Anthropology (ANTH)

ANTH 1202  Introducing Socio-Cultural Anthropology    
3 credit hours  
An introduction to the cultures and social systems of people from around the world. Topics include economics, politics, kinship, family, and religion, as well as the expressive aspects of culture such as the arts, myth, and ritual.
ANTH 1271  Intro to Archaeology    
3 credit hours  
An introduction to archaeology and its contribution to an understanding of the development of culture. The course will investigate the history of the discipline and the development of techniques and principles used by archaeologists throughout the world.
ANTH 1280  Introduction to Biological Anthropology    
3 credit hours  
A survey of human biological evolution. The principal topics are evolutionary theory, human genetics, the nature of race, living primates, and the fossil record of humanity.
ANTH 1290  Introducing Language and Society    
3 credit hours  
Language is distinctively human and the basis for shared social interaction. This course provides students with basic concepts for understanding language and communication from the fields of anthropology and sociolinguistics.

ANTH 1800 – 1825 Special Topics in Anthropology
6 credit hours
Course content varies from year to year.

ANTH 1826 – 1849 Special Topics in Anthropology
3 credit hours
Course content varies from year to year.

ANTH 2100  Human Evolution & Adaptation    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1280
Students are introduced to the unique adaptations seen in modern humans and our fossil ancestors. Students examine the fossil record with special attention to the timing of major changes in the human lineage, such as the emergence of bipedalism, enlargement of the brain, manufacture of stone tools, and global dispersal. Class 75 min and lab 75 min/week
ANTH 2125  Primate Diversity    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1280
Students are introduced to the diversity of living primates (lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans). Students examine key features of the morphology, ecology, evolution, and behaviour of different primate groups. Current threats to primate survival are evaluated and conservation strategies are explored. Class 75 min and lab 75 min/week
ANTH 2271  Archaeology of the Franklin Expedition: Survey    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: a minimum of twenty-four (24) credit hours
In 1845, Sir John Franklin's expedition to map the Northwest Passage sailed into the Arctic Archipelago and vanished. What happened must be pieced together largely through archaeology. Students explore the historical context of the Franklin Expedition and evaluate the evidence discovered in its wake.
Note: Students cannot receive credit for both ANTH 2271 and ANTH 3271.
ANTH 2273  Who Owns the Past?    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: one of ANTH 1202, 1271, 1280, 1290, 2282
Why preserve the past, and in what form? How has the past been used and abused for political purposes in different historical and cultural contexts? To what extent have administrative policies and ethnocentric attitudes towards indigenous peoples alienated indigenes from anthropologists? How do museums, collections, the restitution of cultural property and the illicit traffic in relics contribute to the situation?
ANTH 2282  Introducing Forensic Anthropology    
3 credit hours  
This course is an introduction to the multidisciplinary nature of forensic anthropology. It explores the myths and realities of the search for human remains in crime scenes, what should be expected from a forensic anthropology expert in the courtroom, some of the challenges in mass fatality incident responses, and what a student should consider if they want to pursue a career in forensic anthropology.
ANTH 2301  Anthropology of Childhood    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
This course examines the nature of childhood in various societies with attention to the development and socialization of children from birth through adolescence. Primary emphasis will be given to a perspective that views children as active participants in their own worlds as well as the worlds of others. While focusing on the social and culture contexts of children’s lives, we will explore topics that include parent-child relations, education, child labor, friendship, play, and the relationship of children to media technologies and consumer culture.
ANTH 2302  Nature of Culture    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Three (3) credit hours in ANTH, ACST, GEOG, HIST, GDST (formerly IDST), POLI, SOCI, or WGSS
Students are introduced to the concept of culture as an essential aspect of human nature. Emphasis is given to contemporary theories concerning society and culture.
ANTH 2311  Ethnology: Melanesia    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
Selected societies and cultures of Papua New Guinea and adjacent island clusters are examined. Special attention is given to cultural diversity within this region. Specific topics covered include variation in the relationship between men and women, variation in leadership patterns, warfare and descent systems.
ANTH 2315  Working Toward Allied Relationships with Indigenous Communities    
3 credit hours  
Drawing from principles of community-based, participatory, and Indigenous research, students explore the benefits and challenges of working with and for Indigenous communities. Students are challenged to situate and critically evaluate their social and cultural identities and location, power and privilege within personal, social, cultural, political, and global contexts.
ANTH 2316  Indigenous Peoples of Canada    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
This course provides a survey of the varied Indigenous cultures of Canada. Some of the socio-cultural changes associated with contacts between indigenous peoples and Europeans are considered. Variation in roles assumed by men and women are also discussed.
ANTH 2326  Contemporary East Asia    
3 credit hours  
Students consider East Asia as a region with shared cultural and historical legacies, while examining the radically diverse contemporary conditions of each country.
ANTH 2327  Japanese Society    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
This course introduces Japanese society through a life course perspective. Topics include family, education, the work place, gender, class, ethnic minorities and contemporary social problems.
ANTH 2392  Linguistic Anthropology  LING 2392  
3 credit hours  
Students explore the relationship between language and culture in diverse ethnographic settings. Attention will be paid to the unique contributions of anthropology to the study of language.
ANTH 2401  Anthropology of Work    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Three (3) credit hours in ANTH, ACST, HIST, GDST, POLI, SOCI, or WGSS
Anthropologists have long been interested in work as an aspect of economy (that is, how productive tasks get accomplished), as a determiner of general social structure (that is, a core institution), and as a theme in the ethos of various societies (that is, work as an ethic). As anthropologists turn their attention to industrial societies (and as other disciplines adopt ethno-geographic methods), the workplace is often treated as were small communities in the past. Special attention is given to methods of data collection in workplaces in complex societies. There will also be an examination of the application of these techniques by scholars, development agencies, commercial enterprises, and political movements.
ANTH 2602  Environment & Culture    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
Students are introduced to the relationship between people and their environment cross culturally, including issues of stewardship and environmental degradation. Current debates regarding the threats of climate change in terms of peoples’ livelihoods and culture are introduced.

