Anthropology

Program Offerings

Offering type
A.B.

Anthropology is the study of human experience and social change. Through situated and relational methods, anthropology considers the ways people think, act and make sense of their lifeworlds against the backdrop of multiple structural forces and across intersecting domains and scales. Always in a deep interdisciplinary dialogue, the connections between ethnography, theory, social engagement and storytelling are a hallmark of anthropology.

Goals for Student Learning

The major in anthropology seeks to 

  • train students in anthropological ways of knowing and empower them to deploy social theory and ethnography in their engagements with diverse lifeworlds and pressing societal issues in and out of the academy and workplace; 
  • explore how anthropology emerged historically in the context of colonialism and imperialism and how it continues to evolve toward a decolonial humanistic discipline; 
  • foreground anthropology’s situated and relational mode of evidence-making — ethnography — and its contributions to other critical perspectives in the social sciences and the humanities and to civic engagement; 
  • introduce students to key subfields within anthropology (e.g., sociocultural, medical, legal, political-economic, environmental, science studies, visual) and core topics and concepts (e.g., ritual, kinship, gender, language, exchange, biocultural, psychosocial, multispecies, violence, race and racialization, colonialism/decolonization); 
  • familiarize students with ethnographic theorizing and train them in the multimodal practices of fieldwork (e.g., participant observation, interviews, oral history, archival and big data research and virtual methods); 
  • engage students in debates over research ethics and to learn regulatory ethics, while designing and conducting ethnographic research projects; 
  • offer research opportunities in classwork and through independent work that advance critical thought and the understanding of contemporary human conditions; 
  • develop students’ capacity for sociocultural analysis in multiple settings, including academia, public and private sectors, social organizations and local communities; 
  • maximize students’ capacities and skills to work collaboratively, convey thoughts clearly in both oral and written form, conduct independent research, contribute to scholarly debates and experiment with modes of expression and data presentation. 

Prerequisites

Students who wish to major in the Department of Anthropology must take one anthropology course (any level) prior to junior year or have permission from the director of undergraduate studies.

Program of Study

Anthropology majors must take nine departmental courses, including the core courses ANT 300 (Ethnography, Evidence and Experience) and ANT 301 (The Ethnographer's Craft). All majors are encouraged to participate in non-credit-bearing workshops designed to help students gain traction in data analysis and writing.

Students majoring in anthropology choose one of three tracks.

The Sociocultural Anthropology (SCA) track is for students who want to explore foundational subfields within anthropology. For students who choose the Law, Politics, and Economics (LPE) or the Medical Anthropology (MedAnth) track, the selection of required and elective courses is geared toward rigorous study in these respective subfields. The courses in each track ensure that students, regardless of track, have systematic understanding of anthropological methods and theories and the discipline's unique contributions as a humanistic social science.

A cognate course may be used to satisfy a departmental requirement in any track. Students are allowed up to two cognates. The cognate may be an anthropology course taken during study abroad and/or a course offered by another department or program at Princeton that the director of undergraduate studies has reviewed and deemed to be relevant to a student's independent work or to correspond to a student’s course of study (i.e., track). Proposed cognates must be approved by the department.

Well-prepared undergraduates may take graduate seminars for departmental credit. To enroll in a graduate seminar, the student must obtain approval from the course instructor and the director of undergraduate studies before seeking final approval from the college dean.

Every year, the courses offered by the department are more extensive than what is listed in the Undergraduate Announcement. Students should always check Course Offerings.

Departmental Tracks

Majors are automatically placed by default in the Sociocultural Anthropology track unless they formally declare that they are opting into the Medical Anthropology track or the Law, Politics, and Economics track. Majors are encouraged to decide as early as possible and must declare their chosen track on or before the first day of the spring term of their junior year.

The transcript degree for all majors will be A.B. in anthropology. Students who successfully complete the curriculum of their chosen track will receive a departmental attestation on Class Day and may note their chosen track on their resumés.

Sociocultural Anthropology Track

The Sociocultural Anthropology Track (SCA) is for students who want to explore contemporary forms and trajectories of human life and who seek to understand how differently positioned people address pressing social, political, environmental, technological and ethical challenges. SCA students are immersed in the histories of the discipline and are introduced to core anthropological concepts and subfields. All are encouraged to ethnographically pursue larger questions domestically and internationally and innovate in critical theory and storytelling. 

The SCA track requires nine courses total; three are required and the other six are electives selected according to distribution by course level.

