Fall 2012 Undergraduate Course Descriptions
Please note that this represents the most accurate listing possible of the course offerings for this semester. It may not match what the HUB currently says. If you have any questions, please contact Sara Eddleman at eddleman@buffalo.edu or (716) 645-3960 for clarification.
APY 105LEC
Introduction to Anthropology
Instructor TBA
Reg. #124115
Tuesday/Thursday 2:00 – 3:20 pm
Fillmore 170
An introduction to the study of human cultural and physical variation across time and space. This course covers the various subfields of anthropology (socio-cultural, biological, archaeological, linguistic, applied). Topics to be addressed include: the evolutionary development of humanity, the origins of agriculture and complexity, cross-cultural perspectives of economics, sex, family, language, and race, and the ethical application of anthropological knowledge to address contemporary social challenges. Students will learn to appreciate both the unity and diversity of the human species, as well as examine the role of the human sciences in a rapidly globalizing world.
APY 106LEC
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Dr. Frederick Klaits
Reg. #18505
Tuesday/Thursday 11:00 am – 12:20 pm
Fillmore 170
Surveys key anthropological concepts and methods in the study of contemporary human societies, using a cross-cultural perspective. Topics include language, religion, education, family and kinship, political and economic systems, globalization, and forms of ritual and symbolic expression. Through readings, film, lectures, and discussion, we explore social practices and beliefs ranging from small villages to cities and nation-states.
APY 107LEC
Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Instructor TBA
Reg. #11424
Tuesday/Thursday 12:30 – 1:50 pm
Fillmore 355
For centuries preceding modern times, our uniqueness as a species was taken as a sign of special creation; we were not seen to be a part of nature. But as knowledge of human evolution, of our closeness to other primates, and of our adaptations to specific environments emerged, we have taken our place in the animal kingdom. Here we will learn how those insights developed, and about current methods of understanding human origins and the natural forces which have shaped us.
APY 108LEC
Introduction to Archaeology
Dr. Ezra Zubrow
Reg. #14154
Tuesday/Thursday 3:30 – 4:50 pm
Fillmore 170
This course is designed to provide the student with a general introduction to the field of archaeology, including the methods and techniques that archaeologists use to identify and investigate archaeological sites. The course will focus on some of the key issues in archaeology, from human evolution and origins of agriculture, to the beginning of the modern age, including examples from the Old World and the New World. Students will learn how archaeologists use material culture to construct interpretations of human behavior in the past.
APY 168LEC
Myth and Religion in the Ancient World (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Roger Woodard
Reg. #21069
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 1:00 – 1:50 pm
Norton 112
In this course, we will investigate mythic and religious traditions of ancient Greece and Rome. Our study of myth and religion will, however, be comparative in emphasis. We will thus have a twofold goal: (1) to encounter the Greco-Roman traditions themselves and (2) through our comparative investigations, to attempt to identify the mythic and religious traditions which the Greeks and especially the more conservative Romans inherited from their Indo-European ancestors. About mid-semester, will begin to turn our full gaze upon comparative materials, but even as we are engaged in discovering the mythic and religious traditions of the ancient Indic, Iranian Celtic, Germanic and Hittite cultures, we will continue to encounter new materials and motifs from Greece and Rome.
(APY 168 is cross-listed with CL 113 and RSP 113. If you register through either of these departments, complete an APY departmental petition form and submit it to the APY Undergraduate Office to insure APY major credit.)
APY 203LEC
Anthropology and Film (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. David Banks
Reg. #22119
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 10:00 – 10:50 am
Fillmore 355
APY 246LEC
Intro to Primate Behavior (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Carol Berman
Reg. #23857
Tuesday/Thursday 11:00 am – 12:20 am
Fillmore 354
Behavior and social organization of nonhuman primates; current theories, evolutionary processes, and research methods both in the field and in the laboratory. This course discusses the life cycles of various primate species, the biological and social problems they face (e.g., finding a place to live, finding food, finding protection from predators, growing up within a complex social group, finding mates, and rearing young who can survive and reproduce), and the solutions to these problems. There will be an emphasis on the ways observations of primates can be used to construct general principles about the evolution of behavior. Issues of particular interest to human social evolution will be discussed, for example, language studies with apes, cooperative hunting and tool-making. Field research will be emphasized, although laboratory studies will also be discussed where they lead to a greater understanding of the data from the field.
