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Course Description for Winter 2009
ANTHRO Anthropology 390-0: Topics In Anthropology
Please scroll down to see all descriptions for this course.
Anthropology
390-0-21: Topics In Anthropology : Latino Youth
Instructor: Ana Aparicio
Office address: 515 Clark St.
Room #201
Ev Campus
Phone: 847/491-5132
E-mail: a-aparicio@northwestern.edu
Office Hours:
Expected Enrollment: 20
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Latino Youth in U.S. Cities:
In cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago, Latino populations are en route to becoming the “majority-minority” group; youth comprise a significant segment of this population. This course will examine the cultural, social, and political contexts that help us understand the lives of Latina/o youth in cities of the U.S. Inherent in this reading of the lives of Latina/o youth is an examination of the ways in which Latina/o youth experience and act upon racial discourse, state policies and practices, cultural or identity shifts, and/or political innovations. Readings are drawn from a variety of scholarly fields and popular genres and are complemented by guest lectures, films, and student participation in and research on contemporary Latino/a youth cultures.
RESTRICTIONS: Upperclassmen only. Freshmen need the consent of the instructor to enroll.
NOTE: No P/N allowed.
Anthropology
390-0-22: Topics In Anthropology : Archaeology of Religion
Instructor: James A. Brown
Office address: 1812 Hinman Ave, Rm #205
Ev Campus
Phone: 847/491-7982
E-mail: jabrown@northwestern.edu
Office Hours:
Expected Enrollment: 30
COURSE DESCRIPTION: From the funerary texts of pharaonic Egypt to the rites of the Aztecs and the Druids, archaeological evidence has been routinely invoke to explain these as well as many other religious beliefs and practices. Despite the mute testimony that the material evidence offers, a surprising amount of insight into non-material aspects of culture have been elicited from archaeological data. This course offers an overview of current approaches by highlighting a broad range of topics encompassing a range from shamanism to the major world religions. The course deals with ritual practices and performances, cosmologies, landscapes and architecture, burial and ancestor rites, and even aspects of belief systems that have left material traces. Along the way we will discover that taboos have been broken frequently in the past, pig bones have found their way into the Temple on the Mount, burials have been oriented in unsanctified directions, and that religious practices of warring creeds have been combined rather than excluded. Performance and practice turns up in domestic contexts as well as in officially sanctioned public places. Archaeological evidence provides a perspective on the reality of religion in the lives of ancient people not available through the usual official perspective.
EVALUATION METHOD: Grading for this course will be based on a final paper. A 15-page research paper will be submitted at the time of the final.
Grade allocation is 15-page term paper 85% (including 15% in-class presentation).
Term Papers due on the day scheduled for finals – Friday, March 20th.
READING: TEXTBOOK: Insoll: Archaeology, Ritual, Religion (Routledge) 2004.
ADDITIONAL READINGS: These will be posted on Blackboard.
NOTE: No P/N allowed.
Anthropology
390-0-23: Topics In Anthropology : Cross-Examining Forensic Science
Instructor: Lindsay Smith
Office address: 1812 Hinman Ave.
Room #301
Ev Campus
Phone: 847/467-2780
E-mail: lindsay-smith@northwestern.edu
Office Hours:
Expected Enrollment: 25
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Fingerprinting, forensic anthropology, polygraphs, DNA identification, criminal biobanking—an increasing number of technologies characterize the contemporary practice of police investigation and criminal prosecution. With them they bring not only important questions about reliability and “good” science, but also ethical and social debates about the practice of justice. In this course, we bring together an exploration of the science of forensics with a critical examination of its history, practice, and portrayal in popular culture.
TEACHING METHOD: Lecture, discussion, audio-visual.
EVALUATION METHOD: Mid-term exam, 8-10 page paper on one forensic technology, observation journal.
NOTE: Cross-Listed with Science & Human Culture (SHC).
Anthropology
390-0-24: Topics In Anthropology : Language, Race, Ethnicity in US
Instructor: Shalini Shankar
Office address: 1810 Hinman Ave,
Room 212
Ev Campus
Phone: 847 467-1638
E-mail: sshankar@northwestern.edu
Office Hours: by appointment
Expected Enrollment: 10
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines the relationship between language and race/ethnicity in the contemporary United States. It will cover major theoretical concepts about language use, race, ethnicity, and identity, and examine a number of ethnographic case studies about these issues. The course will focus primarily on language use among Asian Americans but also examine language practices by Latinos, Blacks, and Native Americans by comparison. Topics to be examined include: How languages and their speakers are regarded by institutions such as schools and workplaces; how public discourse about languages other than English affect the lives of those speakers; how language use mediates interethnic and interracial relations; why particular languages have been stigmatized while others are celebrated; the ways in which socioeconomic factors such as social class, immigration status, and educational background affect language use; and how youth use language to construct racial identities, often in ways that cross racial boundaries in other to pass for categories other than one’s own.
PREREQUISITES: none.
TEACHING METHOD: Discussion/ Lecture.
EVALUATION METHOD: Essays, research paper, class presentations, attendance and class participation.
READING: Readings will be drawn from sociocultural and linguistic anthropology, Asian American studies, sociolinguistics, history, and ethnic studies.
NOTE: No P/N.
Co-Listed with Asian-American Studies.
[Course Descriptions for Winter 2009] [Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences] [ANTHRO Anthropology]