Cultural anthropology is the study of societies and culture. The key term is culture: the ways in which people live with, make use of and make sense of their social world and physical environment. Cultural anthropologists speak of systems: social systems (the ways in which social relations are organized, e.g. family and kinship), belief systems (including religion and metaphysics), economic systems (how people make a living and how that is integrated into social life, how class systems work, how resources are used in a society), linguistic systems (languages, what they are, how they change, and how people use them as part of social life), national systems (how nations form, the cultural aspects of nationalism), racial systems (what generates racial concepts and exclusions), gender systems (the cultural bases for concepts of male/female, gay/straight) and so forth.
Cultural anthropology has strong links to archaeology, the study of material culture, that is, how artifacts carry information about the societies and physical environment in which they were made. These fields are linked in turn to physical anthropology, the study of human evolution. Cultural anthropology is based on ethnography, the on-site study of what people do and how they do it. Ethnography is roughly organized in terms of area: ethnographic areas covered by Hamilton College Anthropology faculty include Tibet and China, Malaysia, Pacific Islands, Turkey, native North America (i.e. North American Indians) and the contemporary United States. Within these areas, Hamilton faculty cover economic systems, nationalism, race, gender, psychology and language (see also Archeology).
100-level cultural anthropology courses are broad introductions to the issues examined by anthropologists. Anthropology 113 (Cultural Anthropology) offers a general survey of social structure, political and economic principles and belief systems in societies ranging from the relatively small and face-to-face to the complex. Anthropology 114 (From Fieldwork to Ethnography) examines the operation of fundamental cultural categories (space, time, race, language, relations, identity, body, gender, sexuality, fashion and/or food). Anthropology 115 (Controversies in Cultural Anthropology) examines the ways in which key anthropological concepts have emerged through its debates. Anthropology 126 (Language and Sociolinguistics) and Anthropology 127 (Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology) examine the nature of language, how it becomes part of culture, how forms and uses of language take on cultural and social meaning, and how inequality is reflected in language.
200- and 300-level courses are broadly distinguished by levels of focus and complexity. 200-level courses offer an examination of an ethnographic area (e.g., Native North Americans; Peoples of Island Southeast Asia) or a general theoretical area (e.g., Culture and Consumption; Power, Politics and Protest; Ethnography of Communication; Gender Roles in Comparative Perspective). 300-level courses focus on more specific or complex problems, places and issues (e.g., History of Anthropological Ideas; Colonial Legacy and National Cultures in the Pacific Islands; U.S. Discourses: Gender and Technology; Foundations in Economic Anthropology; Anthropology of Deviance).
Why study cultural anthropology? We all live in complex cultural and social worlds. Anthropology provides frameworks in which to see and understand the diversities of practice, belief and language that make up our complex global systems.
ARCHAEOLOGY
Archaeology courses provide our students with opportunities to explore the human past and learn how cultural history is recovered through the study of artifacts. Of course, we often think of archaeology as the domain of bespectacled, pith helmeted adventurers seeking ancient tombs. The accuracy of this description notwithstanding, contemporary archaeology is a highly varied field of study. It potentially considers any instance of material culture that preserves some record of past behaviors in any geographic area or any time period, from the beginnings of tool use around 2.5 million years ago through the industrial era. Moreover, while archaeology is generally viewed as a field discipline, it is as much at home in the laboratory, where technical approaches often adopted from allied disciplines are enlisted to interpret the artifact record.
Archaeology courses are part of the general offerings of the Anthropology Department, which also provides courses in cultural and linguistic anthropology. The first archaeology course a student takes is Arch 106. This course emphasizes the study of archaeological methods that have been developed to interpret the artifact record. To heighten exposure to artifacts and the methods for studying them, this course contains a laboratory. For interested students, we also encourage them to take an introductory course in one of the other anthropological disciplines. While the different areas of anthropology share many of the same interests in the development of human cultural variation, by virtue of the phenomena each studies--e.g., artifacts, behavior, ideas, and language—they are quite different.
