Anthropology

Anthropology, the study of humans, includes sociocultural anthropology, biological anthropology, and archaeology. Courses offered by the Department of Anthropology span the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities and provide a broad understanding of human nature and society for students in other fields and for anthropology majors.

The broad perspective on human culture and biology that anthropology offers can enhance studies in many other fields, including history, psychology, international studies, environmental studies, ecology and evolution, geography, earth system science, literature, political science, folklore, language study, art history, and public policy and management.

Preparation. High school students planning a major in anthropology should have a sound background in English, biological science, and mathematics (preferably algebra). Study in a modern second language is desirable.

Students transferring with two years of college work should have introductory course work in the social sciences. Introductory biology and the equivalent of two years of college-level study in a second language are recommended.

Careers. A bachelor’s degree in anthropology prepares the graduate for employment in areas where clear communication, analysis and synthesis, and respect for diversity are valued. Anthropology provides a suitable background for positions with federal, state, and local agencies and prepares the student for citizenship in a multicultural world.

Students seeking work as professional anthropologists should plan for advanced degrees in anthropology. Graduates with master’s or PhD degrees may find work in government, community colleges, or museums. For university teaching and research careers, a PhD degree is necessary.

Bachelor’s Degree Requirements

The department offers course work leading to bachelor of arts (BA) and bachelor of science (BS) degrees. Major requirements are the same for each. Differences between the two degrees are explained under Requirements for Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in the Registration and Academic Policies section of this catalog.

Major Requirements

The major in anthropology requires 48 credits distributed as follows:

Courses used to fulfill major requirements must be taken for letter grades and passed with a C– or better. To ensure a liberal education, anthropology majors are strongly encouraged to limit their anthropology credits to 52. Majors contemplating graduate work are advised to complete two years of a second language. Statistics is desirable for those with interests in biological anthropology and archaeology.

Majors must meet with an anthropology advisor at least once a year.

Cultural Resource Management. The following courses are recommended for students who want a focus in cultural resource management: Fundamentals of Archaeology (ANTH 340), Oregon Archaeology (ANTH 344), Workshop: Archaeology Field School (ANTH 408), North American Archaeology (ANTH 443).

The following courses are recommended:

Anthropology. Politics, Ethnicity, Nationalism (ANTH 411), Performance, Politics, and Folklore (ANTH 419)

Geography. Maps and Geospatial Concepts (GEOG 311), Advanced Cartography (GEOG 411/511), Introductory Geographic Information Systems (GEOG 416/516)

Historic Preservation. Introduction to Historic Preservation (AAAP 411/511), Historic Survey and Inventory Methodology (AAAP 451/551)

Honors

Application for graduation with honors must be made through the student’s departmental advisor no later than winter term of the senior year.

Approval for graduation with honors is granted to a student who

1. Maintains a 4.00 or higher grade point average (GPA) in anthropology and at least a 3.50 overall GPA or
2. Maintains at least a 3.75 GPA in anthropology and at least a 3.50 overall GPA and submits an acceptable honors thesis written under the guidance of a departmental faculty member, who serves as thesis advisor

Minor Requirements

The minor in anthropology complements a major in another discipline. Courses used to complete the minor must be chosen in consultation with an anthropology advisor. The required 24 credits must include the following:

1. 4 credits in 100- or 200-level courses
2. 16 credits in 300- or 400-level courses, of which 8 credits must be at the 400 level
3. 4 elective credits at any level

Of the 24 credits required in anthropology, 20 must be graded and passed with a C– or better.

Middle and Secondary School Teaching Careers

The College of Education offers a fifth-year program for middle-secondary teaching licensure in social studies. This program is described in the College of Education section of this catalog.

Three advanced degrees are offered in anthropology: the master of arts (MA), the master of science (MS), and the doctor of philosophy (PhD). These degrees entail work in the following subfields: archaeology and cultural or physical anthropology.

