Undergraduate Course Listing

An introduction to the history, theory, methods, and findings of cultural anthropology and the ethnographic study of contemporary peoples' ways of living and thinking. Through in-depth encounters with several of the world's cultures through ethnographies, this course provides a cross-cultural understanding of humankind. Prerequisite: 3.0 university credits.

This course surveys anthropological methods and findings concerning language and nonverbal communicative capacities and habits across time and space. Topics include the precursors, forms, common characteristics, dynamics, and diversity of languages. Prerequisite: ANTH 1001H or 3.0 university credits.

An overview of the field of historical linguistics. Students are exposed to the principles and methods of historical research on languages, including topics related to language change and the reconstruction of extinct languages from their known daughter languages. Prerequisite: LING 1000Y or 1002H. Equivalent to MODL 2020H.

Cross-listed: LING-2020H

An introduction to the origin, development, and diversity of technologies in human prehistory and ethnology. Includes archaeological, biological, cultural, and linguistic anthropological perspectives on the role of technologies in human evolution and culture change. Offered only at Trent University Durham GTA.

Archaeology aims to reconstruct and explain the evolution of cultural behaviour in humans. This course surveys major topics in archaeology beginning with the earliest records of human culture to the emergence and expansion of agricultural societies.

A comparative survey of how archaeologists have documented and interpreted the evidence related to the emergence of proto-urban and urban settlements, city-states, and empires. Major themes addressed include political and social organization, craft production, art, religion, trade and exchange, social elites, and military power.

Introduces students to the ways archaeologists obtain data to build knowledge of the past. Students are provided with a critical appreciation and understanding of a representative range of methods used in archaeological survey, excavation and in post-excavation analysis.

An exploration of archaeological science (dating techniques, isotopic analysis, ancient DNA, material characterization) through case studies with an emphasis on the articulation of scientific techniques and archaeological research questions. Themes explored include human origins, diet, migration, status, and trade. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits. Offered only at Trent University Peterborough.

The methods and achievements of archaeologists and the art history of Egypt from the period of the Pharaohs, through the Persians and the Greeks to the Romans. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits. Equivalent to AHCL 2201H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-2201H

An introduction to the major sites, monuments, and artefacts of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Period, focusing on how material remains are used to reconstruct various aspects of ancient society. Topics include art and architecture, trade and exchange, religion, burial customs, economy, and state formation. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits. Equivalent to AHCL 2205H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-2205H

An introduction to Roman material culture from the Iron Age through the Late Empire. Topics include the development of a distinctively Roman culture, the influence of the Greek world, the spread of Roman imperialism, the impact of Christianity, and the continuing relevance of Roman institutions in modern society. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

Cross-listed: AGRS-2206H

Students learn how evolution, disease, and death shape human and non-human primate biology, behaviour, and distribution. Weekly labs provide opportunities to work with casted materials/fossils, develop and apply knowledge, learn research methods and skills in the subfields. Topics covered include primate origins and evolution, health/disease, growth/development and skeletal anatomy. Prerequisite: ANTH 1001H (or 1010H) or permission of instructor.

Focuses on the origins of plagues and the biological and social impact of major epidemics, past and present, on human societies. Themes explored include the role of human behaviour in the outbreak of disease, responses to epidemics, and human evolution and disease. Prerequisite: ANTH 2410H or permission of instructor.

This course explores the relationship of genes and the environment in shaping variation in human biology and morphology within and across populations. Tutorials acquaint students with genetics of families and populations. Specific topics include: the history of evolutionary theory, mating systems, microevolution, phenotypic variation, 'race,' and ethnicities. Prerequisite: ANTH 1001H or permission of instructor. Recommended: ANTH 2410H.

Cross-listed: BIOL-2490H

An interdisciplinary and comparative analysis of the impact of transformations in the world food system on contemporary agrarian societies. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits or permission of instructor. Equivalent to IDST 2500H.

Cross-listed: GDST-2500H, GEOG-2500H, SAFS-2500H, SOCI-2500H

An examination of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, exploring the literary and material evidence for these monuments, their enduring cultural impact, and why the list includes some famous monuments but excludes many others.

