Fwd: (3) New Anthropology Graduate-Level Classes for Fall 2011
Jennifer Lombardo
-------- Original Message --------
| Subject: | (3) New Anthropology Graduate-Level Classes for Fall 2011 |
|---|---|
| Date: | Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:01:15 -0500 |
| From: | Cynthia Beth <c-b...@northwestern.edu> |
| CC: | Bill Leonard <w-leo...@northwestern.edu>, Robert Launay <RGL...@northwestern.edu> |
Please email to your listservs as appropriate. Thank you.
ANTH 390, Sec. 26 and GNDR ST 390, Sec. 20: "Research Methods in Gender & Sexuality Studies".
MW from 11am to 12:20pm, KRG 2-359
Prof. Mary Weismantel
Fall 2011
This course surveys a range of research methods from the humanities and social sciences suitable for the interdisciplinary disciplines of gender and sexuality studies. Readings and other course materials will include classic and new work on gender and sexuality from disciplines such as art history, literary studies, history, sociology, anthropology, performance studies, African-American studies, Latino studies and Asian-American studies. Where possible, we will use texts written by Northwestern faculty or guest speakers and invite them to participate in our discussions. In class, we will take these materials apart to see exactly how they were made: research goals, research methods, writing up results, etc. Course requirements include class participation and short writing assignments; in lieu of a final, students will write a research proposal for a planned project that would involve primary research on gender and/or sexuality.
Students take it pass/fail, and graduate students can also take it for credit. The maximum number of students is 15.
COMPLEX SYSTEMS: ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACHES
ANTH 490, Sec. 21
F 2-4:50, 1810 Hinman Ave., Room 104
Dr. Alex Bentley, Visiting Research Scholar in Anthropology
FALL 2011
Complexity science provides a broad and novel approach to understanding human social organization and change. Communities, as a focus of anthropology, can be conceived as complex, dynamic entities with multiple constituents: individuals, and groups interacting with each other through geographic, social and informational relationships. Elegant networks and hierarchies commonly emerge without exterior design. History matters, as communities are under continual flux and occasionally pass through a ‘tipping point’ leading to a sweeping cascade of change. In this seminar, we will explore relevant themes of complexity theory, including tipping points, community resiliency, the diffusion of ideas, collective wisdom, fads and fashions, as well as tools such as network analysis and agent-based simulation. We will discuss how these apply to anthropological interests in kinship and social networks, craft specialization, hierarchy and state formation, language, wealth inequality, and technological change. Along the way, we will consider examples from the archaeological past to traditional kin-based societies, early states and cascades of social change in the 21st century.
Required Books:
(1) Bentley, R.Alexander and Herbert D.G. Maschner, eds. (2003) Complex Systems and Archaeology. University of Utah Press.
(2) Lansing, Stephen (2006). Perfect Order: Recognizing Complexity in Bali. Princeton University Press
(3) Surowiecki, James (2004). The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter than the Few. London: Abacus.
WCAS ANTHRO 490-0-22: Topics in Anthropology: Language and Media
2011 Fall
W 2-4:50, 1810 Hinman Ave., Room #A56
Prof. Shalini Shankar
Class Attributes
No P/N option for this section
Graduate Students Only – Non- Anthro graduate students require instructor permission.
Our modern existence is saturated with media; language is one of the primary components of much of this media, either spoken or written. Indeed, language is one of the primary ways with which we interact with both new forms of media (such as facebook, twitter, IM, and texting) and more established forms (such as print media, television, radio). This class will explore various ways in which language and media are interconnected, as well as how they interact with broader social processes and structures, such as political economies, social hierarchies, cross-cultural interaction, and identity formation. Readings will draw from linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, and communication studies and cover theoretical topics of semiotics, interdiscursivity, entextualization, language ideology, literacy, and orthography. Ethnography will include case studies from both commercial and indigenous media from across the globe and highlight the ways in which language and media intersect to shape race, class, gender, class, power, and social inequality.
Class Materials (Required)
Required Texts: Course reader from Quartet Copies.
Instructor Biography/Personal Statement
Shalini Shankar is a sociocultural and linguistic anthropologist whose central concerns include race and ethnicity, class, globalization and diaspora, Asian American youth culture, multiculturalism and multilingualism, consumption, and media. Shankar’s new book, entitled Desi Land: Teen Culture, Class, and Success in Silicon Valley (Duke U Press, Fall 2008) focuses on Desi (South Asian American) youth in socieconomically and racially diverse high schools and analyzes how their everyday cultural and linguistic practices intersect with their immigration history and class status to position them in school, as well as impact their educational and career paths. Her publications and presentations focus on how Asian American youth mediate racial hierarchies, create identities through material culture, media, and language use, and strive to find a place for themselves in competitive urban and suburban regions.
Cynthia Beth
Program Assistant
Department of Anthropology
1810 Hinman Avenue
Evanston IL 60208-1310
TEL: 847/491-5402
FAX: 847/467-1778