Undergraduate Course Listing

An introduction to the history, theory, methods, and findings of cultural anthropology and the ethnographic study of contemporary peoples' ways of living and thinking. Through in-depth encounters with several of the world's cultures through ethnographies, this course provides a cross-cultural understanding of humankind. Prerequisite: 3.0 university credits.

The course looks at varieties of human expression--both verbal and nonverbal--as communicative practices that connect persons together to form a common culture. Discussion is centered on particular case studies and ethnographic examples of contemporary communicative practices and the forms of culture that emerge in the modern world. Prerequisite: 3.0 university credits.

An overview of articulatory and instrumental phonetics, including the mechanics of speech production, the accurate transcription of speech in any language, and the use of instruments to study the physical nature of speech sounds. Students learn all characters and values of the International Phonetic Alphabet, an indispensable tool for linguistic study and research. Prerequisite: LING 1000Y or 1001H. Equivalent to MODL 2010H.

Cross-listed: LING-2010H

Archaeology aims to reconstruct and explain the evolution of cultural behaviour in humans. This course surveys major topics in archaeology beginning with the earliest records of human culture to the emergence and expansion of agricultural societies.

A comparative survey of how archaeologists have documented and interpreted the evidence related to the emergence of proto-urban and urban settlements, city-states, and empires. Major themes addressed include political and social organization, craft production, art, religion, trade and exchange, social elites, and military power.

Introduces students to the ways archaeologists obtain data to build knowledge of the past. Students are provided with a critical appreciation and understanding of a representative range of methods used in archaeological survey, excavation and in post-excavation analysis.

An exploration of archaeological science (dating techniques, isotopic analysis, ancient DNA, material characterization) through case studies with an emphasis on the articulation of scientific techniques and archaeological research questions. Themes explored include human origins, diet, migration, status, and trade. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

An introduction to the major sites, monuments, and artefacts of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Period, focusing on how material remains are used to reconstruct various aspects of ancient society. Topics include art and architecture, trade and exchange, religion, burial customs, economy, and state formation. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits. Equivalent to AHCL 2205H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-2205H

An introduction to Roman material culture from the Iron Age through the Late Empire. Topics include the development of a distinctively Roman culture, the influence of the Greek world, the spread of Roman imperialism, the impact of Christianity, and the continuing relevance of Roman institutions in modern society. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

Cross-listed: AGRS-2206H

Students learn about the roles of evolution, disease, and death in shaping modern human and non-human primate biology, behaviour, and distribution. Students learn more about research methods and applications of this research. Topics covered include evolution, infectious disease, growth and development, forensic anthropology, skeletal anatomy, and nutrition. Prerequisite: ANTH 1001H (or 1010H) or permission of instructor.

Focuses on the origins of plagues and the biological and social impact of major epidemics, past and present, on human societies. Themes explored include the role of human behaviour in the outbreak of disease, responses to epidemics, and human evolution and disease. Prerequisite: ANTH 2410H or permission of instructor.

An interdisciplinary and comparative analysis of the impact of transformations in the world food system on contemporary agrarian societies. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits or permission of instructor. Equivalent to IDST 2500H.

Cross-listed: GDST-2500H, GEOG-2500H, SAFS-2500H, SOCI-2500H

An examination of the impact of processes of commodification, market integration, and globalization on the social organization of food-producing rural communities in developing countries. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits or permission of instructor. Equivalent to IDST 2600H.

Cross-listed: GDST-2600H, SAFS-2600H, SOCI-2600H

An introduction to methods and techniques of discovery, analysis, and interpretation in a field situation in any one sub-discipline (archaeology, cultural, physical, or linguistic anthropology). Summers only--confirm with the department office. Limited enrolment. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

Geophysics is the study of geologic properties, processes and phenomena using non-destructive physical and mathematical methods, including reflection and refraction seismology, gravity and magnetics, and electrical and electromagnetic methods. This course emphasizes how geophysical techniques can be used for resource and archeological exploration, climate change detection, and environmental investigations. Prerequisite: PHYS 1000H or 1001H or 1.0 MATH credit. Typically offered every other year.

