2018-2019 University Catalog 
    
    Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 University Catalog archived

Sociology and Anthropology (SOAN)


HONORS: An Honors Program in sociology and anthropology is offered for qualified students; see department head for details.

Department Head: Sascha Goluboff

Faculty

First date is the year in which the faculty member began regular-faculty service at the University. Second date is the year of appointment to the present rank.

Alison Bell, Ph.D.—(2002)-2010
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Ph.D., University of Virginia

Lynn G. Chin, Ph.D.—(2012)-2018
Associate Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., Stanford University

Jonathan Eastwood, Ph.D.—(2006)-2015
Laurent Boetsch Term Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., Boston University

Donald A. Gaylord. M.A.—(2013)-2013
Instructor in Anthropology and Research Archaeologist
M.A., University of Virginia

Sascha L. Goluboff, Ph.D.—(1999)-2013
Professor of Cultural Anthropology
Ph.D., University of Illinois

Krzysztof Jasiewicz, Ph.D.—(1991)-1994
William P. Ames Jr. Professor in Sociology and Anthropology
Ph.D., Polish Academy of Sciences

Harvey Markowitz, Ph.D.—(2003)-2013
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Ph.D., University of Chicago

Marcos Emilio Pérez, Ph.D.—(2018)-2018
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin

Degrees/Majors/Minors

Major

Minor

Courses

  • SOAN 101 - Introduction to Anthropology: Investigating Humanity


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: First-year or sophomore standing. Juniors and seniors with instructor consent. This course is an introduction to the four subfields of anthropology: physical/biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and cultural anthropology. The course explores how we humans understand each other, what we do, and how we got to where we are today. Topics include human evolution; cultural remains in prehistorical and historical contexts; connections among language and social categories like gender, class, race, and region; and social organization in past and present contexts. Concepts such as culture, cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, and global and local inequalities are discussed. Staff.


  • SOAN 102 - Introduction to Sociology: Investigating Society


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: First-year or sophomore standing. Juniors and seniors with instructor consent. An introduction to the field of sociology including both micro and macro perspectives, this course exposes students to key topical areas in the discipline and includes readings that show the range of research methodologies in the field today. The sociological meaning of concepts such as social group, nation, state, class, race, and gender, among others, are discussed. Topics may include social inequalities, group processes, collective action, social networks, and the relationship between social organization and the environment. Staff.


  • SOAN 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar in Sociology


    Credits: 3


    First-year seminar. Prerequisite: First-year standing. First-year seminar.

    Fall 2018, SOAN 180A-01: FS: Health and Concept of Race (3). First-year Seminar. Prerequisite: First-year class standing only. A deep examination of how people think about what race is, and how societal conceptions of race affect people’s health, whether health policy, health outcomes, access to healthcare, or relationship to the medical establishment. We tackle questions such as: What are different conceptions of race and what are some the institutions that socialize people into understanding what “race” is? Is skin color or ethnic predisposition to diseases like Sickle Cell Anemia indicative of a biological basis for race? Should race be used as a factor in medical diagnosis and is it an important factor to account for in medical research? What are some of the causes and outcomes of racial health disparities? Does race denote something inherently biological, cultural, or structural about one’s ancestry, background, or lifestyle? In the end, students should be better able to articulate the complexities of that undergird racial disparity in health outcomes. (SS4) Chin.


  • SOAN 181 - FS: First-Year Seminar in Anthropology


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3


    Prerequisite: First-year standing. First-year seminar.

     


  • SOAN 202 - Contemporary Social Problems


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    A study of the relationship of social problems to the cultural life and social structure of American society. An analysis of the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to selected social problems in American society. Eastwood.


