Courses
ANTH 1000. Anthropology at Northeastern. (1 Hour)
Intended for first-year students in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. Introduces students to liberal arts; familiarizes them with their major; develops the academic skills necessary to succeed (analytical ability and critical thinking); provides grounding in the culture and values of the University community; and helps to develop interpersonal skills—in short, familiarizes students with all skills needed to become a successful university student.
ANTH 1101. Peoples and Cultures. (4 Hours)
Surveys basic concepts in cultural anthropology by looking at a range of societies and the issues they face in a globalizing world. Examines the manner in which cultures adapt to, reject, or modify all of the changes they face. These changes impact everything from traditional family structure, to religion, gender, all the way to patterns of joking and concepts of beauty the world over.
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture
ANTH 1990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.
ANTH 2302. Gender and Sexuality: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. (4 Hours)
Explores concepts of “sex” and “gender” in a cross-cultural framework as they pertain to social status, work, the body, intersexuality, third or alternative genders, and intersectionality. Problematizes normative assumptions about femininity and masculinity; the relations between men and women; and the meanings and implications of being a woman, man, or an other-gendered person. Examines how social constructions of gender contribute and interact with other systems of categorization and structures of inequality such as race, class, and ethnicity.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 2305. Global Markets and Local Culture. (4 Hours)
Examines selected topics in the socioeconomic transformation of other cultures, including urbanization, industrialization, globalization, commodity production, and international labor migration. Focuses on the impact of global capitalist development on contemporary developing and postcolonial societies as well as local responses and/or resistances to those changes.
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture
ANTH 2315. Religion and Modernity. (4 Hours)
Introduces a cross-cultural, comparative perspective on religious practice and belief. Explores theoretical definitions of and methodological approaches to the study of religion, as well as more specific concepts of ritual, myth, healing, and identity. Select case studies allow for an in-depth look at the unique formations of a few religious practices and groups.
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 2485. Environment, Technology, and Society. (4 Hours)
Focuses on the connections between the development of modern nation-states and the control of nature. Explores the role human societies play in such events as climate change, tsunamis, and droughts. Studies how industrialization and the process of science and technology development are related to our transforming environmental conditions, as well as how the social sciences, the sciences, and engineering are transforming to address these issues. Draws on social theory, environmental history, anthropology, sociology, art, design, and open-source technologies to investigate theoretically and methodologically the sources, experiences of, and solutions for environmental health questions.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 2990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.
ANTH 2991. Research Practicum. (2-4 Hours)
Involves students in collaborative research under the supervision of a faculty member. Offers students an opportunity to learn basic research methods in the discipline. Requires permission of instructor. May be repeated once for up to 4 total credits.
ANTH 3100. Gender, Social Justice, and Transnational Activism. (4 Hours)
Introduces key issues, themes, and debates in feminist transnational theory, practice, and activism in contemporary contexts and how it has changed under socioeconomic, political, and cultural processes of globalization. Examines differences among women relating to race, class, sexuality, national identity, and political economy in reckoning with possibilities for sustainable social justice. Students interrogate the relationship between the local and global; the production of knowledge in different regional spaces; the pragmatics of political mobilization; the varying contours of “social justice”; and other key issues. Offers students an opportunity to discuss the impact of globalization, neoliberalism, and state and intimate violence on gendered politics and relations and to contend with the politics of difference, to debate its challenges, and to imagine possible futures for transnational gender justice.
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 3200. Cities in Global Context. (4 Hours)
Examines the roots of the urbanization process, major ways of thinking about it, and the development of world cities and megacities. The twenty-first century will be a century in which urbanism is a central problem and opportunity. Considers the economic, political, cultural, and environmental dimensions of urbanism across the globe. Includes specific case studies from around the world. Encourages students to develop a knowledge of particular cities in order to examine the key themes of the course. INTL 3200, ANTH 3200, and SOCL 3200 are cross-listed.
ANTH 3410. Ethnographic Field Experience. (4 Hours)
Offers students an opportunity to experience fieldwork while studying current ethnographic methods and theory and to design a semester-long ethnographic field research project. Field sites may include public and outdoor spaces, online communities, cultural centers, schools, immigrant neighborhoods, sports organizations, social service agencies, nonprofit groups, religious institutions, etc.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Analyzing/Using Data, NUpath Integration Experience
ANTH 3417. Political Anthropology. (4 Hours)
Examines the anthropology of politics, focusing on the anthropology of the state. Studies the history of political anthropology with its roots in British structural-formalism and contextualizes it within the anthropology of Africa and witchcraft. Explores the linkages between the nation and the state, using classic works of Benedict Anderson on nationalism, before commencing an in-depth study of the problems of the state, classical theories of the state and statecraft, and how these ideas are traced to contemporary ethnographies of politics. Students interested in the study of resistance, displacement, social exclusion, citizenship, state violence, and communities may find this course relevant to their interests.
