The material on this page is from the 2000-01 catalog and may be out of date. Please check the current year's catalog for current information.

Professors: Kemper and Danforth, Chair; Associate Professors: Eames and Carnegie, Mr. Bourque Anthropologists investigate culture and society, gender and ethnicity, human evolution and the concept of "race." Anthropology is a coherent and comprehensive discipline that offers students a broad, comparative, and essentially interdisciplinary approach to the study of human life in all its diversity. Anthropologists are concerned with understanding human universals, on the one hand, and the uniqueness of individual cultures, on the other. At Bates the program includes both biological and sociocultural perspectives. Anthropology attempts to make sense, in a non-ethnocentric manner, of everyday life in both familiar and "exotic" settings. In this way the discipline enables students to achieve cultural competence in the broadest sense of the term — the ability to function effectively in a multicultural environment, to analyze material from their own and other cultures, and to appreciate the value of the cultural diversity that exists in our world. Some recent graduates have pursued careers in public health, community organizing, environmental law, international development, teaching, and museum work; some have gone on to graduate work in anthropology and archeology. Anthropology 101, Social Anthropology, is designed as an introduction to the discipline of anthropology and as a preparation for more advanced courses. The 200-level courses also admit first-year students, but more closely reflect a specific field within anthropology. The 300- and 400-level courses are open to all upperclass students, but the latter are especially designed for majors. Major Requirements. Students majoring in anthropology study the discipline's history and methodology by taking two types of courses: those that focus on a particular cultural area (such as Africa, the Caribbean, native North America, Europe, or South Asia) and courses that focus on a specific theoretical concern. They also conduct individual ethnographic or archeological fieldwork and are encouraged to complement their work in anthropology with participation in a study-abroad program. Major requirements may include course work in other related departments (such as art, biology, geology, languages and literatures, political science, religion, and sociology) and programs (such as African American studies, American cultural studies, Asian studies, environmental studies, and women's studies). Students majoring in anthropology must complete successfully Anthropology 101, 102, 333, 339, 441, and 458; a course or unit containing a fieldwork component (Anthropology 335, s25, or s32), which should be taken during the student's sophomore year; and at least four other courses in anthropology, not including 360. Two of these elective courses in anthropology may be replaced by two related courses from other departments or programs with departmental approval. Pass/Fail Grading Option. There are no restrictions on the use of the pass/fail option within the major. General Education. Any two anthropology courses may serve as a department-designated set. Courses 101. Social Anthropology. An introduction to the study of a wide variety of social and cultural phenomena. The argument that the reality we inhabit is a cultural construct is explored by examining concepts of race and gender, kinship and religion, the individual life cycle, and the nature of community. Course materials consider societies throughout the world against the background of the emerging global system. Enrollment limited to 50 per section. L. Danforth, S. Kemper. 102. Archeology and Human Evolution. Introduction to archeological method and theory, together with an introductory survey of human evolution, from the appearance of the first primates to the present day. Enrollment limited to 45 per section. B. Bourque. 155. Cinematic Portraits of Africa. Most Americans have "seen" Africa only through non-African eyes, coming to "know" about African society through such characters as Tarzan and such genres as the "jungle melodrama" or the "nature show." In this course, films from the North Atlantic are juxtaposed with ethnographic and art films made by Africans in order to examine how to "read" these cinematic texts. Related texts help to answer central questions about the politics of representation: What are the differences in how African societies are depicted? Why are particular issues and points of view privileged? Recommended background: two or more courses from the following fields: anthropology, African studies, cultural studies, or film. Enrollment limited to 25. Not open to students who have received credit for First-Year Seminar 172. E. Eames. 