The archaeology curriculum broadens at the 200-level. Here a student may study the evolutionary record of humans (Arch 245), the prehistory of North America (Arch 243), or human colonization of unoccupied landscapes (Arch 249). Those students with a deep interest in archaeology should not miss the opportunity to apply their knowledge in the field. Arch 280 is a six-week field course offered during the summer on a biennial schedule. Joining Hamilton faculty members in the high desert of Nevada, students learn a wide variety of data recovery techniques while investigating the oldest cultures in the region.
Students who study archaeology benefit from course work in allied fields. Not only do we encourage study in cultural anthropology, but also we strongly recommend that students take courses in geology and other sciences. Doing so enhances a student’s analytic capabilities, but such breadth of study also encourages a better informed perspective of how humans relate to their environment and to one another, economically, socially and ideologically, through material culture. For those students whose interests concern the relationships between humans and the environment, we particularly recommend introductory courses in geology. In fact, Hamilton encourages this interdisciplinary focus through a concentration in Geoarchaeology.
335S Seminar: Discourse in Society.
Considers how linguists and social theorists study discourse. Begins with studies where discourse refers to actual segments of language: written text, conversation, “talk-in-interaction” and stories. Also considers how individuals, groups, organizations, Nations, etc., employ discourse in conscious ways, and the subtle power of discourse to shape structures which have influence over individuals. Topics include conversation analysis, critical discourse analysis, as well as other theories of and approaches. Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. Prerequisite, 126 or 127.
Maximum enrollment, 12.
Moskowitz.
Courses in Anthropology
113F Cultural Anthropology.
Cross-cultural approaches to the study of social structure, polity, economic behavior and belief systems. Anthropological methods of analysis of nonliterate, peasant and complex contemporary societies. Not open to seniors or to students who have taken 114 or 115. LaDousa.
114S Introduction to Cultural Anthropology: From Fieldwork to Ethnography.
Introduces crucial ideas in cultural anthropology such as space, time, race, language, relations, identity, body, gender, food, sexuality and/or fashion. Examines various cultures by simultaneously scrutinizing your own and using it as your comparative reference point.
(Proseminar.)
Not open to juniors, seniors or to students who have taken 113 or 115.
Maximum enrollment, 16.
LaDousa.
[115S]
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology: Controversies in Cultural Anthropology.
The history and contemporary practice of cultural anthropology as seen through the emergence, development and (sometimes) resolution of key controversies. Examples drawn from diverse geographical areas and temporal areas include: amateur vs. professional fieldwork, scientific vs. interpretive approaches, study of race, Mead/Freeman debate over nature and nurture and other controversies.
(Proseminar.)
Not open to seniors, juniors or to students who have taken 113 or 114.
Maximum enrollment, 16.
126F Language and Sociolinguistics.
Fundamental linguistic principles (phonetics and phonology, grammar and syntax, lexicon), language change processes and linguistic manifestations of social structure such as race, class, gender. Not open to seniors or to students who have taken 127. Moskowitz.
127S Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology.
Fundamental linguistic principles (phonetics and phonology, grammar and syntax, lexicon), the ethnography of communication, and the relation of language to cultural principles and practices. Not open to seniors or to students who have taken 126. Moskowitz.
[201S]
Linguistic Theory: A Brief History.
A general examination of the nature of language. Topics include the history of ideas about language; philosophical and cognitive aspects of language; structural and generative approaches to the analysis of language. Prerequisite, 126, 127 or consent of instructor.
[202S]
Folklore.
Traces historical shifts in the study of folklore including formalist, structuralist and performance-based approaches. Probes connections between folklore and notions of tradition, authenticity, heritage, the local and the nation. Introduces emerging work in feminist, critical and reflexive stances toward folklore scholarship. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology or consent of instructor.
[206S]
The Culture of Imperialism(s) in East Asia.
Study of the discourses of imperialism in East Asia during the 20th century using the theoretical framework of cultural studies to consider the impact of European, American and Japanese imperialism on Korean and Japanese cultures during the colonial and post-colonial eras. Reading focus on Said's "Orientalism," McClintock's "Imperial Leather," Lowe's and Lloyd's "The Politics of Culture in the Shadow of Capital," Tanaka's "Japan's Orient" and Cumings's "Parallax Visions."
