Anthropology

NOTE: See the beginning of Section H for abbreviations, course numbers and coding.

ANTH1001Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology3 ch (3C)

Explore the meaning of culture, and how the discipline of anthropology understands the concept. Anthropologists immerse themselves in social settings, participating in everyday life to gain a deeper understanding of local beliefs and practices. In learning about this approach to understanding culture, known as ethnographic fieldwork, our aim is to gain a background in sociocultural anthropology, its broad relevance today, and to discover new perspectives on our own unique ways of living and being.

ANTH1002Introduction to Archaeology and Biological Anthropology3 ch (3C)

This course considers long-term human biological and cultural change. The course introduces biological anthropology via the study evolutionary processes, the human evolutionary tree, and human diversity. This course then considers questions surrounding the evolution of culture and language. To introduce archaeology, the course presents processes of cultural change and major archaeological discoveries from paleolithic, mesolithic, pre-contact and historical cultures. Throughout, emphasis is placed on how archaeological and palaeoanthropological sites are formed and studied. The course includes a variety of laboratory exercises. Students who receive credit for ANTH 1303/ARCH 1303 cannot receive credit for ANTH 1002.

ANTH1003Environment and Climate Change3 ch (3C) (W)
Environmental anthropologists study the two-way relationship between human cultures and environments. With a focus on Climate Change, learn about Environmental Anthropology, how humans transform their environments, and how communities experience environmental change at local and wider scales. Explore how studies of youth climate movements, ecological grief, environmental justice, global health, Indigenous Ecological Knowledge, and western climate science contribute to our understandings of climate change and to our capacity to address the implications of environmental change for ecosystems and cultural worlds.
ANTH1007Work, Money, and Debt3 ch (3C) (W)
Explore how people think about work, money, and debt cross culturally. Economic anthropologists engage in the comparative study of humans and their economies in different times and places, and off cross cultural understandings fundamental for anyone interested in doing business in a globalized world. Topics include economic anthropology, work and labour, modes of production, systems of exchange, value, money, gifts, commodities, debt, corporations, speculation, finance, and the stock market.
ANTH2011Environment and Infrastructure3 ch (3C) (W)
Learn how roads, pipelines, walls, dams, and other infrastructures are the literal frameworks that underpin our everyday lives. Just as infrastructures transform ecosystems, livelihoods, and landscapes, they also generate new experiences of nature, work, and connection to place. Use the perspective of applied environmental anthropology to understand relationships between human environments, infrastructures, and design frameworks. Examine the impacts of infrastructures on cultural and natural resources, and how impact assessment and human-centered design mitigate such impacts, responding to diverse community needs.
ANTH2012Language and Culture3 ch (3C) (W)
Learn how human experiences of the world emerge from the languages used to communicate in everyday life. Read foundational and contemporary studies in linguistic anthropology, the cross-cultural study of language use and communication. Using a range of case studies and ethnographic texts, consider how languages enable the communication of abstract ideas, and how cultural identities are sustained through these acts of communication. Explore issues of language policy and linguistic diversity, literacies and oral traditions, language and place, language vitality and revitalisation, and language use in popular cultures and media.
ANTH2303Exploring Archaeology3 ch (3C) (W)

Introduces the central dynamic tensions in Archaeology and their impact on archaeological practice, including their implications for methods and for how archaeologists construct knowledge about the past. Students who receive credit for ARCH 2303 cannot receive credit for ANTH 2303.

