Making Sense of a Changing World: Anthropology Today
Course description
ANTH 1120 is an introduction to sociocultural anthropology.
In this course, we use the concept of culture and the methods of anthropology to understand and explore a variety of crucial questions and problems. We will do this through local-level case studies, both familiar and unfamiliar. This will involve learning about and appreciating different systems of meaning. To do this effectively, we will need to consider the limits of our own knowledge and challenge our own ways of thinking about the world.
In the process, we will sharpen our critical and analytical skills, and develop a working skill-set for university-level research, writing, and discussion.
Learning objectives
The purpose of this course is to learn a set of key anthropological concepts and use them effectively in written and oral communication. This will involve challenging and refining our understandings of recent human history, our perspectives on inequality and injustice in the world today, and our points of view on the challenges confronting humanity in the 21st century.
You will learn what makes anthropology unique as a social science, and you will have practiced some of the methods anthropologists use. In the process you will gain insights into how people in different cultural contexts know, reproduce, change, and represent themselves and the world around them.
