ANT 101: Being Human: An Introduction to Four Field AnthropologyThis course explores the main subfields of anthropology: sociocultural, archaeological, biological, and linguistic. Students will be exposed to the primary theories, concepts, and methodologies relating to anthropology and how these four fields can work together to provide a more complete understanding of what it means to be human. This course is perfect for students in any major who are interested in exploring questions related to human behavior and societies in a holistic manner, or for those interested in a general introduction to the main subfields in anthropology before continuing more specialized coursework in the major.
ANT 110: Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology This course will introduce you to some major themes of sociocultural anthropology –kinship, gender, magic, religion, race/ethnicity, social stratification, nationalism, modernization, and globalization. We will explore these themes through ethnography –the research method and genre of writing that defines the discipline. Reading several anthropological accounts of different cultures, we will not only analyze what these ethnographies tell us about cultural diversity, but also think critically about the conditions of their production and their claims to authority. Throughout the course, we will also pay a special attention to the current ethnography of Kazakhstan and the workings of our own culture.
ANT 140: World Prehistory This course surveys major developments in the prehistory of humans from the evolution of our earliest ancestors through the first cities. Significant topics include perspectives on critical inventions such as tool use and agriculture; development of inequality and social organization; the role of environment in society; and interactions among societies. We will also address approaches to archaeology and fundamental problems for studying people who left no written records.
ANT 160: Introduction to Biological Anthropology Humans may be the strangest animals on the planet, and so this course examines what it means to be human in a biological sense, highlighting the many ways humans are unique and why this is. In examining these issues, students will learn about sources of biological variation in living humans; the fossil record for human evolution; and the adaptations and behaviors of our closest living relatives the Primates. This course also introduces students to broader theoretical principles of evolution, genetics, forensics, and animal behavior, which are extremely important in and beyond biological anthropology.
ANT 204/PLS 204: Capitalism in Crisis In this seminar, we will analyze socio-cultural conditions and forces behind economic developments that led to the current and previous global financial crises. Closer to our region, we will also examine ideological underpinnings and social implications of the post-communist economic transformations across the globe. Our primary readings will consist of 1) theories of political economy and capitalist development, 2) ethnographic/anthropological accounts of economic transformations in post-Soviet countries, China, Indonesia and Africa, and 3) in-depth articles from the New Yorker and the Economist dealing with contemporary economic issues in a non-jargon way. Topics to be considered will include liberalization/globalization, neo-liberal reforms, state-capital interaction, social construction of human needs and desires, creation of wealth, consumption, alleviation of poverty, and visions of happiness and affluence.
ANT 215/REL 215: What is Islam? Anthropological Perspectives This course explores the question of how people in different parts of the world and in different social context understand what Islam is. We will consider the ways that anthropologists have approached this, reading the work of authors who present and analyze a wide variety of Muslim societies and realms of social-cultural life. In the general anthropology of religion, Islam has been a major focus. In this course, we will also consider realms that go far beyond beliefs and rituals, and encompass fields like "Islamic customs", Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic art, "Islamic authority", and "Islamic attitudes towards women." We will further explore the challenge that some forms of Islamic observance pose for secularism, the ways that Islam has been counter-posed to Western models of modernity, and the role of Islam in defining national and other identities.
ANT 216: Marriage and Kinship Studying how humans understand their relationships with other people and create new ones is at the foundation of anthropology and sociology. Who around us counts as "family"? How do we determine who our family members are and why? What are our obligations to family? What are the different roles in the family? How do we create new ties to each other through processes like marriage and adoption? What are the restrictions on new relationships? These processes both have a profound impact on the meaning and conduct of our everyday lives, as well as on how we form larger social groups and connections across and between groups.
