Spring 2004 Courses

Cultural Anthropology, Archaeology, Physical Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology

ANTH 70000- Current Topics in Anthropology
GC: F 4:15-6:15 p.m., Rm. C198, 0 credits [62094]
Prof. Jane Schneider

ANTH 70200- Core Course in Cultural Anthropology: Contemporary Issues and Debates II
GC: W 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rm. 6494, 3 credits [62095]
Profs. Leith Mullings and Jeff Maskovsky
NOTE: Permission of the instructors is required.

This course, like 70100 in the fall, is designed to introduce students to the current issues, debates, and controversies in cultural anthropology. This semester we consider anthropological perspectives on such sites of inequality and difference as class, race, gender, and sexuality. Next we reflect on the ways in which contemporary anthropological topics have been reworked in the context of contemporary conditions. What has happened to kinship? What is the status of ethnographic writing? What are the new approaches to understanding development? Finally, we examine applied, advocacy, and collaborative anthropology, exploring the intersection between the research process and social problems.

ANTH 70400- Contemporary Anthropological Theory
GC: T 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rm. 6300, 3 credits [62096]
Prof. Talal Asad

There is no permanent way of defining anthropolgy or "the core" of anthropology. What we have is a complex set of interconnected disciplines. Tracing the geneaology of anthropology would mean describing the coming together, and separation, of a number of problems, methods, and perspectives. It is not only the "four fields" that are contingently related (through a Boasian vision of anthropology as an evolution subject). Cultural anthropology itself represents contingent fields of study and intervention. That is why cultural anthropologists often talk past each other —and why it's easier for many of them to discuss intellectual issues with students in other disciplines than with "fellow anthropologists." This is not a new situation. Anthropology has been repeatedly shaped and reshaped as an academic discipline (perhaps more so than others because of its ambitious scope) by its contacts with other fields of study. That's part of the reason for the instability and challenge anthropology contains today. The most innovative work in anthropology has been done when its temporary boundaries are overstepped, when ideas and methods are borrowed from other disciplines and also argued with. Old Testament Studies (Robertson Smith), Classics (Frazer), Durkheimian sociology (Radcliffe Brown), Saussurian linguistics (Levi-Strauss), Marxism, feminism, literary criticsm, bio-sciences, etc.

This course will concentrate on detailed readings of texts by anthropologists as well as by non-anthropologists. These will include such writers as Levi-Strauss, Leach, Douglas and Bourdieu; Wolf, Geertz and Sahlins; Foucault, Koselleck, and MacIntyre; Rose and Nussbaum. Close, critical familiarity with these writings will be encouraged with a view to discussing some concepts that are used in anthropology today —structure, symbolic interpretation, class, world system, the self, history, and others. This is an intensive course, and those who register will be expected to have some prior familiarity with the history of anthropology.

ANTH 71100- Reading Gramsci
GC: T 11:45 a.m. - 1:45 p.m., Rm. 6494, 3 credits [62097]
Prof. Kate Crehan

Antonio Gramsci is one of the major theorists of power. This course will focus on a careful and close reading of Gramsci's own texts, primarily those from the prison notebooks, examining the relevance of these for contemporary anthropologists. It will also locate Gramsci in his historical context. In the final part of the course we will look at some studies that in various ways have engaged with Gramsci.

ANTH 71900- Marxian Political Economy
GC: TH 6:30-8:30 p.m., Rm. 6495, 3 credits [62098]
Prof. David Harvey
NOTE: Permission of the instructor is required.

The course will begin with a general overview of Marx's political economy, relying heavily upon the account given in Harvey, The Limits to Capital. This will be followed by selective readings from Volumes 2 and 3 of Capital together with materials from The Grundrisse and Theories of Surplus Value. A working knowledge of Volume 1 of Capital and some background in Marxian theory is presumed.