SCA Required Courses (3)
  • ANT 300 Ethnography, Evidence and Experience
  • ANT 301 The Ethnographer's Craft
  • ANT 390 Histories of Anthropological Theory 
SCA Elective Courses by Distribution (6)
  • Two foundational 200-level courses (one may be a cognate approved at this level).
  • One 300-level course in addition to 300, 301, 390 (may be a cognate approved at this level).
  • One advanced 400-level topical course (may be a cognate approved at this level).
  • Two free electives (may be another ANT course at any level and/or a cognate).
Possible Cognates (2)

SCA students are allowed to take two cognates as explained under the Elective Courses by Distribution and Program of Study sections above.

Senior Thesis

SCA students can choose any anthropological topic for their senior thesis, provided the methodological and theoretical approach taken is approved by the student's senior thesis adviser. Ethnographic and/or community-engaged research is strongly encouraged, along with creative modes of data visualization and storytelling.

Medical Anthropology Track

The Medical Anthropology Track (MedAnth) is for students interested in all aspects of medicine, from biosocial to therapeutic systems to cultural ideas about illness and practices of health and well-being. Choosing this track allows students who are interested in the sciences, policy, the humanities and the subfield of medical anthropology to focus their undergraduate training around these topics.

The MedAnth track requires nine courses total; four are required and the other five are electives selected from category groups explained below. Students in this track are allowed to substitute up to two of the five elective courses with a class taught within the Department of Anthropology but outside MedAnth. Students are also allowed to satisfy departmental courses using two cognates.

MedAnth Required Courses (4)
  • ANT 300 Ethnography, Evidence and Experience
  • ANT 301 The Ethnographer’s Craft
  • One foundational Medical Anthropology course offered by the department, including: Medical Anthropology (ANT 240), Medicine and the Humanities (ANT 340), Psychological Anthropology (ANT 305), Race and Medicine (ANT 403).
  • One Human Biology / Biological Anthropology course offered by the department, including: Human Evolution (ANT 206); Mythbusting Race and Sex: Anthropology, Biology, and 'Human Natures' (ANT 428); and newly offered biology-focused courses. Cognate biological courses in, e.g., EEB, MOL, or NEU might be approved.
MedAnth Elective Courses (5)
  • Two medical anthropology and/or science and technology courses, such as: Introduction to Anthropology (ANT 201); Surveillance, Technoscience, and Society (ANT 211); Catastrophes across Cultures: The Anthropology of Disaster (ANT 219); Food, Culture, and Society (ANT 311); Sensory Anthropology (ANT 331); Ethics in Context: Uses and Abuses of Deception and Disclosure (ANT 360); Multispecies Ecologies in the Anthropocene (ANT 426); Disability, Difference, and Race (ANT 461); an additional foundational medical or human biology / biological anthropology course, or a course at the interface of health and environment taught by a member of the ANT faculty.
  • One medicine and society course taught outside the department (department approval is required and counts as a cognate unless cross-listed by ANT), for example: History of Science, Global Health, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Molecular Biology, Psychology, Neuroscience, Sociology, School of Public and International Affairs; or an additional Medical Anthropology and/or Science and Technology course.
  • Two anthropology courses on any subject, or one ANT course and a department-approved cognate. The department encourages MedAnth students to take Histories of Anthropological Theory (ANT 390) if their schedules can accommodate it.

Courses satisfying each of the four specified course categories (two required categories, two elective categories) are offered annually. Courses satisfying the elective course categories are typically taught every other year, although some may be offered annually and others less frequently. A list of preapproved MedAnth courses will be published each semester before course enrollment begins. 

Possible Cognates (2)

MedAnth students are allowed to take two cognates (as defined under Program of Study above). A department cognate for a MedAnth student might include a course taught in departments or programs listed above under Medicine and Society courses or others, such as African American Studies; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Engineering; regional studies including but not limited to AMS, EAS, LAS, NES; and/or courses taken during study abroad. 

Senior Thesis

MedAnth students must write a senior thesis on a topic related to medical anthropology, broadly defined. The methodological and theoretical approach taken must be approved by the student’s senior thesis adviser. Ethnographic and/or community-engaged research is strongly encouraged, along with creative modes of data visualization and storytelling.

