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ANTH 200 Cultural Anthropology
A general survey of cultural anthropology, which is one of the main branches of general
Anthropology. Employs a global and holistic perspective to examine the economic, social,
political, cultural, and ideological integration of society. The comparative, cross-cultural
method distinctive to anthropology is used to explore the diverse ideas and behavior
that characterize humanity and the human condition. Presents the fundamental questions
that cultural anthropologists ask, the methods they use to answer these questions,
and some of the uses of anthropological knowledge. Self-reflection and critical analysis
of one's own world view assumptions and cultural belief system are fundamental objectives
of the course.
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ANTH 215 Human Origins
Offers an introduction to human origins from the perspective of biological anthropology.
A premise of the course is that the human form and human behavior have evolved together
and neither can be fully understood or appreciated without a full understanding of
the other. Subject matter to be covered includes the geological time frame, evolutionary
theory, and the evolution of primates, hominids, and modern humans as evidenced by
fossil remains, specific sites, genetic research, and artifacts.
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ANTH 301 Culture and Medicine: Healers and Healing Practices
Every culture and society has had to deal with illness and thus has well-developed
concepts about the healing process, healers, medical knowledge, and healing practices.
Offers a cross-cultural exploration of healers and healing approaches. Examines differences
and similarities in the ways that people approach illness and healing by relying heavily
on an abundance of examples from various cultures, including that of the United States.
Examines illness causation and classification theories, diagnostic practices, therapeutic
procedures, preventive care, the assumptions that underlie these concepts and practices,
and their relationship to the social, cultural, and technological environments in
which they are constructed. Focuses on the role of the healer in the context of culture
and examines physicians, shamans, witch doctors, curandero/as, midwives, wise men
and women, and other healers. Explores the use of music, botanicals, healing aids,
and pharmaceuticals in the healing process. Informed self-reflection and critical
analysis of one's own world view assumptions and medical belief system are fundamental
objectives of the course.
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ANTH 305 Medical Anthropology
General survey of medical anthropology including the study of specific medical cultures,
ethnomedicine, ethnobotany, medical concepts and treatments, illness causation, etiology,
diagnostic methods, prognosis, treatment practices. health care delivery systems,
patient-provider relationship, cross-cultural medicine, and the organization of health
care systems. Course includes examination of the role of medical anthropology in cross-cultural
medicine.
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ANTH 310 World Prehistory
Provides an interdisciplinary overview of the major developments in the early human
past. Drawing upon archaeological, biological, linguistic, and anthropological sources,
this global coverage of human prehistory examines ancient cultures and societies of
Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific. Explores human evolution, adaptive
behavior, the hunter and gatherer diaspora, plant and animal domestication, trade,
the development of agriculture, and the origins of states. Through crosscultural comparisons
and anthropological theory, explores such subject matter as the origins of gender
differences in the division of labor, the role of ideology in cultural adaptation,
differential access to technologies, economic production, artistic expression, and
mechanisms of cultural change.
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ANTH 325 Ancient Mexican Society and Art
Examines Ancient Mexican art, cosmology, architecture, mythology, and literature as
they reflect social structure, religion, social roles, ideology, economic and political
organization, world-view, and the family. Using archeological and ethnographic sources,
the course covers the preclassic, classic, and postclassic periods, focusing on several
cultural areas including the Olmec, Teotihuacan, Monte Alban and the Zapotec and Mixtec
of Oaxaca, the Toltecs, the Maya, and the Aztec, or Mexica. Among other topics to
be examined are the calendar, writing, concepts of space and time, the ball game,
tribute, human sacrifice and bloodletting, sacred plants, and specific Mesoamerican
deities.
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ANTH 328 Body and Identity
Explores the social construction and performances of the body and identity through
a cross-cultural look at definitions and meanings of the body, codes inscribed on
it by our everyday practices (wearing makeup, working out), and choices of decorative
markers (clothing, jewelry, tattoos, piercings). How are gender, race, ethnicity,
and power status signaled by the body? How is rebellion enacted through the body?
Anthropological perspectives are used to explore how people approach these issues
across cultural, economic, political, social, and religious contexts.