(Same as Comparative Literature 206.)
[207S]
J Pop! Popular Cultures in Japan and Beyond.
What is "Japanese culture?" Pays special attention to contemporary pop cultures in Japan. Investigates celebrity, music, theatre, anime (Japanese animation) and/or manga (Japanese graphic novels and comics) that are created and consumed in Japan and beyond. Draws comparisons with other cultures and contextualizes various cultural phenomena theoretically. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology or Asian studies.
211F Youth and the Culture of Young People in Japan.
Recently, studies of young people and youth culture have occupied a more central place in anthropological inquiry. These studies on minors demonstrate that far from being passive receptors of socialization, young people are active agents, shaping and creating the worlds in which they exist. What would the study of the anthropology of youth look like if the starting point were Japan? What are the experiences of young people in Japan? What worlds do adults create for them and what worlds do they create for themselves? Prerequisite, one course in anthropology, History/Asian Studies 180 or consent of instructor. Moskowitz.
213S Anthropology of Japan.
Examines how anthropologists have studied Japan and Japanese culture, including how self and gender are socially constituted in Japan and the ways Japanese society is organized through such institutions as education, religion and the workplace. Finally, examines other topics such as language, literature and pop culture as cultural expressions that both shape modern Japanese society and serve as a means for a national understanding of self.
(Proseminar.)
Prerequisite, One course in anthropology, Asian Studies 180 or consent of instructor.
(Same as East Asian Languages and Literatures 213.)
Maximum enrollment, 16.
Moskowitz.
214F The Politics of Difference.
Emergence of "race," "ethnicity" and "culture" as terms and associated concepts from history of colonial relations and in 20th century anthropological thought. History and development of interrelation among terms and concepts with attention to historical and cross-cultural contexts, including space, class and gender, cultural racism in contemporary Europe, diversity and multiculturalism in contemporary U.S., and additional cases elsewhere in the world. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology.
(Same as Africana Studies 214.)
Vasantkumar.
220S Contemporary Culture and Politics in India.
Cultural and political-economic dynamics in post-colonial India. Traverses early and more recent anthropological approaches to rural village social structure, including dimensions of hierarchy, gender, religion, communication and economy; relatively recent transformations in expressions thereof that are national in scope; and relatively new considerations of the importance of media, including cultural productions disseminated through audio-cassettes, film and television, as the economy undergoes neo-liberal transformations. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology, History/Asian Studies 180 or consent of instructor.
(Same as History 220.)
LaDousa.
[225]
Phonetics and Phonology: The Analysis of Sound.
How the sounds of language are produced. The structure of sound systems in a variety of languages (including non-European). Organization of field projects: data collection, transcription analysis.
[232F]
Comparative Ethnographic Study of Asia.
Explores similarities and differences within Asia through ethnographic research in such countries as Japan and Korea. Examines effects of sexuality, gender, class, citizenship and ethnicity on people's daily lives; impact of post-colonialism and post-cold war social orders on human relationships; influence of hegemonic apparatuses on people to "perform" certain roles versus people's capacity to maintain their integrities. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology or Asian Studies 180.
[248F]
Peoples of China.
What does it mean to be Chinese? Examines Chineseness across a range of issues (language, territory, ethnicity/nationality, culture) and contexts (legacies of imperial period, ethnic diversity in People's Republic of China, overseas Chinese populations in SE Asia, contemporary popular culture in Hong Kong and Taiwan). Central question: Is there a shared element of "Chineseness" across regional, linguistic, international, historical differences? Prerequisite, one course in anthropology, History/Asian Studies 180 or consent of instructor.
249F China and Tibet.
Approaches the contentious relationship of China and Tibet from historical and anthropological perspectives. Explores claims made by both sides with attention to uses and limits of such concepts as nation-state, empire and diaspora; focuses on how contemporary debates about Tibet are linked in crucial ways to politics of ethnicity and nation in the PRC; undertakes an exploration of constructions of Chineseness emergent in late 19th century; traces the links between Qing imperial expansion and today's PRC as a "unified, multi-ethnic state." Prerequisite, one course in anthropology, History/Asian Studies 180 or consent of instructor. Vasantkumar.
