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Anthropology

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Medicine, Religion and Politics in Africa and the African Diaspora, Spring 2005

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Medicine, Religion and Politics in Africa and the African Diaspora, Spring 2005

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An exploration of colonial and postcolonial clashes between theories of healing and embodiment in the African world and those of western bio-medicine. Examines how Afro-Atlantic religious traditions have challenged western conceptions of illness, healing, and the body, and have offered alternative notions of morality, rationality, kinship, gender and sexuality. Analyzes whether contemporary western bio-medical interventions reinforce colonial or imperial power in the effort to promote global health in Africa and the African diaspora.

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Religious Studies; Social Science
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: James, Erica
Date Added:: 01/01/2005

Museum Exhibition Assignment

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Museum Exhibition Assignment

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This is a general assignment requiring students to think critically about museum exhibitions in major New York City institutions: The American Museum of Natural History, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Options are provided for students to visit these spaces virtually or in person.

Subject:: Anthropology; Art History; Arts and Humanities; Social Science
Material Type:: Homework/Assignment
Provider:: CUNY Academic Works
Provider Set:: City College
Author:: Reilly, Matthew
Date Added:: 10/01/2021

Myth, Ritual, and Symbolism, Spring 2004

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Myth, Ritual, and Symbolism, Spring 2004

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How people make sense of their worlds symbolically through myth, ritual, metaphor, and cosmology. The structure of symbols, the natural and social elements they draw on, their social use, and the messages they convey. Students learn to record and analyze myth and ritual.

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Social Science; World Cultures
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Howe, James
Date Added:: 01/01/2004

OER Course Conversions at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

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OER Course Conversions at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY

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This website features many of the OER conversion projects completed at John Jay College over the past few years. Class conversions using the Blackboard platform are not represented because of the BB firewall. These are not the actual LibGuides, but content from the LibGuides, using the LibGuide platform for access. The entire website is public.

The left navigation panel displays the academic departments with the overview and objective of the department. Also, navigation to the specific departmental classes, with corresponding OER content, are found at the bottom of the academic department pages. You can also directly navigate to the specific converted class, by clicking on the course title under the department tab. When clicking on a specific class (e.g. Science 110), the link takes you to the course description, learning outcomes of the course and a link to the OER content for the specific course. The OER content features creative commons OER Textbooks, vetted open Internet sites, academic journal articles and library owned streaming video, requiring a login to the John Jay Library. Each academic department features a link to "Discussion and Comments". In addition all pages have navigation arrows to previous pages and next pages. On many of the OER content pages, the class calendar by week is featured with links to the reading assignments. In addition to the specific OER content by class, there is a link at the top of the main page to access generic OER by subject and/or topic.

Subject:: Anthropology; Applied Science; Art History; Arts and Humanities; Biology; Computer Science; Criminal Justice; Education; Ethnic Studies; General Law; Higher Education; History; History, Law, Politics; Law; Life Science; Psychology; Social Science; Sociology; Technology
Material Type:: Activity/Lab; Case Study; Homework/Assignment
Provider:: CUNY
Provider Set:: John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Author:: Vee Herrington
Date Added:: 05/18/2021

Organizations and Environments, Fall 2004

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Organizations and Environments, Fall 2004

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Examines theory and research on the relationship of organizations to each other and to their economic, political, and social environments. Classic and contemporary approaches to complex social systems, the dynamics of inertia and change, the role of legitimacy, and the production of change as an intended or unintended consequence. Considers the relative roles of voluntarism and determinism in the pursuit of organizational agendas and in the shaping of organizational environments, for example, with respect to changing employment relationships and environmentalism. Primarily for doctoral students. The goal of this doctoral course is to familiarize students with major conceptual frameworks, debates, and developments in contemporary organization theory. This is an inter-disciplinary domain of inquiry drawing primarily from sociology, and secondarily from economics, psychology, anthropology, and political science. The course focuses on inter-organizational processes, and also addresses the economic, institutional and cultural contexts that organizations must face. This is an introduction to a vast and multifaceted domain of inquiry. Due to time limitations, this course will touch lightly on many important topics, and neglect others entirely; its design resembles more a map than an encyclopedia. Also, given the focus on theoretical matters, methodological issues will move to the background. Empirical material will be used to illustrate how knowledge is produced from a particular standpoint and trying to answer particular questions, leaving the bulk of the discussion on quantitative and qualitative procedures to seminars such as 15.347, 15.348, and the like.

Subject:: Anthropology; Business and Communication; Economics; Political Science; Psychology; Social Science; Sociology
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Boczkowski, Pablo
Date Added:: 01/01/2004

People, Plants and Place

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People, Plants and Place

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This course is structured to address three pillars of contemporary applied anthropology:
Anthropological methods for research and analysis
Social policy: understanding how anthropology intersects with policy concerns
Communicating results through impactful delivery: writing for public audiences; preparation of policy papers; formulation of research goals and design for funding proposals

In addition to learning and practicing essential skills of social research and analysis, students will produce several kinds of materials through their work in the Lab:

Analysis of issues, written for public engagement and education on Lab website, and as part of the Lab’s ongoing database of issues, resources, and results;
Policy papers of use to local institutions and community partners;
Proposals for further research, funding, and community-level engagement.

