Introduction to the basic concepts, goals, and research strategies of anthropology, the nature of culture, its role in human experience, and its universality. Presentation of cross-cultural examples and conceptual frameworks for understanding and explaining cultural diversity. Satisfies Global Cultural Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
This course will introduce you to several important areas within physical anthropology including the genetic basis of human evolution, how evolution works as a process, modern human variation, race, bioarchaeology and forensics, primate ecology and behavior, and the human fossil record. Satisfies Natural Science Lab GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Scientific Reasoning student learning outcome in alignment with Educated Citizenry value.
As a key dimension of human cultural variation, language not only conveys information but also shapes our realities. In this course, we explore how language makes us human and how humans use language to act on the world around them. Using an anthropological lens, we examine how language and culture develop simultaneously through processes of acquisition and socialization, and we consider language use as evidence of human creativity and adaptability. The better part of the course is devoted to understanding face-to-face interactions as arenas where identities are challenged, defended, and remade. Students will gain exposure to ethnographic studies of language and culture and will use methods and theoretical insights from linguistic anthropology to analyze cross-cultural case studies. Satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Educated Citizenry value.
Archaeology is a fascinating and important way to understand the lives of people from the past. But how does archaeology actually work? Much more than just digging things up, archaeology uses a wide range of scientific techniques and anthropological insights to recover and reconstruct what happened in the past. This course offers a survey of archaeological methods and case studies to show how archaeologists allow us to engage with people who are no longer here. Satisfies Global Cultural Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
This course is designed as an introduction to the emerging, multidisciplinary field of disability studies. Historically, the concept of disability has been interpreted through the medical sciences as an individual-based sickness, pathology, or problem. More recently, however, the growing field of disability studies has challenged that perspective. This course will introduce students to various frameworks that have shaped an understanding of disability (from medical & charity models to a civil rights based approach), and promote the understanding of disability as a cultural construction. It will examine the disability rights movement and contemporary "disability culture" within the broader context of a multicultural United States (e.g., on par with race, class, and gender), as well as from an international, cross-cultural perspective. Lastly, students will examine how these different notions are linked to specific social welfare and educational policies related to the delivery of services and supports for people with disabilities. Satisfies Social Science Perspectives GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Political and Civic Life student learning outcome in alignment with Social justice and Equity value.
Analysis of the diversity of racial, ethnic, religious, occupational, and other subcultures and subgroups within the U.S. Emphasis on the character of American culture. Subpopulations are examined in relationship to each other and to the mainstream culture. Satisfies Social Science Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
The Middle East culture area in anthropological perspective. Emphasis is placed on the nature of different interlocking cultural systems which are adaptations to environmental stresses in the Middle East. The concepts of culture and society will be explored in the context of course materials. Meets Gen Ed - Global Cultural Perspectives. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Amerindian cultures north of Mexico; representative tribes, their world views, and their adaptations to the environment, each other and European contact. Satisfies Global Cultural Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Cross-cultural perspectives on the rapid social and cultural changes spawned by globalization. The implications and consequences of globalization on society.
This course will provide a broad overview of society, culture, and history of South Asia. The goal is to convey the tremendous diversity of cultural expression and social plurality found in the region by focusing on specific events and concepts at scales varying from local to national, such as the emergence of nationalism, formation of nation states, and caste. The course will introduce students to an important region, home to one-fifth of the population of the world, and also help them understand contemporary political, economic, and environmental change in the subcontinent. Satisfies Global Cultural Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Types of conflict and violence including war, crime, family and sexual violence, class and ethnic violence, and genocide; biological determinist and cultural explanations of violence; theories of nonviolent social change. Meets Gen Ed - Social Science Perspectives.
A survey of scientific, medical, artistic, and other contributions from cultures outside the mainstream of European, North American, and Judeo-Christian history that influence our lives in the West today. Meets Gen Ed - Global Cultural Perspectives. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Study of indigenous peoples of Latin America. Surveys earliest evidence of human occupation of Middle and South America and the Caribbean; diverse origins of food production; intellectual achievements; political organization; material contributions to world culture; and aspects of early European contact and conquest. Satisfies Global Cultural Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Self Discovery and Self Care value. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
This course is an examination of the scientific study of the origin and nature of race in light of human physical and cultural difference from an anthropological perspective. Cross-cultural data are used to explore the concept of race, the history and impact of race thinking, and patterns of culture contact and ethnic relations. Special attention is paid to historical and ethnographic analysis, understanding, and critique of race as a distinctive cultural practice that underwrites and legitimizes social inequalities. Satisfies Social Science Perspectives GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Political and Civic Life student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value. Meets World Cultures graduation requirement.