  • SOAN 205 - Power and Status: An Introduction to Social Influence


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    This seminar explores the fundamental sociological concepts of “power” and “status” and how they are related to social influence. Power and status undergird social inequality on both a macro and a micro level. Students view the types, uses, and consequences of power and status differences through a structural social psychological lens, while analyzing leadership in organizational contexts. Students compare the nature of “power” versus “status” and investigate the ways power and status 1) parallel, 2) differ, and 3) interact with one another in theory and in practice of creating, maintaining, and changing our social world. Students are asked to think creatively about what role status and power dynamics have in shaping all aspects of everyday social life, particularly their lives at W&L. Chin.


  • SOAN 206 - Archaeology


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    An examination of anthropologically-oriented archaeology. Specific subjects to be considered will include the history of the subdiscipline, theoretical developments, field techniques, substantive contributions for the prehistoric and historic subareas and recent developments in theory and methodology. Gaylord.


  • SOAN 207 - Biological Anthropology


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    This course considers the emergence and evolution of Homo sapiens from fossil, archaeological, and genetic evidence. The class focuses on evolutionary mechanisms; selective pressures for key human biological and behavioral patterns, such as bipedalism, intelligence, altruism, learned behavior, and expressive culture; relations among prehuman species; the human diaspora; and modern human diversity, particularly “racial” variation. The course also examines theories from sociobiology and evolutionary psychology about motivations for modern human behaviors. Bell.


  • SOAN 208 - Qualitative Methods


    Credits: 3

    Qualitative research methods are widely used to provide rich and detailed understandings of people’s experiences, interactions, narratives, and practices within wider sociopolitical and economic contexts. Typical methods include oral histories, interviews, participant observation, and analysis of visual and textual culture. Students will engage in research aligned with community interests. Stages of the project will include topic identification, research design, ethical and legal considerations, choosing an appropriate methodology, data collection, analysis and write-up, and presentation and critique. Staff.


  • SOAN 210 - Field Methods in Archaeology


    FDR: SL
    Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
    Credits: 4

    Additional special fees. Some financial aid may be available through departmental funds. Additional special fees may apply. If necessary, some financial aid may be available through departmental funds. This course introduces students to archaeological field methods through hands-on experience, readings, and fieldtrips. Students study the cultural and natural processes that lead to the patterns we see in the archaeological record. Using the scientific method and current theoretical motivations in anthropological archaeology, students learn how to develop a research design and to implement it with actual field excavation. We visit several field excavation sites in order to experience, first hand, the range of archaeological field methods and research interests currently undertaken by leading archaeologists. Students use the archaeological data to test hypotheses about the sites under consideration and produce a report of their research, which may take the form of a standard archaeological report, an academic poster, or a conference-style presented paper. Gaylord.


  • SOAN 211 - Laboratory Methods in Archaeology


    FDR: SL
    Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
    Credits: 4

    Additional special fees may apply. If necessary, some financial aid may be available through departmental funds. This course introduces students to archaeological lab methods through hands-on experience, readings, and fieldtrips. Students process and catalogue archaeological finds ensuring they maintain the archaeological provenience of these materials. Using the scientific method and current theoretical motivations in anthropological archaeology, students learn how to develop and test hypotheses about the site under consideration by analyzing the artifacts they themselves have processed. We visit several archaeology labs in order to experience, first hand, the range of projects and methods currently undertaken by leading archaeologists. Students then use the archaeological data to test their hypotheses and produce a report of their research, which may take the form of a standard archaeological report, an academic poster, or a conference-style presented paper. Gaylord.


  • SOAN 212 - Theories of Social Psychology


    Credits: 3

    An introduction to three major paradigms present in the sociological tradition of social psychology. The course examines social structure and personality, structural social psychology and symbolic interactionist framework. The three paradigmatic approaches are used to understand how macro-level processes influence micro-level social interaction and vice versa. Chin.


  • SOAN 218 - Basic Statistics in the Social Sciences


    Credits: 3

    Introductory statistics course designed to help students become good consumers of statistics, but especially geared for students interested in sociology, archeology, and anthropology. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistics, sampling, and regression analysis. Students also get practical experience with cleaning and analyzing real world secondary data. Staff.