Subject:: Anthropology; Social Science
Material Type:: Module
Provider:: CUNY
Provider Set:: Lehman College
Author:: Miriam Laytner
Date Added:: 07/21/2022

People and Language: Anthropology

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People and Language: Anthropology

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Language, whether verbal or non-verbal, is one of the most universal social practices in our world — all people use language. But language use is also incredibly culture-specific, anchored in particular contexts, communities, groups, identities, and modalities. Linguistic anthropology, one of four fields in the discipline of anthropology, studies how people use language in their everyday lives. It is holistic and comparative in its approach to the study of humanity and stresses qualitative research, often through ethnography. This course will introduce students to the basic concepts, theories, and methods of linguistic anthropology, and demonstrate how language, culture, power, and politics are interrelated in the construction and dismantling of social structures. As COVID-19 continues to plague our world, human interaction is experiencing a fundamental shift that invites us to reflect on how and why we communicate the way we do. In this class, we will turn to the current social, historical, and political moment to guide our analysis of the linguistic and discursive manifestations of social inequalities.

Some of the questions we will ask include:

What is language? What is a language?
How do languages historically become languages?
What are the connections between language and our bodies?
How do language and identity inform and interact with each other?
In what ways does language influence politics and vice versa?
What are the differences between the terms creole, patois, dialect, language?
How do we learn language? What do we learn through language?
Has media changed language? How? Why? When?

bell hooks wrote: “Shifting how we think about language and how we use it necessarily alters how we know what we know” (1994: 226). Join us in working towards exactly that! [This course site and syllabus was created as part of the Open Pedagogy Fellowship, hosted by the Mina Rees Library at The Graduate Center.]

Read more about the course design here: https://gclibrary.commons.gc.cuny.edu/2020/11/09/languaging-in-the-cuny-academic-commons/

Subject:: Anthropology; Social Science
Material Type:: Reading; Syllabus
Provider:: CUNY
Provider Set:: Brooklyn College
Author:: Anthony Harb
Date Added:: 06/24/2021

People and Other Animals, Fall 2013

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People and Other Animals, Fall 2013

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This class provides a historical survey of the ways that people have interacted with their closest animal relatives, for example: hunting, domestication of livestock, exploitation of animal labor, scientific study of animals, display of exotic and performing animals, and pet keeping. Themes include changing ideas about animal agency and intelligence, our moral obligations to animals, and the limits imposed on the use of animals.

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Social Science
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Ritvo, Harriet
Date Added:: 01/01/2013

Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology

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Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology

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The first peer-reviewed open access textbook for cultural anthropology courses. Produced by the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges and available free of charge for use in any setting.

Subject:: Anthropology; Social Science
Material Type:: Textbook
Provider:: American Anthropological Association
Author:: Laura Gonzales; Nina Brown; Thomas McIlwraith
Date Added:: 01/01/2017

Philosophical Issues in Brain Science, Spring 2009

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Philosophical Issues in Brain Science, Spring 2009

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" This course provides an introduction to important philosophical questions about the mind, specifically those that are intimately connected with contemporary psychology and neuroscience. Are our concepts innate, or are they acquired by experience? (And what does it even mean to call a concept 'innate'?) Are 'mental images' pictures in the head? Is color in the mind or in the world? Is the mind nothing more than the brain? Can there be a science of consciousness? The course includes guest lectures by Philosophers and Cognitive Scientists."

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Philosophy; Psychology; Social Science; World Cultures
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Byrne, Alex; Sinha, Pawan
Date Added:: 01/01/2009

Photography and Truth, Spring 2008

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Photography and Truth, Spring 2008

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" Still photography, a practice and form of expression that has worked its way into every facet of social life and every culture in the world, is considered here from the perspectives of history and social science. We will discuss the uses and functions of pictures; how they are to be understood and interpreted; whether they have clear-cut content and meanings; how they shape and are shaped by politics, economics, and social life."

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Social Science; World Cultures
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Howe, James
Date Added:: 01/01/2008

Popular Musics of the World, Spring 2005

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Popular Musics of the World, Spring 2005

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This course focuses on popular music, i.e. music created for and transmitted by mass media. Various popular music genres from around the world will be studied through listening, reading and written assignments, with an emphasis on class discussion. In particular, we will consider issues of musical change, syncretism, Westernization, globalization, the impact of recording industries, and the post-colonial era. Case studies will include Afro-pop, reggae, bhangra, rave, and global hip-hop.

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Social Science; World Cultures
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Tang, Patricia
Date Added:: 01/01/2005

Power: Interpersonal, Organizational and Global Dimensions, Fall 2005

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Power: Interpersonal, Organizational and Global Dimensions, Fall 2005

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Using examples from anthropology and sociology alongside classical and contemporary social theory, this course explores the nature of dominant and subordinate relationships, types of legitimate authority, and practices of resistance. The course also examines how we are influenced in subtle ways by the people around us, who makes controlling decisions in the family, how people get ahead at work, and whether democracies, in fact, reflect the "will of the people..