Prerequisite: ANTH 1002 (or equivalent) or permission of the instructor.
ANTH2304Great Discoveries in World Archaeology3 ch
This introduction to world archaeology is intended for all students interested in the origins of humans and in early civilizations. An approximately chronological scheme is used, beginning with our origin as a species and leading up to the development of agriculture, writing, and the emergence of complex societies and civilizations, in the Old World and the New World.
ANTH2504Introduction to Medical Anthropology3 ch (3C) (W) (EL)
Discover the basic concepts, approaches, and theories in medical anthropology, a subfield of Anthropology that studies human health problems and healing systems in their broad social and cultural contexts. earn how medical anthropology contributes to our understanding of complex health-related behaviour. Explore several examples of health and disease models, how medical anthropologists engage in both basic research on health and healing systems, applied research aimed at improving therapeutic care in clinical settings, and public health programs in community contexts.
ANTH2505Biological Anthropology3 ch (3C) (W)

Learn how biological anthropologists attempt to reconstruct the lives of people using human remains from both forensic and archaeological contexts. Introduces the application of biological anthropology to past human populations through analysis of their biological remains (bones, teeth and preserved soft tissues). Topics include: determining and understanding population demographics (age, sex, ancestry, and stature), health and disease, chemical and genetic analysis, and quantitative methods and population studies.

ANTH2506Experiential Learning in Medical Anthropology3 ch (3C) (W) (EL)
Learn hands-on, experiential skills in medical anthropology for application in real world settings. Learn relevant skills related to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) methods in medical anthropology and public health, policy development and implementation science, qualitative methods using NVivo and other related software packages, and working directly with community partners in New Brunswick for real-time applications of medical anthropology. Receive basic training and exposure to solving issues for community stakeholders through engagement with community organizations. Provides an opportunity to work with Public Health, Horizon Health, and other community partners in New Brunswick. Through project reports, learn to communicate proposed solutions to community problems and develop skills in capacity development and sustainability at the community level.
ANTH2801Food and Culture (Cross-Listed: SOCI 2801)3 ch
Introduces theories and methods of the growing field of food studies. Few things are more important to human beings than food. Food is profoundly cultural, which makes it a topic of interest to social scientists concerned with the comparative study of culture and society across time and space. On the one hand, what is considered edible, what is seen as good to eat, and how it all embeds in changing ways of life all varies depending on cultural, social, economic, and political contexts. On the other hand, thinking about nutrition, energy, diet and what is left behind opens a valuable window on societies past and present. The course goal is a practical guide to the study of food, its core ideas, and its methodoligies with the goal of bringing order and insight to diverse relationships between people and what they eat. NOTE: Credit can only be obtained for one of ANTH 2801 and SOCI 2801.
ANTH3015Animal Studies3 ch (3C) (W)
Explore the practical, cultural, and moral dimensions of human interactions with non-human animals. Consider how animals are involved in human activities from ritual life to laboratory testing, transport, farming and food production, and care and disability services. These examples are explored in terms of questions about origins and development of animal domestication, and the moral and legal status of wild and domesticated populations, including animal rights and animal ownership across a range of geographic and cultural settings.
ANTH3051Work-Study in Anthropology (O)3 ch (3L) (EL)

This course allows students to receive university credit for experience in social science research gained under the supervision of a university-seated researcher or from a non-university organization.

Registration: Students may only register after making arrangements for supervision and grading with the department.

ANTH3111Resource Extraction, Conflict, and Resistance3 ch (3C) (W)
Examine the human consequences of transforming nature into commodities. Cutting timber, digging metals, pumping oil, fracking gas, growing crops, trapping animals, and many other forms of resource extraction are, or have been, essential to the global economy. Explore how extractive practices shape our planetary prospects for ecological and cultural survival. Learn about the conflicts that emerge admidst this commodification of nature. Consider the creative ways that people find to resist extractivism. Topics include diverse case studies and theoretical approaches.
ANTH3112Drugs, Land, and Power3 ch (3C) (W)
Explore how rural, Indigenous, and Afro-descendent peoples in the Americas see forests, fields, mountains, savanna, wetlands, and rivers as life giving places and as territories that give the good life. The land question matters deeply for many rural communities. With special emphasis on rural areas of Colombia, consider claims for collective title, territory, common property, and self-governance advanced by peasant, Indigenous, and Afro-descendent communities. Topics include Afro-descendent, Indigenous, and peasant social movements, claims for collective territory, the rights of nature, social cartography, agrarian change, and resource conflicts in the context of the criminalization of protest, the ongoing internal conflict, and the war on drugs in Colombia.
ANTH3114Gender, Sex and Culture3 ch (3C) (W)

How do human gender roles vary from culture to culture and over time? How has anthropology attempted to explain these variations? What are the implications for the nature/nurture debate? Examples are drawn from archaeology, biological anthropology, and socio cultural studies.