ANTH 2800 – 2825 Special Topics in Anthropology
6 credit hours
Course content varies from year to year.

ANTH 2826 – 2849 Special Topics in Anthropology
3 credit hours
Course content varies from year to year.

ANTH 3100  Evolution of the Anthropocene    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1280
Students examine how our relationship with the environment has changed through time. Students explore the influence of environmental change on the evolution of our species, Homo sapiens. Evidence from the archaeological and paleontological records is used to investigate the long-term history of harmful anthropogenic environmental modification.
ANTH 3201  Anthropology of Food    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
The goal of this course is to understand the socio-cultural and economic dynamics that shape food and eating, and the roles that both play in shaping people’s everyday lives. Students will critically examine a wide range of processes connected to food and eating around the world.
ANTH 3202  Anthropology of Tourism    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
Students use anthropological methods to examine tourism and its effects on contemporary culture. Students explore the phenomenon of tourism from multiple perspectives, including the tourist experience, and the tourist industry. Students also explore the re-shaping of places and spaces as a result of the challenges and opportunities presented by tourism.
ANTH 3271  Archaeology of the Franklin Expedition: Research    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
In 1845, Sir John Franklin's expedition to map the Northwest Passage sailed into the Arctic Archipelago and vanished. What happened must be pieced together largely through archaeology. Students explore the historical context of the Franklin Expedition and evaluate the evidence discovered in its wake. Students engage with the Franklin mystery by conducting their own research.
Note: Students cannot receive credit for both ANTH 2271 and ANTH 3271.
ANTH 3275  Archaeological Remote Sensing    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271 and ANTH 3378
The archaeologist's toolkit is changing rapidly as new technologies allow us to detect and map archaeological sites and features without digging. Students engage in hands-on learning with terrestrial and aerial remote sensing technologies including ground penetrating radar, electromagnetic induction, and LiDAR.
ANTH 3302  Social Organization    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
This course introduces the student to the basics of social structure and social organization. Emphasis is placed upon the importance of kinship, politics, economics, beliefs, and the arts for an understanding of human socio-cultural life.
ANTH 3303  Sex, Gender and Society    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202, ANTH 1290, or three (3) credit hours in ACST, HIST, GDST, POLI, SOCI or WGSS.
Students are introduced to an anthropological perspective on the relationship between culture, biology, and social expectations of male and female behavior. Emphasis is given to examining how individuals and societies imagine, negotiate, perform and contest dominant gender ideologies, roles, relations and identities.
ANTH 3307  Visual Anthropology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Six (6) credit hours in ANTH
Students are introduced to the field of visual anthropology. The course has two major foci: 1.) examination of the use of visual material in anthropological research and in the presentation and consumption of anthropological knowledge, focusing particularly on photography and film, and 2.) addressing visually as a domain of anthropological inquiry, exploring ways of seeing in culturally and historically specific contexts.
ANTH 3308  Signs and Symbols    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202 or ANTH 1290
We perceive the world around us through the logic of signs. This course is an introduction to the fields of symbolic and semiotic anthropology, examining the role of symbols in constituting cultural reality. Special attention will be paid to both universal and culturally specific symbolic practices as well as considering the role symbols play in our own lives.
ANTH 3309  Peasants    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
A number of substantive studies of peasant society and culture are examined. Examples are drawn from diverse regions including Mexico, India, China, Japan, Europe and Southeast Asia. Theories related to similar and contrasting features of peasant culture are considered.
ANTH 3316  Anthropology of Religion  RELS 3316  
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: any one of ANTH 1202, 1210, 1211, 1220, 1221, 1251
This course surveys major developments in the anthropological study of religions. The course will provide a solid theoretical foundation for the filed study of contemporary religions.
ANTH 3320  Anthropology in Hollywood    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Twelve (12) credit hours in ANTH