ANT 222/SOC 222: Approaches to Global Development In this seminar we will explore the theoretical and historical perspectives that gave rise to the ideas and practices of global development in the 20th century and their implications for the 21st century marked by the environmental crisis and the understanding of the limits to the planetary system. Sociological and anthropological approaches to development provide distinct understanding of the issues; while the boundaries between these two disciplines are blurring and stand in contrast to the rational choice and neoclassical economic approaches that dominate development discourses, it can be useful to examine the differences in an interdisciplinary fashion in order to enrich our understanding of development but also alternatives to development and postdevelopment approaches. What these approaches share is that development interventions never occur in a vacuum but require a nuanced understanding of the context in which they occur. Politics, culture, power, and social organization are very important to defining development problems especially if we want to identify just and viable solutions to these problems and to see they are implemented in a fair and humane manner. The readings in this course will focus on the history, theory, and critiques of global development. We will then focus on the relationship to development to social construction of human needs and desires and visions of the good life. We will end with practical exercises that allow us to try and formulate solutions in real life that must take into account the complexity of the issues raised in the course.
ANT 231: Frauds and Fallacies in Archaeology This course examines claims that have been made in archaeology based on bad data, misinterpretation, logical fallacies, or outright fraud. In particular we will investigate claims that have gotten major popular attention such as the 2012 doomsday scenario, extra-terrestrial involvement in constructing ancient monuments, and the Piltdown fraud. By looking deeply at pseudoscience in archaeology, students will gain a deeper appreciation for the importance of a rigorous scientific framework in research and also the ways that data can be misinterpreted in popular culture. Additionally we will address the broader anthropological problem of why these unscientific claims gain so much popularity when better models are available.
ANT 232: Life, Death and Economy: Archaeology of Central Asia This course surveys contemporary evidence from archaeological and art discoveries on elaborate rituals surrounding death and dying, economics of being a nomad, warrior culture, shamans, and the transmigration of gold and treasure in ancient Central Asia.
ANT 233: Stone Age Archaeology of Eurasia This course will examine the archaeological record of Eurasia, starting with the earliest archaeological sites outside of Africa around 1.8 million years ago and ending with the period just before we begin to see the first signs of agriculture around 10,000 years ago.
ANT 240: Laboratory Methods in ArchaeologyArchaeology is the study of humans through their material culture, which is often the only evidence that remains that can help us understand cultures of the recent and distant past. This course introduces students to scientific methodology central to the reconstruction of human
lifeways through material remains left by past peoples and societies. Throughout the semester, students will be exposed to aspects of the entire investigative process, including methods for finding sites, basic survey techniques, dating methods, and data collection on artifacts and bones. Students will learn basic analysis methods relevant to the study of different material types, such as pottery, stone tools, and bones. Through these analyses, we will explore questions about past human identity and behavior: who they were, what they were eating, in which environments they were living, and how the answers to each of these questions can change over time. By the end of the semester, students will have a well rounded understanding of the methods of archaeology and the value of their application.
ANT 262: Monkey business: Primate Society and Behavior Why do humans and other primates behave the way they do? This class will examine the societies and behaviors of our closest living relatives, the Primates. The course begins by reviewing basic biology, anatomy, and variation of apes, monkeys and other primates. We will then examine aspects of primate social systems, including group sizes and mating strategies. The course will conclude by examining specific topics in Primatology, such as communication, cognition and infanticide. Students will ultimately come to appreciate how human behavior and society are like our relatives', and how they are unique.
ANT 275/WLL 271: Language and Society This course examines the manner in which language is embedded in society. Topics examined include the nature of language, language ideologies, and the social differentiation between the poetic and the plain, the polite and the vulgar.
ANT 285: Food and Society This course explores the relationships among society, population, food production, and politics. We will study cross-cultural views about food, and how various systems of food production such as foraging, shifting cultivation, and intensive agriculture, are altered by society, government, and industrialization.
ANT 286: Nomads: Around the world and through time The course will explore the archaeology and anthropology of nomadic pastoral societies in light of their ecological, political, and cultural strategies and adaptation to extreme environments. We will pay specific attention to the social groups in extreme environments, including the world's driest deserts, highest and most treacherous mountains, and the coldest, bleakest reaches of the arctic. Moving through six regions of the world during the semester, we will examine the local ecology and the development of pastoral and nomadic ways of life in each. Case studies in archaeology and ethnography will form the backbone of student learning, and each student has the opportunity to explore one nomadic/ pastoralist society in-depth through a group research project. Students will learn to see where Kazakhstan fits globally in nomadic studies and that nomads, who are imagined as unchanging and in conflict with the sedentary world, are in fact incredibly adaptive and have been integral in shaping world empires. Based on this global survey, the class will explore the essential role nomads have played in the formation and transfer of culture, language, and power from prehistoric times to the current era – often in the most inhospitable of regions. Students can carry what they learned from the class forward with them into complementary courses in human systems in their majors.