Cross-listed: EGEO-3001H, FRSC-3001H

Buddhism is based in a canonical tradition. Buddhist practice, however, is embedded in--transformed by and transforming--local contexts. We explore ethnographic accounts of how the ideas of Siddhartha (The Buddha) variously exist in different cultural and social contexts. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or permission of instructor.

Cross-culturally, people voluntarily go on journeys. In this course we consider the range, reasons, and cultural contexts of these journeys. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or permission of instructor.

Examines the history of archaeological thought and practice, in addition to addressing archaeology's role in the contemporary world. Topics may include those related to evolution, the environment, health, identity, race, ethnicity, gender, urbanism, repatriation, and ethics, in addition to current and emerging debates in the discipline. Prerequisite: ANTH-AGRS 1030H and ANTH 2123H or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 3100Y.

The description and analysis of materials from archaeological contexts, including stone tools, bone tools, shell, and ecofacts. This course focuses on hands-on analysis of materials. Fundamental techniques of recording and cataloguing, such as drawing and photography of artifacts, are taught throughout. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H and 2122H or permission of instructor.

Introduces students to basic methods for analyzing of archaeological ceramics and historic artifacts, focusing on ceramic technology and the production of glass and metal artifacts as technologies that transform raw materials into new substances. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H and 2122H or permission of instructor.

Ancient biomolecules (proteins, lipids, DNA), the conditions under which they preserve, how they are isolated and analyzed. Topics include stable isotopes, ancient DNA, proteomics, and organic residue analysis. Labs provide students with hands-on experience with techniques commonly used in archaeological science (emphasis on bone chemistry). Prerequisite: ANTH 2150H or three of BIOL 1020H, BIOL 1030H, CHEM 1000H, CHEM 1010H, GEOG 1040H, or PHYS 1001H.

Cross-listed: BIOL-3153H, FRSC-3153H

This course introduces students to the archaeology of human interaction with water. Topics include the archaeology of waterside settlements, inundated and maritime landscapes, as well as the archaeology of small watercraft, ships, and related infrastructure including wharfs, docks, and harbours. Methodological and theoretical approaches are equally emphasized. Prerequisite: ANTH-AGRS 1030H or permission of instructor.

Lectures explore the science of natural disasters, and issues relating to resilience and risk management in the contemporary world. Seminars focus on the archaeology of natural disasters, with particular emphasis on how human conceptions of the environment condition people's perceived vulnerability, and eventually their responses, to sudden environmental changes. Prerequisite: 10.0 university credits or permission of instructor.

Cross-listed: ERSC-3175H, GEOG-3175H

Lectures and readings examine the science of climate change, outline how climate change influenced cultural development in the past, and assess how human perceptions of the environment conditioned the varying responses to climate change. Seminars focus on key methodological and/or theoretical issues, and specific case studies from the archaeological record. Prerequisite: 10.0 university credits or permission of instructor.

Cross-listed: ERSC-3185H, GEOG-3185H

Offers critical examination of the structure, function, and practices of official religion between the late Iron Age and the rise of monotheism in the late antique Mediterranean. Archaeological remains and ancient texts demonstrate how state-sponsored cults served to bind the populace and codify social and political behaviour. Prerequisite: 8.0 university credits including one of AGRS-HIST 2103H (or AHCL 2103H), ANTH-AGRS 2205H or 2206H. Equivalent to AHCL 3221H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3221H, HIST-3221H

The study of material signs in their social context, including all forms of nonverbal human communication. Topics include any material objects as signs, including houses, commodities, embodied performances and rituals; anything that can be considered to act as a sign. Current topic: the semiotics of human-plant interactions and gardens. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

The material culture of the Etruscans, who rivalled the major Mediterranean powers in trade and warfare and whose art, architecture, and beliefs profoundly influenced ancient Roman culture. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits including ANTH-AGRS 2205H or 2206H. Equivalent to AHCL 3240H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3240H