Want to save the world? Effective biodiversity conservation depends on people. This fun, applied, interdisciplinary course introduces a community-livelihoods driven approach to conservation management. You will learn, step-by-step, how to develop your very own effective conservation program that is socially aware and improves both conservation objectives and human livelihoods. Satisfies Interdisciplinary Studies GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
This course examines a variety of medical and healing traditions. It will address the connections between medicine and culture, and relate the medical practices to the cultures that produced them. The course will cover non-western healing systems, such as Traditional Chinese medicine (including herbs & acupuncture), Ayurvedic medicine from India, and Native American shamanism, as well as western biomedicine as a cultural system (or "ethnomedicine"). This course will examine how these different healing systems reflect and are reflections of the social, economic, and political history of a given society and region. Students will apply knowledge of these systems to contemporary social and individual contexts. Satisfies Global Cultural Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 100 or ANTH 101 or ANTH 102 or ANTH 103. Building on the introduction to anthropology provided by the department’s 100-level courses, this 200-level course is designed to deepen students’ understanding of key issues and debates within the discipline by exploring multiple perspectives on a diverse set of anthropological themes across anthropology’s four subfields. Topics will include: the enduring anthropological preoccupation with nature/nurture questions; ethical dilemmas provoked by controversial ethnographic encounters and contested engagements with indigenous and marginal communities; the universality of gender stratification; and interrogations of ethnographic authority as well as anthropology’s identity as a science. In engaging these themes, students will enrich their knowledge base while developing their ability to critically evaluate empirically grounded anthropological arguments. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in Anthropology.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 100 or ANTH 101 or ANTH 102 or ANTH 103 or ANTH 110 or ANTH 115 or ANTH 120 or ANTH 130 or ANTH 140 or ANTH 150 or ANTH 180 or departmental approval. The course emphasizes the uses of anthropology in contemporary societies by stressing the skills and knowledge needed for the development of practical solutions to current problems. Special attention is placed on: policy decision-making, community development, cultural resource management, advocacy and social impact assessment. This is a service-learning course. Meets the Graduation Writing Requirement for majors in Anthropology. This course is designed to pay close attention to and support for the enhancement of writing in the discipline of anthropology.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 100 or ANTH 110; or ANTH 105 may be taken as prerequisite or corequisite. This course focuses on disability and popular cultural representations of it, including TV, film, news media, advertising, photography, documentary, comics, and the Internet. The course highlights ways varied "texts" reflect the values of, and help to construct, the culture in which they are found. Topics include: key concepts of ableism, normalcy, and disablement; models for understanding disability and its representations; disability studies and/in cultural studies; the impact of cultural representations on the experiences of people with disabilities; disability media (i.e., content created by and for people with disabilities); methods for cultural and textual analysis; gaps in representation (e.g., news about disability rights in U.S. and abroad, what is and isn't covered). Attention will be given to common representations of disability (e.g., wheelchair users) and less common ones, including "hidden" disabilities (e.g., autism; psychiatric and intellectual impairments). Satisfies GenEd - Interdisciplinary Studies requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
Prerequisite(s): Any 100-level ANTH course. This course explores the role of language in creating and maintaining cultural taboos. Why do some religions forbid uttering or writing the name of the divine? Why do some languages have rules against words you can say in front of your in-laws? On the other hand, how did the “f-word” become an accepted part of everyday conversation? And is political correctness a modern form of linguistic taboo? Language is the lens through which we examine changing social values and norms. We look at shifting usages, proscription and toleration of taboo language in cross-cultural settings alongside processes of globalization, secularization and technological advancements that have democratized social interactions. We also learn about the social and political forces behind language change. In the twenty-first century, are there any language taboos left? And if so, what do they tell us about our societies and ourselves?.
