Univ of Southern California
University of Southern California
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Anthropology

Bachelor of Arts

Anthropology Major Requirements

The B.A., Anthropology has three tracks: cultural anthropology, medical anthropology and biological anthropology. Each track has five core courses and five additional required courses depending on the track. The total number of units for each program is 40.

In addition to the general education requirements, the following courses are required.

Cultural Anthropology Track Requirements
Required courses, Lower divisionUnits
ANTH 200LThe Origins of Humanity4
ANTH 201Introduction to Social Anthropology, or
ANTH 263Exploring Culture Through Film4

Required courses, Upper divisionUnits
ANTH 410abEthnographic Field Methods and Practicum4-4
ANTH 440History of Anthropological Theory4

Five additional courses are required, of which at least two must be topical and at least one must represent an area of world ethnography. The following Anthropology courses are considered topical: ANTH 300, ANTH 305, ANTH 306, ANTH 317, ANTH 333, ANTH 335, ANTH 345, ANTH 355, ANTH 360, ANTH 365, ANTH 370, ANTH 371, ANTH 372, ANTH 373, ANTH 375, ANTH 405, ANTH 407, ANTH 455, ANTH 460, ANTH 470, ANTH 472, ANTH 476; the following courses are cross-listed with Anthropology and are also considered topical: AMST 395, SWMS 336, SWMS 385 and SWMS 420.

The following Anthropology courses are considered to represent an area of world ethnography: ANTH 310, ANTH 311, ANTH 314, ANTH 315, ANTH 316, ANTH 320, ANTH 322, ANTH 323, ANTH 324, ANTH 326, ANTH 327, ANTH 328, ANTH 330, ANTH 335, ANTH 374, ANTH 425, ANTH 435x; the following course is cross-listed with Anthropology and is also considered to represent an area of world ethnography: SOCI 375.

Medical Anthropology Track Requirements
Required courses, Lower divisionUnits
ANTH 200LThe Origins of Humanity4
ANTH 201Introduction to Social Anthropology, or
ANTH 263Exploring Culture Through Film4

Required courses, Upper divisionUnits
ANTH 410abEthnographic Field Methods and Practicum4-4
ANTH 440History of Anthropological Theory4

Five additional Anthropology courses are required, which should include at least three courses from the following list, one of which may be lower division: ANTH 101, ANTH 105, ANTH 305, ANTH 360, ANTH 365, ANTH 370, ANTH 373, ANTH 380, ANTH 405.

Biological Anthropology Track Requirements
Required courses, Lower divisionUnits
ANTH 200LThe Origins of Humanity4
ANTH 201Introduction to Social Anthropology, or
ANTH 263Exploring Culture Through Film4

Required courses, Upper divisionUnits
ANTH 406Seminar in Biological Anthropology4
ANTH 440History of Anthropological Theory4
ANTH 490xDirected Research, or
ANTH 491Directed Research for Honors4

Five additional upper division Anthropology courses are required, which should include at least three from the following: ANTH 300, ANTH 305, ANTH 306, ANTH 308 and ANTH 375.

Major in Anthropology (Visual Anthropology) Requirements

In addition to the general education requirements, the following courses are required.

Required courses, Lower divisionUnits
ANTH 200LThe Origins of Humanity4
ANTH 263Exploring Culture Through Film4

Required courses, Upper divisionUnits
ANTH 410abEthnographic Field Methods and Practicum4-4
ANTH 440History of Anthropological Theory4
ANTH 475Ethnographic Film Analysis4
ANTH 476Ethnographic Film Theory from an Historical Perspective4

One course to be selected from:Units
ANTH 470Multidisciplinary Seminar in Visual Anthropology4
ANTH 472Visual Techniques in Anthropology: Stills4

Two courses to be selected from:Units
Two 300- or 400-level anthropology courses not listed among the required courses8
Total upper division units32

Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Archaeology

Students are given broad-based exposure to a range of methods by which archaeological data are retrieved and analyzed and theoretical paradigms and intellectual foci by and from which archaeologists interpret the past’s material culture.

In addition to the general education requirements, the following courses are required:

Required courses, lower divisionUnits
ANTH 202Introduction to Archaeology, or
CLAS 212LArchaeology: Interpreting the Past4
AHIS 201Digging into the Past: Material Culture and the Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean, or
LING 295The Ancient Near East: Culture, Archaeology, Texts4
Total lower division units8

Required courses, upper divisionUnits
Theory and Methods
(any two of the following three courses)8
AHIS 425Interdisciplinary Studies in Classical Art and Archaeology: Research and Methodology
REL 494Advanced Near Eastern and Mediterranean Archaeology
REL 495Field Methods in Archaeology

Interdisciplinary Perspectives
AHIS 321Greek Art and Archaeology, or
AHIS 322Roman Art and Archaeology, or
AHIS 384Early Chinese Art, or
AHIS 420Studies in Ancient Art4
ANTH 310Archaeology of the Americas, or
ANTH 311Old World Archaeology4
CLAS 323Aegean Archaeology4
REL 394Near Eastern and Mediterranean Archaeology, or
REL 493The Art and Archaeology of Religion: Beginnings4
ElectiveAny 300 or 400 level course offered by the Anthropology, Art History, Classics, Linguistics or Religion departments4

Capstone course
CLAS 465Archaeology and Society4
Total upper division units32

Minor in Cultural Anthropology

Required courses, Lower divisionUnits
ANTH 201Introduction to Social Anthropology, or
ANTH 263Exploring Culture Through Film4