  • SOAN 219 - Applied Bayesian Regression for the Social Sciences


    FDR: SC
    Credits: 3

    This course is an introduction to applied Bayesian regression, emphasizing applications for social scientists. We begin by introducing some philosophical and mathematical bases of Bayesian inference. We then move on to a sustained focus on applied regression, starting with bivariate regression and moving on to regression with multiple predictors, up to and including models with interactions. Along the way, students will be exposed to the use of directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) in thinking about causality with observational data. Throughout the course students will carry out numerous analyses of data, learning by doing. Examples are drawn from anthropology, sociology, political science, and related fields. Eastwood.


  • SOAN 221 - Sociology of Religion


    (REL 221) FDR: HU
    Credits: 3

    Theories of the origin and functions of religion; institutionalization of religious belief, behavior, and social organization; and conditions in which religion maintains social stability; and/or generates social change. Eastwood.


  • SOAN 224 - American Indian Religions, Landscapes, and Identities


    (REL 224) FDR: HU
    Credits: 3

    Drawing on a combination of scholarly essays, native accounts, videos, guest lectures, and student presentations, this seminar examines the religious assumptions and practices that bind American Indian communities to their traditional homelands. The seminar elucidates and illustrates those principles concerning human environmental interactions common to most Indian tribes; focuses on the traditional beliefs and practices of a particular Indian community that reflected and reinforced the community’s understanding of the relationship to be maintained with the land and its creatures; and examines the moral and legal disputes that have arisen out of the very different presuppositions which Indians and non-Indians hold regarding the environment. Markowitz.


  • SOAN 225 - Peoples of Central Europe Through Literature and Film


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 4

    This course provides basic information about the citizens of Central European nations of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Beliefs, attitudes, and value systems of the people of Central Europe are examined against the backdrop of major historical events of the 20th century.  Core textbook readings are supplemented by feature films, video materials, novels, short stories, plays, and poetry.  Class discussions focus on interpreting these works of art in the context of comparative historical-sociological analysis of the Polish, Czech, and Hungarian cultures and societies. Jasiewicz.


  • SOAN 228 - Race and Ethnic Relations


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: At least junior standing. Instructor consent required. An analysis of minority groups in America. Theories of ethnicity are examined focusing on the relationship between class and ethnicity, and on the possible social and biological significance of racial differences. Attention is also given to prejudice and discrimination, as well as to consideration of minority strategies to bring about change. Novack.


  • SOAN 230 - Discovering W&L’s Origins Using Historical Archaeology


    (HIST 230) FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Not open to students who have taken SOAN 181 with the same description. This course introduces students to the practice of historical archaeology using W&L’s Liberty Hall campus and ongoing excavations there as a case study. With archaeological excavation and documentary research as our primary sources of data. we use the methods of these two disciplines to analyze our data using tools from the digital humanities to present our findings. Critically, we explore the range of questions and answers that these data and methods of analysis make possible. Hands-on experience with data collection and analysis is the focus of this course, with students working together in groups deciding how to interpret their findings to a public audience about the university’s early history. The final project varies by term but might include a short video documentary. a museum display, or a web page. Gaylord.


  • SOAN 238 - Anthropology of American History


    (HIST 238) FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. This course explores issues within historic American communities that ethnographers often investigate among living groups, including cultural values, religious ideologies, class structures, kinship networks, gender roles, and interethnic relations. Although the communities of interest in this course ceased to exist generations ago, many of their characteristic dynamics are accessible through such means as archaeology, architectural history, and the study of documents. Case studies include early English settlement in Plymouth, Massachusetts; the 18th-century plantation world of Virginia and South Carolina; the post-Revolutionary Maine frontier; and 19th-century California. Bell.


