Cultural Anthropology

Catalog description

The course will introduce students to the basic concepts and methods in cultural anthropology, focusing on the critical role of culture in traditional society and in the modern world. We apply the anthropological perspective to study the components of cultural systems, including language and meaning, ways of making a living, kinship, worldview, power and political systems, and socio-cultural inequalities, among others, across different cultures. By “unpacking” culture, we focus on how local knowledge is put to work in grappling with practical problems of everyday life. May be repeated up to 3 credits.