Graduate students must demonstrate competence in three subfields, typically through work at the master’s level. Students spend the first year, and in some instances the first two years, establishing a broad foundation in anthropology by completing three of the following four courses with grades of B– or better: Basic Graduate Physical Anthropology (ANTH 680), Archaeology and Anthropology (ANTH 681), Anthropological Linguistics (ANTH 683), Social Theory I (ANTH 688).

Graduate students are members of the Association of Anthropological Graduate Students and are represented in the Student Senate.

Master’s Degree Requirements

The master’s degree requires a minimum of 45 credits of graduate work, of which at least 32 must be in anthropology, and the successful completion of courses—or in some cases an examination—in three of the four subfields of anthropology mentioned above. A master’s paper is required, but a thesis is not.

The MA requires competence in a second language. There is no language requirement for the MS, but the candidate for that degree must demonstrate proficiency in a skill such as statistics, computer science, or paleogeography, approved by the department faculty.

There are no absolute requirements for admission to the master’s degree program. A bachelor’s degree in anthropology is helpful but not required. Admission is limited, and preference is given to applicants with excellent academic records and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) scores who have had at least a solid beginning in anthropology, who have had some second-language training, and who can demonstrate evidence of a sincere interest in the field. It typically takes two years to complete the program.

PhD Degree Requirements

Admission to the doctoral program is contingent on the possession of a valid master’s degree in anthropology from a recognized institution or on the completion of three of the master’s core courses. Those who enter with a master’s degree in another discipline take master’s core courses early in the program.

Formal requirements of time and credit are secondary, but no candidate is recommended for the degree until the minimum Graduate School requirements for credits, residence, and study have been satisfied.

The department requires competence in two modern second languages, one language and one skill, or two skills (including those earned for an MA or MS) approved by the department’s faculty. The student’s progress is measured by performance in the core courses, course work, and research papers; two comprehensive examinations covering two special fields of concentration in anthropology; a formal dissertation prospectus; and, finally, a doctoral dissertation. The dissertation should be based on original research, which ordinarily involves fieldwork or laboratory work, and should be written in a professional and publishable style appropriate to the subfield of specialization.

For information about general requirements, see the Graduate School section of this catalog. More information about programs in anthropology may be obtained from the department.

Museum of Natural and Cultural History

The Museum of Natural and Cultural History and its research division, the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology, provide opportunities for students to gain research experience through field projects and museum experience through the natural history museum’s public programs. The rich resources of the state museum’s collections are available to anthropology students, faculty members, and other qualified researchers. The Museum of Natural and Cultural History is described in the Academic Resources section of this catalog; the Oregon State Museum of Anthropology is described under Research Institutes and Centers in the Graduate Studies section.

Not all of the courses listed are offered each year. For more information, consult the class schedule or inquire at the department office.

114 Anthropology of Pirates and Piracy (4) Examines the political and economic origins and legacies of piracy through 500 years of history in the Americas, Europe, and Africa.

150 World Archaeology (4) Introduction to archaeology and cultural change from the earliest times to the advent of state-level societies.

161 World Cultures (4) A first look into the work of cultural anthropology and an introduction to the cultural diversity of the world.

165 Sexuality and Culture (4) Examines sexuality through the historical, cultural, economic, and political factors that contribute to the construction of sexual identities, relationships, and institutions.

170 Introduction to Human Origins (4) Homo sapiens as a living organism; biological evolution and genetics; fossil hominids. Frost.

171 Introduction to Monkeys and Apes (4) Evolutionary biology of the primates: the fossil record and ecology in the age of mammals, primate anatomy, locomotor feeding adaptations, taxonomic relations, and primate ethology. White.

173 Evolution of Human Sexuality (4) Includes basic genetics, physiology, and behavior. Evolution of sex, of the sexes, and of the role of sex in mammal, primate, and human behavior. White.

175 Evolutionary Medicine (4) Focuses on the application of evolutionary thinking to the study of human health and disease.