  • SOAN 240 - Food, Culture, and Society


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    This course explores connections among food, culture, and society. Food has been an essential way that individuals and societies define themselves, especially now in our ever globalizing world, as cultural anthropology continues to be a central discipline guiding this field of study. Students review some of the classic symbolic and structural analyses of gastro-politics. We explore relationships between fast-food/globalized taste vs. the Slow Food Movement/localized taste, and delve into socioeconomic and political practices behind the production and consumption of coffee, milk products, and alcoholic beverages. Students investigate relationships among cooking/eating and race, gender, and sexuality, and discuss community food justice. Opportunities to experience the Rockbridge area food scene are integrated into the syllabus. Goluboff.


  • SOAN 243 - Imaging Tibet


    (ARTH 243) FDR: HA
    Credits: 4

    An examination of images and imaging practices of the early 1900s to the present in order to define and analyze the ways in which both Western and Asian (particularly Tibetan and Chinese) artists have imagined Tibet and its people. Kerin.


  • SOAN 245 - European Politics and Society


    (POL 245) FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    A comparative analysis of European political systems and social institutions. The course covers the established democracies of western and northern Europe, the new democracies of southern and east-central Europe, and the post-Communist regimes in eastern and southeastern Europe. Mechanisms of European integration are also discussed with attention focused on institutions such as European Union, NATO, OSCE, and Council of Europe. Jasiewicz.


  • SOAN 246 - Post-Communism and New Democracies


    (POL 246) FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    A comparative analysis of transition from Communism in the countries of the former Soviet bloc. Cases of successful and unsuccessful transitions to civil society, pluralist democracy, and market economy are examined. The comparative framework includes analysis of transition from non-Communist authoritarianism and democratic consolidation in selected countries of Latin America, the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. Jasiewicz.


  • SOAN 250 - Revolutions and Revolutionaries


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Experiences of activists, radicals, and revolutionaries in a wide variety of settings. Throughout history, individuals have organized with others to bring about different forms of social change. What is it like to be on the front lines fighting for social transformation? Why do people risk life and limb to do so? How do activists advance their goals? We examine sociological research, biographical studies, political theory, and historical sources for insights into the lives of those who make social and revolutionary movements possible. Perez.


  • SOAN 251 - Social Movements


    (POL 251) FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: POL 100, 105 or 111 or instructor consent. A survey of American social movements, including an evaluation of competing theoretical approaches to the study of social movements and an examination of the strategies, successes, failures, and political and social consequences of the civil rights, labor, student, and women’s movements. Close attention is given to factors contributing to the rise and decline of these movements. LeBlanc, Eastwood.


  • SOAN 252 - Language, Culture, and Communication


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    This course surveys anthropological approaches to understanding the intersections among language, culture and society. Topics include non-human communication systems, the origins of human language, and methods of establishing historical relationships among languages. Formal linguistic analysis receives some attention, but the greatest part of the course concerns language in sociocultural contexts. Examples of linguistic phenomena in ethnographic perspective are drawn from people around the world, including the Gullah, the Apache, and the Bedouin of Egypt. Bell.


  • SOAN 256 - The History of Violence in America


    (HIST 256) FDR: HU
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. An examination of the social origins, evolution, and major forms of extralegal, violent conflict in the United States, including individual and collective violence and conflict related to race, class, gender, politics, and ethnicity, especially emphasizing the 19th and 20th centuries. Major topics include theories of social conflict, slavery and interracial violence, predatory crime, labor strife, and inter-ethnic violence. Senechal.


  • SOAN 261 - Campus Sex in the Digital Age


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 4

    This class explores how the cell phone has impacted hooking up and dating at college, with particular attention to Washington and Lee University as a case study. We discuss the development of campus sexual culture in America and the influence of digital technology on student sociality. Students use open-source digital research tools to analyze data they collect on the mobile apps they use to socialize with each other on campus. As a digital humanities project, students work in groups to post their analyses on the class WordPress site. Goluboff.