Law, Politics, and Economics Track

The Law, Politics, and Economics Track (LPE) is for students interested in these three well-established fields within the discipline of anthropology. LPE students are introduced to key theories of value, exchange and justice, for example, and to the comparative studies of law, politics, development, globalization and microeconomics across societies.

The LPE track requires nine courses total; three are required and the other six include departmental electives focused on the law, economics and politics (see examples from list below). Students in this track are allowed to substitute up to two of the six elective courses with a class taught within the Department of Anthropology but outside the LPE track. Students are also allowed to take two cognates.

LPE Required Courses (3)
  • ANT 300 Ethnography, Evidence and Experience
  • ANT 301 The Ethnographer’s Craft
  • ANT 390 Histories of Anthropological Theory
LPE Elective Courses (6)

A few examples of LPE electives are shown below. These courses are typically taught every other year, although some may be offered annually and others less frequently. A list of preapproved LPE courses will be published each semester before course enrollment begins.

  • Courses pertaining to economics: Debt (ANT 225); Food, Culture, and Society (ANT 311); The Anthropology of Development (ANT 314).
  • Courses pertaining to politics: Violence (ANT 264); Political Anthropology (ANT 304); Revolt (319); Catastrophes across Cultures: The Anthropology of Disaster (ANT 219); Urban Anthropology (ANT 227); #BlackLivesMatter (ANT 244); Conspiracy Theory and Social Theory (ANT 406); Communist Modernity: The Politics and Culture of Soviet Utopia (SLA 420/ANT 420).
  • Courses pertaining to law: The Anthropology of Law (ANT 342); Policing and Militarization Today (ANT 223); Justice (ANT 263).
Possible Cognates (2)

LPE students are allowed to take two cognates (as defined under Program of Study above). Appropriate cognates for LPE might include courses taught in the departments of Economics or Politics; a regional studies course; courses taken during study abroad; and/or anthropology courses taught outside the Law, Politics, and Economics track.

Senior Thesis

LPE students must write a senior thesis on a topic related to law, politics and/or economics, broadly defined. The methodological and theoretical approach taken must be approved by the student’s senior thesis adviser. Ethnographic and/or community-engaged research is strongly encouraged, along with creative modes of data visualization and storytelling.

Independent Work

Junior Independent Work. Independent work in the junior year involves an original paper focused on an anthropological theme or debate of interest to the student. The paper is mostly based on library research and literature review and should reflect the student’s growing mastery of anthropological ways of knowing and the uniqueness of ethnographic evidence-making and theorizing. New field research is not appropriate for this exercise. 

In the fall, students develop a detailed problem statement and annotated bibliography on a relevant subject and present a research proposal for approval by the department. In the spring, students write a paper (about 8,000 words, excluding references) based on the research initiated in the fall, in consultation with their adviser. Advising begins in assigned groups during early fall before transitioning to individual advising with continuing group work. Opportunities for peer group support and writing workshops are offered throughout junior year independent work.

Since the junior paper topic is chosen before the final track declaration deadline, junior papers, unlike senior theses, do not have to be related to a student’s chosen track.

Senior Independent Work. Independent work in the senior year consists of a thesis based on ethnographic research on a timely issue or deep analysis of the extant anthropological literature on a topic of interest. A thesis that has a central artistic component must be accompanied by a substantial written essay. Doing ethnographic or community-engaged thesis research during the summer between junior and senior years is very helpful, but not required. Students carrying out fieldwork must have IRB approval. The anthropology department encourages methodologically and theoretically innovative senior thesis projects that expand our understanding of diverse lifeworlds and reorient our ethical and political imagination.

Anthropology seniors are each assigned a thesis adviser early in the fall term. A senior workshop that meets during the second half of the fall term is designed to help students develop their theses; all seniors are encouraged to participate.

Students are encouraged to utilize the VizE Lab for Ethnographic Data Visualization to receive assistance in creating multimodal senior theses that combine field-based ethnographic storytelling, visual documentary and online interactive data visualizations.

Anthropology theses are usually multipart or multichapter projects, ranging from 20,000 to 25,000 words.

Senior Departmental Examination

In the spring of senior year, after the thesis deadline, all majors must complete a departmental examination in which students have to demonstrate their knowledge of core anthropological theories and methods as they relate to their area of expertise and senior independent work.

