Course Descriptions
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Anthropology and Religion
6ANR 110 (I, II-3) Religions of the World
An introduction to world religions, examining the responses of world religions as well as smaller, local traditions to fundamental questions like the following: What is the relation of the individual to the divine? Is the religious life best lived in the world or apart from it? Are humans inherently good or bad? What is the relationship of humans to nature? We reflect on influences that draw people to new religions and elements that allow traditions to endure. The course helps students to better understand their own world views by exposing them to contrasting perspectives across the globe.
6ANR 210 (I, II-3) Meaning in Everyday Life
Art, music, and religion all give life meaning in special and dramatic ways. However, the world of our everyday lives is also filled with meanings that are reflected and amplified in a culture's great art forms and religious ideas. We leave the grand visions of high culture aside and examine the ordinary meanings of everyday life. These meanings tend to be invisible; being accustomed to them, we think of them as normal. They appear to us simply as reality. We will take a close look at everyday "realities." We examine the ways in which people use time and space and how they think about human relationships, nature, death, and what it means to a person. This allows students to understand their own culture more deeply as well as learn about others.
6ANR 220 (I, II-3) The Nature of Love
We think of love as the most personal of emotions, yet our private experiences of love and the way these can be enacted are influenced by biology, by social life , by cultural images and family expectations. In this course, we will consider love from many points of view, drawing on evolutionary theory, psychology, anthropology, and literature. We will examine ways in which love and courtship take place in a variety of societies, and will look at the definitions and expressions of love in Asian as well an European and American contexts.
6ANR 230 (I, II-3) Imagining India
As a place with its own highly civilized and exotic traditions, India has captured the imagination of many. This course gives us an understanding of this distant, complex and varied land, and in so doing will show us how societies can be conceived in terms very different from our own. More importantly, it shows us how different perspectives reveal different aspects of a society. Here, we will read ethnographies, novels, and autobiographies by indigenous South Asian authors and by foreigners, thinking carefully along the way about what informs their point of view as well as what they reveal about India.
6ANR 240 (I, II-3) Women and Religion
A study of conceptions of women embodied in the imagery of various religious traditions, the role of women in worship, and the impact of religious traditions on feminine experience and social definitions of gender roles. For each region, we consider both religious doctrine and the lives of women in the context of societies holding to these religious beliefs. Cross-listed as WST 240.
6ANR 250 (I, II-3) Culture and Communication
A study of the nature of human communication. Topics include whether there are universals in the way humans communicate; how language shapes understanding of the world; how people use communication to establish, maintain, or challenge power relations; and how gender influences communication. We also explore specific forms of artistic and religious communication.
6ANR 260 (I, II-3) Religion and Culture: Fundamentalisms
This course will examine the social and cultural circumstances that give rise to religious fundamentalism, explore the easons for its attraction to adherents, and look at its contrasts with other forms of religious practice. Readings will focus on Christianity and Islam. Analytic readings, weekly papers, and a final project will be required.
6ANR 280 (II-3) Approaches to Ethnography
Ethnography offers a window into a variety of cultural worlds, and provides the foundation for theorizing in anthropology and in related disciplines like ethnomusicology. In this course, we will examine ways in which anthropologists conduct ethnographic research and write ethnography. We will look at a range of analytic and interpretive approaches to ethnography, learn fundamental techniques for conducting ethnographic research, and consider ethical aspects of such work, exploring contemporary debates about the practice and production of ethnography. Cross-listed as ETH 480.