and human rights activism, and war.
Prereq: ANTH 202

ANTH 403 SEM 0.50Course ID: 013991
Anthropoligical Inquiry into the Origin of Language and Cultural Behaviour
This seminar course will explore the origins of language and cultural behaviour from a biological anthropology perspective, addressing the question of how the ability to produce a complex symbolic system evolved in humans. The course will integrate multiple fields of anthropological inquiry, including human and primate evolution, primate behaviour and cognition, and anthropological linguistics.
Prereq: ANTH 202, 260

ANTH 440 LAB,SEM 0.50Course ID: 009885
Archaeological Analysis and Interpretation
A study of contemporary archaeological method and theory, with emphasis on the process of deriving inferences concerning past peoples and societies from different kinds of archaeological materials and data. Students will be required to carry out an analysis of an actual archaeological assemblage. Specific topics will vary from year to year.
Prereq: ANTH 201/CLAS 221 or CLAS 205 taken prior to Fall 2009

ANTH 455 LAB,LEC 0.50Course ID: 011982
Skeletal Biology and Forensics
This laboratory course will focus on the evaluation of human skeletal remains in archaeological and forensic contexts. Topics will include determination of basic biological categories, e.g. age, sex, race, evaluation of paleopathological conditions, and aspects of forensic anthropology.
Prereq: ANTH 101, 102, 355

ANTH 460 SEM 0.50Course ID: 003482
Human Adaptation and Variation
An examination of the principles of variation in human evolution past and present. Topics will include adaptation of modern populations to altitude, temperature, and disease.
Prereq: ANTH 260

ANTH 470 FLD,LAB,PRA 0.50Course ID: 009887
Archaeological Field Methods
Data gathering techniques will be studied and applied in field work on archaeological sites. Enrolment is limited.
[Note: Additional fees required.]
Instructor Consent Required

ANTH 492A RDG 0.50Course ID: 003485
Reading in Anthropology
Guided reading in a selected portion of the anthropological literature.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Anthropology students only

ANTH 492B RDG 0.50Course ID: 003486
Reading in Anthropology
Guided reading in a selected portion of the anthropological literature.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Anthropology students only

ANTH 495 RDG 0.50Course ID: 003487
Reading in Anthropology
Guided reading in a selected portion of the anthropological literature.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Anthropology students only

ANTH 497 RDG 0.50Course ID: 003488
Reading in Anthropology
Guided reading in a selected portion of the anthropological literature.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: Anthropology students only

ANTH 499A PRJ 0.50Course ID: 003489
Honours Essay
Directed reading and research in a selected area of anthropology inquiry.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: At least eight ANTH courses

ANTH 499B PRJ 0.50Course ID: 003490
Honours Essay
Directed reading and research in a selected area of anthropology inquiry.
Department Consent Required
Prereq: At least eight ANTH courses