Cross-listed: AGRS-2530H

An examination of the impact of processes of commodification, market integration, and globalization on the social organization of food-producing rural communities in developing countries. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits or permission of instructor. Equivalent to IDST 2600H.

Cross-listed: GDST-2600H, SAFS-2600H

An introduction to methods and techniques of discovery, analysis, and interpretation in a field situation in any one sub-discipline (archaeology, cultural, physical, or linguistic anthropology). Summers only--confirm with the department office. Limited enrolment. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.

Geophysics is the study of geologic properties, processes and phenomena using non-destructive physical and mathematical methods, including reflection and refraction seismology, gravity and magnetics, and electrical and electromagnetic methods. This course emphasizes how geophysical techniques can be used for resource and archeological exploration, climate change detection, and environmental investigations. Prerequisite: PHYS 1000H or 1001H or 1.0 MATH credit. Typically offered every other year.

Cross-listed: EGEO-3001H, FRSC-3001H

Buddhism is based in a canonical tradition. Buddhist practice, however, is embedded in--transformed by and transforming--local contexts. We explore ethnographic accounts of how the ideas of Siddhartha (The Buddha) variously exist in different cultural and social contexts. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or permission of instructor.

This course explores artificial intelligence (AI) through the interpretive framework of sociocultural anthropology. This course covers theoretical topics in Science and Technology Studies (STS) and anthropological methodologies for studying AI technologies. Students learn to critically evaluate the claims and motivations of the scientists and entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley. Prerequisite: 5.0 university credits. Recommended: ANTH 2030H. Offered only at Trent University Durham GTA.

Cross-culturally, people voluntarily go on journeys. In this course we consider the range, reasons, and cultural contexts of these journeys. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or permission of instructor.

Covers the archaeology of North America, from Paleoindians through the nineteenth century. Subjects include the shift from hunting and foraging to agriculture, the development of complexity, trade relationships and interregional interaction, shifting religious beliefs and practices, and the consequences of European contact and settlement. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H and 2122H or permission of instructor.

Examines the history of archaeological thought and practice, in addition to addressing archaeology's role in the contemporary world. Topics may include those related to evolution, the environment, health, identity, race, ethnicity, gender, urbanism, repatriation, and ethics, in addition to current and emerging debates in the discipline. Prerequisite: ANTH-AGRS 1030H and ANTH 2123H or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 3100Y.

A hands-on course providing training in archaeological techniques for formally recording and analyzing artifacts adapted from raw materials and potentially ecofacts that attest food preparation and consumption. Approaches may include experimental archaeology to gain insight into reductive processes. Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from ANTH 2121H, 2122H, or 2123H, or permission of instructor.

Introduces students to basic methods for analysis of archaeological artifacts created through the transformation of raw materials into new substances, such as ceramics, glass, and/or metal. Prerequisite: 1.0 credit from ANTH 2121H, 2122H, or 2123H, or permission of instructor.

Ancient biomolecules (proteins, lipids, DNA), the conditions under which they preserve, how they are isolated and analyzed. Topics include stable isotopes, ancient DNA, proteomics, and organic residue analysis. Labs provide students with hands-on experience with techniques commonly used in archaeological science (emphasis on bone chemistry). Prerequisite: ANTH 2150H or three of BIOL 1020H, BIOL 1030H, CHEM 1000H, CHEM 1010H, GEOG-EGEO 1040H, or PHYS 1001H. Offered only at Trent University Peterborough.

Cross-listed: BIOL-3153H, FRSC-3153H

From tiny coral atolls to lush jungles to vast deserts, this course explores the diverse peoples of Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, and Australia. Topics include the prehistoric occupation of the islands, regional patterns in human biology, language, and culture, and the ethnography of several specific groups. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

In ancient Greece and Rome, exclusionary rituals and secretive initiation cults like those of Dionysos, Mithras, Isis, and Christianity overturned entrenched social norms and threatened the cohesion of the state. Archaeological and written evidence provide evidence for the origins, impact, and legacy of such practices in the ancient Mediterranean. Prerequisite: 8.0 university credits including one of AGRS-HIST 2103H (or AHCL 2103H), ANTH-AGRS 2205H or 2206H. Equivalent to AHCL 3222H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3222H, HIST-3222H