[257]
Language, Gender and Sexuality.
Stresses special lessons that anthropology has to teach about the gendered facets of linguistic expression, including the necessity of an approach that is both empirical, including moments of interaction, and critical, exploring issues of power and agency. Considers conceptual benefits and limitations to using gendered difference as a model for sexual difference in the study of linguistic expression. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology or consent of instructor.
[268F]
Japan Inc: Hierarchy, Power and Resistance.
Explores Japanese domestic and transnational corporations through close reading of ethnographies. Why do companies, workers, commodities, even customers cross regional and national boundaries? How do laws and states affect one’s economic, psychological and cultural life? Pays special attention to the personal experiences of employees, employers and business partners in behind-the-scenes places, such as locker rooms, cafeterias and outside office spaces. Comparative analysis with the U.S. encouraged; considerations of multiple variables, including gender, race/ethnicity and class, required. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology, Asian Studies 180 or consent of instructor.
[270S]
The Ethnography of Communication.
Theory and analysis of communication and meaning in social and cultural context.
(Writing-intensive.)
Prerequisite, 113, 114, 115, 126, 127 or 201, or consent of instructor.
Maximum enrollment, 20.
[302S]
Seminar in Linguistic Semiotics.
Focused examination of the nature of meaning as constituted through the formal structures of language (grammatical and semantic) and its pragmatic (social) functions. Strong emphasis on data-oriented analyses. Specific topics may include grammatical classification, comparative morphology, diachronic (historical and sociolinguistic) issues, the relation of discursive process to grammatical formation.
(Writing-intensive.)
Prerequisite, 126, 127, 201, 270 or consent of instructor.
Maximum enrollment, 12.
[315S]
Writing Culture.
History and analysis of ethnographic writing with particular attention to the politics of description.
(Writing-intensive.)
Prerequisite, 113, 114, 115, 126, 127 or consent of instructor.
Maximum enrollment, 20.
318S Seminar: Anthropology of Education.
Examines the school as a site for the reconstruction of cultural difference. Special attention paid to links between schooling and the nation, to connections between schooling and modernity, and to themes such as discipline, value, gender, language and labor. Examples from Bolivia, Tanzania, India and the United States, among other nation-states. Concludes with a consideration of globalization, specifically the rise in neoliberal approaches in the governance of school systems. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology or consent of instructor.
Maximum enrollment, 12.
LaDousa.
[324S]
Performance in Everyday Life.
Analyzes various forms of performance embedded in everyday space, including home, work and school. Explores how a particular role becomes salient among our multiple identities, such as student, family, member and friend. How do we negotiate our multiplicities and react when our social roles contradict one another? Challenges the dichotomy between "truth" and "false" through case studies. Compares and contrast performance by critically engaging with performance theory, constructionist theory and practice theory. Special attention to the intersection of gender, race and citizenship. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology.
Maximum enrollment, 12.
[327F]
Seminar: Money, Money, Money: Anthropological Approaches to Exchange, Equivalence and Economy.
We all know what money is. But do we know how it works? Focus on the origins, uses and limits of money to draw broader conclusions about systems of exchange, equivalence and finance. Prerequisite, Anthropology 113, 114, 115, 126, 127 or consent of instructor.
Maximum enrollment, 12.
328S Gender, Race, and Immigration in a Global World.
Course examines the cultural and geographical consequences of the rise of free markets since the 1970s, focusing on immigration and the place of women, ethnic and religious minorities in contemporary Europe. Uses case studies, films, novels, and theoretical reflections to explore how global restructuring processes affect movements of populations, gender relations, and national, ethnic, gendered and racialized identities. Emphasizes the African Diaspora, popular ideas of blackness and racial identity, racelessness, and the intensification of intolerance and racism in Europe. Prerequisite, A course in Women's Studies or consent of Instructor.
(Same as and Women's Studies 328.)
Maximum enrollment, 12.
Merrill.
[331S]
Seminar: Sex Work and Emotional Labor.
