Anthropology Emphasis

Understanding diverse cultures of the world, from preliterate societies to modern technological societies is the focus of this course, including mankind's universal as well as adaptive dimensions; the examination of socioeconomic, political, religious, and physical environmental factors that relate to the values and lifestyles of various peoples.

This course will explore the relationship between individual experiences and the socio-cultural context, focusing on the role socio-cultural institutions play on personality, health, and world view.

This course will present a comparative examination of religion as an aspect of human culture and will include substantive and functional approaches to religious behavior, religion as a symbol system, ritual behavior, magic, religious movements, and paranormal phenomena. Prerequisite: ANT 210 or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years.

This is an introductory course for students intending to do social science and education research that will address the basic principles of elementary statistics through the use of statistical analyses, including basic descriptive measures; sampling and sample size estimation; hypothesis testing; testing for differences between means, correlation, and measures of association; techniques for analyzing categorical data; and summarizing and presenting statistical results. A heavy emphasis will be placed on applications of basic statistical concepts to a wide variety of problems encountered in social, educational, and policy-related research, along with the use of computer packages for assisting in data analysis. Prerequisite: CMTH 101, MTH 201, 211, 251, or equivalent.

An experimental learning course in which research techniques and methodologies are studied by developing and carrying out a research project using the following steps: selection of research problems, research design, data collection and analysis, statistical computation, hypothesis testing, and theory building.

This course will study language as a fundamental component of human beings by examining the link between experience, culture, and language through the investigation of how language communicates, changes, and is used strategically to accomplish social ends.

This course will examine the core liberal arts questions that the behavioral sciences attempt to address and will serve as a summative experience for the students in the major.

The effect of social influences upon the development of personality and behavior patterns will be examined in this course including socialization, attitude formation and change, communication, propaganda, roles and stereotypes, leadership, and collective behavior.

This theoretical and research-based course will investigate the mental processes that underlie perception, imagery, attention, memory, language, reading, reasoning, decision making, and problem solving.

Unlike traditional models and schools of thought that see diseases solely as malfunctions of organs or breakdowns of body systems, this course will present the approach that health and illness are parts of a complex interplay among biological, psychological, and social factors.

This course will introduce the sources, functions, and dynamics of the unequal distribution of wealth, power, knowledge, and prestige in an historical, comparative perspective.

As an introduction to the major problems in contemporary America, this course will focus on the causes, theoretical explanations, and social policy solutions including economic, political, urbanization, environmental, family and educational problems; child abuse; social deviance; crime; delinquency; and drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse.

Practical application of anthropological concepts designed to assist in analyzing, understanding, and living within other cultural traditions is the focus of this course and will include topics such as the role of culture, living with culture shock, strategies for analyzing cultures, processes of assimilation, language issues, cultural food ways, manners, and social expectations.

An anthropological overview of native North American societies from pre- Columbian times to the present will be the focus of this course, utilizing a culture area approach and including an emphasis on the native people of California. Offered alternate years.

This introductory course into the lands, peoples, and cultures of the Middle East from antiquity to modern times, will include the role of religion in shaping social and political institutions, and the influence of Islamic thought on the Arab world and conflicts in the contemporary Middle East. Offered alternate years.

This course will introduce students to the study of music as a universal cultural phenomenon and the discipline of ethnomusicology with exposure to the musical and social aspects of folk, traditional, and art music of Latin America, Africa, India, North America, Southeast Asia, and contemporary mass media. Prerequisite: Mus 102, Mus 111, Mus 112, Mus 201 or equivalent knowledge and experience in music strongly encouraged. Offered alternate years.

This course will introduce students to the study of music as a universal cultural phenomenon and the discipline of ethnomusicology with exposure to the musical and social aspects of folk, traditional, and art music of regions from Eastern Europe to Asia including the Middle East, Oceania, China, Japan, and Korea, as well as Mexico and the Caribbean. Prerequisite: Mus 102, Mus 111, Mus 112, Mus 201, or equivalent knowledge; experience in music encouraged. Offered alternate years.