Prerequisite: Any 2000-level anthropology course, or permission of the instructor.

ANTH3301The Archaeology of North America Before Europeans (A)3 ch (3C) (LE) (W) (EL)

Explore the cultural history of North America through an in-depth examination of the origins and development of the Indigenous cultures of North America, from the earliest traces to European contact. 

ANTH3303History of Archaeological Thought (A)3 ch (3C) (LE) (W) (EL)

Learn about the theoretical foundations of anthropological archaeology, including key ethical frameworks and how archaeology is applied in North America.

ANTH3341Work-Study in Museum Studies and Material Culture Analysis (O)3 ch (3L) (EL)

Allows students to receive university credit for experience gained in museum studies, collections management and/or material culture analysis gained outside the university setting. 

Prerequisite: 3 ch of Archaeology.

Registration: Students may register only after making arrangements for supervision and grading with the department.
ANTH3342Archaeological Lab School I (O)3 ch (3S) (LE) (W) (EL)

The lab school offers an introduction to archaeological analytical techniques through participation in a lab-based research project. This section emphasizes systematic approaches to research, recognition and cataloguing of archaeological materials, and basic data recovery. 

Prerequisite: 3 ch of 3000-level archaeology and permission of the instructor. 

Offered concurrently with ANTH 3343.
ANTH3343Archaeological Lab School II (O)3 ch (3L) (LE) (W) (EL)

The lab school offers an introduction to archaeological analytical techniques through participation in a lab-based research project. This section emphasizes quantitative methods, data manipulation and presentation, and technical analysis.

Prerequisite: 3 ch of 3000-level archaeology and permission of the instructor. 

Offered concurrently with ANTH 3342.
ANTH3344Ancient Technology (O)3 ch (3L) (LE)

This course explores ancient technologies from the view of experimental archaeology and replication of specific tools. Various materials, such as stone, clay, metal and cloth are examined, and particular tool classes, such as weapons, containers, and transport vessels are considered. 

ANTH3351Work-Study in Archaeological Field Research (O)3 ch (3L) (EL)

Allows students to receive university credit for experience gained in archaeological field research outside the university setting.

Prerequisite: 3 ch of archaeology.

Registration: Students may register only after making arrangements for supervision and grading with the department.
ANTH3352Archaeological Field School (O)3 ch (3S) (LE) (W) (EL)

The field school offers an introduction to archaeological field techniques through participation in a field research project. This section emphasizes safety in the field, systematic approaches to research, site survey, recording, testing and excavation techniques.

Prerequisites: 3 ch of 3000-level archaeology and permission of the instructor. 

Offered concurrently with ANTH 3353.
ANTH3353Archaeological Field School II (O) 3 ch (3L) (LE) (EL)

The field school offers an introduction to archaeological field techniques through participation in a field research project. This section emphasizes recognition and recovery of archaeological materials, recording of basic field procedures and recovery of materials for technical analyses.

Prerequisites: 3 ch of 3000-level archaeology and permission of the instructor. 