An exploration of the material culture of the Aegean Basin from the Neolithic Period through the Late Bronze Age (ca. 8000-1100 BCE), focusing on such topics as the built environment, art and symbolism, trade and exchange, religion and burial customs, and social stratification and state formation. Prerequisite: ANTH-AGRS 2205H. Equivalent to AHCL 3250H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3250H

An exploration of the material culture of ancient Athens from the Neolithic Period to the Slavic Invasions in the sixth century CE, focusing on changes in the socio-political structure of the city throughout its history by exploring art and architecture, trade and exchange, ritual and mortuary customs, and state formation. Prerequisite: ANTH-AGRS 2205H. Equivalent to AHCL 3251H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3251H

A focused study of a particular topic in the study of Mediterranean archaeology. Topics change from year to year but will focus on some aspect of the material record of the cultures surrounding the Mediterranean Basin from the end of the Late Bronze Age to the fall of the Roman Empire. Prerequisite: ANTH-AGRS 2205H. Equivalent to AHCL 3255H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3255H

By critically comparing archaeological and textual evidence with scholarly publications, we examine attitudes toward culture and self-identification in ancient North Africa (ca. 700 BCE-450 CE), as expressed by both ancient peoples and scholars of the past circa 150 years, a period of tremendous change in political and academic thought. Prerequisite: 6.0 university credits.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3275H, HIST-3275H

Covers the basic issues involved in situating diverse languages within diverse cultures and societies, placing the study of genres or ways of speaking in socio-cultural contexts of use, attending to the way people's ideas about what language is and what it is for shape the ways they speak. Prerequisite: 3.0 university credits. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 2311H.

Cross-listed: MDST-3311H

Examines human participation in ecosystems, including how people and cultures cause and react to environmental challenges. We explore interdependence among humans and the rest of nature, how people in various cultures and times conceptualize and interact with their environment, and ways to identify and promote cultures of sustainability.

Cross-listed: ERSC-3333H

A lab-based introduction to the anatomy and biology of the human skeleton. Topics include basic skeletal anatomy, bone biology and development, the functional morphology of bones, identification of complete and fragmentary bones, and skeletal pathology. Prerequisite: ANTH 2410H.

Cross-listed: BIOL-3404H, FRSC-3404H

An introduction to forensic anthropology. Focuses on the methods used by forensic anthropologists to analyze unidentified skeletal remains, including sex determination, age estimation, stature estimation, assessment of ancestry, and identification of trauma and pathology. Prerequisite: ANTH-BIOL-FRSC 3404H.

Cross-listed: FRSC-3405H

A survey of the human life course through a bio-cultural lens, focusing on life history theory, demography, growth and development, adaptive human biology, determinants of health, and aging. The human species on the individual and population levels is seen as a product of evolutionary and biological forces, and of culture and society. Prerequisite: ANTH 1001H (or both 1010H and 1020H) or permission of instructor.

Cross-listed: BIOL-3460H

Examines the act of burial from an archaeological perspective. We focus on temporal trends in mortuary customs from Neandertals to modern humans. Gender, age, ethnic, and social differences in burial patterns are also explored. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or 2410H or both 2121H and 2122H, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH-AHCL 4410H.

Explores the spatial dimension of archaeological data and its relationship to ecology and human behaviour. Approaches to the distributions of artifacts and sites, the organization of buildings and settlements, and the interactions between cultures are discussed. Both techniques of analysis and interpretative concepts are presented. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H and 2122H or permission of instructor.

Introduces the analysis and interpretation of animal remains in archaeological sites. Students become familiar with the interpretation of faunal assemblages and learn through hands-on practice and discussions to think critically about the implications that can be drawn from these remains. Limited enrolment. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H or 2122H or 2410H or permission of instructor.