APY 250LEC
Special Topics: Islam and Gender (counts as an area studies course)
Dr. Tilman Lanz
Reg. #24049
Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 1:00 – 1:50 pm
Fillmore 170
APY 261LEC
Anthropology of the Middle East (counts as an area studies course)
Dr. Tilman Lanz
Reg. #24050
Monday/Wednesday/Friday, 3:00 – 3:50 pm
TBA
APY 304LEC
Food and Culture (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Donald Pollock
Reg. #23858
Tuesday/Thursday, 9:30 – 10:50 am
Fillmore 322
APY 312LEC
Culture and Reproduction (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Ann McElroy
Reg. #23859
Tuesday/Thursday 3:30 – 4:50 pm
Fillmore 355
This course looks at human sexuality, fertility, birthing, and parenting from biocultural and evolutionary perspectives. We focus on the evolution of biological patterns of reproduction as well as non-reproductive, symbolic dimensions of sexual identities and relationships and gender roles. The course also covers cultural variations in human reproductive stages (life history patterns): recognition and celebration of puberty; beliefs and practices related to sexuality and fertility; the experience and management of pregnancy; infant care and parenthood; menopause and aging; and grandparent roles.
Various anthropological perspectives will be used to understand national, cultural, and historical variations in the handling of labor and birth, ranging from home deliveries with traditional birth attendants to high-technology hospital births attended by an array of obstetric and neonatal specialists. We also consider controversies related to environmental factors in reproductive health, including possible impacts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on human fertility.
There will be two in-class exams (short answers and an essay); one take-home essay exam; and individual projects and project presentations to the class at semester's end.
APY 348LEC
Forensic Anthropology - Osteology (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Joyce Sirianni
Reg. #13354
Monday 4:00 – 6:40 pm
Fillmore 170
Lecture, demonstration, and laboratory work. Fundamentals of human skeletal anatomy will be covered. Procedures and applications in contemporary and historical human biology and in archaeology will be considered, with stress placed upon both technical approach and theoretical application. Forensic applications will be considered.
APY 377LEC
Magic, Witchcraft, and Sorcery (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Phillips Stevens
Reg. #34510
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 11:00-11:50 am
Fillmore 355
This course deals with variations of beliefs that are universal in human culture, found in all
societies and at every level of society, and at all stages of recorded human history. Understanding them yields important insights into human behavior.
APY 411SEM (Honors College only)
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Dr. Ezra Zubrow
Reg. #23862
Monday 7:00 – 9:40 pm
Capen 108
This course studies the four horsemen in all of their guises. It examines their importance historically and presently. They have been and are religious icons, symbols of the major processes of warfare, disease, famine and death, as well as cultural, literary and artistic symbols throughout the generations. The course is a seminar in which the students trace one of the horsemen through both time and space in the intellectual area of their choice.
APY 421SEM (dual-listed with APY 609)
Men and Women in Prehistory (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Tina Thurston
Reg. #23863
Monday 9:30 am – 12:10 pm
Fillmore 354
The goal of this course is to understand the problems and potential of gender in archaeological research and explore and critically evaluate recent efforts to incorporate questions about sexual division of labor, social constructions of male, female and other genders, and various theoretical perspectives on gender and how they are integrated into archaeological concepts. We will deal simultaneously with two kinds of topics: 1) what we know and what we don't know, what we can and what we can't learn about women and men and the ideas of male and female in prehistory, and 2) how archaeologists develop and use their array of methods and theories to learn about the past, and how modern politics and social trends influence this process. Course readings will include archaeological and ethnographic case studies from the Old and New Worlds, plus some recent research in biological anthropology and what it tells us about our "gender heritage" from our pre-modern and early modern ancestors. We will specifically devote a portion of our time to historic cultures, since the presence of historical documents for the recent past, combined with our subconscious assumptions about gender, often influences us in ways that might prejudice our work. Class discussion will focus on the problems and potential of explicitly (rather than implicitly) considering gender in an analysis of prehistoric and historic societies, and students will be encouraged to address these issues in their own areas of interest.
APY 434LEC (dual-listed with APY 567)
Advanced Areal Archaeology of Mesoamerica (counts as an area studies course)
Dr. Warren Barbour
Reg. #23970
Thursday 3:30 – 6:10 pm
Fillmore 354
This course traces the emergence of Mesoamerican civilization in four major regions: The Valley of Oaxaca, the Mava Lowlands, and West Mexico, devoting time to archaeological, ethnohistoric, and linguistic sources. Issues addressed include the origins of agriculture, the advent of sedentism, trade and exchange, conquest and colonization, ethno genesis, linguistic change, and collapse. The course is in seminar format, and a paper is required
APY 443SEM (dual-listed with APY 594)
Paleopathology (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Joyce Sirianni
Reg. #23865
Tuesday 3:30 – 6:10 pm
Spaulding 158
This seminar will address the topic of Human Paleopathology, i.e. the study of disease in ancient populations. After a brief introduction to the history of paleopathology, and to what constitutes pathology vs. Pseudopathology, students will, learn the distinctive features of various infectious diseases which effect bone, skeletal trauma, effect bone, and dental disease. Student presentations and discussion will be the format of the seminar.