  • SOAN 263 - Poverty and Marginality in the Americas


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    In recent decades, some global transformations have increased inequality and marginality in various regions of the world. Neoliberalism has generated both opportunities and challenges to human development In different countries. This course focuses on how the undermining of safety nets, the decline of models of economic growth centered on state intervention, and the internationalization of labor markets have affected societies in Latin America and the United States. Students analyze the structural causes of marginality and how the experience of poverty varies for people in both regions. We rely on anthropological and sociological studies to address key questions. How do disadvantaged individuals and families in the Americas deal with the challenges brought about by deindustrialization, violence, and environmental degradation? How do their communities struggle to sustain public life? What are the processes causing many people to migrate from one region to the other? Perez.


  • SOAN 265 - Exploring Social Networks


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    This course is an introduction to network analysis. Students learn some of the major network analysis literature in sociology and related fields and develop their skills as network analysts in laboratory sessions. Social science, humanities, business, and public health applications are emphasized. Eastwood


  • SOAN 266 - Neighborhoods, Culture, and Poverty


    FDR: SS3
    Credits: 3

    This course examines social-scientific research on the determinants of poverty, crime, and ill health by focusing on neighborhoods as the sites where many of the mechanisms impacting these outcomes operate. In addition to engaging with key readings and participating in seminar discussions, students conduct their own exploratory analyses of neighborhood level processes using a variety of spatial data analysis tools in R. Eastwood.


  • SOAN 267 - Simulating Society


    FDR: SS5
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: SOAN 101 or 102 or instructor consent. This course is an introduction to computational social science, a rapidly growing field that spans the boundaries of several disciplines. It focuses on complex phenomena such as the spread of rumors, cascades of collective action, dynamics of inter-group violence, housing segregation, and related processes. To analyze such processes, we can make use of agent-based models. In this course, students read and discuss key works in this area of research. They also explore simulations of social processes and develop their own simulations. No programming background is required or expected. Eastwood.


  • SOAN 268 - Migration, Identity, and Conflict


    (POL 268) FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: SOAN 102, POV 101, or POL 105. This course focuses on the complex relationship between migration, political institutions, group identities, and inter-group conflict. The course is a hybrid of a seminar and research lab in which students (a) read some of the key social-scientific literature on these subjects, and (b) conduct team-based research making use of existing survey data about the integration of migrant populations into various polities. Eastwood.


  • SOAN 269 - Studying Global Culture with the World Values Survey


    FDR: SS5
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Previous exposure to regression analysis, though regression is reviewed during the first week of the course. Analysis of data from the World Values Survey, a major source for studying global culture and cultural change. We read scholarly works that have made use of these data and carry out our own analyses of WVS data as consider questions about religious belief, political values, and social attitudes across the world. Eastwood.


  • SOAN 270 - Deviance


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    An examination of theories of deviance from a sociological perspective. Particular emphasis is placed on the causes of deviant acts and on the social processes utilized in evaluating these behaviors. Theoretical applications are made to crime and mental illness. Novack.


  • SOAN 276 - Art & Science of Survey Research


    Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: SOAN 102 or instructor consent. This course is designed as a group research project in questionnaire construction and survey data analysis. Students prepare a list of hypotheses, select indicators, construct a questionnaire, collect and analyze data, and write research reports. When appropriate, the course may include service-learning components (community-based research projects). Topic for Winter 2019: Does the City of Lexington, Virginia, Serve Its Inhabitants Well? Jasiewicz.


  • SOAN 277 - Seminar in Medical Anthropology


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    Despite radical differences in theory and procedure, the diagnosis and treatment of diseases are human cultural universals. This seminar first examines the beliefs and practices that comprise the medical systems found among a wide variety of non-western peoples. We then investigates the responses of a number of non-western communities to the introduction of western, biomedical practices. We finish by considering such ethical issues as whether or not non-western peoples who supply western doctors and pharmacologists with knowledge of curing agents should be accorded intellectual property rights over this information; in what situations, if any, should western medical personnel impose biomedical treatments on populations; and should anthropologists make use of indigenous peoples as medical trial subjects as was allegedly done by Napoleon Chagnon. Markowitz.