Offered concurrently with ANTH 3352.
ANTH3364Archaeology of Northeastern North America3 ch (Online) (LE)
This course considers the archaeology of New England and Atlantic Canada from the region's first peopling to the period of early European contact. This course is divided into eleven short modules designed as building blocks of regional prehistory. Each module will have its core a series of short readings and lectures. Topics covered might include:Contemporary First Nations Communities in the Northeast, Environmental context, The Palaeoindian period and the peopling of Northeast, Early and Middle Archaic, Late Archaic, Terminal Archaic and Early Woodland, Palaeoeskimos in Newfoundland, Middle Maritime Woodland and Ancestral Beothuk, Late Maritime Woodland, European contact, and the Historical archaeology in the Northeast.
ANTH3502Medical Anthropology and Public Health3 ch (3C) (W) (EL)

Drawing on medical anthropology for public health programsprovides opportunities for improved understanding of, and response to, health problems at community and population levels. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the pivotal role that medical anthropology plays in public and global health research. Evaluate four specific approaches to public health research and practice in medical anthropology: 1) analysis of public health problems; 2) design of public health interventions; 3) evaluation of public health interventions; and 4) reflexive analysis of public health. Focuseson how understanding the sociocultural environment facilitates the adaptation of public health interventions to local settings, increases local uptake, and is likely to increase effectiveness.

ANTH3521Exploring the World of Primates (O)3 ch (2C 1L) (W)

In this course students are introduced to the major primate taxa (i.e. prosimians, New World monkeys, Old World Monkeys, and apes) to illustrate the great variety in the anatomy, physiology, behaviour, and ecology within the Primate Order. The biological and social adaptations of primates are explored as well as basic evolutionary concepts, current trends and theories in primatology. The following topics are addressed: evolutionary history, taxonomic classification, diet, predation, communication, social systems, kin selection, reproductive strategies, cognition, and conservation.

Prerequisite: ANTH 1002 or permission of the instructor.

ANTH3523Forensic Anthropology (A)3 ch (1.5C 1.5L) (W)

This course introduces the field of forensic anthropology, which involves the application of biological anthropology methods to a medico-legal context. To identify human remains, forensic anthropologists assist law enforcement by determining age, sex, ancestry, stature, and unique features from skeletal remains. Using decomposition rates, they can provide an estimate of the postmortem interval. Course topics include: establishing a forensic context, methods of scene recovery, estimating the postmortem interval, reconstruction of demographic information, and identification of bone pathology and trauma.

ANTH3524Paleopathology: Ancient Disease in the Human Skeleton3 ch (2S 1L) (W)

Investigate ancient human diseases and their origins through examination of their remains in the archaeological record. Only a few diseases leave their marks on bone and tooth enamel, the most common remnants of ancient populations. Learn how to identify these abnormalities and assess their potential implications for the health of a living person/population, and to interpret the bioarchaeological evidence to gain insight into the health of past populations.

ANTH3525Human Osteology3 ch (1C 2L)

Human skeletal anatomy and biology are fundamental to the study of forensics and biological anthropology. This course emphasizes a hands-on learning process for the identification of individual bones, and their morphological features, siding, and anatomical orientation. Relevant techniques for the reconstruction of past populations and the assessment of human biological variation are introduced (age at death, sex, growth and development).

ANTH3526Anthropology of Death3 ch
What is death? All living things experience death, but humans are unique as we purposefully bury our dead, often with ceremony or ritual. Why is there so much variation when it comes to the dead and how they are treated, celebrated, or feared? An anthropological perspective is used to explore these questions, to understand specifically how we define death biologically and culturally and how this definition can and does change over time.
ANTH3552Bioarchaeology Field School3 ch (W) (EL)

This field program, with ANTH 3553, offers an introduction to mortuary archaeology and bioarchaeological field methods through skeletal excavation. This section of the course emphasizes ethics when handling human remains, safety in the field, bioarchaeological recording, and data collection methods and skeletal excavation techniques.

Prerequisite: ANTH 3525 (or equivalent) and permission of the instructor.

ANTH3662Indigenous Peoples of North America (A)3 ch (3C) (W)

Explore the histories and contemporary lives of Indigenous peoples of North America (Turtle Island), focusing on Indigenous territories within the state boundaries of Canada. Learn how Indigenous societies have both sustained and transformed their material cultures, sociopolitical lives, and cultural beliefs. Consider these transformations across a range of environments, and against colonial orders that have sought to control Indigenous lives and expropriate lands and resources. Learn about the legacy of anthropology as a discipline that emerged as part of colonial orders. Understand the significance of Canadian Indigenous rights movements for Indigenous peoples globally.