ANT 306: Anthropology of Performance Shakespeare famously said that "All the world's a stage." In this class, we will examine the way anthropologists have conceptualized everyday life as a kind of theatre. How does life imitate art, or art imitate life?
ANT 313//REL 332: Islam and Politics in Eurasia The course examines the ways in which Islam and politics are intertwined in many parts of Eurasia. The course provides background in the issues common to many Muslim societies that form the frameworks for political contention in Muslim contexts, such as concepts of the role of the state and religion in public life, Islamic notions of reform, contexts of Sufism and "Salafism", and connections between religious identity and national and other aspects of identity. It will explore the ways that the post-Communist context provides a case where the relationship between Islam and society unfolds in new and particular ways because of the end of official atheism, the growth of pluralism, and the flow of ideas and influences across international boundaries, as well as the ways that developments in Eurasia resonate with international trends. Islam will be examined in realms ranging from social movements and opposition politics to state building and legitimization. Themes will include issues such as the relationships between Islam and political authority, debates about Islam's significance for social order, the ways that Islam is brought into political conflicts and violence, and the role of Islam in secularism, international relations, proselytizing and religious conversion, and retraditionalization.
ANT 314: Politics of Identity in Eurasia The course examines how identity concepts play a role in the politics of Eurasian countries. Topics include: the factors forming current national, sub-national and religious identities, the role of national ideologies in the state-building process and promotion of loyalty to the regime, identity as a factor in opposition mobilization, identity in conflicts, and the role identity in international relations. The focus is primarily on the post-communist period in the countries of former-Soviet Union, while providing the essential background in the historical context, as well as comparative reference to related regions including Western China, Afghanistan, the Near East and Russia. Theories of political identity are explored as they have been developed in the literature on Eurasia and in a broader comparative frame.
ANT 315: Youth Cultures in Eurasia ANT 331: Archaeology of Power and Inequality Blatant social divisions appear across human civilizations of the past and the present. We could say that the uneven power dynamics we see in today's world are the result of slow accumulations of biological and cultural changes that began as far back as the Paleolithic. However, opinions on the origins, causes, and internal-relationships of human social inequalities are hotly debated. In this course, we will critically survey how discrimination and exclusion strategies were introduced, enforced, gained prominence, and became systemic through time.
ANT 333: Anthropology of Space In this course, we examine how our behaviors shape and are shaped by the space in which we live. Through the lens of anthropological theory, we explore different approaches to studying space use, at both the large and small scales. We will survey a broad body of literature that will demonstrate how human space use has changed over time, coinciding with the onset of major milestones in human behavioral/cultural evolution. While examining these changes, students will develop strong theoretical foundations for how archaeologists reconstruct the past by examining processes and behaviors present in various cultures today. Students will learn about the spatial behavior of modern day groups and how these behaviors are shaped by lifestyle and environment. The course will close by contemplating broader questions of landscape use and how religion and spiritual systems impact the way in which different people view space.
ANT 340: Method and Theory in ArchaeologyThis course will examine the origins of archaeology, the evolution of archaeological thought, and the current theoretical paradigms that shape archaeological investigations and interpretations. Theory is the foundation upon which questions, methodologies, and analyses are planned and
formed, and we cannot conduct archaeology without it. During the semester, students will be introduced to the varied and dynamic theoretical approaches that underlie archaeological inquiry and be encouraged to think about why the questions we ask imply a theoretical perspective and
ultimately dictate what information we use to reconstruct the human story. During the course of the semester, we will review the historic background of the emergence of processual and post-processual archaeology, and the numerous contributions and critiques of archaeology stemming from post-modernist thought, including feminism, symbolism, postcolonialism, and studies of the contemporary past. The intent is to provide students with a comprehensive knowledge base to envision a holistic and multivocal future for archaeology. Students will engage with the different approaches in theory and read widely among archaeology’s greatest works where interpretations rely on diverse theoretical underpinnings and intellectual positions regarding what about Homo sapiens is important to explore, explain, and understand.
