This course surveys transformations in the African past, from the Middle Stone Age emergence of modern humans, to the florescence of lifeways in the Late Stone Age, to the broad mosaic of small-, medium-, and large-scale Iron Age societies, to the archaeology of colonial encounters. We also consider how archaeological methods work to produce knowledge in combination with studies of genetics, climate and environment, and historical methods.

This course introduces students to research methodology in medical anthropology by participating in a faculty member's ongoing research project. It will include: formulating research questions, ethical review and IRB approval, partnering and collaboration, data collection, analysis, and presenting project findings. This practice-oriented course emphasizes learning by doing and mentored reflection. The topic and methodological approach will vary according to faculty interests. 

Independent study conducted by the student under the supervision of an instructor of his or her choice.

Independent research, under the supervision of the faculty DMP thesis readers, toward the DMP thesis. Prerequisite: Admission to the Distinguished Majors Program in Anthropology.

Writing of a thesis of approximately 50 pages, under the supervision of the faculty DMP thesis readers. Prerequisite: ANTH 4998.

This graduate seminar, also open to advanced undergraduates, engages interdisciplinary theory, case material, and intersecting knowledge production networks to approach indigenous landscapes as spaces of cultural production, land rights advocacy, and environmental care. It challenges students to examine their assumptions about how dominant values and stories are inscribed in landscapes, as well as the locations and perspectives from which these processes are experienced, narrated, and theorized.

In this seminar, we will examine how we can use our training in the social sciences and humanities to further the goals of a collaborating community, as well as to engage with different publics. The focus of this course will be on anthropology and its subdisciplines. Our discussions on how to engage with non-academic communities and publics will be applicable to a broad range of disciplines.

This course explores the theoretical, practical, and ethical foundations of language documentation and linguistic fieldwork, forms of research that can hardly be separated in this era of global language loss.

This course explores theories and techniques underlying spatial analysis and use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in archaeological research. Topics covered in this hands-on course include construction and manipulation of spatial data, basic spatial statistics and landscape studies. Students are expected to work on their own research projects, involving the construction, analysis and modeling of environmental and social variables.

The focus of this class is the nature of sociopolitical interaction across boundaries and imperial frontier regions, using multidisciplinary research and different scales of analysis. Among other disciplines, this includes archaeology, ethnohistory and history. Some of the case studies comprise the ancient frontiers of imperial formations in the ancient World, the pre-Columbian Americas, and those in the US and beyond.