The study of material signs in their social context, including all forms of nonverbal human communication. Topics include any material objects as signs, including houses, commodities, embodied performances and rituals; anything that can be considered to act as a sign. Current topic: the semiotics of human-plant interactions and gardens. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

An exploration of the material culture of the Aegean Basin from the Neolithic Period through the Late Bronze Age (ca. 8000-1100 BCE), focusing on such topics as the built environment, art and symbolism, trade and exchange, religion and burial customs, and social stratification and state formation. Prerequisite: ANTH-AGRS 2205H. Equivalent to AHCL 3250H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3250H

A focused study of a particular topic in the study of Mediterranean archaeology. Topics change from year to year but will focus on some aspect of the material record of the cultures surrounding the Mediterranean Basin from the end of the Late Bronze Age to the fall of the Roman Empire. Prerequisite: ANTH-AGRS 2205H. Equivalent to AHCL 3255H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-3255H

A lab-based introduction to the anatomy and biology of the human skeleton. Topics include basic skeletal anatomy, bone biology and development, the functional morphology of bones, identification of complete and fragmentary bones, and skeletal pathology. Prerequisite: ANTH 2410H.

Cross-listed: FRSC-3404H, BIOL-3404H

An introduction to forensic anthropology. Focuses on the methods used by forensic anthropologists to analyze unidentified skeletal remains, including sex determination, age estimation, stature estimation, assessment of ancestry, and identification of trauma and pathology. Prerequisite: ANTH-BIOL-FRSC 3404H.

Cross-listed: FRSC-3405H

Examines the act of burial from an archaeological perspective. We focus on temporal trends in mortuary customs from Neandertals to modern humans. Gender, age, ethnic, and social differences in burial patterns are also explored. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or 2410H or both 2121H and 2122H, or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH-AHCL 4410H.

Examines variability within and between hunter-gatherer groups and sees how differences can be understood in an ecological and social perspective. To illustrate the diversity of hunter-gatherer adaptations, this course draws on case studies from Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania. Prerequisite: ANTH 1001H (or both 1010H and 1020H).

Focuses on the concepts and methods used by archaeologists to investigate the long-term interactions between humans and the environment. Explores the wide diversity of approaches (geomorphology, paleobotany, archaeozoology, paleoentomology, and isotopic analyses) developed over the years in order to sharpen our understanding of past human-environment dynamics. Prerequisite: ANTH 1001H (or both 1010H and 1020H); or ERSC 1010H and 1020H; or permission of instructor.

Cross-listed: ERSC-3680H

Introduces the analysis and interpretation of animal remains in archaeological sites. Students become familiar with the interpretation of faunal assemblages and learn through hands-on practice and discussions to think critically about the implications that can be drawn from these remains. Limited enrolment. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H or 2122H or 2410H or permission of instructor. Offered only at Trent University Peterborough.

Focuses on worlds creating in playable media (games), including both massively multiple online games (MMOGs) and tabletop role-playing games. "Virtual" society is now an increasingly taken-for-granted aspect of everyday sociality. This course develops tools and theories for the study of virtual worlds, online and offline. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

Cross-listed: COIS-3745H, MDST-3745H

Examines the linguistic, semiotic, and cultural constitution of figures of otherness or "alterity" that both define the boundaries and provide inverted images of societies and languages, paying particular attention to figures of monstrous alterity, both physical and linguistic monstrosity, and various dimensions of difference. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits.

Multispecies ethnography moves anthropology beyond the human to study the nonhuman organisms whose lives and deaths are linked to, and are part and parcel of, human social worlds, and how the "more-than-human" anthropological study of human societies must attend to social relations with non-human others. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits. Recommended: ANTH 3312H.

Examines classic issues in the anthropology of food. We focus on etiquette of food consumption, food and sex, food and religion and morality, food exchange and preparation, vegetarianism and meat eating, and cannibalism. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or permission of instructor.