ANT 361: Human Evolution: Bones, Stones and Genomes This course examines the evidence for the emergence of the human species, with an emphasis on the fossil or paleontological record. We will address questions such as: Why do humans have such large brains, and lack tails? How have technology and culture influenced human evolution? Are humans still evolving? In answering these questions, students will learn about the fossil, genetic and behavioral evidence of how we became human over the past several million years.
ANT 385/WLL 385: Postcolonial Theory and its Applications in Eurasia In this course, we will use postcolonial lenses to analyze Central Asia, its literature, and cultural production (film, songs, and videos). While postcolonial studies and postcolonial theory have been a part of the canon of several disciplines such as anthropology, comparative literature, and cultural studies in the West, the degree of its application to Eurasian Studies has been limited and its applicability has been questioned. We will read some classical theoretical texts in postcolonial studies and then see how this theory that has been so productive elsewhere can be applied to Central Asian cultural phenomena. Do we ever think of Central Asia as "Orient" or "Third World" or "Asia" having a "complex relationship" to "Occident," "the First World" or "Europe"? If so, how can we theorize this state of having a complex relationship – coloniality, global hierarchy, dependency? In addition to classics of postcolonial studies such as Edward Said, Franz Fanon, Homi Bhabha and emerging theorizations on issues of coloniality in our part of the world, we will also read old and new ethnographies of Central Asia, Central Asian Soviet and Post-Soviet literature and watch films produced in the region and about the region.
ANT 386/SOC 386: Social Challenges of Climate Change The human impact on our larger biophysical environment has grown to the point where we are now, by general acknowledgement, living in the 'Anthropocene', a geological era in which humans have become a key driver in the Earth's system. In response, scholars, disciplines, universities, and other organizations have developed subfields, centers, funding programs, and intellectual approaches to investigate how humans interact with their natural environment. In this course we review what social scientists have done to better understand the human dimensions of environmental change. This course will draw on an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the past, present, and future interactions between the climate and human beings. This course will seek to strengthen students' capacities for inquiry, analysis and critical engagement with real world challenges.
ANT 399: Special Topics in Anthropology The exact topic of this course will change each time it is offered. It is used to explore new or unusual topics for which another course does not already exist.
ANT 400-404: Research Assistance in Anthropology The aim of this course is to allow students to assist in the research projects of faculty in the Sociology and Anthropology Department.
ANT 415: Cutting-Edge Social Science Research on Eurasia In this advanced level seminar, we will review the recent prominent works produced in the field of Eurasian studies. In particular, we will read monographs, collections, and articles that are considered to have left a lasting imprint on contemporary research and to have changed the way we conceptualize issues concerning 'our region.' The works we shall cover will include (but are not limited to) Serguei Oushakine's (2009) Patriotism of Despair, Olga Shevchenko's (2009) Crisis and the Everyday in Postsocialist Moscow, Morgan Liu's (2012) Under Solomon's Throne, Johan Rasanayagam's (2012) Islam in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan and the collection, Ethnographies of the State in Central Asia (2014). We will also examine articles from the leading area studies' journals such as Europe-Asia Studies, Central Asian Survey, and Slavic Review. On completion, students should be able to formulate and place their research within the framework of existing research.
ANT420/520: Materiality and Eurasian Society The field of material culture studies inverts the longstanding focus on how people make things by also investigating technological behaviors that both shape and are shaped by the individuals who perform them ––objects have substantially more power than we give them credit for. Of particular focus in this course will be the role of anthropology in constructing narratives of 'Things.' We will critically evaluate modes for thinking about materiality over time through specific attention to Eurasia from prehistory to the present day.
