Andrea G. Arai
Sources and development of leading concepts, issues, and approaches in anthropology. Findings of anthropology in relation to scientific and humanistic implications and to practical application. Main contributors to field; their work and influence. Past, present, and future perspectives, including anthropology of modern life.
History of Anthropology: Race, Culture, and Evolution
This course is concerned with the history of anthropology, an academic discipline whose birth and development has been integral to our understanding of human existence, biologically, materially and socio-culturally. Our focus this quarter is on the concepts of race, culture and evolution. We will explore the diverse origins of these three concepts, the intersections between them, the range of influences upon them, and how they define the sub-fields of biological, archaeological and socio-cultural anthropology. Once we have pursued these origins and the way they have affected the past, in true anthropological spirit, we will investigate how the past continues to inform our present. Working in small groups, students will fashion their own mini-research projects that seek to specify current uses and thinking about race, culture and evolutionary theorizing. This course is not limited to anthropology majors; the history we investigate has coincided with most (if not all) academic disciplines, and many, if not all, public concerns.
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