Students explore the anthropological analysis of cinema and the public image of anthropology as represented in popular movies.
ANTH 3334  Warfare    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
The course will examine the nature and structure of human conflict by evaluating anthropological theories of warfare and aggression in light of the case materials available on small-scale societies. In addition, particular attention will be devoted to: 1) the role of racism in human conflict, and 2) a critique of socio-biological theories of human aggression.
ANTH 3344  Cross-Cultural Economics    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
Students are introduced to processes and social relations surrounding production, exchange, and consumption from a cross-cultural perspective. They are encouraged to think critically about notions of “the economy” as a separate sphere of activity and see how exchange is embedded in society.
ANTH 3373  Fieldwork in Archaeology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
This course offers detailed instruction with practical application of archaeological field techniques. This course is generally off-campus at an archaeological site. As such, the course is dependent upon external funds and has a limited enrollment. Please consult the Departmental Chairperson regarding availability.
ANTH 3374  Archaeology Laboratory    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 3373
The course offers training in the laboratory, analysis of materials recovered from an archaeological site. To maintain continuity of the learning experience, students must take ANTH 3373 in the same year this course is offered.
ANTH 3375  World Prehistory    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
Students examine archaeological evidence of early human activity and how this evidence has been interpreted. We examine human origins, cultural adaptations, and the notion of “human nature”.
ANTH 3376  Archaeology of Death    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
This course will examine funerary customs within a global framework. Mortuary rituals afford not only insight into the death practices of past societies, they may also provide a basis from which to investigate a broad range of important social and anthropological questions, from social organizations, gender relations, and social inequality, to health and disease, diet, and biological affinity, to the ethical and legal aspects of exhumation and reburial of skeletal remains.
ANTH 3378  Landscape Archaeology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
This course offers an introductory survey to both the empirical and interpretive aspects of Landscape Archaeology incorporating real-world case studies drawn from local archaeological resources. It emphasizes the human-scale experience of the past rather than grand, overarching models, and borrows liberally from socio-cultural anthropology.
ANTH 3379  The Archaeology of Acadia    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
Drawing upon primary source evidence, and placing a particular emphasis on materiality, thematic emphasis is given to colonial Nova Scotia as a stage for conflict and negotiation between Aboriginal and European peoples and adaptation of European social, political, and economic practices to a North American environment. This course explores the European colonization of the Maritime Provinces from contact to the middle of the 18th century.
ANTH 3381  Anthropological Genetics    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1280
A survey of human genetics, including Mendelian genetics, multifactorial genetics, cytogenetics, and population genetics, intended to enhance understanding of human biological variation.
ANTH 3382  Paleoanthropology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1280
A survey of primate and human evolution as revealed in the fossil record.
ANTH 3391  Learning a Field Language  LING 3391  
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: One of ANTH 1202, ANTH 1290, LING 1200
Learning a field language is an essential part of anthropological fieldwork. Students learn concepts and methods related to language elicitation, and acquisition of communicative competence in an unknown language. The practical application of these methods in ethnographic settings is stressed.
ANTH 3396  Language Use and Issues in Canada  LING 3396  
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1290 or LING 1200
Geographically vast and linguistically diverse, Canada offers an ideal case study of contemporary issues in the study of language. Topics include official bilingualism, functional multilingualism, heritage languages, and indigenous languages. Questions of maintenance, revitalization, contact and change will be examined throughout.
ANTH 3467  Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Archaeology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