176 Introduction to Forensic Anthropology (4) Introduction to human skeletal analysis and its application in a legal context, using biological and anthropological approaches to the recovery and identification of human remains.

196 Field Studies: [Topic] (1–2R)

198 Laboratory Projects: [Topic] (1–2R)

199 Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

234 Pacific Island Societies (4) Discusses the exchange, gender, politics, development, and migration of select societies in New Guinea and Polynesia. Biersack.

270 Introduction to Biological Anthropology (4) Examines the biological aspects of the human species from comparative, ecological, and evolutionary perspectives. Explores theoretical and methodological issues in biological anthropology. Frost, Snodgrass.

280 Introduction to Language and Culture (4) Relationship and methodology of language and culture.

310 Exploring Other Cultures: [Topic] (4R) How anthropologists study and describe human cultures. Content varies; draws on fieldwork, famous ethnographies, specific ethnographic areas and their problems, and comparative study of selected cultures. R when topic changes.

314 Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (4) Cross-cultural exploration of women’s power in relation to political, economic, social, and cultural roles. Case studies from Africa, America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Silverman.

315 Gender, Folklore, Inequality (4) Cross-cultural exploration of the expressive and artistic realm of women’s lives. Topics include life-cycle rituals, religion, healing, verbal arts, crafts, and music. Silverman.

320 Native North Americans (4) Interpretive approach to accomplishments, diversity, and survival of precontact, postcontact, and present-day American Indian peoples. Impact of Euro-American stereotypes on politics and identity. Prereq: ANTH 161. Klopotek, O’Nell.

322 Anthropology of the United States (4) Explores the culture and the political economy of the contemporary United States, with a particular focus on race, class, and gender relations. Pre- or coreq: ANTH 161. Offered alternate years.

326 Caribbean Societies (4) Explores the legacy of processes that formed Caribbean culture—migration, slavery, and trade—in religious, popular, and scholarly contexts. Scher.

327 Anthropological Perspectives on Africa (4) Thematic, comparative exploration of the contours of life in contemporary Africa. Promotes a critical historical perspective on the anthropology of the continent. Wooten.

328 New Guinea (4) A look at the life ways of New Guinea people; focuses on personhood, gender, exchange, Christianity, and development. Biersack.

329 Immigration and Farmworkers Political Culture (4) Mexican farmworkers in the United States, their history and living and working conditions explored within the political culture of immigration. Discussion, lecture. Introductory social science course recommended. Stephen.

330 Hunters and Gatherers (4) Survey of contemporary hunter-gatherer societies. Foraging, decision-making, exchange, prestige, marriage, gender roles, parenting, history, and demography in an ecological and evolutionary perspective. Sugiyama.

331 Cultures of South Asia (4) Survey of contemporary South Asia’s religious and cultural diversity, issues of ethnic identity, gender construction, social conflict, and politics of poverty. Karim, Lukacs.

340 Fundamentals of Archaeology (4) Methods modern archaeology uses to reconstruct the past, including background research, field methods, laboratory analyses, and interpreting data. Prereq: ANTH 150.

341 Food Origins (4) Biological, ecological, and social dimensions of plant-animal domestication and the environmental impact of agriculture in the Late Pleistocene-Holocene epochs.

343 Pacific Islands Archaeology (4) Archaeology and prehistoric cultural development of Pacific island peoples from earliest settlement through early Western contact. Emphasizes Southeast Asian cultural foundations and ecological adaptations. Prereq: ANTH 150. Ayres.

344 Oregon Archaeology (4) Native American cultural history of Oregon based on archaeological evidence. Environmental and ecological factors that condition human adaptations and contemporary cultural resource protection.

345 Archaeology of East Asia (4) Explores the evolution of diverse cultures and ethnic identities in East Asia during prehistoric and early historical times.

350 Olmec, Maya, and Aztec Societies (4) Rise and fall of various ancient Mesoamerican societies such as Olmecs, Maya, Toltecs, and Aztecs, and their cultural antecedents. ANTH 150 is recommended preparation.

