ANTH_V 100, 201, 202, 203, 205, 206, 213, 214, 215, 217, 220 and 221 are general courses open to all students. ANTH_V 100 is a prerequisite to all other third- and fourth-year courses, unless permission of the instructor is obtained. Some courses have additional prerequisites, as listed in the descriptions. For details of current listings, consult the departmental website at www.anth.ubc.ca.
Basic concepts and methods of anthropology; culture and race; comparative study of social systems, religion, symbolism, art, and other institutions. Examples are drawn from a variety of cultures.
A survey of basic concepts and procedures in the cross-cultural study of human societies.
Anthropological critiques of racism, colonialism and ongoing structural inequalities.
Cultural background to contemporary events; problems of nationalism and regional conflicts, economic and social development, gender, religion and social change. Course may stress a different region of the world in different years.
Illicit and/or licit drugs through historical, political, cultural and societal examples.
Analysis of insurrections and revolutions from a comparative perspective.
Anthropological approaches to supernatural beliefs in both traditional and contemporary societies.
An anthropological exploration of how the collection, cultivation and consumption of food shapes human society and culture. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
An anthropological exploration of how understandings of sex and gender are culturally and historically shaped.
A cross-cultural comparison of family and kinship to provide an understanding of variations in the structure and meaning of marriage relations; forms of domestic organization; and the sexual division of labour, property, and inheritance.
Television shows, dramas, movies, advertising, marketing, manga (Japanese style comics), anime (Japanese animation), theatrical forms, popular literature, popular music, fashion fads, tourism, toys, and sports.
The study of communication; the relation between communication and its cultural context with emphasis on verbal and non-verbal communication, cross-cultural communication, and cultural differences in the use of oral, literate, and electronic media.
Anthropological perspectives on contemporary Indigenous issues in British Columbia.
Forms and styles of indigenous expressive arts, and their current place in the lives of Indigenous Peoples. Prerequisite: ANTH 220 is recommended.
An examination of health and illness, in their social and cultural contexts.
Sport within the context of historic and contemporary society.
The critical study of anthropology museums as social institutions and material culture research and classification from the late 19th century to the present day.
Comparative, cross-cultural approach to human engagement with the sacred. Examines religions as complex systems that share certain fundamental common features.
Introduction to foundational topics in the anthropological study of migration, asylum, border-crossing, and (im)mobilities. Recommended: At least one 100-level or 200-level social science course (e.g. ANTH, SOCI, GEOG, POLI).
Contemporary approaches to society and culture in anthropology. Prerequisite: ANTH 200 is recommended.
Eurasia, including the Russian Federation, Central Asia, and Mongolia, with an emphasis on issues of power, identities, and transnational mobility in the region.
A specialized study of ethnographic and theoretical problems relating to South Asia.
A specialized study of ethnographic and theoretical problems in one area. Different culture areas or regions may be selected each term. Consult the Department for this year's offerings.
Specialized study of ethnographic and theoretical problems of the region.
An exploration of ethnographic, topical, and theoretical issues.
An exploration of ethnographic, topical, and theoretical issues.
Ethnographic engagement with lives of people in and from the Himalayan region: including parts of Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan; Tibetan cultural zones traversing these countries; and diasporas.
Critical analysis of colonial experience and cultural representations of the Middle East, particularly visions of orientalism and geopolitical discourses. Draws on ethnographic literature to consider contemporary life and subjectivities.
Ethnographic and theoretical approaches to gender and sexuality, in cross-cultural context.
A survey of the social and cultural bases of relationships including changing family, kinship, social networks, groups, and organizations, based on theoretical analysis and case studies.
Examines the life stage of childhood through various anthropological perspectives, and the evolutionary and social factors that shape human childhood. Explores childhood activities and culture to critically engage with reasons behind distinct patterns in human upbringing.
Japanese culture and society: patterns of organization, value systems, family, education, work, minorities and diversity, harmony and conflict, urban/rural differences, gender, sexuality, youth, tradition, continuity, change, and future prospects.
Topics in political anthropology; ethnographic and theoretical approaches to nationalism, globalization, political systems, international movements and organizations; anthropology of the state.
A survey of the ethnographic uses of language data and the techniques of linguistic analysis.
Anthropological perspectives on contemporary issues of public policy, law, and political activity, as they affect Indigenous Peoples in Canada and globally. Prerequisite: ANTH 220 is recommended.
A comparative study of rural peoples (such as small-scale horticulturists, artisans and craft workers, peasants, fisherfolk, or industrial/manufacturing workers) in the global economy.
Anthropological perspectives on art, aesthetics, and expressive culture.
An ethnographic perspective on the dynamics of oral tradition in various oral and literate cultures; the characteristics and roles of oral genres including folktale, genealogy, oral history, autobiography, and myth in these societies; and the relationship between orality and literacy.
