Anthropology (ANTH)

General introduction to the field of archeology. Emphasis on methods of data collection, analysis and a world review of major events in the development of past human civilizations.

Major aspects of culture (social organization, economics, religion, etc.); cultural patterns and sociocultural change; prehistory of humans and the development of their culture.

An introduction to the origins and evolution of humans as reconstructed from the fossil record and from patterns of anatomical, behavioral and genetic similarity among living primates.

Development of Native American cultures (Maya, Inca, Aztec and related cultural traditions) of U.S., Mexico, Central and South America before Spanish, English and French conquest. Optional field trip when possible. Prerequisite: 3 semester hours of Anthropology/Southwest Borderlands Studies or 6 semester hours of social science.

Major approaches in the field of cultural anthropology and the major influences on the discipline; introduction to research methodology used in both primitive and modern societies. Prerequisite: 3 semester hours of ANTH or 6 semester hours of social science.

Methods of data collection, analysis and theory in anthropological archaeology. Case studies of cultural development in selected ancient and historic societies. Prerequisite: 6 semester hours of social science.

Development of social theory as represented by Comte, Spencer, Durkheim and Weber, to contemporary schools of thought, including functionalism, conflict, symbolic interactionism, structuralism and world systems theory. Prerequisite: ANTH 2302 or SOCI 1301 and 6 semester hours of advanced Anthropology or Sociology. (Credit may not be obtained in both ANTH 4301 and SOCI 4383.)

An examination of the folk medical system of Mexican Americans from an anthropological perspective. Includes an exploration of household remedies (including herbal remedies), folk illness syndromes, various folk healers (including parteras, or midwives, and sobadores, or massagers), curanderismo (folk healing) and brujeria (witchcraft) in present-day Mexican American culture in South Texas and the Southwest. Prerequisite: 3 semester hours of Anthropology/Southwest Borderlands Studies or 6 semester hours of social science.

Introduction to the social and cultural aspects of language and provides framework and methodology for studying and analyzing the many elements which make up verbal and non-verbal communication in various speech communities in the United States. Prerequisite: 3 semester hours of Anthropology/Southwest Borderlands Studies or 6 semester hours of social science.

Origin and development of contemporary cultural forms in Latin America. Industrialization, socioeconomic and demographic change are examined from several theoretical perspectives. Prerequisite: 3 semester hours of Anthropology/Southwest Borderlands Studies or 6 semester hours of social science.

Issues of multicultural groups with salient ethnic characteristics; analysis of the concept of ethnic identity and belonging, and examination of the dynamics of group cohesion within political, economic, social, and immigration contexts. Prerequisites: junior standing or approval of the instructor. (Credit may not be given for both ANTH 4348 and SOCI 4348.)

Literature and research in anthropological areas not otherwise treated in depth in available courses. May be repeated once for credit when topics differ. Prerequisite: ANTH 2302 or SOCI 1301 and 6 semester hours of social science.

Critical analysis of the concept of race, analysis of subordinate peoples in the United States and around the world. Emphasis on dynamics of problems of subordinate groups. Prerequisite: 6 semester hours of Anthropology or Sociology. (Credit may not be given for both ANTH 4362 and SOCI 4362.)

Introduction to the study of the scientific method as applied to social research, including the logic of science, covering the nature of data, hypotheses, concepts and objectivity. Prerequisites: ANTH 2302 or SOCI 1301 and 3 semester hours of advanced Anthropology or Sociology. (Credit may be obtained in only one of ANTH 4382, CRIM 4382 or SOCI 4382.)