Forensic Anthropology in Popular Culture

Catalog description

Forensic anthropology is arguably one of the lesser-known forensic fields, but popular television shows have brought forensic anthropology to the forefront of popular culture. This course explores the general public’s fascination with anything dubbed forensics in popular culture through the lens of forensic anthropology. We’ll explore the difference between science and fiction through an in-depth analysis of how forensic anthropology is presented and manifests within popular culture versus the reality of the scientific discipline. Themes to be covered in the course include, but are not limited to, the CSI effect, “body farms,” culture change in body deposition practices, social media, beauty-related skeletal modifications, buying and selling human remains, dark tourism, cultural appropriation, politics of the “border crisis,” fascination with death, the TV drama series Bones, and skeletons in art, media, couture, and religion/ritual. No prerequisites