352 The Ancient Maya (4) Introduction to the Ancient Maya, one of the most intriguing and enduring societies in Mesoamerica. Focus is origins of social complexity and inequality. Kennett.

355 Lithic Analysis in Archaeology (4) Study of stone tools and other lithic artifacts using scientific identification and quantitative analysis of collections from a range of early human sites. Prereq: ANTH 150. Offered alternate years.

361 Human Evolution (4) Fossil evidence of human evolution; Homo sapiens' place among the primates; variability of populations of fossil hominids. Prereq: ANTH 170 or 270. Lukacs.

362 Human Biological Variation (4) Genetic and biological structure of human populations; population dynamics and causes of diversity; analysis of genetically differentiated human populations and their geographic distribution. Prereq: ANTH 170 or 270. Snodgrass.

365 Food and Culture (4) Anthropological approach to the role of nutrients in human development (individual and group); cultural determinants and differences among populations; world food policy; applied nutritional anthropology. Moreno Black.

366 Human Osteology Laboratory (4) Human and nonhuman primate osteology and osteometry; fundamentals of dissection and primate anatomy. Prereq: one from ANTH 170, ANTH 270, BI 212, or HPHY 321. Frost.

368 Scientific Racism: An Anthropological History (4) Origin and evolution of the concept of race. Scientific perspectives on race from 1800 to the present from an anthropological viewpoint. Prereq: ANTH 170 and 270. Lukacs.

369 Human Growth and Development (4) Examines key issues in human and nonhuman primate growth and development; addresses genetic, social, and ecological determinants of variation in growth. Laboratory, lecture.

375 Primates in Ecological Communities (4) How do primates interact with other species at evolutionary and ecological scales? What factors influence differences and similarities in primate communities? Prereq: ANTH 170 or 270. White.

399 Special Studies: [Topic] (1–5R)

401 Research: [Topic] (1–21R)

403 Thesis (1–12R)

405 Reading and Conference: [Topic] (1–21R)

406 Special Problems: [Topic] (1–21R)

407/507 Seminar: [Topic] (1–5R)

408/508 Workshop: [Topic] (1–21R)

409 Practicum: [Topic] (1–21R)

410/510 Experimental Course: [Topic] (1–5R)

411/511 Politics, Ethnicity, Nationalism (4) Explores relationship between ethnicity, politics, and nationalism from historical and anthropological perspectives; addresses the way nationalism and ethnic identity construct and reproduce each other. Prereq: junior standing. Scher.

413/513 Culture and Psychology (4) Bridges anthropology and psychology to explore the relationship between the individual and culture; includes such topics as emotion, personality, mental illness, and sexuality. Discussion, lecture. Baxter, O’Nell.

415/515 Human Life History (4) Explores evolution of key life history traits in comparative primatological, paleo-anthropological, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology perspectives. Prereq: ANTH 161.

417 Field Methods in Cultural Anthropology (4) Techniques of participant observation, community definition and extension, nondirective interviewing, and establishing rapport. Provides theoretical perspectives and emphasizes investigator’s ethical responsibilities. Prereq: ANTH 161. Stephen, Sugiyama.

419 Performance, Politics, and Folklore (4) Aesthetic, political, economic, and social dimensions of cultural performances examined in museums, heritage displays, folklore festivals, community celebrations, and tourist destinations. Pre- or coreq: ANTH 161. Silverman.

420/520 Culture, Illness, and Healing (4) Cultural foundations of illness and healing. Attempts to analyze illness experiences, looks at therapies cross-culturally, and examines the nature of healing. Prereq: ANTH 161. O’Nell.

424/524 Feminist Methods in Anthropology (4) Seminar in feminist research design and methods in three subfields of anthropology: biological, sociocultural, archaeological. Examines case studies illustrating research ethics, collaboration, and activism. Prereq: 12 credits in ANTH or WGS courses. 