Additional Information

Special University Programs

Students who choose to major in anthropology are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities for individual study under special University programs. For example, under the Study Abroad Program, students may enrich their programs at Princeton with a term or a year of anthropological study abroad. Anthropology majors often enroll in PIIRS Global Seminars, including ones taught by anthropology faculty, as well as other Princeton summer courses abroad. The International Internship Program organizes internships for students abroad, usually during a summer term. The Program for Community-Engaged Scholarship also provides opportunities for independent research and the PACE Center for Civic Engagement supports integration of academic and co-curricular community-based learning. Students should consult with the director of undergraduate studies about these and other possibilities.

Interdepartmental Programs

Students majoring in anthropology may participate in minors and certificate programs offered by other academic units. Examples of common intersections and complementary areas of study for ANT majors include: creative and performing arts, African American studies, African studies, American studies, East Asian studies, entrepreneurship, environmental studies, gender and sexuality studies, global health and health policy, humanistic studies, Latin American studies, Near Eastern studies, urban studies, and various languages and cultures programs.

Anthropological Ways of Knowing and Ethnographic Studies for Non-Majors

Students who are interested in anthropological ways of knowing and in learning ethnographic methods, but are unable to major in anthropology, are encouraged to take courses offered by the department on a broad range of topics, as well as methods courses, such as People-Centered: Doing Anthropology (ANT 299), Ethnography for Research and Design (ANT 302), Visible Evidence: Documentary Film and Data Visualization (ANT 455), and Data Visualization/Cultural Facts (ANT 456). All students are welcome to consult anthropology faculty about ways to apply ethnographic methods and anthropological ways of knowing to their own research interests. The VizE Lab for Ethnographic Data Visualization may be especially helpful.

Faculty

  • Chair

    • João Biehl
    • Serguei A. Oushakine (acting)

  • Director of Undergraduate Studies

    • Onur Gunay

  • Director of Graduate Studies

    • Elizabeth A. Davis

  • Professor

    • João Biehl
    • Elizabeth A. Davis
    • Agustin Fuentes
    • J. Kehaulani Kauanui
    • Serguei A. Oushakine
    • Laurence Ralph
    • Carolyn M. Rouse

  • Associate Professor

    • Julia Elyachar

  • Assistant Professor

    • Amelia Frank-Vitale
    • Hanna Garth
    • Ryo Morimoto
    • Ikaika Ramones
    • Beth Semel
    • Jerry C. Zee

  • Associated Faculty

    • Aisha M. Beliso-De Jesús, Effron Center Study of America
    • Amy B. Borovoy, East Asian Studies

  • Lecturer

    • Damien Droney
    • Thalia Gigerenzer
    • Onur Gunay
    • Jeffrey D. Himpele
    • Souvanik Mullick
    • Aniruddhan Vasudevan

  • Visiting Professor

    • Lucas Bessire
    • Didier Fassin
    • Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian
    • Glenn H. Shepard

For a full list of faculty members and fellows please visit the department or program website.

Courses

ANT 201 - Introduction to Anthropology Fall CD or EC

An introduction to anthropology and key topics in becoming and being human. Anthropology examines human experience through diverse lenses integrating biology, ecology, language, history, philosophy, and the day to day lives of peoples from across the globe. Anthropology has things to say about being human, it seeks to make the familiar a bit strange and the strange quite familiar. We will take critical reflexive and reflective approaches in asking about key aspects of being human (like war/peace; race/racism; sex/gender; childhood/parenting; religion and the human imagination; human relations to other species).Two lectures, one preceptorial. G. Shepard

ANT 206 - Human Evolution (also AFS 206) Spring EC

An assessment and understanding of the evolutionary history and processes in our lineage over the last 7 to 10 million years, with a focus on the ~2.5 million year history of our own genus (Homo).This outline of the history of our lineage offers an anthropological and evolutionary context for what it means to be human today. Two lectures, one preceptorial. A. DiGiorgio

ANT 215 - Human Adaptation (also EEB 315) SEL

Human adaptation focuses on human anatomy and behavior from an evolutionary perspective. Lectures and weekly laboratory sessions focus on the evolution of the human brain, dentition, and skeleton to provide students with a practical understanding of the anatomy and function of the human body and its evolution, as well as some of its biological limitations. No science background required. Two 90-minute lectures, one three-hour laboratory. Staff

ANT 219 - Catastrophes across Cultures: The Anthropology of Disaster (also ENV 219) SA