Subject:: Anthropology; Political Science; Social Science; Sociology
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Silbey, Susan
Date Added:: 01/01/2005

Seminar in Ethnography and Fieldwork, Spring 2008

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Seminar in Ethnography and Fieldwork, Spring 2008

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This advanced course in anthropology engages closely with discussions and debates about ethnographic research, ethics, and representation.

Subject:: Anthropology; Social Science
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Helmreich, Stefan
Date Added:: 01/01/2008

Social Study of Science and Technology, Spring 2004

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Social Study of Science and Technology, Spring 2004

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Intensive reading and analysis of key works in the theory and methods of the social study of science and technology. Aims at understanding the different questions and methods social scientists have posed and used in exploring how social context and norms influence the work of scientists and engineers. Students read studies of science labs, science policy, Internet culture, and science in popular culture.

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Philosophy; Social Science; Sociology
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Helmreich, Stefan
Date Added:: 01/01/2004

Social Theory and Analysis, Fall 2011

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Social Theory and Analysis, Fall 2011

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This course covers major theorists and theoretical schools since the late 19th century. Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Bourdieu, Levi-Strauss, Geertz, Foucault, Gramsci, and others.

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Social Science
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Michael M.J. Fischer
Date Added:: 01/01/2011

Social Theory and the City, Fall 2005

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Social Theory and the City, Fall 2005

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This course explores how social theories of urban life can be related to the city's architecture and spaces. It is grounded in classic or foundational writings about the city addressing such topics as the public realm and public space, impersonality, crowds and density, surveillance and civility, imprinting time on space, spatial justice, and the segregation of difference. The aim of the course is to generate new ideas about the city by connecting the social and the physical, using Boston as a visual laboratory. Students are required to present a term paper mediating what is read with what has been observed.

Subject:: Anthropology; Applied Science; Architecture and Design; Social Science; Sociology
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Sennett, Richard
Date Added:: 01/01/2005

"Special Topics: Social Animals, Fall 2009"

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"Special Topics: Social Animals, Fall 2009"

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" Humans are social animals; social demands, both cooperative and competitive, structure our development, our brain and our mind. This course covers social development, social behaviour, social cognition and social neuroscience, in both human and non-human social animals. Topics include altruism, empathy, communication, theory of mind, aggression, power, groups, mating, and morality. Methods include evolutionary biology, neuroscience, cognitive science, social psychology and anthropology."

Subject:: Anthropology; Arts and Humanities; Social Science; World Cultures
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Saxe, Rebecca
Date Added:: 01/02/2013

Studies in Women's Life Narratives: Interrogating Marriage: Case Studies in American Law and Culture, Fall 2007

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Studies in Women's Life Narratives: Interrogating Marriage: Case Studies in American Law and Culture, Fall 2007

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Is marriage a patriarchal institution? Much feminist scholarship has characterized it that way, but now in the context of the recent Massachusetts Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage, the meaning of marriage itself demands serious re-examination. This course will discuss history, literature, film, and legal scholarship, making use of cross-cultural, sociological, anthropological, and many other theoretical approaches to the marriage question from 1630 to the present. As it turns out, sex, marriage, and the family have never been stable institutions; to the contrary, they have continued to function as flash points for the very social and cultural questions that are central to gender studies scholarship.

Subject:: Anthropology; General Law; Law; Social Science; Women's Studies
Material Type:: Full Course
Provider:: M.I.T.
Provider Set:: M.I.T. OpenCourseWare
Author:: Bergland, Reneź_e
Date Added:: 01/02/2011

Survey of Anthropology (ANTH 100)

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Survey of Anthropology (ANTH 100)

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Anthropologists attempt to answer the question of what it means to be human. In a sense, we all do anthropology because it is rooted in a universal human characteristic, curiosity. We are curious about ourselves and other people_ including the living and the dead. This course provides an introduction to the anthropological approach to the study of humans. It is a survey course that introduces anthropology as a four-field discipline, encompassing biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology. Aspiring to a holistic understanding of what it means to be human, anthropology is at the intersection of the humanities and the sciences, the most scientific of the humanities and the most humanistic of the sciences.The course begins with a basis in evolutionary theory and human variation. With this foundation, we will explore primate behavior and the fossil record to develop a better understanding of human evolution. We will discuss the archaeological record of early civilizations, the origins and use of language, and the concept of culture in the development of human societies, both extinct and extant. This class will also highlight the epistemological development of the field of anthropology and how religion, culture, and the scientific process pertains to the discipline of anthropology.

Subject:: Anthropology; Social Science
Material Type:: Assessment; Full Course; Reading; Syllabus
Provider:: Washington State Board for Community & Technical Colleges
Provider Set:: Open Course Library
Date Added:: 03/01/2019