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ANTH 330 Ritual and Religion
Ritual and religion have historically been powerful shapers of society. Every society
that has existed has asked universal questions like the following. Where do we come
from? Why are we here? How did “here” get here? How did we get here? How are we supposed
to act? What happens to us when we die? This course provides a cross cultural and
comparative examination of sacred texts and teachings to reveal the ideological constructs
that people have generated in seeking to answer these questions. Concepts and practices
of holy, creation, anima, heroes/prophets, codes of behavior, ritual and prayer, and
the center-world tree-temple complex are examined as they are revealed in the sacred
primary texts. The course emphasizes the influence of the social, environmental, and
economic contexts on ideological systems and incorporates field research to local
religious specialists in the region.
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ANTH 340 Immigration and Health
Migration has become a common phenomenon and is an indication of the growing interdependence
of nation-states in an increasingly globalized economy. The health implications of
migration challenge public health systems worldwide. At the same time, providing health
care for immigrants in receiving countries is a politically contentious and urgent
issue. This course cross culturally examines the impact of human migration on the
health of migrant communities in a transnational context. By situating migration and
its impact on health within the political and economic reality of globalization the
course will examine health impacts as well as the social and political context of
how immigrants access and utilize health care services. The course will also examine
how class, ethnicity and gender condition the health of migrants.
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ANTH 350 Visual Anthropology
Course explores the field of visual anthropology, including but not limited to the
examination of ethnographic film, process and production of ethnographic film, the
relationship between the filmmaker and the subjects of the film, ethnographic photography,
visual representation, multimedia presentation of ethnographic data, digitization
of ethnographic data, community-led visual ethnography, and the use of ethnographic
film in community advocacy.
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ANTH 370 Environment, Population, and Culture
This course focuses on contemporary world problems from interdisciplinary and anthropological
perspectives. Employing the cross-cultural, evolutionary, and multi-disciplinary
methods of anthropology and cultural ecology, the course examines the environmental
crisis, rain forest destruction, resource management, consumption culture, world hunger,
food systems, population pressure, poverty, energy distribution, the future of the
global free market, and the role of ideology in environmental adaptation with the
objective to foster crisis awareness and informed response.
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ANTH 380 Current Archaeology
General survey of global archaeological sites, archaeological practice, the history
of archaeology, and current issues in archaeology including intellectual property
rights and the relationship between archaeology and world/regional cultural resources.
Course includes examination of the construction of culture history and the archaeological
record, survey and excavation, dating technologies, and subsistence patterns. Portions
of the class are dedicated to examination of local archaeological sites or collections,
pictographs and petroglyphs, lithic techniques, indigenous land management practices,
indigenous resource management practices, indigenous knowledge of archaeological sites,
ceremonial sites, food gathering and processing sites, village sites, and contemporary
use of culturally significant sites by local indigenous bands.
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ANTH 390 Anthropological Research Methods
Introduces the fundamental methods in cultural anthropology including research design,
participant observation, informant selection, organization of field notes, household
and community questionnaires, structured and unstructured interviews, oral and life
histories, case studies, focus groups, archival research and secondary data, and coding
and analysis of qualitative data. Topics include construction of research problems,
research design, research implementation, preparation of human subject protocols,
strategies of data collection and analysis, and report preparation
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ANTH 430 Medical Ethnography
Course involves advanced students conducting ethnographic fieldwork in local health
clinics or hospitals or with local communities with unique medical cultures. Course
examines patterns of health service utilization and access to clinical health care,
as well as alternatives to clinical health care. Students, working collaboratively
with either health care professionals and/or ethnic populations with special health
care needs, such as immigrant or indigenous communities, document and analyze ethnographic
data pertaining to the delivery and consumption of health care services and the generation
of health care alternatives, such as community medicinal gardens. A focused research
question is examined through interviewing, participant observation, data collection,
and analysis involving the community under study and specific health service providers.
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ANTH 440 Farmworker Health Ethnography
Course involves field and quantitative ethnographic research regarding the health
and health care practices of local farmworker communities. Farmworker Health and Ethnography
uses the California Agricultural Workers Health Survey (CAWHS) to document and analyze
the health of local agricultural workers and contribute to a long-term study of farmworker
health. The course relies on partnerships with local health care providers, local
farmworker organizations, and local agencies. Using quantitative ethnographic field
methods, particularly the administration of a health survey instrument to local farmworkers,
students record work histories, living conditions, health behaviors, health histories,
and use of clinical and non-clinical health care forms to assess the status of health
and health care practices among local agricultural workers. Students engage in ethnographic
research among local farmworker populations living in North County San Diego. A principal
course objective is to contribute to the documentation and assessment of local farmworker
health status and health care practices through the creation of an on-going database
and the generation of an annual report on local farmworker health.
