ANT 101-000: Introduction to Anthropology (Spring 2010)

Semester Details: This course is an introductory survey of Anthropology: the bio-cultural study of human nature.  The fields that will be covered are: (1) Biologi­cal Anthropology-- the study of human evolution and biological adaptations;  (2) Sociocultural Anthropology--the comparative study of human social and cultural adaptations; and (3) Linguistic Anthropology-- the study of the evolution and functions of human language systems, as the foundation of human culture. In light of the holistic and integrative perspective of modern anthropology, this course will stress the connections among the various perspectives on human nature covered in the course.  The course consists primarily of a series of lectures, and readings supplemented by (a) guest lectures and (b) films. Students will be able to earn extra credit points by attending films and extra lectures and writing summary reports. The goal of the course is to introduce students to a dis­tinctively anthropological perspective on human nature, and have students understand the connections among the major intellectual threads that unite the human sciences.