Drinks and drinking as meaningful and material forms pervade all social life. This course explores ethnographically the way the materiality of specific drinks--water (tap, mineral, purified), coffee, gin, wine, vodka, beer--serves as a social medium in specific times and places. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

Cross-listed: SAFS-3746H

Explores primarily non-alphabetic writing systems from linguistic and anthropological perspectives, including ancient writing systems (Sumerian, Egyptian, Anatolian, Mycenean, Mayan, Olmec) and contemporary ones, the transition from writing lists to linguistic texts, and the different social roles of writing from clay accounting tablets of early state bureaucracies to bamboo love letters. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

Cross-listed: MDST-3747H

Contemporary ("urban") legends are just one of many genres of storytelling analyzed by anthropologists and folklorists across cultures. This course uses linguistic anthropology to locate contemporary legends in relation to other narrative genres of folklore, including myths and fairytales, and new media forms, including the folklore of the internet. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

A focused study of a particular topic in the study of religion and culture. Topics change from year to year. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 4270H.

Multispecies ethnography moves anthropology beyond the human to study the nonhuman organisms whose lives and deaths are linked to, and are part and parcel of, human social worlds, and how the "more-than-human" anthropological study of human societies must attend to social relations with non-human others. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits. Recommended: ANTH 3312H.

Examines classic issues in the anthropology of food. We focus on etiquette of food consumption, food and sex, food and religion and morality, food exchange and preparation, vegetarianism and meat eating, and cannibalism. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or permission of instructor.

Cross-listed: SAFS-3820H

This course explores labor in cobalt mines, cell phone factories, oil extraction, and junk yards, and how this kind of labour facilitates office work in other parts of the world. We also study how animals and insects are often collaborators in human work. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H.

An interdisciplinary introduction to the topic of women and gender in science. How is gender difference understood within scientific disciplines? Why are women under-represented in various science and technological fields? How are women, and feminist scholarship, changing science? Prerequisite: 6.0 university credits including 1.0 GESO or WMST credit at the 2000 level, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for GESO-ANTH 4932H.

Cross-listed: GESO-3932H

Structured thematically, this course surveys the principal theoretical developments in the discipline. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H.

Students gain practical experience in the processes of scholarly investigations and dissemination of findings by engaging in the ongoing research project of the instructor. Prerequisite: 10.0 university credits, including ANTH and/or AGRS/AHCL course(s) to be specified on a course-by-course basis. Equivalent to AHCL 4003H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-4003H

An advanced research seminar in which students engage and contribute to a research question or theme defined by the course instructor. Topics vary by year and instructor. Prerequisite: 10.0 university credits and permission of instructor.

ANTH 4020D is a double credit in Anthropology. ANTH 4010Y is a single credit because the same thesis is submitted to the other department/program in a joint-major. Students undertake a specific research project and write a thesis of 12,000 to 15,000 words on a well-defined topic. Arrangements begin with the chair of the department March 1 of the preceding academic year and departmental approval must be completed before March 31. Prerequisite: 9.0 university credits including ANTH 3123H (3100Y) or 3991H; courses directly relevant to the thesis topic; and a minimum 80% cumulative average in ANTH courses completed.

Explores the fundamental principles underlying the application of stable isotopes in biological systems: fractionation, isotopic mixing, quantitative interpretation of isotopic data, and quality control. Lectures provide da thorough grounding in key concepts and seminars explore relevant case studies drawn from archaeology, ecology, palaeontology, and forensics. Prerequisite: ANTH 3153H.

A critical review of the archaeology of the Great Lakes region of North America, from the earliest evidence of human presence to European colonization. Seminars address the long-term historical and evolutionary nature of landscapes and societies, focusing on environmental change and population history, technology, subsistence, settlement, trade and exchange, and socio-political organization. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H and 2122H or permission of instructor.

Cross-listed: CAST-4155H, INDG-4155H

A survey of the major stable isotope systems frequently applied in archaeological and ecological contexts: carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, strontium. Lectures provide fundamental principles and seminars explore case studies. Prerequisite: ANTH 4153H.

Using archaeological and historical datasets, this course examines pre-industrial cities and urban communities across time and space. Lectures and seminars focus on the diverse ways that urban spaces can be structured, and the nature of early urban lived experiences. Prerequisite: ANTH 2122H.

An anthropological introduction to the broad dynamics of urbanization, especially the emergence of the "modern" city, which shapes, and is shaped by, a variety of social phenomena. Special emphasis is placed on the use of ethnographic analysis to understand how processes of urban society manifest themselves in everyday life. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 3390H.