  • SOAN 278 - Health and Inequality: An Introduction to Medical Sociology


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    This course introduces sociological perspectives of health and illness. Students examine topics such as social organization of medicine; the social construction of illness; class, race and gender inequalities in health; and health care reform. Some of the questions we address: How is the medical profession changing? What are the pros and cons of market-driven medicine? Does class have an enduring impact on health outcomes? Is it true that we are what our friends’ eat? Can unconscious racial bias affect the quality of care for people of different ethnicities? What pitfalls have affected the way evidence-based medicine has been carried out? Chin.


  • SOAN 280 - Gender and Sexuality


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3

    An investigation of gender cross culturally. Special consideration is given to the roles of biology, cultural variation, identity, and power in determining patterns of male dominance. Emphasis is placed on changing relationships between men and women in American society. Goluboff.


  • SOAN 281 - Adolescence Under the Microscope


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 4

    This course focuses on adolescence through the lens of social psychology. Insights from sociology, anthropology, and psychology are employed to explicate the adolescent experience in the United States in contrast to other societies. Topics include: the impact of liminality on adolescent identity in cross-cultural perspective; adolescence as objective reality or cultural fiction; adolescence and peer relations, gender and suicide; and new technologies and virtual adolescence. Each student engages in a research project focusing on adolescence and identity through either interviews or observational techniques. The final project is a group analysis of adolescence as reflected in Facebook. D. Novack and L. Novack


  • SOAN 285 - Introduction to American Indian Religions


    (REL 285) FDR: HU
    Credits: 3

    This class introduces students to some of the dominant themes, values, beliefs, and practices found among the religions of North America’s Indian peoples. The first part of the course explores the importance of sacred power, landscape, and community in traditional Indian spiritualities and rituals. It then examines some of the changes that have occurred in these traditions as a result of western expansion and dominance from the 18th through early 20th centuries. Lastly, the course considers some of the issues and problems confronting contemporary American Indian religions. Markowitz.


  • SOAN 286 - Lakota Land Culture, Economics and History


    (ECON 286) FDR: SS4
    Credits: 4

    Prerequisite: ECON 100 or 101 or instructor consent. This class focuses on the cultural, economic, and historical dimensions of the Lakotas’ (Titonwan tawapi) ties to their lands as expressed in their pre- and post-reservation lifeways. It includes a 10 day field trip to western South Dakota to visit and meet with people in the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations and the Black Hills. Guse, Markowitz.


  • SOAN 288 - Childhood


    FDR: SS4
    Credits: 3


    This course explores the experience of childhood cross culturally, investigating how different societies conceptualize what it means to be a child. Our readings progress through representations of the lifecycle, starting with a discussion of conception, and moving through issues pertaining to the fetus, infants, children, and adolescents. We discuss socialization, discipline, emotion, education, gender, and sexuality, with special attention given to the effects of war, poverty, social inequality, and disease on children and youth.

      Goluboff.


  • SOAN 290 - Special Topics in Sociology


    Credits: 3 in Fall or Winter, 4 in Spring


    A discussion of a series of topics of sociological concern. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

    Spring 2019, SOAN 290-01: Special Topic: Belonging in College (4). This seminar explores the questions of what does it mean to belong” in college and how does academic institutional structure shape who gets to “fit in” and who “belongs”. All college students face the problem of belonging. College is a transformative but nerve-wracking transition. The traditional student experience involves entering a new environment without the comfort and protection of former social ties. On the one hand, severing old ties provides students freedom to explore new identities and perhaps even reinvent themselves. On the other hand, this state of detachment is stressful as students compare themselves to their peers and ask: “How do I measure up?”, “Do I fit in?”, and “do I belong”? We explore the structural, interactional, and emotional barriers that all students face, and we examine the additional barriers for inclusion for “nontraditional” students. Understanding the struggles “traditional” and “non-traditional” students have in feeling like they belong is of utmost importance for developing successful inclusion interventions on campuses. Chin.