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ANTH 460 Anthropology and Cultural Competency
Examines the relationship between concepts of cultural competency and realities of
cultural interface. Focuses on individual and community interaction with health care,
education, legal, social, and cultural institutions from the perspectives of both
the provider and consumer of social services. Course topics include distinction between
cultural knowledge, awareness, sensitivity, and competence; cross-cultural capabilities;
principles of equal access and non-discriminatory practices in service delivery; identification
and understanding of the needs and help-seeking behaviors of individuals and families;
and the use of informal support and helping networks within culturally diverse communities
(e.g. neighborhood, civic and advocacy associations; local/neighborhood merchants
and alliance groups; ethnic, social, and religious organizations; and spiritual leaders
and healers). Examines the use of cultural and linguistic interpreters; unique social
and cultural forms regarding health, education, and social concepts and practices;
economic and social barriers to health, social and education services; institutional
adaptation to diversity and the cultural contexts of the communities that health,
education and social agencies serve; and the role of community in decision making
regarding policy and practice by service agencies. Students generate research questions
and conduct case studies regarding cultural competency and cross-cultural capabilities.
Fulfills requirement for credit certificate program in Cultural Competency.
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ANTH 470 Community Ethnobotany
Course continues the development of the The Indian Rock collaboration between anthropology
and advanced computer art students at CSUSM and the San Luis Rey Band of Luiseño Indians
in Vista, California. Community Ethnobotany offers an opportunity for students to
engage with members of the local indigenous community, to understand the social, economic,
environmental, historical, and cultural worlds in which the members of the community
live, and to participate in the implementation of the Indian Rock Native Garden as
well as in the crucial process of cultural preservation. A central goal of the course
is to instill through practice social responsibility towards the local community on
the part of both the university and the students and a long-term collaborative relationship
between the indigenous community and the university.
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ANTH 480 Local Archaeological Practice
Students perform archaeological and anthropological research relating to local cultural
resource management (CRM) and documentation. Students engage with local professional
archaeologists and Native American groups working in cultural resource management
to learn site research methods, identification and documentation of material culture.
The primary goals of this class are :
- to provide students with an appreciation of the importance of CRM
- to provide students with an understanding of the legislation that drives CRM
- to expose students to the everyday practices of archaeological practice in a CRM context,
and to
- expose the students to various cultural viewpoints with recovered archaeology.
The course is divided into 3 segments. The first presents a background to CRM law
and practice (Sections 1-5). The second section focuses on CRM Archaeology- how CRM
archaeologists operate in the field, the phases of CRM archaeology, and what happens
to the data once the project is over (Sections 6-11). The third section covers preservation,
ethics, and specific case studies (Sections 12-15). Field activity includes working
with an archaeological collection and review of unpublished literature produced during
the CRM process, conducting a record search/review of recorded site information for
a particular area. Students write a proposal/brief archaeological research project
during Sections 2 and 3. In addition, through a series of exercises, the student explores
the connection between archaeological field work and interpretation.
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ANTH/NATV 481 Native American Archaeological Monitoring
Students work with local Native American bands concerning cultural preservation and
the monitoring of archaeological sites threatened by development. Students examine
traditional land use management and the traditional knowledge associated with specific
sites. Students learn site research methods, identification and documentation of material
culture, interpretation of federal, state, county, city, and private documents including
Environmental Impact Reports, California Environmental Quality Act, land use legislation,
and assessment of cultural significance. Course covers preservation options, ethics,
and specific case studies.
Pre-requisite ANTH 200.
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ANTH 498 Directed Research in Anthropology
Involves original anthropological research directed by instructor. Advanced students
in anthropology propose an ethnographic and anthropological research project, or collaborate
with original research project to gain experience in field research, data analysis,
and write up.
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ANTH 499 Directed Research in Medical Anthropology
Involves original anthropological research in medicine or health care directed by
instructor. Advanced students propose an ethnographic and anthropological research
project, or collaborate with original research project to gain experience in field
research, data analysis, and write up.
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