208. Introduction to Medieval Archeology. The Middle Ages were a time of major cultural changes that laid the groundwork for Northwest Europe's emergence as a global center of political and economic power in more recent centuries. However, many aspects of life in the period from 1000 to 1500 C.E. were unrecorded in contemporary documents and art, and archaeology has become an important tool for recovering that information. This course introduces the interdisciplinary methods and the findings of archeological studies of topics including medieval urban and rural lifeways, health, commerce, religion, social hierarchy, warfare, and the effects of global climate change. This course is the same as Classical and Medieval Studies 208 and History 208. Open to first-year students. Staff. 225. Gods, Heroes, Magic, and Mysteries: Religion in Ancient Greece. An anthropological and historical approach to ancient Greek religion in which archeological, literary, and art-historical sources are examined and compared with evidence from other cultures to gain an understanding of the role of religion in ancient Greek culture and of changing concepts of the relationship between man and the sacred. Topics explored include pre-Homeric and Homeric religion and religious thought, cosmology, mystery cults, civil religion, and manifestations of the irrational, such as dreams, ecstasy, shamanism, and magic. This course is the same as Religion 225. Open to first-year students. L. Danforth, R. Allison. 228. Person and Community in Contemporary Africa. What processes have led to the present conditions on the African continent? The course examines the changing patterns of life in rural and urban Africa. Subjects range from detailed accounts of life in particular communities to the place of Africa in the modern world system. Open to first-year students. E. Eames. 234. Myth, Folklore, and Popular Culture. A variety of texts, including ancient Greek myths, Grimms' folktales, Apache jokes, African proverbs, Barbie dolls, and Walt Disney comics and movies, are examined in light of important theoretical approaches employed by anthropologists interested in understanding the role of such expressive forms in cultures throughout the world. Major emphasis is placed on psychoanalytic, Marxist, structuralist, and cultural studies approaches. This course is the same as Religion 261. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 80. L. Danforth. 240. Peoples and Societies of South Asia. A broad survey of the societies of South Asia, focusing especially on India and Sri Lanka. The course weighs out the genealogical descent of Hindu thinking about society, gender, and the body, as well as external forces on these social realities. Open to first-year students. S. Kemper. 241. Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion. As human societies change, so do the religious beliefs and practices these societies follow. The course examines the symbolic forms and acts that relate human beings to the ultimate conditions of their existence, against the background of the rise of science. Emphasis is upon both Western and non-Western religions. This course is the same as Religion 262 and Sociology 241. Open to first-year students. S. Kemper. 244. Buddhism and the Social Order. The West looks upon Buddhism as an otherworldly religion with little interest in activity in this world. Such has not been the case historically. The Dhamma (Buddhist doctrine) has two wheels, one of righteousness and one of power, one for the other world, and one for this world. Lectures and discussions use this paradigm to consider the several accommodations Buddhism has struck with the realities of power in various Theravada Buddhist societies in ancient India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. This course is the same as Religion 263. Open to first-year students. S. Kemper. 250. Caribbean Societies. One anthropologist writing of the Caribbean asserts: "Nowhere else in the universe can one look with such certainty into the past and discern the outlines of an undisclosed future." Caribbean social systems bore the full impact of Western imperial expansion yet have adjusted to it in resilient and creative ways. The course surveys and interprets aspects of Caribbean life, drawing on a variety of sources — historical, ethnographic, literary, and visual — to present a "post-nationalist" reading of these societies. Open to first-year students. C. Carnegie. 252. The Anthropology of Modernity. Where anthropologists have traditionally focused on small-scale, self-sufficient societies, this course considers modernity a cultural system, part of present-day capitalist enterprise, and a global phenomenon. It does so by considering three practices central to modern social life: consumption, nationalism and transnationalism, and postmodernism. Open to first-year students. S. Kemper. 255. Black Culture and Black Consciousness. The course aims to provide an anthropological framework for understanding cultural production and meaning through time in black communities in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Distinctiveness as well as commonalities in social and cultural patterning among African diaspora peoples are discussed within the context of the historical and structural conditions that created and continue to engender a diasporic black consciousness. Illustrative material is drawn from popular culture, ethnographies of black family and community life, life histories, and other sources. Not open to students who have received credit for Anthropology 150 or First-Year Seminar 255. C. Carnegie. 