  • SOAN 291 - Special Topics in Anthropology


    Credits: 3-4


    A discussion of a series of topics of anthropological concern. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

    Winter 2019, SOAN 291A-01: Anthropology of Disability (3). To what extent is disability culturally defined? How do understandings of being “dis-” or “differently” abled vary across time and space? In what ways is impairment “not simply lodged in the body, but created by the social and material conditions that ‘dis-able’ the full participation of those considered atypical” (Ginsburg and Rapp)? This course explores these issues through a trio of lenses: Virginia (c. 1830-1980), the contemporary United States, and case studies from diverse cultures around the world. Virginia offers powerful insight into cultural constructions of disability as it was an epicenter of the eugenics movement: the compulsory sterilization of at least 8,000 citizens whom authorities considered “defective” and “unfit” to reproduce because of their “criminality, pauperism, degeneracy, idiocy, insanity, and various forms of maladjustment.” How are perceptions of disability currently changing in the United States? Can deafness or autism be considered cultures? How do framings of disability articulate with race, gender, and sexuality? How do people around the world conceptualize relationships between different abilities, cultural norms, religion and spirituality? Bell.

    Spring 2019, SOAN 291-01: Cults (3). An exploration of the phenomenon of cults (also known as new religious movements [NRMs]). We examine the development of cults, how they operate, and the experiences of those who participate in them. Topics of discussion include brainwashing, gender, violence, sexuality, child rearing, and the possibility of objectivity on the part of the researcher. We structure the term around a visit from Marsha Goluboff Low (Professor Goluboff’s aunt), who will talk about the 18 years she spent in Ánanda Márga. Goluboff.

    Spring 2019, SOAN 291-02: Land in O’odham Culture Economics and History (4). A seminar on the cultural, economic, and historical dimensions of the O’odham Indians’ ties to their lands as expressed in their pre- and post-reservation lifeways. Students address three major themes: 1) O’odham land and cosmology; 2) land and economy in O’odham history; and 3) contemporary cultural and economic issues among O’odham peoples. The class spends 8 days in the Sonoran Desert region of Southern Arizona to visit sites and meet with speakers in and around the Tohono O’odham Nation. (SS4) Markowitz and Guse.

    Fall 2018, SOAN 291A-01: Anthropology of Death (3). An overview of death practices from prehistory to the present. Death is, of course, universal - “it is appointed for all once to die” - but cultural understandings of death vary enormously. We consider such questions as whether Neanderthals intentionally buried their dead, why early farmers built houses over the deceased, and how monumental works like pyramids and mounds express relationships between the living and the dead. Discussion includes diverse beliefs about the afterlife, the nature of the soul, and proper dispositions of the body. We pay special attention to contemporary changing death ways in the United States with the rise in cremation, green burials, celebratory funerals, idiosyncratic gravestones, and online memorials. Bell.

     


  • SOAN 367 - Seminar: 9/11 & Modern Terrorism


    (HIST 367) FDR: HU
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. Terrorism is a form of collective violence famously illustrated in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington on September 11, 2001. This course provides an intensive interdisciplinary examination of the origins of the 9/11 attacks and the terrorist organization that launched them. The course also addresses the impact of the attacks and the future prospects of mass violence against civilians, as well as the role of the media in covering (and dramatizing) terrorism. Much of the course focuses on the social divisions and conflicts that lead to terrorism and its increasingly lethal nature over time. Topics include “old terrorism” (as seen in Northern Ireland and Algeria), “new terrorism” (such as that associated with Al Qaeda), the logic of terrorist recruitment, and the nature of and spread of weapons of mass destruction. Senechal.


