Anthropology 112 - Sociocultural Anthropology

Through the comparative study of culture and society, anthropology explores fundamental questions about what it means to be and become human. Based on deep engagements with specific groups, communities, and settings, anthropology examines the practices, structures, and meanings that shape lived experience. This course introduces students to the basic concepts and methods of sociocultural anthropology. Drawing on a wide range of ethnographic cases, the course will provide frameworks for analyzing diverse facets of human experience such as gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, politics, economics, language, technology, medicine, and art. In addition to giving students a taste of the variety of topics explored by anthropologists, the course will also introduce students to the discipline's central methodological investment in ethnography as a uniquely illuminating mode of inquiry.

Limited to 45 students. Fall semester. Professor Dole.

How to handle overenrollment: Preference to first- and second-year students, and to majors who have yet to take this required course.

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: emphasis on written work, reading, in-class quizzes or exams.