262. Ethnomusicology: African Diaspora. This introductory course is a survey of key concepts, problems, and perspectives in ethnomusicological theory drawing upon the African diaspora as a cross-cultural framework. This course focuses on the social, political, and intellectual forces of African culture that contributed to the growth of ethnomusicology from the late nineteenth century to the present. This course is the same as Music 262 and African American Studies 262. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 25. L. Williams. 275. Gender Relations in Comparative Perspective. A comparative analysis, utilizing new feminist approaches in anthropology and women's studies, of the social construction of gender in contemporary societies, with a focus on West African, East Asian, and North American notions of gender identity and gender relations. This course is the same as Women's Studies 275. Open to first-year students. E. Eames. 322. First Encounters: European "Discovery" and North American Indians. Columbus's "discovery" of America was a major event in human history because it put Old and New World populations in contact after millennia of isolation. This course examines factors leading up to the "discovery" and the calamitous impact of early colonization upon Native Americans. Prerequisite(s): Anthropology 101. B. Bourque. 325. Ethnicity, Nation, and World Community. The course explores the means by which social identities are constructed as ethnicity and nations. It focuses on how representations taken from categories of everyday life — such as "race," religion, gender, and sexuality — are deployed to give these group loyalties the aura of a natural, timeless authority. This inquiry into ethnicity and nation as cultural fabrications allows for exploration of the possibility of global community not simply in its institutional dimensions, but as a condition of consciousness. Prerequisite(s): any course in anthropology, political science, or sociology. This course is the same as Sociology 325. C. Carnegie. 327. Haiti: Myths and Realities. Haiti has long been characterized as an oddity in the Caribbean region. This course examines the stereotypical images associated with the island. These misrepresentations are explored through ethnographies, film, and visual materials. Students consider the ways in which Haiti is similar to and different from other countries in the region. Emphasis is placed on the extent to which the island's colonial history continues to affect its current socio- economic and political conditions. Prerequisite(s): one African American studies or anthropology course. This course is the same as African American Studies 327. Enrollment limited to 15. G. Ulysse. 333. Culture and Interpretation. Beginning with a consideration of symbolic anthropology as it developed in the 1960s and 1970s, this course surveys critiques of the anthropological turn to the study of social life from the actor's point of view. Emphasis is placed on feminism, reflexive ethnography, and postmodernism. S. Kemper. 335. The Ethnographer's Craft. Much of contemporary theoretical discussion in anthropology derives from self-conscious reflection on what its practitioners do — fieldwork — and how they write about it. By reading a selection of classic and contemporary ethnographies along with critical discourse on their formulation, and by conducting individual ethnographic research, participants examine questions of representation, audience, power, and ethical responsibility entailed by ethnography. The concern is with both craft and craftiness, skill and artifice. Prerequisite(s): any course in anthropology, political science, sociology, women's studies, African American studies, or American cultural studies. C. Carnegie. 339. Production and Reproduction. Economic anthropology challenges the assumptions of conventional economics by analyzing economic behavior from a cross-cultural perspective. Designed for upper-level economics and/or anthropology majors, this course looks at the relation between economy and society through a critical examination of neoclassical, substantivist, Marxist, feminist, and ecological approaches in anthropology. The relative merits of these explanatory paradigms are assessed as students engage ethnographic case material. Such "economic facts" as production, exchange, land tenure, marriage transactions, state formation, and social change in the modern world system are addressed, always in comparative perspective. Junior and senior economics majors are encouraged to enroll in this course. Prerequisite(s): two courses in economics and/or anthropology. E. Eames. 347. New World Archeology. A topical survey of New World archeology emphasizing the entry of humans into North and South America as well as the later prehistoric cultures of North America, Mesoamerica, and the Andes. Prerequisite(s): Anthropology 102. B. Bourque. 360. Independent Study. Designed for the student who may have particular interests in areas of study that go beyond the regular course offerings. Permission of the department is required prior to registration, and a detailed, typed prospectus must be submitted to the chair as part of the request. Students are limited to one independent study per semester. Staff. 