  • SOAN 370 - Theorizing Social Life: Classical Approaches


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: SOAN 101, SOAN 102, and at least junior standing. Sociologists and anthropologists have traditionally approached their role as students of social and cultural phenomena from two different paradigmatic starting points: a so-called “Galilean” model and an “Aristotelian” model. Practitioners were thought that they could eventually arrive at covering laws as powerful as those of physics or, falling short of this ideal, arrive at significant generalizations about human phenomenon. This class explores the trajectory of this paradigmatic split among some of the founders of sociology and anthropology and how these theorists utilized their chosen paradigms to make sense of social and cultural life. We also explore the assumptions about human nature, society, and culture that informed each of these theorists approaches and the wider historical contexts influenced their thought. Staff.


  • SOAN 371 - Theorizing Social Life: Contemporary Approaches


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: SOAN 101, 102, and at least junior standing. This course is an introduction to selected recent theoretical work in anthropology and sociology. Our two disciplines are not the same but they overlap. The best scholars in each discipline tend to read in both. We take such an approach in this course, looking at examples of (and opportunities for) cross-pollination. Staff.


  • SOAN 390 - Special Topics in Sociology


    Credits: 3


    Prerequisite: May vary by topic. A discussion of a series of topics of sociological concern. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

     


  • SOAN 391 - Special Topics in Anthropology


    Credits: 3

    Permission of the department required. Topics and prerequisites to be arranged. A discussion of a series of topics of anthropological concern. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Staff.


  • SOAN 395 - Senior Seminar in Social Analysis


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: SOAN 102 as well as completion of Group 3 Methods Requirements for the SOAN major. This course is designed as a capstone experience for majors with the sociology emphasis. Students, utilizing their knowledge of sociological theory and research methods, design and execute independent research projects, typically involving secondary analysis of survey data. Working on a subject of their choice, students learn how to present research questions and arguments, formulate research hypotheses, test hypotheses through univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses (utilizing appropriate statistical packages such as SPSS), and write research reports. Jasiewicz.


  • SOAN 396 - Senior Seminar in Anthropological Analysis


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisites: SOAN 101 and completion of Group 3 Methods requirements for the SOAN major. In this course, senior SOAN majors with an emphasis in anthropology review, augment, and synthesize their understandings of anthropological theory, methods, substantive findings, and ethical issues. To do so, we share common readings on research methods and the integration of anthropological method and theory, and we sustain a term-long workshop focused on students’ research projects and papers. Each student identifies a topic of interest. Consulting with peers and the instructor, each student considers analytical methods and theoretical orientations, identifies appropriate sources, and proposes a course of research and writing. Once the proposal is vetted, students pursue their research designs and circulate partial drafts for peer and instructor review. They produce a final paper and present their findings orally with visual accompaniment to the class. Staff.


  • SOAN 401 - Directed Individual Study


    Credits: 1

    Prerequisite: Permission of the department. A course for selected students, typically with junior or senior standing, who are preparing papers for presentation to professional meetings or for publication. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different. Staff.


  • SOAN 402 - Directed Individual Study


    Credits: 2

    Prerequisite: Departmental consent required. A course for selected students, typically with junior or senior standing, who are preparing papers for presentation to professional meetings or for publication. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different. Staff.


  • SOAN 403 - Directed Individual Study


    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Departmental consent required. A course for selected students with junior and senior standing, especially for honors students, with direction by different members of the department. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different. Staff.


  • SOAN 421 - Directed Individual Research


    Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
    Credits: 1

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. A course for selected students with direction by different members of the department. May be repeated for degree credit with department consent and if the topics are different.


  • SOAN 422 - Directed Individual Research


    Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
    Credits: 2

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. A course for selected students with direction by different members of the department. May be repeated for degree credit with department consent and if the topics are different.


  • SOAN 423 - Directed Individual Research


    Experiential Learning (EXP): YES
    Credits: 3

    Prerequisite: Instructor consent. Graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. A course for selected students with direction by different members of the department. May be repeated for degree credit with department consent and if the topics are different.


  • SOAN 493 - Honors Thesis


    Credits: 3-3

    Honors Thesis.




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