Cross-listed: SAFS-3820H

An examination of the processes of social, cultural, and economic change in Latin America. Topics explored include colonialism, formations of states, production systems, inequality, gender, indigeneity, and livelihoods as well as political struggles against and for development. Prerequisite: 4.0 university credits or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for IDST-ANTH 3890Y.

Cross-listed: GDST-3891H

Structured thematically, this course surveys the principal theoretical developments in the discipline. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H.

Students gain practical experience in the processes of scholarly investigations and dissemination of findings by engaging in the ongoing research project of the instructor. Prerequisite: 10.0 university credits, including ANTH and/or AGRS/AHCL course(s) to be specified on a course-by-course basis. Equivalent to AHCL 4003H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-4003H

An advanced research seminar in which students engage and contribute to a research question or theme defined by the course instructor. Topics vary by year and instructor. Prerequisite: 10.0 university credits and permission of instructor.

ANTH 4020D is a double credit in Anthropology. ANTH 4010Y is a single credit because the same thesis is submitted to the other department/program in a joint-major. Students undertake a specific research project and write a thesis of 12,000 to 15,000 words on a well-defined topic. Arrangements begin with the chair of the department March 1 of the preceding academic year and departmental approval must be completed before March 31. Prerequisite: 9.0 university credits including ANTH 3123H (3100Y) or 3991H; courses directly relevant to the thesis topic; and a minimum 80% cumulative average in ANTH courses completed.

ANTH 4020D is a double credit in Anthropology. ANTH 4010Y is a single credit because the same thesis is submitted to the other department/program in a joint-major. Students undertake a specific research project and write a thesis of 12,000 to 15,000 words on a well-defined topic. Arrangements begin with the chair of the department March 1 of the preceding academic year and departmental approval must be completed before March 31. Prerequisite: 9.0 university credits including ANTH 3123H (3100Y) or 3991H; courses directly relevant to the thesis topic; and a minimum 80% cumulative average in ANTH courses completed.

The cultural identity of living peoples and the appreciation of the human past rely on the safeguarding of tangible heritage, yet physical remains of the past are under constant threat of destruction, disappearance, or distortion. What underlies these threats, and how effectively are legal and professional standards addressing them? Prerequisite: 8.0 university credits. Equivalent to AHCL 4145H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-4145H

Explores the fundamental principles underlying the application of stable isotopes in biological systems: analytical substrates, fractionation, isotopic mixing, quantitative interpretation, quality control, and new methodological frontiers in isotope science. Lectures provide a thorough grounding in key concepts and seminars explore relevant case studies drawn from archaeology, ecology, palaeontology, and forensics. Prerequisite: 70% or higher in ANTH-BIOL-FRSC 3153H.

A survey of the major stable isotope systems frequently applied in archaeological and ecological contexts: carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, strontium. Lectures provide students with an understanding of fundamental principles governing distribution of stable isotopes in the biosphere and seminars explore case studies. Prerequisite: 70% or higher in ANTH 3153H. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 4163H.

Provides a critical assessment of ways in which archaeology and archaeologists are portrayed in various forms of popular culture, including films, television dramas, documentaries, cartoons, fiction novels, magazines, video and board games, and science fiction. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H, 2122H, and one of ANTH 3000Y or 3123H (3100Y), or permission of instructor.

Using anthropological theory and archaeologically-generated data sets, this course explores the characteristics of, and reasons for, the "collapse" of complex societies. The focus is on the last two phases of the "Adaptive Cycle": release and reorganization. Implications for the contemporary world are also discussed. Prerequisite: 10.0 university credits or permission of instructor. Equivalent to AHCL 4180H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-4180H, ERSC-4180H

Using archaeological and environmental theory and diverse data sets, lectures and student research projects explore human impacts on ancient environments. The focus is on the first two phases of the "Adaptive Cycle": exploitation and conservation. Seminars concentrate on contemporary environmental issues. Prerequisite: 10.0 university credits or permission of instructor. Equivalent to AHCL 4185H.

Cross-listed: AGRS-4185H, ERSC-4185H

Using archaeological and historical datasets, this course examines pre-industrial cities and urban communities across time and space. Lectures and seminars focus on the diverse ways that urban spaces can be structured, and the nature of early urban lived experiences. Prerequisite: ANTH 2122H.