365. Special Topics. A course or seminar offered from time to time and reserved for a special topic selected by the department. Staff. 441. History of Anthropological Theory. A consideration of some of the major theories in the development of the field of anthropology, with an emphasis on the fundamental issues of orientation and definition that have shaped and continue to influence anthropological thought. Topics include cultural evolution, the relationship between the individual and culture, the nature-nurture debate, British social anthropology, feminist anthropology, and anthropology as cultural critique. L. Danforth. 457, 458. Senior Thesis. Individual and group conferences in connection with the writing of the senior thesis. Students register for Anthropology 457 in the fall semester and Anthropology 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Anthropology 457 and 458. One course credit is given for each registration. Prerequisite(s): approval by the department of a thesis prospectus prior to registration. Staff. Short Term Units s20. Refugees and Resettlement. In the last two decades the State of Maine has increasingly become a site for resettling refugees. This process requires more than finding housing, work, and educational opportunities for new American families. Resettling people entails the translation of one way of life into another. This unit presents students with the opportunity both to understand the process and to volunteer with agencies trying to make the transition easier. Recommended background: one anthropology course. Enrollment limited to 12. Written permission of the instructor is required. S. Kemper. s21. Cultural Production and Social Context, Jamaica. Although Jamaica's artistic and popular culture enjoys an internationally acclaimed reputation, it is at the same time often misunderstood. This unit affords students an opportunity to investigate a range of Jamaican cultural practices within the context of the specific social, historical, and political matrices in which they are generated and received. This unit begins with a preliminary introduction/orientation in Lewiston. In Jamaica, regular seminar meetings are supplemented by guest speakers and visits with writers and artists. In addition, each student carries out an individual research project using both textual and ethnographic methods of inquiry. Recommended background: previous course on the Caribbean or in African American studies. Enrollment limited to 18. Written permission of the instructor is required. Not open to students who have received credit for English s21. C. Carnegie. s22. The Politics of Cultural Production: African Films and Filmmaking. As self-representation African films challenge the stereotypical images of the continent presented in Hollywood movies. They are part of the effort to create new images in the post-independence era, helping to forge national identities through a reinvention of a shared past. Using feature films produced by Africans for an African audience, this unit explores the challenges faced in contemporary African society, as seen through African eyes. Recommended background: one course in African studies and/or film studies. This unit is the same as Political Science s22. Enrollment limited to 35. E. Eames, L. Hill. s25. Ethnicity, Bilingualism, Religion, and Gender: Topics in Ethnographic Fieldwork. After reading selected works on the nature of ethnographic fieldwork, on the political and ethical implications of such fieldwork, and on the different genres of ethnographic writing, students conduct individual research projects in the Lewiston–Auburn area. Possible topics include ethnic identity, bilingualism, religious conversion, and gender roles. Enrollment limited to 12. L. Danforth. s27. Religion and Society in Contemporary Bali. This unit exposes students firsthand to a society that is the exuberant example of a Hindu–Buddhist civilization that once spread over great parts of Southeast Asia. It attempts to understand the interaction of religion and society in Bali — from ordinary people's involvement in an elaborate ritual calendar to the way traditional practice has responded to the presence of tourists — by way of readings, interviews, lectures, demonstrations, and fieldwork. Recommended background: coursework in Hinduism, Buddhism, South Asia, Southeast Asia. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 8. Written permission of the instructor is required. S. Kemper. s32. Introduction to Archeological Fieldwork. This field course offers basic training in archeological survey, excavation, and analysis through work on prehistoric sites in the area. This unit requires a fee to cover transportation costs. Enrollment limited to 15. B. Bourque. s50. Individual Research. Registration in this unit is granted by the department only after the student has submitted a written proposal for a full-time research project to be completed during the Short Term and has secured the sponsorship of a member of the department to direct the study and evaluate results. Students are limited to one individual research unit. Staff.