ANT 421: Sport and the Construction of IdentityThe course will introduce students to the key anthropological concepts and theories useful to understand identity-building processes and it`s connection with the sport. The course will highlight the difficulties and scholarly controversies associated with the study of sport identity. Students will also examine sport, not as a phenomenon that “reveals” social and cultural values and gender stereotypes associated with the sport, but they will learn how sport serves as one of the major modes of identity. In this course, students will study sport as an integral part of human society, culture, and identity construction “tool’. Themes will also include topics on reimagination or ‘revival” of the past via spot games, identity, sport and power, regional identity and globalization, sport and gender stereotypes. At the end of the class, students will be familiarized and will be able to make a critical judgment on specific identity, gender and ethnic building processes, state-run ideologies. This course covers large geographic areas such as South and North Americas, Europe, the Middle East and South and Central Asia.
ANT 435: The Archaeology of RitualNearly every human society participates in some form of ritual practice, including those from the past. Data recovered from archaeological sites of ancient cultures are sometimes described as “ritual” items when no other explanation is available. Carefully considering context and using
multiple lines of evidence makes it possible to move beyond a blanket designation of “ritual” to understand what these data tell us about ancient religious beliefs and ritual practices. Using approaches to rituals grounded in religious studies and archaeological theory and physical evidence from past societies around the world, students will learn about different forms of ritual practices, what evidence they leave in the archaeological record, and how to interpret them when no written evidence is available to explain complex and symbolic behaviors. Students will develop their existing archaeological knowledge and interpretive skills by examining sacred space, artifacts, and additional lines of evidence presented in readings, lectures, and discussions. They will also gain confidence using terminology associated with religious and ritual practices, such as liminality, the sacred, and belief systems. They will apply their knowledge by describing, comparing, and interpreting materials from ritual sites.
ANT 475: Digital Ethnographies This upper-level seminar will introduce students to the study of human communication and social activity as mediated by new communications technologies: mobile phones and the internet, social networks and virtual worlds. What social and cultural universals follow us into new media? How do new media offer new possibilities for social structures, relationships, and interaction? What new methods are required for doing ethnography online? We will explore these questions in class through reading monographs, articles, and methods handbooks, through traditional discussion, through experiments in online presence and ventures into virtual worlds.
ANT 498: Capstone Seminar I Capstone seminar is a year-long course which is a fundamental feature of the Anthropology BA program. It serves to culminate, solidify and provide clear demonstration of the capabilities that students have acquired previously in the course of the program. Capstone seminar consists of two consecutive courses: ANT 498, taught in the Fall semester, and ANT 499, taught in the Spring semester. In their fourth year in the program, students will have an opportunity to design, conduct, and present their research projects broadly falling within the fields of Sociology and Anthropology. In this process, they will consolidate and further develop their knowledge in sociology, anthropology and related disciplines as well as research, writing, communication, and presentation skills. At the beginning of the Fall semester, students will be asked to choose one of the two tracks for their Capstone seminar: Track One: An independent academic research and undergraduate thesis. Track Two: Community-engagement participatory research project and project report. During the Fall semester, students will design their research projects, develop research instruments, review relevant literature, obtain ethics review approval from the SHSS ethics review committee, and start data collection.
ANT 499: Capstone Seminar II Capstone seminar is a year-long course which is a fundamental feature of the Anthropology BA program. It serves to culminate, solidify and provide clear demonstration of the capabilities that students have acquired previously in the course of the program. Capstone seminar consists of two consecutive courses: ANT 498, taught in the Fall semester, and ANT 499, taught in the Spring semester. In their fourth year in the program, students will have an opportunity to design, conduct, and present their research projects broadly falling within the fields of Sociology and Anthropology. In this process, they will consolidate and further develop their knowledge in sociology, anthropology and related disciplines as well as research, writing, communication, and presentation skills. At the beginning of the Fall semester, students will be asked to choose one of the two tracks for their Capstone seminar: Track One: An independent academic research and undergraduate thesis. Track Two: Community-engagement participatory research project and project report. During the spring semester, students will analyze the collected data, write up their results, present their findings through a public conference. Track One students must write and publicly present an original research paper. Additionally these students will be asked to find avenues to disseminate their work widely including publishing in academic journals or presenting their work at a recognized academic conference. Track Two students will be also asked to present their research findings to their communities (organizations) in the form of an oral presentation, an exhibition, or using social media tools.