A sociolinguistic examination of the role of language in articulating, maintaining, and subverting power relations in society.
Museums, galleries, monuments, and other cultural institutions' relations to our perception of history and geography.
Major cultural groupings in Polynesia and Micronesia, emphasizing both traditional cultures and the incorporation of the region into modern international institutions.
Major cultural groupings in Melanesia, emphasizing both traditional cultures and the incorporation of the region into modern international institutions.
Indigenous peoples of Latin America, emphasizing both pre-Columbian cultural traditions and socioeconomic and cultural changes from the Colonial period to the present.
Analysis of the relations between human societies and the ecological aspects of their environment (including technology, society, and ideology). Previously ANTH 460.
Examines the movements around refugee and immigrant rights in various geographic contexts, through the lens of ethnographic texts and media. Explores how migrants and refugees are taking an active role in transforming the global system of borders. Recommended pre-requisite: at least one 200-level social science course (e.g. ANTH, SOCI, GEOG, POLI)
Examines how multiple generations of migrants find, build, and reimagine what community and belonging are beyond the confines of the nation-state. Centres ethnographies of diasporic identity and personhood. Recommended: at least one 200-level social science course (e.g. ANTH, SOCI, GEOG, POLI).
Analysis of contemporary mass media and of the anthropological use of media (photography, film, digital audio and video, etc.).
The development of anthropological theory and practice in institutional contexts.
Anthropological perspectives of indigenous cultures and societies of North America. Prerequisite: ANTH 329 is recommended.
Advanced studies in the ethnography of China, premodern and contemporary. Topics may include kinship, rural and urban social structure, stratification and mobility, religion, national power structures, and social change in Chinese society.
An advanced study of ethnographic and theoretical problems. A different region may be studied each term.
An examination of relationships between indigenous people and nation states in Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Siberia, using ethnographic methods.
An examination of field work as the basic setting for ethnographic research. Research design; relationships with study participants, field techniques, and data analysis and presentation.
Intensive examination and application of selected methods of ethnographic data-collection, e.g., visual anthropology, anthropological interviewing, genealogies, ethnographic semantics, life histories, oral traditions. Consult department for current description.
Advanced study of the theory and practice of applied, action, and consultancy anthropology. Topics may include the application of anthropology to questions of aboriginal rights and title, education, medicine, development, women and development, tourism, and other social issues.
Contemporary theory employed in the anthropological study of gender.
Theories on the global flow of people, commodities, images, and ideas with critical ethnographic attention to the different ways people respond to globalization.
Comparative study of religious beliefs, practices, and movements; relations between religious, social, and political institutions; religion as a force for stability and change; anthropological/sociological theories of religion.
Ethnographies about Japan and processes of conducting fieldwork on Japan, covering topics such as work, leisure, identity, tradition, popular culture, rural/urban lifestyles, gender, sexuality, internationalization. Recommended pre-requisites: one of ANTH 215, ANTH 315.
The relationships between linguistic and cultural phenomena; how language affects normative and cognitive systems of thought and behaviour.
Applications of statistical techniques to quantitative and qualitative data in Anthropology.
An anthropological understanding of the spatial dimensions of social practice, and the relationships of space to culture, history, and power.
The nature of subsistence systems antedating or alternative to modern commercial systems. Introductory survey with basic readings; focus on problems such as the development of complex cultures without agriculture, the ambiguity of hunting and gathering, agricultural and other intensification, orchestration of the use of adjacent microenvironments. Of interest to students of archaeology, anthropology and cultural geography.
The everyday lives of people who inhabit East Africa and the Swahili Coast, and consideration of slave trade, long distance migration, colonialism, nationalism, independence movements, religion, identity politics, music, gender, sexuality, health, ecotourism and conservation. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
Anthropological perspectives on health, illness, and disability as represented by classic and contemporary research in selected topics in medical anthropology including disease and human evolution, illness and human ecology, culture and epidemiology, ethnomedical systems, the relationship between folk and biomedicine and the cultural construction and social organization of health care, illness and disability. Specific content will vary from year to year. Consult the Department brochure.
A medical anthropological perspective on medical science, technology, translational research, and clinical practice, in laboratory, clinic, family, social, and cultural contexts. Topics include explanatory models of health, acute and chronic illness, disability; social and cultural dimensions genetics; clinical interaction.
Includes examination of the social and cultural dimensions of specific life-threatening emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, the political economy of health, cultural interpretations of illness and healing, medical pluralism, therapy management, and the cultural construction of efficacy.
Indigenous perspectives on governance, authority, and jurisdiction as applied to British Columbia First Nations. Recommended: ANTH 220.