What is the relationship between "catastrophe" and human beings, and how has "catastrophe" influenced the way we live in the world now? This course investigates various types of catastrophes/disasters around the world by mobilizing a variety of theoretical frameworks and case studies in the social sciences. The course uses an anthropological perspective as its principal lens to comparatively observe often forgotten historical calamities throughout the world. The course is designed to explore the intersection between catastrophe and culture and how catastrophic events can be a window through which to critically analyze society and vice versa. R. Morimoto

ANT 240 - Medical Anthropology (also HUM 240) CD or EM

Exploration of cross-cultural constructions of sickness, disease, health, and healing interrogates our basic ethical, moral, and political positions. Our healing and disease models derive from specific cultural assumptions about society, gender, class, age, ethnicity, and race. Categories of disease from one culture can compromise ethical positions held by another. We pursue the moral implications of a critique of medical development and the political and ethical implications of treating Western medicine as ethnoscience as well as universal truth. One 90-minute lecture, one 90-minute class. J. Biehl

ANT 300 - Ethnography, Evidence and Experience Fall SA

This course tackles anthropological ways of knowing and explores the evidentiary power of ethnography to advance our understanding of diverse lifeworlds. As students engage classic theoretical texts and contemporary ethnographies, they are introduced to the analytical and writing skills necessary to pursue their own independent anthropological studies: how to develop a research question, locate and analyze relevant sources, situate their interests and concerns in relation to key anthropological debates and concepts, and consider the potential of ethnographic storytelling to expand ethical and political imagination. A. Vasudevan

ANT 301 - The Ethnographer's Craft Spring SA

This course is an introduction to doing ethnographic fieldwork. Class sessions alternate between discussions of key issues and questions in the theory and practice of ethnography and workshops devoted to fieldwork exercises: participant observation, interviewing, fieldnotes, oral history, multi-modal and virtual ethnographic methods; as well as debates over research ethics and regulatory ethics. Students will build skills to design and conduct ethnographic research, while developing a critical appreciation of the possibilities and limits of ethnographic research to help them understand and engage with the world. H. Garth

ANT 303 - Economic Experience in Cultural Context SA

This course explores the social and cultural contexts of economic experience in the US and around the world. It considers how the consumption, production, and circulation of goods--today and in times past--become invested with personal and collective meanings. It pays special attention to symbolic and political dimensions of work, property (material, intellectual, and cultural), wealth, and "taste" (i.e., needs and wants). Additionally, course participants do a bit of anthropological fieldwork by learning to draw everyday experiences systematically into conversation with academic sources. R. Lederman

ANT 304 - Political Anthropology CD or SA

A cross-cultural examination of collective action, power, authority and legitimacy. Topics will include the diversity of systems of leadership and decision making, the sociocultural contexts of egalitarianism and hierarchy, contemporary contests over power-sharing and state legitimacy, forms of power outside the state, and human rights struggles. One three-hour seminar. Staff

ANT 305 - Psychological Anthropology (also HLS 305) Fall EC

This seminar addresses the social relations in which mental health, mental illness, and psycho-medical knowledge are entangled and produced. We will engage various cross-cultural approaches to mental conflicts and pathologies: psychoanalysis, ethnopsychology, biomedical psychiatry, transcultural psychiatry, and religious and "alternative" practices of diagnosis and healing. Drawing on ethnographic and clinical studies from Greek and other contexts, we will examine the role of culture in determining lines between normal and pathological, and consider the intertwining of psyche and body in human experience and behavior. E. Davis

ANT 306 - Current Issues in Anthropology SA

A course taught by different members of the department and visiting faculty on various subjects not normally taught in regular courses. Staff

ANT 310 - Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology EC

A survey of current data and debates in evolutionary theory, molecular anthropology, primate biology and behavior, primate and human evolution, and modern human biology and adaptation. One three-hour seminar. A. Fuentes

ANT 314 - The Anthropology of Development (also AFS 314/ENE 314) SA

Why do development projects fail? This course examines why well-meaning development experts get it wrong. It looks closely at what anthropologists mean by culture and why most development experts fail to attend to the cultural forces that hold communities together. By examining development projects from South Asia to the United States, students learn the relevance of exchange relations, genealogies, power, religion, and indigenous law. C. Rouse

ANT 326 - Language, Identity, Power (also ECS 315/TRA 326) EC

Language determines our expressive capacities, represents our identities, and connects us with each other across various platforms and cultures.This course introduces classical and contemporary approaches to studying language, focusing on three main areas: 1) language as a system of rules and regulations ("structure"), 2) language as a symbolic mechanism through which individuals and groups mark their presence ("identity") and 3) language as a means of communication ("sign"). In addition to this, the course examines various ways through which language molds our individual selves: from organizing dreams and desires to shaping autobiographies. S. Oushakine