ANTH3694Latin America and the Caribbean3 ch (3C) (W)

Cultivate an understanding of cultures and places across Latin America and the Caribbean, drawing on case studies by anthropologists and others. Develop a synthetic understanding of both regions and their sub-regions, cultures, peoples, and places. Analyze common themes, important social and cultural issues, and shared histories. Topics may include colonialism; imperialism and underdevelopment; society and culture before the Europeans; gender and sexuality; political economy and development; climate change; conflict and violence; race and ethnicity; religion and spirituality; rural change and urbanization; environmental and ecological movements; and Indigenous and Afro-descendent movements.

ANTH3704South Asia3 ch (3C) (W)

Explore a geographical and cultural area with over 5000 years of traditions that still define everyday modern lives today. The South Asian culture area covers India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka. Centered on the Indian subcontinent, it is predominantly a Hindu and Muslim region, but also includes Christian and Buddhist populations and many other coexisting religious groups. Examine the position of India in relation to its neighbours, and study historical and contemporary issues including poverty and economic progress, the role of women, and the impact of globalization. Participants learn how religions provide charters for a hierarchically organized society, and regulates the attitudes, beliefs, and practices in contemporary lives throughout this globally signifcant culture area.

ANTH3801Food Studies (Cross-Listed: SOCI 3801)3 ch
This course provides students with a general understanding of the role of food in contemporary societies by exploring the socio-cultural aspects of food production and consumption in a cross-cultural context. It also analyzes the economic and political landscape of farming in an international context by examining food politics concerning regulatory measures in food labelling and safety, genetically modified food, organic and sustainable agriculture, and the future of the world food system. NOTE: Credit can be obtained for only one of ANTH 3801 or SOCI 3801.
ANTH4025Hunters and Gatherers (A)3 ch (3S) (LE) (W)
Although relatively few hunter-gatherers exist today, hunting and gathering was the sole lifeway worldwide for the vast majority of human history. This course will consider hunter-gatherer groups from an anthropological and archaeological perspective. Topics to be covered include portrayals of hunter-gatherers, the validity of hunter-gatherer as an anthropological category, variation in foraging strategies, cosmology, architecture, gender, and band-level political organization.

Prerequisite: 
Any 1000-level Anthropology course or permission of the instructor. Students who receive credit for ANTH 4307 cannot receive credit for ANTH 4025.
ANTH4090 to 4099Selected Topics in Anthropology (O)3 ch (3S) (W)
These courses offer an in-depth analysis of a particular topic, selected by the instructor, from one (or more) of a sociocultural, archaeological, biological, or medical anthropology perspective.


ANTH4114Culture and Environment3 ch (3S) (W) (EL)

Examines how culture mediates the relationship between humans and their environment, including traditional ecological knowledge and/or local knowledge systems. 

ANTH4244Political and Legal Anthropology (O)3 ch 3S (W)

Explore how societies organise power, negotiate social order, and address conflict via formal legal institutions, and less formal processes in everyday life. Often working with colonial governments, many early anthropologists were concerned with subjects of authority, leadership, property ownership, and landholding that were fundamental to the colonial rule. Today, political anthropology is a cross-cultural study of the institutions and relationships that distribute power in societies. Whereas legal anthropology traditionally focused on law in non-western contexts, it has become a diverse study of law and legal pluralism, the state, transnational institutions, and law-like activities of corporations. The political and legal concerns of anthropologists have both expanded and converged, providing a unique perspective on contemporary sociolegal theory and practice.