Considers the senses as culturally mediated, and culture as sensually mediated. Examines a diversity of historical and contemporary sensoria, and how these relate to social life, experience of the world, and claims to knowledge. Prerequisite: ANTH 2001H or 2002H or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 3290H.

Focuses on the study of disease in human skeletal remains. Emphasis is placed on the description and diagnosis of bone pathology, theoretical issues underlying the reconstruction of the health of past populations, and recent molecular and microscopic approaches to the study of disease in bone. Prerequisite: ANTH-BIOL-FRSC 3404H and ANTH-FRSC 3405H or permission of instructor.

Explores how and why past populations are reconstructed from skeletal samples, with emphasis on current theoretical and methodological issues in skeletal biology. Topics include methods of age estimation, growth and development, palaeodemography, palaeopathology, chemical analysis of bones and teeth, population studies, dental anthropology, and ancient DNA. Prerequisite: ANTHBIOL-FRSC 3404H and ANTH-FRSC 3405H or permission of the instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 3430H.

Through the study of human populations from an 'anthropological perspective,' this course examines the common biological anthropology research approaches/perspectives and methods. The focus is on quantitative methods for the various subareas of biological anthropology, as well as introducing students to the study of demography (the focus of part 2). Prerequisite: 15.0 university credits including ANTH 2410H.

This methods course borrows from economics, mathematics, history, geography, and biology. This course examines: 1) the fundamental qualities of a population structure and composition; 2) the demographic forces; and 3) the bio-social implications that arise from demographic events. Emphasis is given to learning statistical reasoning and gaining transferable skills. Prerequisite: ANTH 4470H or permission of instructor.

Analyzes some of the critical global health issues and challenges that face humanity in the new century, and the manner in which global institutions are addressing those issues. Interdisciplinary in scope, the course draws on scholarship from global public health, political economy, biopolitics, and human rights. Prerequisite: 14.0 university credits including 1.0 GDST/IDST, ANTH, and/or SOCI credit at the 2000 level or permission of instructor. Equivalent to IDST 4512H.

Cross-listed: GDST-4512H, SOCI-4512H

Survey of the ancient and modern Maya of Central America. Examines the culture of the contemporary Maya, one of the largest Indigenous groups of the Americas, as well as the archaeology of pre-Columbian Maya civilization. Prerequisite: ANTH 2121H and 2122H or permission of instructor. Not open to students with credit for ANTH 3710H.

An examination of ethnic consciousness and identity formation through theoretical and ethnographic case studies in a variety of settings. Themes include politicization of ethnicity in situations of conflict or political transition, genocide, and the articulation of ethnicity with gender, class, kinship, nationalism, and other markers of social and cultural difference. Prerequisite: 14.0 university credits including one of HURI 2005H, ANTH 2001H, ANTH 2002H, GDST 2001H (or GDST-IDST 2000Y), or SOCI 3661H, or permission of instructor. Equivalent to IDST 4750H.

Cross-listed: GDST-4750H, HURI-4750H, SOCI-4750H

Designed to allow students in the fourth year of their Anthropology or Archaeology Honours program to pursue experiential research activities, either in the field or laboratory, under the direction of a department faculty member, normally within that person's ongoing research program. Prerequisite: Minimum 80% average in completed ANTH courses; 1.0 ANTH credit at the 3000 or 4000 level, and permission of the instructor. Additional specific course prerequisites depending on the faculty supervisor.

Designed to allow students in the fourth year of their Anthropology or Archaeology Honours program to pursue experiential research activities, either in the field or laboratory, under the direction of a department faculty member, normally within that person's ongoing research program. Prerequisite: Minimum 80% average in completed ANTH courses; 1.0 ANTH credit at the 3000 or 4000 level, and permission of the instructor. Additional specific course prerequisites depending on the faculty supervisor.

Examines historical and contemporary issues in Arctic Canada with an eye to environmental, economic, and social changes affecting the region. Students engage with readings and discussions of the "North." Prerequisite: 14.0 university credits or permission of the instructor.

Cross-listed: CAST-4953H