ANT 330 - The Rights of Indigenous Peoples EM

Using American Indian sovereignty, Australian Aborigine land claims, the Canadian Bill of Rights, the Maori Treaty of Waitangi, and various international conventions, students will consider whether there is a fundamental right to cultural integrity, and the historical, legal, and ethical implications posed by the relations between modern states and their indigenous populations. One 90-minute lecture, one 90-minute class. Staff

ANT 336 - The Anthropology of Selected Regions SA

The significant impact of peoples of particular regions on the development of anthropological theory, method, and sensibility. Special attention to the dynamic precolonial history of the region and to political and religious movements in the contemporary context of rapid socioeconomic change. Staff

ANT 340 - Medicine and the Humanities

A course taught by different members of the department or visiting faculty on various subjects that connect student interests in the humanities with the sub-field of medical anthropology. Staff

ANT 341 - The Anthropology of Gender SA

Comparative perspectives on sexual divisions of labor, sex-based equality and inequality, and the cultural construction of "male'' and "female.'' Analysis of gender symbolism in myth and ritual, and of patterns of change in the political participation and power of the sexes. Two 90-minute lectures with discussion. Staff

ANT 342 - The Anthropology of Law EM

This course draws upon core anthropological studies of law to investigate conceptions, operations, and transformations of law across Western and non-Western societies. The course also draws upon legal theory and exemplary court cases to probe diverse forms of judicial reasoning and activism. How do legal concepts and categories--such as rights, duties, obligations, liabilities, risks, injuries, evidence, redress, and even personhood--come to appear as fundamental, natural, or universal? How are seemingly essential natures of law, in fact, constructed and produced and to which social and political effect? Staff

ANT 360 - Ethics in Context: Uses and Abuses of Deception and Disclosure (also CHV 360) EM

Magic tricks delight us; biomedicine and human sciences use deception in research (e.g., placeboes); and everyday politeness may obscure painful truths. With deception and disclosure as springboards, this course explores the contextual ambiguity of personal and professional ethics, with special attention to knowledge control. Topics include: social fictions in daily life across cultures; the tangled histories of science, stage magic, and movies; ethically controversial practices in popular culture ("reality" TV, fake news), the arts (fictive memoirs), academia (sharing/plagiarizing), self presentation (racial and sexual passing), and more. R. Lederman

ANT 390 - Histories of Anthropological Theory Fall HA or SA

This course starts with discussion of the current state of affairs in anthropological theory to ask what lines of thought and practice got us to where we are today. This includes situating anthropological theory within broader socioeconomic and political currents and exploring how poststructuralism, postcolonial theory, Black studies, and feminism reshaped the discipline in a variety of ways. Throughout the course, students will develop a critical set of skills to creatively harness the analytic power of theory as they engage pressing contemporary issues and seek to mobilize anthropological theory in the writing of their independent work. O. Gunay

ANT 403 - Race and Medicine (also AAS 403/GHP 403) CD or EM

This course examines culture's role in reproducing health inequalities in the United States. Different populations have very different levels of access to care, environmental exposures, and cultural beliefs about health and well-being. Institutional cultures also influence how different patients are treated, how evidence is used to determine treatments, and how healthcare priorities are articulated and funded. Additionally, this course explores how medical care is influenced at a national level by health policies. These factors ultimately impact population health and patients' experiences with life, death and chronic disease. C. Rouse

ANT 404 - Special Topics in Regional Studies SA

Analysis of a major world region stressing the issues of cultural diversity, history, and social change. Attention will be given to the theoretical contributions of regional study, the history of regional approaches, and the internationalization of the production of anthropological research. Staff

ANT 405 - Topics in Anthropology (also AFS 405) HA or SA

Study of a selected topic in anthropology; the particular choice will vary from year to year. Staff

ANT 406 - Theoretical Orientations in Cultural Anthropology EC

Analysis of classical and contemporary sources of cultural anthropology, with particular emphasis on those writers dealing with meaning and representation. The topical focus of the course will vary with the instructor. One three-hour seminar. Staff

ANT 412 - Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion (also REL 412) SA