Required course, Upper divisionUnits
ANTH 440History of Anthropological Theory4

Two courses to be selected from:Units
ANTH 345Politics, Social Organization, and Law4
ANTH 360Symbolic Anthropology4
ANTH 370Family and Kinship in Cross-Cultural Perspective4
ANTH 460Economic Anthropology4
One world area specialization course4

Minor in Folklore and Popular Culture

The minor in Folklore and Popular Culture provides an academic foundation for students interested in the many genres in the field including folktales, myths, legends, proverbs, jokes, games, folk medicine, and folk and indigenous musical traditions, from around the world. Through interdisciplinary course work, students will learn techniques of collecting, analyzing and interpreting the traditional expressive culture of diverse groups. Students will analyze the interrelationships of folklore and national, regional and ethnic identities. After becoming acquainted with methods of interpreting different forms of folklore, students will see how value systems are reflected in the data, so that students understand the ideological underpinnings of group formation, group identity, conflict and strategies for resolution. By focusing on the individual, informal culture, and the tension between the individual and myriad groups to which they belong, folklore provides yet another window into understanding how individuals function in complex societies. Since the field is historically grounded and culturally comparative, folklore provides important perspectives on the human condition.

Course Requirements
For the minor in Folklore and Popular Culture, students must complete five courses, as distributed below.

Core requirementUnits
ANTH 333Forms of Folklore4

lower-division courses (Choose One)Units
AMST 285African American Popular Culture4
ANTH 101Body, Mind and Healing4
ANTH 263Exploring Culture Through Film4
ANTH 273Shamans, Spirits and Ancestors: Non-Western Religious Traditions4
CLAS 280Classical Mythology4
COMM 206Communication and Culture4
HIST 271Early Native American Stories4

upper-division courses (Choose Three)Units
AMST 395African American Humor and Culture4
ANTH 360Symbolic Anthropology4
ANTH 370Family and Kinship in Cross-Cultural Perspective4
ANTH 372Interpretation of Myth and Narrative4
ANTH 373Magic, Witchcraft and Healing4
ANTH 490xDirected Research4
CLAS 325Ancient Epic4
CLAS 380Approaches to Myth4
COLT 311Epic4
COLT 312Heroes, Myths and Legends in Literature and the Arts4
COLT 365Literature and Popular Culture4
COMM 384Interpreting Popular Culture4
COMM 440Music as Communication4
GEOG 325Culture and Place4
GERM 346German Folklore and Popular Culture4
HIST 380American Popular Culture4
MDA 330The Armenian Heritage: History, Arts, and Culture4
MUSC 444American Roots Music: History and Culture4
POSC 441Cultural Diversity and the Law4
THTR 393Cultural Identities in Performance4

Minor in Medical Anthropology

Medical anthropology examines the body, illness and healing from a cultural perspective, including comparative studies of folk healing systems, curing rituals and Western biomedical practices.

Required courseUnits
ANTH 101Body, Mind and Healing4

One course (4 units) to be selected from:Units
ANTH 105Culture, Medicine and Politics4
ANTH 125Social Issues in Human Sexuality and Reproduction4
ANTH 200LThe Origins of Humanity4
ANTH 201Introduction to Social Anthropology4
ANTH 273Shamans, Spirits and Ancestors: Non-Western Religious Traditions4

Upper division courses: four of the following (16 units):Units
ANTH 305Childhood, Birth and Reproduction4
ANTH 360Symbolic Anthropology4
ANTH 373Magic, Witchcraft and Healing4
ANTH 375Applied Anthropology4
ANTH 380Sex and Gender in Anthropological Perspective4
ANTH 405Evolutionary Medicine4
ANTH 440History of Anthropological Theory4
OT 375The Narrative Structure of Social Action: Narrative, Healing and Occupation4
SWMS 336Health, Gender and Ethnicity4
SWMS 420Woman, Nature, Culture: The Behavioral Ecology of Women4

Minor in Southeast Asia and its People

This minor allows students to supplement more narrowly defined departmental majors with a multidisciplinary focus on an area of great importance both to global developments and to cultural heritage issues in California and the United States. There is no language requirement and no required courses, but students must take one lower and four upper division courses dealing with Southeast Asian cultures and people of Southeast Asian heritage in the United States. The focus of this new minor is on transnational connections and the new area of global culture.

Lower DivisionUnits
Choose one class (4 units)
ANTH 250Race and Sexual Politics in Southeast Asia4
ANTH 273Shamans, Spirits and Ancestors: Non-Western Religious Traditions4
AMST 220The Making of Asian America4
POSC 120Comparative Politics4
REL 131Religions of Asia4
REL 150Religion and Immigration4
HIST 265Understanding Race and Sex Historically4

Upper DivisionUnits
Choose four classes (16 units), including at least one class from each list

Southeast Asia
ANTH 322Anthropology of Bali4
ANTH 373Magic, Witchcraft, and Healing4
COLT 379Nationalism and Postcolonialism in Southeast Asian Cinema4
GEOG 306Asia and the Global Economy4
IR 315Ethnicity and Nationalism in World Politics4
POSC 352Politics of Southeast Asia4
POSC 377Asian Political Thought4
REL 330Religions of India4
REL 334Religion and Colonial Encounter4

Southeast Asia and the United States
AMST 377Legacies of Viet Nam4
HIST 344The Vietnam War, 1945-19754
IR 424Citizenship and Migration in International Politics4
POSC 328Asian American Politics4
REL 336Re-viewing Religion in Asian America4

Note: Courses have no prerequisites.

Interdisciplinary Law and Society Minor

See the Department of Political Science.

Minor in Photography and Social Change

See Interdisciplinary Programs.