430/530 Balkan Society and Folkore (4) Explores ethnic groups of the Balkans with attention to the roles of folklore, nationalism, rural-urban relationships, gender, music, and folk arts. Silverman. 

434/534 Native South Americans (4) Contact period and contemporary ethnography of native peoples; ecological adaptation, socioeconomic organization, and culture change. Prereq: ANTH 161. Stephen, Sugiyama.

438/538 Race and Gender in Latin America (4) Examines intersecting systems of race, gender, ethnicity, and nationalism through 600 years of Latin American history, focusing on five countries in three regions. Prereq: ANTH 161. Offered alternate years.

439/539 Feminism and Ethnography (4) Uses current literature to explore the relationship between feminism, postmodernism, and ethnography. Investigates reflexivity, subjectivity, multiple voicing, and the politics of fieldwork and the text. Junior standing required. Silverman.

440/540 Old World Prehistory: [Topic] (4R) Archaeology of prehistoric cultures in selected regions of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, or Africa, from first human cultures to historic periods. Prereq: ANTH 150. R when topic changes for maximum of 12 credits. Ayres.

441/541 Recent Cultural Theory (4) Survey of various cultural frameworks: Durkheimian, Marxian, feminist, transnationalism, Orientalism. Junior standing required.

442 Northwest Coast Archaeology (4) Archaeological and prehistoric cultural development of peoples indigenous to the Northwest Coast of North America, from Alaska to northern California, from earliest settlement through Western contact. Prereq: ANTH 150. Moss.

443/543 North American Archaeology (4) Survey of interdisciplinary research applied to prehistoric cultures and environments in North America. Prereq: ANTH 150. Moss.

445/545 Archaeology of Cultural Landscapes (4) Archaeological and landscape concepts represented in the past and the present. Site distributional, ecological, and sociosymbolic dimensions of landscapes are examined. Prereq: ANTH 150.

446/546 Practical Archaeobotany (4) Investigates interactions between human-plant populations in the past; laboratory training of analyzing plant fossils in archaeologial contexts.

448/548 Gender and Archaeology (4) Examines case studies from around the world to investigate how archaeological remains can illuminate gender in precontact societies. Moss.

449/549 Cultural Resource Management (4) Objectives, legal background, operational problems, ethical and scholarly considerations in the management of prehistoric and historic cultural resources. Prereq: ANTH 150. Moss.

450 The Anthropology Museum (3) Operation of anthropology and natural history museums; organization, collection management, exhibit and public programs, funding. Prereq: ANTH 150. Krier.

451/551 Ethnoarchaeology (4) Examines relationships between archaeology and ethnography and how archaeologists study material culture in a living context. Examples are from various world areas. Prereq: ANTH 150.

455/555 Historical Anthropology (4) Surveys various approaches (Marxist, symbolic, practice theoretical, archaeological) and topics (colonialism, representation, subaltern studies, the invention of tradition) in historical anthropology. Junior standing required. Offered alternate years.

460/560 Nutritional Anthropology (4) Human nutrition and adaptation. Evolution of human diet; diet-related disease patterns in different populations; biological, social, economic, political, and historical factors in human nutrition. Prereq: ANTH 270. Moreno Black.

462/562 Primate Evolution (4) The fossil record and theoretical implications of the Cenozoic primates with special reference to their various adaptations: locomotion, special senses, dentition. Prereq: ANTH 270. Frost.

463/563 Primate Behavior (4) Ecology and ethology of free-ranging primates. Classification, distribution, and ecological relationships of living primates; social structure and organizations. Prereq: ANTH 171 or 270. White.

466/566 Primate Feeding and Nutrition (4) Evaluates primate feeding and foraging behavior, diet, and nutrition. Explores anatomical, physiological, and behavioral solutions to feeding challenges, both ecological and evolutionary. Prereq: ANTH 171 or 270.