Management of museum collections and their public presentation, addressing questions of access, collaboration, and cultural property. The public interpretation of anthropological concepts and materials utilizing the programs and facilities of the Museum of Anthropology. Prerequisite: [ANTH341]
The public presentation and interpretation of anthropological concepts and materials utilizing the programs and facilities of the Museum of Anthropology. Prerequisite: [ANTH341] Permission of the department is also acceptable.
General reading and/or a research undertaking, with the agreement, and under the supervision, of a Department faculty member selected by the student. No more than six credits of Directed Studies may be taken for credit toward the Major or Honours program.
An exploration of Chanoyu, Japanese Tea Practice, as a culturally embedded ritual, performance, and aesthetic form, and as a way of understanding underlying elements of Japanese culture. This course has a studio component and a nominal fee may be charged.
Anthropological approaches to foodways and agricultural sustainability, particularly small-scale producers and communities. Includes ethnographic analysis of food movements, food systems and the socio-economic contexts of food provisioning and food production. Recommended: Third year status.
Will usually require the presentation of at least one research paper.
Conservation of organic materials within a museum environment; the nature of materials, mechanisms of deterioration and principles of preventive conservation. Recommended for students intending to work with cultural materials. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor required.
Conservation of inorganic materials within a museum environment; the nature of materials, mechanisms of deterioration and principles of preventive conservation. Recommended for students intending to work with cultural materials. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor is required.
Analysis of the concepts of ecological anthropology via the medium of local ecological knowledge. ANTH 360 is recommended as background.
May include environmental discourse and social movements, anthropological contributions to ecological management systems, or examination of emerging issues in the field. ANTH 360 is recommended as background.
Selected topics in contemporary social and cultural theory which contribute to anthropological analyses. Topics may include Marxist anthropology, critical theory, theories of culture, phenomenology, behavioural ecology, structuralism, hermeneutics, formal theory and examination of specific social theorists.
Cross-cultural study of the operation of law within contested systems of meaning, the social organization of law, and forms of consciousness of the participants in legal/justice practices.
An anthropological perspective on the historical origins and theoretical explanations of social inequality.
Combined anthropological approaches with interdisciplinary theories to understand experiences of mobilities and immobilities shaped by race, gender, sexuality, citizenship and class. Recommended: ANTH 375 or 376, or other upper-level courses focused on migration, gender and sexuality, or social inequality.
Ethnographic digital video production, including methods of ethnographic fieldwork, creation of field notes, and research design; basics of digital video planning, production, and editing. Production fees are charged for this course. Prerequisite: ANTH 378 is recommended.
Volunteering and fieldwork based in community organizations with theoretical approaches to urban spaces. Students will engage in collaborative research while considering a range of theoretical and methodological approaches. Students may earn a maximum of 6 credits from ANTH 480 and SOCI 480. The credit value for this course will be determined in consultation with the student prior to the registration.
An intensive examination of selected topics in Anthropology. Consult the Department for this year's offerings.
Various approaches to anthropology, from classical to contemporary. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
The relationship between current theoretical issues and research methods. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
The credit value for this course will be determined in consultation with the student prior to the registration. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
Feminist approaches to ethnography, theory, methodology; current issues in feminist anthropology; gender relations; feminist anthropology and postmodernism. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
A discussion of selected methods used to observe, describe, and interpret cultural phenomena and social organization, including participant observation, interviewing, ethnographic semantics, life histories, componential analysis, and photography. Attention will also be given to ethics in anthropological research and writing and to such analytic matters as the nature of description, conceptualization, generalization, and content analysis. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
A discussion of selected basic data-gathering methods in their relation to the development of ideas about the archaeological record. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
Analytical approaches to the study of museums and collections. Methods of field collecting, collections research, laboratory procedures, visitor studies, social organization of museum and related cultural industries, exhibit and program evaluation techniques and the ethics of museum research and practice. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
The credit value for this course will be determined in consultation with the student prior to the registration. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
An intensive review of analytical approaches to the study of archaeological data and their applications. Includes research design; sampling strategies; analytical lab procedures; classification and typology; and multivariate analysis and other statistical procedures. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
Introduction to the anthropological application of a variety of quantitative techniques: sampling designs, analysis of variance and regression, multi-way contingency tables, multivariate analysis. A series of lectures will outline the logic and exhibit applications that have been made. Students will then generate their own application and presentation. Access to data files specific to the substantive field of cultural anthropology, archaeology, physical anthropology is provided. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
The credit value for this course will be determined in consultation with the student prior to the registration. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
History, theories, principles and techniques of communication and interpretation of cultural materials. Topics include examination of how various media (script, objects, film, video) are used to interpret histories, society, and culture in museums, art galleries, historic sites and related areas; and how communication programs are planned, implemented and assessed. This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.
This course is not eligible for Credit/D/Fail grading.