SOAN 111 - Cultural Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human behavior. As anthropologists, we study how people live and understand their world to better understand humanity. In this course, we will examine a range of cultural phenomena including language, social organization, religion, cultural change, economic exchange, subsistence strategies, identity, distribution of power, and the maintenance of tradition across the world. We will discuss the relevance of anthropological methods and findings and how they can be applied to global and local problems. Through engaging ethnographic readings and films, we will examine the impact of the expansion of industrialized societies, colonialism, and dominant political regimes on less globally powerful groups of people. Finally, we will practice doing anthropology by conducting small fieldwork projects. (Group I) (Diversity)