Prerequisite(s): SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 3418. Wired/Unwired: Cybercultures and Technopolitics. (4 Hours)
Explores the impacts of technology and new media on politics, society, and culture. Emphasizes the socioeconomic and political frameworks within which technologies are embedded as well as the role of technology and the Internet in contemporary political and cultural movements. Topics may include the political and cultural effects of the census, the radio, and the camera; the history of the Internet; virtual worlds and communities; online politics and activism; as well as blogging, gaming, and social networking.
Prerequisite(s): SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture
ANTH 3421. Foundations of Anthropological Theory. (4 Hours)
Introduces the foundations of anthropological theory. Examines recurring themes surrounding structure and agency, culture and power, and the tension between the individual and society. Addresses these questions by returning to anthropology’s Enlightenment roots, early evolutionary thought, classic and contemporary theories, as well as ongoing critiques of the discipline. Explores different schools of thought, including functionalism, structural functionalism, symbolism, interpretivism, and more recent theoretical developments that address history, political economy, reflexivity, poststructuralism, and feminism, as well as transnational/global and activist approaches. Requires prior completion of two ANTH courses numbered 1000 or above.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D-
ANTH 3441. Medical Anthropology. (4 Hours)
Examines core concepts of medicine as a cultural system, then moves to anthropology of the body as it has been understood and shaped within healing systems. Medical anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that uses the four-field approach to examine cultural concepts and experiences of health, illness, treatment, and power cross-culturally. Emphasizes history and construction of biomedicine. Surveys traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Voudon, Mayan curanderos, and other folk healing systems around the world. Explores medical pluralism, the common practice of seeking out and utilizing more than one therapeutic treatment style at one time; structural violence; and how healing systems interact with broader political and social systems globally.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of C or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of C
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 3442. Anthropology of Law. (4 Hours)
Examines the institutions, history, and practices of modern law, including the contradictions of liberal law, its co-emergence with narratives of “the primitive” and “the civilized”, its relationship to Christianity and science, and its most pervasive myths and cultural assumptions. No prior knowledge of law is required.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 3990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.
ANTH 4100. Making Anthropology Public. (4 Hours)
Reflects on the social, economic, ecological, and cultural value of anthropology as a field, as well as an experiential learning space for transforming anthropological research into material understandable by the general public. Offers students an opportunity to learn methodologies across visual, collaborative, and engaged anthropologies, as well as to study the ethical considerations and specific skills necessary to communicate effectively in a variety of modalities.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of B-
Attribute(s): NUpath Capstone Experience, NUpath Creative Express/Innov, NUpath Integration Experience
ANTH 4200. Anthropology of Rural America. (4 Hours)
Considers how rural areas are socially, geographically, and culturally constructed by political, social, and racialized forces through both isolationist and extractive practices. Confronts rurality as a political image, showing how it takes on both meanings of belonging and otherness depending on its context and usage. Explores the theoretical concept of rurality and its relationship to colonialism; regional case studies; and intersectional issues of gender, sexuality, race, class, and social inequality. Offers students an opportunity to explore essential topics in and related to the anthropology of rural studies.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture
ANTH 4210. Anthropology of Eastern Europe. (4 Hours)
Explores the societies, cultures, and politics of Eastern Europe, focusing on social upheaval and cultural change after the fall of state socialism. Examines themes including capitalist transition, European integration, ethnic and religious conflict, nation-building, and state contestation, maintaining a focus on the everyday realities of Eastern Europeans. Covers key theoretical debates about East-West geopolitical polarity, drawing on decolonial and postcolonial perspectives to challenge representations of Eastern Europe as transitional, peripheral, or backwards.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 4220. South Asian Diasporas. (4 Hours)
Seeks to provide an understanding of South Asians as one of the largest migrant communities globally, coming from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka. Concentrates on the diaspora as a heterogeneous group comprising multiple nationalities, religions, castes, classes, languages, and genders. Examines the history, opportunities, and challenges of South Asian mobility and migration. Draws from texts in sociocultural anthropology, Asian American studies, history, and transnational feminist studies to trace the emergence of a new global regime on migration and citizenship through the unprecedented mobility of South Asians in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 4350. Ethnography of Southeast Asia. (4 Hours)
Offers a seminar on the societies and cultures of Southeast Asia. Uses an interdisciplinary approach to this diverse and dynamic geopolitical region, with readings from anthropology, history, political science, and literature. Covers the major political and cultural changes that have shaped Southeast Asia in relation to the world—from the age of colonial expansion, to the rise of nation-states, to the present global era. Examines central questions in the ethnography of Southeast Asia, emphasizing the postcolonial legacies of Southeast Asia, states and violence, culture and mobility, and pressing contemporary issues in globalizing Southeast Asia. ANTH 4350 and INTL 4350 are cross-listed.
