Courses in the FIG:
UGST 109 FIG Seminar
XXXX | XXXX | XXXX | 12481 | 1 Credit
ANTH 161 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Social Science (>2)| >GP | >IC | Tuesday/Thursday | 10:00-11:20 | 10383 | 4 Credits
+Dis | Friday | 12:00-12:50 | 10387
The study of individuals and groups within the context of culture. The course examines the sociocultural, political, economic, and psychological lives of people and the interconnections among these. In this course, we will examine many fundamental topics in cultural anthropology. We will begin with an overview of the basic tenets and explore methods and theory in cultural anthropology as a way of viewing peoples around the world. We will probe the ways in which culture impacts thinking, feelings, and moral beliefs in virtually all areas of life.
We will then turn to specific issues including gender, family life, and sexuality, inequality, poverty, and medical and political systems. We will discuss the ways in which colonialism, globalization and the West in particular has affected cultures worldwide.
One of my goals is to, in the words of Melford Spiro, "make the strange familiar and the familiar strange," meaning that what we take for granted and seems "natural" is, in fact, culturally constructed, and that, on the other hand, what seems "unnatural," bizarre," "wrong" and even "evil" may be understood both in its cultural context and for its links to our shared human experience. I hope you'll come away from this course with an appreciation for the various ways in which people create, adapt to, resist, and change their culture.
GLBL 101 Introduction to Global Issues
Social Science (>2)| >GP | >IC | Monday/Wednesday | 12:00-13:20 | 12481 | 4 Credits
+Dis | Friday | 10:00-10:50 | 12486
Hunger, intellectual property, global warming, arms trade, water rights, resource depletion, civil war, genocide, biodiversity loss, terrorism, education, global financial inequities, and immigration: These a just a few examples of the sometimes overwhelming list of challenges we face in a highly globalized world. Some are new but most have been with us for thousands of years. What have changed significantly and rapidly are our mobility and our access to information and images. Issues which a few decades ago may have seemed distant and disconnected are now thrust upon us or at least accessible through various media. Among the wide range of problems and issues faced by people throughout the world, who decides which issues get priority and attention? What informs your own sense of compassion and focus? Does our heightened sense of connection move us more quickly to resolution or to greater cynicism?
The course is designed to meet the social science group-satisfying general education requirement. As the syllabus demonstrates, GLBL 101 covers a cross-section of issues, perspectives and scholarly modes of analysis by those working in the field of international studies. The course subject matter is broad, covering issues such as hunger, intellectual property, global warming, arms trade, water rights, resource depletion, civil war, genocide, biodiversity loss, terrorism, education, global financial inequities, and immigration. The course is grounded in the social sciences with readings and lecture material largely informed by the fields of human geography, sociology, political science, and social psychology. The course compels students to consider ways in which current international issues are framed by popular media, various stakeholders, and academicians (from the social sciences).