Introduces the theoretical notions "sex work" and "emotional labor" (managing emotion of self and others), examines lives of sex workers and emotional laborers in depth, and investigates intersections of sex work and emotional labor, using case studies in Asia, America and elsewhere. Emphasizes critical analyses of the historical, structural and social contexts in which workers are situated, paying special attention to race/ethnicity, gender and class. Seminar requires an open mind, capacity to discuss taboo issues and self-evaluation of social biases. Prerequisite, one course in anthropology or women's studies.
Maximum enrollment, 12.
338S The Anthropology of Globalization and Transnationalism.
Explores anthropological approaches to interconnection on a planetary scale. Specific focus on nationalism, trans-nationalism and globalization in contemporary Asia, broadly construed. Brings into critical focus the pros and cons of focusing on “Asia” in terms of an area studies paradigm. While this course will be Asia-centric, “Asia”-specific sources will be supplemented by materials that discuss similar processes at work in different territorial locations. Prerequisite, one course in cultural anthropology.
Maximum enrollment, 12.
Vasantkumar.
356S The Shaman's Art.
Religious specialists’ expertise rests as much in performance as in the recall and exegesis of esoteric sacred rituals, texts and doctrines. Yet what does successful performance entail, not only in terms of the scientific or supernatural efficacy of a ritual, but in terms of its artistry? Explores the role of ritual specialists as textual, verbal, visual, dramatic and technological artists by considering the work of indigenous shamans in Native traditions of the Americas, especially contemporary Maya "Daykeepers.” Prerequisite, At least one course in Religious Studies, Anthropology, Latin American Studies or related fields, or consent of instructor.
(Same as Religious Studies 356.)
Fox Tree.
358F History of Anthropological Ideas.
A consideration of major paradigms in anthropology from the 19th century to the present. The influence of various theoretical perspectives on ethnographic and archaeological description and analysis.
(Writing-intensive.)
Prerequisite, 106, 113, 114, 115, 126 or 127.
Maximum enrollment, 20.
T Jones and LaDousa.
[360F]
US Discourses I: Race, Ethnicity and Class.
An analysis of legal, scientific, commemorative and media public discourses that connect ideas about U.S. identity and citizenship with race, ethnicity and class. Prerequisite, 113, 114, 115, 126, 127 or consent of instructor.
[361S]
US Discourses II: Science, Technology and Gender.
An analysis of public representations of technology and science as these relate ideas about gender to ideas about being American. Prerequisite, 113, 114, 115, 126, 127 or consent of instructor.
440F Senior Seminar in Cultural Anthropology.
The research process as it relates to the fulfillment of the senior project, including the formulation of a research problem, frames for research, research design, collection of data and cultural analysis.
Maximum enrollment, 12.
Vasantkumar.
450S Senior Project in Cultural Anthropology.
For students continuing their senior projects in cultural anthropology for a second semester but who are not pursuing honors. Continuation of participation in 440. The Department.
560S Honors Thesis.
A thesis supervised by at least one member of the department. Prerequisite, 440 or 441. Continuation of participation in 440 or 441. The Department.
Courses in Archaeology
106F,S Principles of Archaeology.
An introduction to the fundamentals of archaeology, with emphasis on evolutionary principles. Topics include a review of archaeological field methods such as sampling, survey and excavation, and analytic methods such as dating, typology and formation processes. Three hours of class and one hour of laboratory.
(Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning.)
Maximum enrollment, 24.
Goodale, T Jones.
210F The Archaeology of Cultural Collapse.
Jared Diamond's book Collapse addresses five factors he sees as important in the collapse of both prehistoric and historic cultures throughout the world. Examines the archaeological evidence for such calamities, focusing first on the five factors and how they appear to be operative in present-day and historical societies, for which we have written records, and then on a number of prehistoric societies, for which only archaeological data exist. Prerequisite, 106 or consent of instructor.
Maximum enrollment, 24.
Beck.
[215]
Old World Prehistory.
Cultural developments of the last 40,000 years in Africa and Eurasia. Focus on anatomically modern human behavioral adaptations as organized in hunting and gathering and agricultural societies, and in large-scale complex civilizations. Attention to the important transitions in prehistory that laid the foundations for the development of civilizations throughout the Old World. Prerequisite, 106 or consent of instructor.