Cultural Resource Management (CRM), as an applied form of archaeological research, is a rapidly expanding field of practice where many students and graduates of archaeological curricula develop their professional careers. Students will be introduced to its principles and learn about legislation, policy and protocols that impact CRM archaeology. Students will also be introduced to applications of geomatics technology, including geographic information systems (GIS), for CRM archaeology. Case studies will comprise a fundamental source of information in this course. The format is that of a seminar.
ANTH 3471  Forensic Skeletal Identification    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Thirty (30) credit hours, including ANTH 1280 or ANTH 2282.
A detailed examination of bones of the human skeleton for forensic purposes.
Note: It is recommended that students who complete ANTH 3471 also complete ANTH 3472.
ANTH 3472  Forensic Skeletal Analysis    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 3471
A detailed analysis of the human skeleton aimed at creating profiles of decedents and understanding circumstances surrounding their deaths.
ANTH 3473  Forensic Facial Anatomy    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Thirty (30) credit hours
Students study facial anatomy and its importance in forensic human identification through an examination of topics such as human osteology, soft tissue anatomy, how the brain recognizes faces, collection of facial tissue depths using ultrasound, and 3-D facial reconstruction.
ANTH 3474  Human Variation    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Thirty (30) credit hours including ANTH 1280, or ANTH 2282.
Students examine the structure of human variation from a biological perspective through an exploration of topics such as: “race” and biology; eugenics; sex, gender and sexuality; and environmental racism.
ANTH 3475  Palaeopathology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Thirty (30) credit hours including ANTH 1280 or ANTH 2282
Palaeopathology is the study of diseases in past human populations. In this course you will learn how to diagnose simple bone pathologies, and in the process gain an understanding of bone physiology and pathology and how these processes work. The main part of the course will focus on the major categories of disease that affect the skeleton. We will also examine how certain diseases have affected human history.
ANTH 3571  Archaeological Mysteries    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
Students will survey spectacular claims about the past found in public discourse. Questions such as the nature of archaeological evidence, the degree to which archaeology can be said to be a science, and the treatment of alternative interpretations of the past will be addressed.
ANTH 3572  Archaeology of Empire    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
This course examines the phenomenon of imperialism through an archaeological lens. Students will explore the relationships between material culture and systems of social power.
ANTH 3573  Archaeology of Halifax    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
A variety of research methods associated with the study of urban materiality will be examined. Using Halifax as a case study, students will participate in research and field work that will contribute directly to an understanding of the urban archaeology and history of Halifax and its people.
ANTH 3574  Public Archaeology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
Public archaeology concerns how archaeology and archaeologists function beyond the professional community. Students consider why it is important for people to know about archaeology. They also examine how governments, teachers, writers, and journalists interact with the discipline.
ANTH 3602  Coping with a Changing Climate    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202
Students focus on the current problematics of human-environment relations in the age of climate change and environmental degradation. Current debates regarding the threats of climate change in terms of peoples’ livelihoods and culture, and the concept of the Anthropocene as a new epoch in human impact on the environment, are addressed.
ANTH 3701  Forensic Archaeology Field School    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Sixty (60) credit hours .
This course is an introduction to forensic archaeology. It will teach students field recovery techniques of surface and buried remains as well as the protocol associated with crime scenes and exhibit documentation. Topics that will be covered include: introduction to forensic archaeology and anthropology (including roles of various law enforcement officials), crime scene safety and ethics, crime scene and exhibit documentation (scene photography, note taking, chain of custody of exhibits), establishing scene perimeters, searching for clandestine burials and human remains, forensic taphonomy, gridding scenes, mapping scenes, excavation techniques, soil analysis, and scene restoration.