ANTH 72500- Anthropology for the Public
GC: TH 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rm. 6494, 3 credits [62099]
Prof. Leith Mullings

Anthropology has a great deal to contribute to formulating critical questions and proposing solutions to the central issues of our time. This seminar explores the role of anthropological knowledge in shaping public debate and social policy through research, practice, and advocacy. After interrogating the domains of theoretical, applied, and advocacy anthropology we will consider successful examples of the use of anthropology in reframing and influencing public discussion, policy, and advocacy. Based on the interests of the seminar participants, these may range from global processes such as structural adjustment, war and militarization, and the environment to more local issues such as urban displacement, the prison-industrial complex, education, public health, and social welfare policies. The seminar will also consider writing styles and other communication techniques appropriate for reaching non-academic audiences; uses of media and other forms of information dissemination; and community collaboration in research.

ANTH 73400- Ethnology and Ethnography of Western Europe
GC: W 4:15-6:15 p.m., Rm. 6300, 3 credits [62100]
Prof. Jane Schneider

Focusing on Western Europe and the Western European Mediterranean, this course will pursue three sets of concerns. The first is the emergence within Europe of powerful world-shaping institutions, ideas, and projects — in particular, nation states, colonialism, industrial capitalism, modernity, and Christianity. Emphasis will be placed on intellectual debates surrounding the "why" of these developments, with attention to the role of feudalism, agrarian history, the separation of church and state, and intra-European rivalries. The second set of concerns has to do with Europe's internal "others." Here we will explore the historical presence of Jewish, Muslim, Roma, and other minorities, and issues surrounding marginalized groups in the present — new immigrants, new genders, and teens. Processes of exclusion and inclusion, sexism, racism, and multiculturalism will be covered. As a final set of concerns, the course will take up the European Union — its development vis-à-vis Europe's eastern and southern borders, its post-'89 relationship to the United States, and its significance for long-term struggles in some of the member states' troubled regions, e.g. Northern Ireland, Southern Italy, and Basque Spain.

ANTH 73800- Globalization of Caribbean Thought
GC: F 11:45 a.m. - 1:45 p.m., Rm. 6493, 3 credits [62101]
Prof. Kevin Birth

In Shakespeare's The Tempest, the enslaved Caliban (a synonym for "cannibal" and "Caribbean") says to his master, Prospero, "You taught me language, and my profit on 't is I know how to curse." The Caribbean continues to curse colonialism and neocolonialism, and Caliban's poetic power and critical tone continue to serve as a leitmotiv in thinking about colonialism and its consequences. In this literature Caribbean thinkers —among them Frantz Fanon, C.L.R. James, Marcus Garvey, W. Arthur Lewis, José Martí, Walter Rodney, George Beckford, Fernando Ortiz, Édouard Glissant, M.G. Smith, Stuart Hall, and Aimé Césaire have made contributions extending far beyond their native lands. Many also played important roles in revolts against colonialism and in nation-building after independence. The complex associations of the Caribbean with globalization, and the global significance of these thinkers makes exploring their ideas in the context of both their Caribbean heritages and their experiences outside the Caribbean a rewarding and fruitful means for grappling with relationships of globalization, power, and subjectivity.

ANTH 74100- Culture and Class, Race and Citizenship
in the Southern U.S.
GC: T 4:15-6:15 p.m., Rm. 6300, 3 credits [62102]
[Cross-listed with MALS 73100]
Prof. Gerald Sider

This course centers on the anthropology of three historical moments: the simultaneous production of Native American tribes on one side of the southern colonial frontier and of races on the other; impunity and the production of state, region, and gender in the early to mid-twentieth century; and the intensifications both of poverty and of dignity following the institutionalization of "civil rights" and the subsequent collapse of the southern textile industry. The complex ways in which the recent and massive influx of undocumented Hispanic workers into the rural south has both called into question and reinforced prior constructions of inequality will also be addressed. At stake in this course are the possibilities and the problems of constructing an anthropology of — and against — the continuing histories of local inequality.