Classic and modern theories of religion relevant to anthropologists. Students will familiarize themselves with anthropological monographs dealing with a particular aspect of religion: shamanism, witchcraft, possession and ecstasy, healing. Prerequisite: instructor's permission. Staff

ANT 415 - The Anthropology of Science EC

This course considers how the sciences can be studied ethnographically, how they vary culturally one from another, and how scientific knowledge is generated. It develops an understanding of the values and social contexts of Western scientific practice through the comparative study of Western and non-Western systems of knowledge, and explores the implications and validity of the assumption that the sciences are culturally produced rather than objective standards transcending culture. One three-hour seminar. Staff

ANT 432 - Memory, Trauma, Accountability SA

Explores issues surrounding the relation of individual memory to collective trauma, the social forms of redress to trauma, and attempts to establish accountability for harm. Takes up three major approaches to memory: social organization (Halbwachs), psychoanalysis (Freud), and associative temporalities (Sebald). Examines various genres in which the memory of loss is retained or displaced, and the landscapes and histories in which such memories are recalled and losses repaired. A better understanding of such memories will improve our approaches to cultural observation, documentation, analysis, and interpretation. One three-hour seminar. Staff

ANT 441 - Gender: Contested Categories, Shifting Frames SA

An exploration of the reciprocal influences of anthropology and gender studies, considering both classic and recent contributions; an evaluation of key interpretive categories (for example, "nature,'' "domestic,'' "woman'') specifically in the context of cross-cultural translation; and comparison of various approaches to questions about the universality of gendered power hierarchies. One three-hour seminar. R. Lederman

ANT 451 - Visual Anthropology LA

Explores the theories and methods of ethnographic filmmaking. This seminar introduces students to the pioneering work of filmmakers including Robert Flaherty, Jean Rouch, and Fred Wiseman in order to address questions of documentary authenticity, knowledge, methods, ethics, and audience. One three-hour seminar. Staff

AMS 404 - Advanced Seminar in American Studies (also AAS 405/ANT 414) Spring CD or SA

Advanced seminars bring students into spaces of collaborative exploration after pursuing their individual paths of study in American studies, Asian American/diasporic studies, and/or Latino studies. To students culminating programs of study toward one or more of the certificates offered by the Effron Center for the Study of America, advanced seminars offer the important opportunity to integrate their cumulative knowledge. P. Fernández-Kelly

ART 267 - Mesoamerican Art (also ANT 366/LAS 267) Not offered this year LA

This course acquaints students with the art, architecture, and archaeology of ancient Mexico and Central America. The course considers a wide range of cultures spanning from the first arrival of humans at the end of the Upper Paleolithic period through the 16th century Spanish invasion. Major culture groups to be considered include Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, and Aztec. Precepts will include theoretically-focused discussions, debate regarding contested scholarly interpretations, and hands-on work with objects at the Princeton University Art Museum. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 1 distribution requirement. B. Just

EAS 225 - Japanese Society and Culture (also ANT 323) Not offered this year SA

An exploration of Japanese labor, gender and feminism, crime and social control, race and notions of homogeneity, nationalism and youth culture. The course considers Japan's struggle to come to terms with the West while at the same time integrating its past. It also looks at American misperceptions of Japanese society and economics. Two lectures, one preceptorial. A. Borovoy

EAS 312 - Mind, Body, and Bioethics in Japan and Beyond (also ANT 312) Not offered this year EM

The seminar will examine key concepts of the mind, the body, and the nature-culture distinction. We will study these issues in the context of Japanese beliefs about the good society, making connections between "lay culture," Japanese notions of social democracy, and "science culture." Topics include: styles of care for the mentally ill, the politics of disability, notions of human life and death, responses to bio-technology, the management of human materials (such as organs), cultural definitions of addiction and "co-dependency," and the ethics of human enhancement. A. Borovoy

THR 300 - Acting, Being, Doing, and Making: Introduction to Performance Studies (also ANT 359/COM 359/ENG 373) Not offered this year LA

A hands-on approach to this interdisciplinary field. We will apply key readings in performance theory to space and time-based events, at sites ranging from theatre, experimental art, and film, to community celebrations, sport events, and restaurant dining. We will observe people's behavior in everyday life as performance and discuss the "self" through the performativity of one's gender, race, class, ability, and more. We will also practice ethnographic methods to collect stories to adapt for performance and address the role of the participant-observer, thinking about ethics and the social responsibilities of this work. R. Williams, S. Wolf