467/567 Paleoecology and Human Evolution (4) Relationship between ecology and comparative morphology as a basis for theories of hominid phylogeny; analysis of methods of paleoecological inference; current theories of hominid origins. Prereq: ANTH 270. Frost.

468/568 Evolutionary Theory (4) Provides a theoretical framework in evolutionary biology with which to explore human evolutionary history and aspects of modern human biology. Offered alternate years.

469/569 Anthropological Perspectives of Health and Illness (4) Overview of medical anthropology: cross-cultural theories of illness and treatment strategies, cultural roles of patient and healer, and human adaptations to disease. Prereq: ANTH 365. 

470/570 Statistical Analysis of Biological Anthropology (4) The important methods in biometry (biological statistics) and their inherent assumptions, limitations, interpretations, and common uses (and misuses) as relevant to biological anthropology. Prereq: MATH 243 or 425 or equivalent. Offered alternate years.

471/571 Zooarchaeology (4) Analysis and interpretation of bone and shell animal remains from archaeological sites. Seminar, laboratory. Prereq: ANTH 150.

472/572 Primate Conservation Biology (4) Evaluates the conservation status of the order Primates. Explores biological-ecological issues and social-cultural influences on primate biodiversity, distribution, and abundance. Prereq: ANTH 171 or 270. White.

474/574 Human Paleopathology (4) Methods and techniques of paleopathology, the disease process, and how hard tissues are affected by them. Pivotal anthropological issues in which paleoanthropology plays a key role. Prereq: ANTH 270. Lukacs.

481/581 Principles of Evolutionary Psychology (4) Investigates how understanding of our evolutionary history is used to further understanding of the human mind. Prereq: ANTH 170 or 270. Sugiyama.

487/587 Bioanthropology Methods (4) Laboratory-based introduction to research methods in biological anthropology, with an emphasis on research among living human populations. Prereq: ANTH 270. Offered alternate years.

488/588 Foundations of Social Theory (4) Important early social theorists (Marx, Engels, Freud, Durkheim, Weber) and the historical conditions in which the study of society emerged in Western thought. O’Nell.

493/593 Anthropology and Popular Culture (4) Offers insights into the conditions of the reproduction of social relations through the analysis of film, sport, television, advertising, folklore, fashion, and festivals. Junior standing required. Scher.

503 Thesis (1–16R)

601 Research: [Topic] (1–16R)

602 Supervised College Teaching (1–5R)

603 Dissertation (1–16R)

605 Reading and Conference: [Topic] (1–16R)

606 Special Problems: [Topic] (1–16R)

607 Seminar: [Topic] (1–5R)

608 Workshop: [Topic] (1–16R)

609 Practicum: [Topic] (1–16R)

610 Experimental Course: [Topic] (1–5R)

611 Ethnographic Research: Epistemology, Methods, Ethics (4) Various techniques in ethnographic research. Examines the relationships between methods, theory, and ethics. Stephen.

615 Proseminar in Anthropology (2) Presents the department’s structure, program, and faculty; introduces research, writing, and funding resources. Biersack.

680 Basic Graduate Physical Anthropology (5) Introduction to major subfields of physical anthropology; geochronology, primate classification, paleoprimatology, paleoanthropology, human biology and diversity, processes of evolution, and primate ethology.

681 Archaeology and Anthropology (5) Use by archaeologists of concepts drawn from anthropology; modifications and additions made necessary by the nature of archaeological data.

683 Anthropological Linguistics (5) Topics include linguistic relativity; language, cognition, and social practice; distinctiveness of human language; role of reference in linguistic structures; creation of social and cultural forms.

685 Professional Writing (2–4) Basics of professional writing for grant proposals, journal articles, and papers presented at professional meetings. Requires short proposal, longer proposal or article, and workshop participation. Biersack.

688, 689 Social Theory I,II (5,5) Survey organized around keywords: colonialism-postcolonialism, meaning, materiality-materialism, local-national-global, structure-agency-history, power, and difference.