ANTH 77000- Core Course in Linguistic Anthropology
GC: TH 4:15-6:15 p.m., Rm. 6496, 3 credits [62785]
[Cross-listed with LING 79100]
Prof. Miki Makihara

Language is one of the most important resources in the conduct of our social life. Linguistic behavior is the central focus of many social settings, and it is also on linguistic evidence that we base many of our evaluations of the world around us. Yet attitudes toward language and how we use language are highly dependent on social and cultural factors, which also influence how and why language changes. This course is an introduction to linguistic anthropology (the study of the relationship between language and culture and of the use of languages in socio-cultural context). We will examine the nature of language, its role in our social life, and linguistic and anthropological theory and methodology through reading ethnographic and sociolinguistic case studies and discourse analyses. Topics examined include: linguistic and communicative competence, linguistic structure and use, language universals, linguistic relativity, language acquisition and socialization, verbal politeness, the relationship between language change and variation, gender, ethnicity and nationalism, language and political economy, bilingualism, and linguistic ideology.

ANTH 77600- Sociolinguistics
GC: T 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rm. 6493, 3 credits [62652]
[Cross-listed with LING 76100]
Prof. Edward Bendix

Sociolinguistics is a survey course of the many ways language reflects and is integrated into social action and belief systems. Topics include: different models of the abstraction "a language" and different models of the place of languages in society; types of language; sociological and anthropological frameworks for sociolinguistic research; pragmatics (speech acts, conversational maxims, presuppositions, etc.) and the conduct of speaking in situated interaction; discourse functions of grammar; language variation; bilingualism, code switching, and strategic manipulation of community values; language contact and pidgin-creoles; language, power, and identity; politics in the linguistic measurement of intelligence; applied sociolinguistics in education and language planning; and Afro-American English in education. Readings from: Wardhaugh, R., An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 4th edition, Oxford: Blackwell, 2002. Coulmas, F., ed, The Handbook of Sociolinguistics, Oxford: Blackwell, 1997. Coupland, N. and Jaworski, A., eds, Sociolinguistics: A Reader, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997. Oaks, D.D., ed, Linguistics at Work: A Reader of Applications, Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1998. And other sources.

ANTH 79100A- Integrated Paleoanthropology II
GC T 2:00-5:00 p.m., 3 credits [62104]
[This course will meet at New York University, 25 Waverly Place, 9th floor classroom]
Prof. Thomas Plummer

This course provides a detailed overview of the later stages of human evolution from 2.5 Ma up to the terminal Pleistocene, focusing on the complex relationship between the fossil and archaeological records. It emphasizes the anatomical, phylogenetic, behavioral, and cultural aspects of Plio-Pleistocene hominins in Africa, their dispersal(s) into the rest of the Old World, and the origins of modern humans and their contemporaries worldwide. Special topics include: the ecological, behavioral, and morphological factors behind the origin and initial dispersals of Homo from Africa; a critical review of the taxonomic and biogeographic arguments regarding Homo erectus and its contemporaries; the reconstruction of life history patterns in genus Homo; the relationship between Neandertals, H. erectus, and modern humans; the origin and dispersal of modern humans (including the peopling of Australasia and the Americas); the complex cultural stratigraphy and artifact inventories of the Upper Paleolithic (Late Stone Age); the record for so-called Paleolithic Art and interpretive frameworks for understanding it from eco-evolutionary and cultural perspectives. Students will supplement their reading of the primary literature with the study of comparative skeletal materials and casts of early hominins and stone tools in weekly lab sessions.

ANTH 79800- Quantitative Methods in Physical Anthropology
GC F 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Rm. 6418, 3 credits [62653]
Prof. Vincent Stefan