ANTH4302Historical Archaeology of the Maritimes3 ch
Historical archaeology is the archaeological study of people who are accounted for in written records. The frameworks of Historical Archaeology are used to explore the archaeological record of the Maritime Provinces, from about AD 1500 to 1900.
ANTH4304Archaeology of Atlantic Canada (A)3 ch (3S) (LE) (W)

In this seminar, students examine the 11,000 years of prehistory in the Atlantic region, emphasizing changes in material culture, ecological adaptations, and social interaction.

Prerequisite: ANTH 3303 or permission of the instructor. 

ANTH4308Cultural Resource Management3 ch (3S) (LE) (W) (EL)

Explore the applied field of Cultural Resource Management (CRM), and its goals of identifying, documenting, and managing impacts on cultural resources, including archaeological materials and other forms of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Learn about national, provincial, and international legal and ethical frameworks that regulate the work of CRM professionals. Develop the practical skills needed in professional roles and forms of reporting.

ANTH4313Archaeology, Heritage, and the Public(s) (O)3 ch (W)
How do communities and various publics produce, interact with, construct, and contest knowledge about the past? Perspectives from archaeology and critical studies of heritage are used examine processes of knowledge creation, dissemination, mobilization, and transfer in archaeology, as well as the role of research modes in knowledge production (including applied research, conventional problem-oriented research, community-engaged research, and collaborative research). Topics will include discussion of critical heritage studies, citizen science, indigenous archaeology, post-normal science, and applied research such as cultural resource management.
ANTH4502Issues in Medical Anthropology (A)3 ch (3S) (W) (EL)

Examine the theoretical and methodological perspectives in global health and how these shape research practices in public health policies including designing effective intervention strategies in international settings. Study Indigenous health issues from a global perspective and the impact of development on population health. Emphasis is placed on examining the ethical and practical issues in conducting research in non-Western societies and how an anthropological approach can contribute to a better understanding of health and illness and develop interdisciplinary perspectives in global health research.

ANTH4522Human Evolution (O)3 ch (3L) (W)

Examines the genetic basis of human evolution. With the advent of modern genetic technologies, it has been possible to compare and contrast evolutionary relationships at the genetic level. One current debate in biological anthropology surrounds the origin of anatomically modern Homo sapiens based on DNA evidence. Fossil evidence along with the genetic picture are considered in detail.

Prerequisite: ANTH 1002 (or equivalent) or permission of the instructor.

ANTH4524Bioarcheology (O)3 ch (3S) (W)

In this course students are introduced to advanced topics in the discipline of bioarchaeology, the application of biological anthropological techniques to reconstruct the lives of past populations from an archaeological context using their skeletal remains. Specific topics include patterns of subsistence, diet, disease, demography, and physical activity.

Prerequisite: ANTH 3525 or permission of the instructor.

ANTH4602Genes and People: Anthropological Applications (O)3 ch (3L) (W)

This course introduces the basic concepts of human genetics and examines its application in anthropological research. Topics covered include: human genetic variability and its role in disease prevention and susceptibility; the use of DNA in reconstructing the biological profile of human remains from forensic contexts; and using ancient DNA to trace population migrations and resolve issues of human origins. Ethical questions and implications pertaining to the human genome project and human genetic research are also addressed.

ANTH4702Gender, Sexuality, and Health (A)3 ch (3S) (W)

Examine the gender dimension of health and disease and address the articulation of gender roles and ideologies with health status, the organization of health care, and health policies in a cross-cultural perspective. Utilize the Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) approach for examining how diverse groups of women, men, and non-binary people experience health policies, programs and initiatives. The “plus” in GBA+ shows that GBA goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences, including how racism and other social injustices and their intersections with gender and sexuality compound the challenges faced by many marginalized groups.

ANTH5001Anthropology Honours Seminar 3 ch (3S) (W) (EL)

Students explore the research process through conducting an individual research project in anthropology, developed in conjunction with the instructor. In addition, students engage in professional development and experiential opportunities.

Prerequisites: Open only to Anthropology Honours or qualifying students, or with permission of the instructor.