Provides students with a critical understanding of the theoretical models and archaeological evidence for the origins and spread of agricultural societies. The course explores evolutionary, ecological and social theories and reviews genetic, linguistic, archaeobotanical, zooarchaeological and settlement data from Southwest and Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Prerequisite: 9.0 university credits including ANTH 2121H and 2122H, or permission of the instructor.

Cross-listed: SAFS-4350H

Explores how and why past populations are reconstructed from skeletal samples, with emphasis on current theoretical and methodological issues in skeletal biology. Topics include methods of age estimation, growth and development, palaeodemography, palaeopathology, chemical analysis of bones and teeth, population studies, dental anthropology, and ancient DNA. Prerequisite: ANTHBIOL-FRSC 3404H and ANTH-FRSC 3405H or permission of the instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 3430H.

Analyzes some of the critical global health issues and challenges that face humanity in the new century, and the manner in which global institutions are addressing those issues. Interdisciplinary in scope, the course draws on scholarship from global public health, political economy, biopolitics, and human rights. Prerequisite: 14.0 university credits including 1.0 GDST/IDST, ANTH, and/or SOCI credit at the 2000 level or permission of instructor. Equivalent to IDST 4512H.

Cross-listed: GDST-4512H, SOCI-4512H

This course re-examines accounts of the discovery and conquest of Mexico to understand the misconceptions and misrepresentations inherent them, and the reasons these were created. It uses recent studies along with Indigenous historical texts (codices and lienzos) to re-evaluate this event from a non-Eurocentric perspective. Offered only at Trent University Durham GTA. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H, 2123H, or 3121H, or permission of the instructor.

An examination of ethnic consciousness and identity formation through theoretical and ethnographic case studies in a variety of settings. Themes include politicization of ethnicity in situations of conflict or political transition, genocide, and the articulation of ethnicity with gender, class, kinship, nationalism, and other markers of social and cultural difference. Prerequisite: 14.0 university credits including one of HURI 2001H, ANTH 2001H, ANTH 2002H, GDST 2000Y (or IDST 2000Y), or SOCI 3661H, or permission of instructor. Equivalent to IDST 4750H.

Cross-listed: GDST-4750H, SOCI-4750H, HURI-4750H

Provides an historical anthropological exploration of colonialism. Drawing on case studies from Eurasia, North America, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, it focuses on the colonial construction of categories of language, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality, and how such cultural categories have been transformed and/or reproduced in the postcolonial present. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H. Co-requisite: ANTH 3991H.

Cross-listed: INDG-4770H, GDST-4770H

Designed for Honours students to pursue special interests largely through independent study. Prerequisite: A minimum average of 80% in ANTH courses completed. Signature of instructor and department required. Details to be arranged in advance consultation with faculty in Anthropology and proposals to be submitted to the chair of the department for approval and signature. Completed applications with the appropriate supporting documents will be forwarded to the Office of the Dean of Arts & Science for approval prior to the add deadline for the requested term.

Designed to allow students in the fourth year of their Anthropology or Archaeology Honours program to pursue experiential research activities, either in the field or laboratory, under the direction of a department faculty member, normally within that person's ongoing research program. Prerequisite: Minimum 80% average in completed ANTH courses; 1.0 ANTH credit at the 3000 or 4000 level, and permission of the instructor. Additional specific course prerequisites depending on the faculty supervisor.

An interdisciplinary introduction to the topic of women and gender in science. How is gender difference understood within scientific disciplines? Why are women under-represented in various science and technological fields? How are women, and feminist scholarship, changing science? Prerequisite: 8.0 university credits including 1.0 GESO or WMST credit at the 3000 level, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for GESO-ANTH 3932H. Equivalent to WMST 4932H.

Cross-listed: GESO-4932H

Examines historical and contemporary issues in Arctic Canada with an eye to environmental, economic, and social changes affecting the region. Students engage with readings and discussions of the "North." Prerequisite: 14.0 university credits or permission of the instructor.

Cross-listed: CAST-4953H