ANTH 3710 - 3719 Field Study in Anthropology
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Twelve (12) credit hours in Anthropology and permission of the instructor
This course is designed to allow students to take advantage of field study, including international field study, opportunities not necessarily supervised by a member of the Department of Anthropology. Special arrangements for the course must be approved by the Department Chairperson, at the request of the student.

ANTH 3800 – 3825 Special Topics in Anthropology
6 credit hours
Prerequisite: Six (6) credit hours at the 2000 level or above
Course content varies from year to year.

ANTH 3826 - 3849 Special Topics in Anthropology
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: Six (6) credit hours at the 2000 level or above
To be offered in response to expressed student desire for advanced instruction in anthropological topics not covered intensively in substantive course offerings; or to take advantage of expertise of visiting scholars.  The format is usually that of a seminar.

ANTH 3876 - 3899 Directed Independent Study in Anthropology
3 credit hours

ANTH 4378  Advanced Landscape Archaeology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 3378
This course offers a practical exploration of empirical landscape archaeological methods such as pedestrian and geophysical survey, and historical map and aerial photograph interpretation. Students apply these methods in the field and produce research reports in accordance with federal and provincial archaeology regulations.
ANTH 4411  Ethnographic Research Methodology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202 or SOCI 1210
Students are introduced to the variety of ethnographic research methods applicable in the field setting. Through a series of exercises (that may include work in the local community) the students develop and design a long-term research project, and learn how to analyze their findings. A brief introduction to quantitative methods is offered.
ANTH 4452  History of Anthropological Thought    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1202, 1271, 1280, and 1290
A history of anthropological theory focused on the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.
ANTH 4462  Method and Theory in Historical Archaeology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1271
Concepts and methods of historical archeology, survey techniques, data collection, and laboratory analysis. Suggested for students who intend to take fieldwork courses in archeology.
ANTH 4464  Advanced Fieldwork in Archaeology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 3373
Students are expected to have knowledge of field techniques used in archaeology. They assist a senior archaeologist in the excavation of an archaeological site, being responsible for all levels of recording. Please consult the Departmental Chairperson regarding availability.
ANTH 4465  Advanced Archaeology Laboratory    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 3374
Students must have a knowledge of laboratory techniques used in archaeology. They use this knowledge to record, analyze, and report on archaeological specimens. This course may be twinned with ANTH 4464, should the site being excavated produce sufficient archaeological materials.
ANTH 4491  Language and Culture  LING 4491  
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1290 or LING 1200
This course examines topics in the field of linguistic anthropology, combining a sophisticated understanding of the structure of language with the cultural realities of its use. Students will learn about current debates and advanced concepts in the field, while being given the opportunity to conduct their own research on language behaviour.
ANTH 4492  Ethnography of Communication  LING 4492  
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 1290 or LING 1200
Linguistic anthropologists analyze the dynamics of communication through the medium of ethnography. This course critically examines how anthropologists collect and convey their findings on language use. Case studies combine ethnographic texts with theoretical background to allow students to evaluate recent anthropological research.
ANTH 4501  Honours Thesis Research    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: restricted to students who have been accepted by the department into the honours program.
The application of anthropological theory and methods to a well-defined area of study identified and communicated to the student’s honours thesis committee prior to enrolment. Students will work closely with their principal advisors and two other committee members.
ANTH 4502  Honours Thesis Writing    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 4501
This course examines the communication of the results of anthropological inquiry to the scholarly community through the writing of an honours thesis. While students will work closely with their thesis committees, all faculty members of the department will evaluate theses on the basis of content and style.
ANTH 4701  Internship in Forensic Anthropology    
6 credit hours  
Prerequisite: ANTH 3471 and 3472
This is a practical, hands-on course in forensic anthropology. Students will use their knowledge of forensic methodologies for the examination and identification of human remains as well as the writing of forensic anthropology reports through work in an official morgue.

ANTH 4710 - 4719 Advanced Field Study in Anthropology
3 credit hours
Prerequisite: One of ANTH 3710 – 3719
Students will investigate and develop a response to a specific research questions in a particular field site (e.g. Japan, Arctic Canada, etc.), Students will travel to the field site with a faculty member.  Students will apply anthropological theories and methods to complete a guided research project.  This course generally takes place between May and August and involves additional costs.  Locations and foci will vary from year to year.  Please consult Departmental Chairperson for availability.

ANTH 4800 - 4825 Special Topics/Seminars in Anthropology    
6 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Six (6) credit hours at the 2000 level or above
Course content varies from year to year.
 
ANTH 4826 - 4849 Special Topics/Seminars in Anthropology    
3 credit hours  
Prerequisite: Six (6) credit hours at the 2000 level or above

To be offered in response to expressed student desire for advanced instruction in anthropological topics not covered intensively in substantive course offerings; or to take advantage of expertise of visiting scholars. The format is usually that of a seminar

ANTH 4850 - 4875 Directed Independent Study in Anthropology    
6 credit hours  
ANTH 4876 - 4899 Directed Independent Study in Anthropology    
3 credit hours