This class is structured to provide an introduction to the theory and application of quantitative statistics in anthropology. The course is designed for entering graduate students with the minimum analytic background. It will provide the basic analytical tools necessary to conduct and evaluate anthropological research, and lay the foundation for more advanced courses in statistical analysis (multivariate analysis, morphometric analysis, etc.). The major focus of the class is on learning the tools necessary to conduct the statistical analyses of data sets. Topics to be covered include both descriptive and inferential statistics: basic statistic concepts, frequency distribution, descriptive statistics, probability, hypothesis testing, difference between means, analysis of variance (ANOVA), non-parametric analysis, simple linear regression, correlation analysis, and analysis of frequencies. Examples from archaeology, biological anthropology, biosocial anthropology, and ethnology contexts will be presented whenever possible to provide a broad perspective. The statistical analysis package, "Statistica," will be utilized to perform and illustrate the statistical methods discussed in class. Course requirements: There will be an in-class written midterm and final examination, and a take-home analytical final. There will also be periodic problem sets assigned throughout the semester. The problem set assignments will contribute 20% to your class grade, the midterm 30%, and the in-class and take-home finals 50%.

ANTH 81000- Structure and Transformation in Life Histories
GC: W 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rm. 6495, 3 credits [62085]
[Cross-listed with CL 85000]
Prof. Vincent Crapanzano

This seminar is concerned with the various modes of life historical depiction and the central role that transformation plays in such depictions. Through careful reading of life historical texts such as autobiographies, confessions, fictional accounts written in autobiographical form, and case studies, we will explore the inter- and intra-locutory dimensions and narrative techniques of life historical writing, the constitution of the subject (or self), subjectivity, innerness, depth, the mystical experience, madness, and the play of memory and forgetfulness. Particular attention will be given to self-understanding, self-allegorization, exceptionalism, and objectification as well as to the various modes of justifying the autobiographical or the life historical project and the interpretations that follow therefrom. Readings will include both classics in life historical writings (e.g. those of Augustine, Saint Theresa, Rousseau, Kierkegaard, Valery, Rilke, Blanchot, Woolf, and Jung), and theoretcial writings (e.g. William James, Michel de Certeau, Freud, and Binswanger). Several ethnographic texts and relevant theorizing will be included.

ANTH 82100- The New Imperialism
GC: TH 11:45 a.m. - 1:45 p.m., Rm. 6496, 3 credits [63045]
Prof. David Harvey
Permission of instructor is required.

ANTH 83300- Quantitative Methods in Archaeology
Hunter College: M 5:30-7:20 p.m., Rm. 706N, 3 credits [62086]
Prof. Gregory Johnson

ANTH 83600- Zooarchaeology
Brooklyn College: TH 1:00-3:00 p.m., Rm. 538NE, 3 credits [62087]
Prof. Sophia Perdikaris

ANTH 83700- Lithic Analysis
Hunter College: W 5:30-7:20 p.m., Rm. 706N, 3 credits [62088]
Prof. William Parry

This seminar will explore current approaches to the analysis of prehistoric stone tools. All aspects of lithic analysis will be covered, including raw materials, tool function, and technology of manufacture. Laboratory methods will be emphasized, together with applications of lithic analysis in the study of prehistoric economic and social organization. Several case studies will be investigated, showing how lithic analysis can be applied to the study of early hominid behavior, and to prehistoric states.

ANTH 89000- Seminar in Physical Anthropology
GC: F 2:00-4:00 p.m., Rm. 4102, 3 credits [62089]
Prof. John Oates

ANTH 89901 - Independent Study/Research
in Cultural Anthropology
GC: Room/Instructor TBA, 3-9 credits
Permission of instructor and EO is required.

ANTH 89902 - Independent Study/Research in Archaeology
GC: Room/Instructor TBA, 3-9 credits
Permission of instructor and EO is required.

ANTH 89903 - Independent Study/Research
in Linguistic Anthropology
GC: Room/Instructor TBA, 3-9 credits
Permission of instructor and EO is required.

ANTH 89904 - Independent Study/Research
in Physical Anthropology
GC: Room/Instructor TBA, 3-9 credits
Permission of instructor and EO is required.

ANTH 90000 - Dissertation Supervision
GC: Room/Instructor TBA, 1 credit

PhD Program in Anthropology - The CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4309
phone: 212.817.8005 fax: 212.817.1501 email:

This departmental publication supplements the official Bulletin of The Graduate School as well as the current Graduate Center Student Handbook and "Announcement of Courses."