[230S]
Persistent Questions in Prehistory.
A number of questions about prehistory persist in archaeology, despite attempts to answer them, questions such as: Who were the Neandertals and where do they fit in evolution of modern humans? What factors led to the evolution of social complexity and inequality? Where did the first people to colonize the Americas come from, when did they arrive, and how did they get here? Examines several of these questions, how archaeologists have attempted to answer them throughout the years, and why they are still with us. Prerequisite, 106.
[237]
The Archaeological Record of Guns, Germs and Steel.
The distinction between “us and them” in terms of indigenous societies and the western world has deep evolutionary roots. In Jared Diamond’s book "Guns, Germs and Steel” he proposes several factors as to why people in the developed societies generally have more “cargo” than those in indigenous societies. Examines Diamond’s hypotheses within the backdrop of the archaeological record to evaluate his assertions. Prerequisite, 106 or consent of instructor.
Maximum enrollment, 24.
243F North American Prehistory.
The history of Native American cultural development north of the Rio Grande prior to European contact. Topics include the timing and effects of human entry into North America, ice-age adaptations, plant and animal domestication, agriculture and beginnings of complex societies. Prerequisite, 106 or consent of instructor. Beck.
245S Human Ancestors.
A review of the biological and cultural evolution of humans. Topics include human uniqueness, race and biological diversity, the earliest humans in Africa, radiations of fossil and modern humans. Includes laboratory. Prerequisite, 106 or Biology 110; Geosciences 103 or 105.
Maximum enrollment, 24.
[249S]
The Archaeology of Continental Discovery.
Explores the social, organizational and environmental consequences of initial human colonization of unoccupied landscapes. Examined through case studies, including initial colonization of Australia and North America, and the voyaging expansion of people across Pacific islands. Also addresses the consequences of European "rediscovery" of these areas for native peoples and environment. Prerequisite, 106 or consent of instructor.
250S The Ethnography and Archaeology of Hunter-Gatherers.
Humans lived as hunter-gatherers for 99% of our evolutionary past. Today, just a small fraction of the world’s population lives as hunter-gatherers and that number is rapidly decreasing due to modernization. Anthropologists and archaeologists are interested in studying the adaptive range of modern hunter-gatherers in order to help interpret the archaeological record. Course explores the ethnographic and archaeological study of hunting and gathering with a focus on analogy and inference developed in ethnoarchaeology and behavioral ecology. Prerequisite, 106 or consent of instructor. Goodale.
[281Su]
Archaeology Field Course I.
A three- to four-week introduction to archaeological field techniques, including excavation, survey and mapping. Conducted in conjunction with field research programs of Hamilton faculty. Prerequisite, 106 or consent of instructor. Extra cost.
Maximum enrollment, 8.
[282Su]
Archaeology Field Course II.
A three- to four-week session building on training in archaeological field techniques received in Archaeology 281. Conducted in conjunction with field research programs of Hamilton faculty. Prerequisite, 281. Extra cost. Does not count toward the concentration in archaeology or cultural anthropology.
Maximum enrollment, 8.
325F Analytic Methods in Archaeology.
A survey of analytic techniques central to archaeological and paleoecological interpretation. Laboratory performance of artifact analysis and classification, computer-aided data management and statistical analysis. Three hours of class and three hours of laboratory.
(Writing-intensive.)
Prerequisite, 106.
Maximum enrollment, 8.
T Jones.
[334S]
Method and Theory in Archaeology.
An examination of the historical development of modern methodological and theoretical approaches and problems in American archaeology. Space-time frameworks, typology, form and function, research design, evolutionary, ecological and behavioral theory. Prerequisite, 106.
441F Senior Seminar in Archaeology.
Critical evaluation of selected topics in archaeology. Primary research, culminating in a paper for fulfillment of the senior project. Goodale.
451S Senior Project in Archaeology.
For students continuing their senior projects in archaeology for a second semester but who are not pursuing honors. Continuation of participation in 441. The Department.