APY 447LEC (cross-listed with ENG 447)
Mythology of the Americas (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Dennis Tedlock
Reg. # 22786
Tuesday/Thursday 9:30 – 10:50 am
Clemens 219
Myths not only create imaginal worlds that offer alternatives to the life world, but also offer keys to the interpretation of the life world itself, revealing a mythic level of significance in everyday events. Myths also give shape and meaning to dreams and visions, and dreams and visions give rise to further myths. We will try to catch those moments when the mythic world comes in contact with the world of experience.
We will undertake a close reading of selected myths from the Americas, attempting to enter imaginal worlds and to look back at the life world from a distance. We will consider myths that come down to us from storytellers, speechmakers, singers, and dramatists. In addition to readings, lectures, videos, and discussions, there will be guest appearances by Native American storytellers.
APY 448SEM
Human Genetics and Legal Ethics (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Chris Duggleby
Reg. #17975
Wednesday 14:00-16:40
Spaulding 158
Recent advances in genetic technology have presented the scientific and lay community with
ethical and legal problems, yet to be resolved. The objective of this course is to provide an
opportunity for informed discussions of such issues relating to contemporary human/medical
issues.
APY 449SEM
Maya Civilization (counts as an area studies course)
Dr. Barbara Tedlock
Reg. #14774
Tuesday/Thursday 9:30 – 10:50
Fillmore 354
This course provides a brief exploration of Maya civilization from its earliest beginnings to the
current situation. We will begin with the pre-Classic, move through classic splendor, post-
Classic turbulence, the European invasion, and into the current period of ethnic resurgence.
There are few parts of the world today where there is such a good match between language and
culture so that a line drawn around the area in which Mayan-speaking peoples currently live
would contain all the archaeological remains assigned to ancient Maya civilization. This seminar
will prepare participants to understand and appreciate the process of cultural historical change
by focusing on the techniques of archival, hieroglyphic, and ethnographic field research among
the lowland and the highland Maya.
APY 477SEM
Topics in Medical Anthropology (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. Donald Pollock
Reg. #23866
Tuesday/Thursday 13:30 – 3:10 pm
Fillmore 351
APY 488LEC (dual-listed with APY 512)
Kinship and Social Structure (counts as a problem-oriented/theoretical course)
Dr. David Banks
Reg. #18993
Monday/Wednesday/Friday 12:00 – 12:50 pm
Fillmore 351
A central goal of the course is to enable students to view kinship in this society. We will look at
some of the famous contributions to kinship studies of the past and relate these to recent
developments. Classes will be divided about equally between lectures and discussions and
presentations. We will also discuss problems of the kinship of marriage and of kinship related
friendship. Graduates will be asked to write a discussion of one society using two different
approaches, that is, from two points of view. They will also have an opportunity to lead the discussion of a related group in class.
APY 494SEM
Senior Seminar
Dr. Phillips Stevens
Reg. #22739
Monday/Wednesday 1:00 – 2:20 pm
Fillmore 351
This courses takes as its theme, "Anthropological Approaches to Contemporary Social
Issues." It is intended as a "capstone course," covering main theoretical and methodological
tenets of cultural anthropology, including principles of anthropological research and "applied"
anthropology, while looking at ways anthropology might help resolve the important social issues
on people's minds today. It satisfies the practicum requirement for the major, and it is
recommended for students thinking about graduate programs.
APY 495SEM
Supervised Teaching (requires permission of instructor)
Dr. Joyce Sirianni
Reg. #18670
Saturday 12:00 – 2:00 pm
Spaulding 158
APY 496TUT
INTERNSHIP
(Variable credit)
Required prior to registration: permission of Faculty Advisor and submission of completed Record of Internship Data form. Visit the Undergraduate Office (380 Fillmore) for guidance, form, and registration number.
APY 499TUT
INDEPENDENT STUDY
(Variable credit)
Required prior to registration: permission of Faculty Advisor and submission of completed Independent Study form. Visit the Undergraduate Office (380 Fillmore) for guidance, form, and registration number.