This course explores the astronomical roots of clocks and calendars, and relies on both real and simulated observations of the sun, moon and stars. In addition to weekly projects based on collecting and interpreting data, students independently research a clock and a calendar from another culture, either ancient or modern. There are no prerequisites, and students from all disciplines and backgrounds are welcome. Enrollment limited to 25 per section.

Discover how the forces of nature shape our understanding of the cosmos. Explore the origin, structure, and evolution of the earth, moons and planets, comets and asteroids, the sun and other stars, star clusters, the Milky Way and other galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and the universe as a whole. Designed for non-science majors.

Topics course. This course explores how and why humans across the globe began to domesticate plant and animal resources approximately 10,000 years ago. The first half of the course presents the types of archaeological data and analytical methods used to study the "agricultural revolution." The second half examines case studies from the major centers of domestication in order to investigate the biological, economic and social implications of these processes.

This course considers the shifting place of Africa in a global context from various perspectives. Our goal will be to understand the global connections and exclusions that constitute the African continent in the new millennium. We will explore topics such as historical connections, gender, popular culture, global economy, development, commodities, health and medicine, global institutions, violence and the body, the postcolonial state, religion, science and knowledge, migration and diaspora, the Internet and communications, and modernity. Enrollment limited to 30.

This course analyzes cultural performances as sites for the expression and formation of social identity. Students study various performance genres such as rituals, festivals, parades, cultural shows, music, dance, and theater. Topics include expressive culture as resistance; debates around authenticity and heritage; the performance of race, class and ethnic identities; the construction of national identity; and the effects of globalization on indigenous performances. Prerequisite: 130 or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 30.

Death, the "supreme and final crisis of life" (Malinowski), calls for collective understandings and communal responses. What care is due the dying? What indicates that death has occurred? How is the corpse to be handled? The course uses ethnographic and historical sources to indicate how human communities have answered these questions, and to determine just how unusual are the circumstances surrounding dying in the contemporary Western world. Not open to first year students. Enrollment limited to 30.

The Anthropology of Development compares three explanatory models -- modernization theory, dependency theory, and indigenous or alternative development -- to understand social change today. Who sponsors development programs and why? How are power, ethnicity, and gender relations affected? How do anthropologists contribute to and critique programs of social and economic development? The course will discuss issues of gender, health care, population growth, and economic empowerment with readings from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America.

This course concerns the cultural evolution of human society, looking at changes in social organization and technological complexity from our origin as nomadic foragers to current configurations of centralized industrialized states. This course examines issues of economy (production, exchange, consumption) and ecology (human-resource interaction, adaptation, and competition for resources), and looks in particular at the development and spread of capitalist relations and its effects on marginal and disempowered peoples.

Same as AMS 351. In this class, students will develop their skills in narrative, long- form non-fiction writing as they explore the ways that science and technology are transforming American culture. We will analyze science writing by authors ranging from John McPhee to Elizabeth Kolbert, and discuss issues ranging from social networking to research into the origins of life. Students will write several original essays and reported pieces during the semester. Enrollment limited to 15. Admission by permission of the instructor, based on submitted writing samples.

Same as ENG 384
In this class, students will develop their skills in narrative, long-form non-fiction writing as they explore the ways that science and technology are transforming American culture. We will analyze science writing by authors ranging from John McPhee to Elizabeth Kolbert, and discuss issues ranging from social networking to research into the origins of life. Students will write several original essays and reported pieces during the semester. Enrollment limited to 15. Admission by permission of the instructor, based on submitted writing samples.