Prerequisite(s): SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 4410. Neoliberalism in Asia. (4 Hours)
Introduces key definitions and theories of neoliberalism and situates these ideas through Asian experiences of neoliberalism. Emphasizes the relationship between neoliberal processes and state-led development, as well as the relationship between neoliberal thought and bottom-up societal changes. Combines films, theoretical readings, and ethnography to explore hallmarks of anthropological analyses of neoliberalism in debates over cultural agency, locality, values, and politics in East, South, and Southeast Asian countries. Critically examines topics such as English-language dominance in the Asian region, the rise of plastic surgery, youth unemployment and political consciousness, and real estate speculation in Asian megacities.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Difference/Diversity, NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 4500. Latin American Society and Development. (4 Hours)
Explores the processes of social, economic, and cultural change in Latin America. While concentrating on the present, traces class formation, agrarian structures, ethnic identity, ceremonial organization, gender roles, and political conflict since the colonial era in a range of countries. Emphasizes the relationship of communities and national political and economic systems. May emphasize Central America and Mexico or countries in South America through case studies. ANTH 4500 and INTL 4500 are cross-listed.
Prerequisite(s): (SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- ); (ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C )
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Writing Intensive
ANTH 4510. Anthropology of Africa. (4 Hours)
Explores Africa’s changing place in the world. Studies the history of Africa and explores the role of ethnography in the making of colonial Africa and the cultural transformations and continuities produced by the emergence of African cities during and after colonialism. Studies postcolonial Africa to critically and comparatively engage with contemporary issues facing African societies. Considers the efflorescence of new cultural forms of music, art, film, and literature, in conjunction with new sources of identity such as nationality, religion, ethnicity, consumption, and migration. AFRS 4510, ANTH 4510 and INTL 4510 are cross-listed.
Prerequisite(s): (ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D- ); (ENGL 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGL 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1102 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1111 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1113 with a minimum grade of C or ENGW 1114 with a minimum grade of C )
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Writing Intensive
ANTH 4515. Culture and Politics in Modern India. (4 Hours)
Introduces the histories, cultures, and peoples of India. Seeks to convey a sense of how knowledge has been constructed about the region and how the subcontinent has been shaped by its engagements with the world through such processes as colonization, state building, and globalization. Uses readings, films, and class discussions to examine themes and topics that include Orientalism, postcolonialism, caste and community, gender and sexualities, conflict and violence, development and resistance, and transnational structures and processes. Critically evaluates some commonly held assumptions, including classical understandings of tradition and modernity, cohesion and conflict, and nation and identity. ANTH 4515 and INTL 4515 are cross-listed.
Prerequisite(s): SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or HUSV 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or CRIM 1100 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Interpreting Culture, NUpath Societies/Institutions, NUpath Writing Intensive
ANTH 4520. Chinese Society and Culture. (4 Hours)
Introduces students to changes in society and economy in contemporary China. Examines changes in family, gender relations, rural life, work, and international relations. Draws on literature from a range of disciplines including sociology, political science, anthropology, and economics.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or INTL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1140 with a minimum grade of D- or POLS 1160 with a minimum grade of D- or SOCL 1101 with a minimum grade of D- or WMNS 1103 with a minimum grade of D-
Attribute(s): NUpath Societies/Institutions
ANTH 4580. Special Topics in Anthropology. (4 Hours)
Designed as a specialized themes course for students with prior experience in anthropology and/or sociology. Offers unique opportunities—visiting guests, special thematic interests—which are not part of the regular curriculum. May be repeated without limit.
ANTH 4600. Senior Seminar. (4 Hours)
Designed to deal with anthropological theory and work with students who are asked to apply these theories to some of their own work. Content may vary.
Attribute(s): NUpath Capstone Experience, NUpath Writing Intensive
ANTH 4970. Junior/Senior Honors Project 1. (4 Hours)
Focuses on in-depth project in which a student conducts research or produces a product related to the student’s major field. Combined with Junior/Senior Project 2 or college-defined equivalent for 8-credit honors project. May be repeated without limit.
ANTH 4971. Junior/Senior Honors Project 2. (4 Hours)
Focuses on second semester of in-depth project in which a student conducts research or produces a product related to the student’s major field. May be repeated without limit.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 4970 with a minimum grade of D-
ANTH 4990. Elective. (1-4 Hours)
Offers elective credit for courses taken at other academic institutions. May be repeated without limit.
ANTH 4992. Directed Study. (1-4 Hours)
Offers independent work under the direction of members of the department on a chosen topic. Course content depends on instructor. May be repeated without limit.