Prerequisite(s): any 100-level ANTH course. This course explores how Indigenous communities have responded to historic and current threats to their languages by reclaiming them. We will learn about the forces that threaten linguistic vitality, and we will look at local and global communities where people are working to revive ancestral languages as well as the knowledge that goes with them. The course includes a community engaged component that will allow students to learn from tribal community partners about revitalization efforts among New Jersey’s state-recognized tribes and explore ways of contributing to this work. Community engaged projects will vary according to partner priorities. Satisfies SEEDS Political and Civic Life student learning outcome in alignment with Engagement, Agency and Leadership value.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 100 or ANTH 110 or EAES 160 or EAES 161 or EAES 170 or EAES 281. This course introduces students to a broad, cross-cultural, evolutionary perspective on urban settlements. The goal is to provide students with a framework of theoretical models and concepts for analyzing and understanding the learned behavior of people in cities. Most of the course examines contemporary North American cities with additional data from African, South American, and European cities. Topics covered include the archaeology of cities, world systems theory, transnational corporations, the community study model, urban fieldwork, migration, class, poverty, gentrification, homelessness and hip-hop. Satisfies Social Science Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 100 or ANTH 101 or ANTH 102 or ANTH 103 or ANTH 110 or ANTH 115 or ANTH 120 or ANTH 130 or ANTH 140 or ANTH 150 or ANTH 170 or ANTH 180 or ANTH 195 or departmental approval. The archaeology of ancient cultures of Middle America. Consists of two major units (1) Northern Mesoamerica, the Gulf Coast, Oaxaco and Central Mexican Aztecs (2) Ancient Maya of Mexico and Central America.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 100 or ANTH 103. This course examines the archaeology and material culture of historically documented people and cultures over the last 500 years. The course considers and compares both American and global case studies of the development of cultures that arose with colonialism, capitalism, slavery, industrialization, and modernity. The course will provide students with a basic understanding of the methods and theory of historical archaeology and illustrate how the archaeologists shed light on hidden, forgotten, and undocumented aspects of modern life. Students will learn how to see everyday objects as resources for historical analysis including maps, wills, houses, streets, gravestones, ceramics, bottles, food, and clothing. The course examines research in diverse settings including colonial outposts, small settlements and farms, large cities, plantations, prisons, and company towns. Students will explore the history and archaeology of diverse peoples including West and South Africans, African Americans, Native Americans and other indigenous people, and various European peoples at home and abroad. Satisfies Social Science Perspective GenEd requirement; satisfies SEEDS Historical Thinking student learning outcome in alignment with Social Justice and Equity value.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level ANTH course. An overview of nonstatistical research methods commonly used in anthropology, including participant observation, interviewing, questionnaire design, cultural domain analysis, ethnographic decision tree analysis, and network analysis. Emphasis on practical experience in applying these methods to research and applied problems.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 203 must be taken by Psychology majors and ANTH Majors must have completed a 200-level ANTH course. Students in all other majors need either a 200-level ANTH course or PSYC 203. Transcultural focus on the interrelated nature of culture and human behavior. Interdisciplinary course with emphasis on mutual dependencies of anthropological and psychological theory and method. Students work with bicultural informants. Equivalent course ANTH 405 effective through Spring 2019. Mutually Exclusive with Psychology, PSYC 309.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level ANTH course. This course will describe and analyze immigration from an anthropological perspective over time and space. Particular attention will be devoted to recent migration to the United States and how this movement is similar to and different from other migrations. We will examine how globalization has influenced contemporary migration by broadening who migrates and where migrants go, the role of social networks and cultural capital in facilitating migration, and the factors that affect reception, settlement, incorporation, and return.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level course. Provides students exposure to classic and current studies in linguistic anthropology. Through readings, discussions, and projects based on ethnographic texts, students explore connections between language and various dimensions of identity across cultures. We examine how social and political power work through language to create and complicate everyday life through connections to gender, race, religion, immigration status, sexuality, education, and disability.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 103 and any 200-level ANTH course. This course investigates the full range of human occupations in the Caribbean, through and including the arrival of European colonizers. Topics and themes to be addressed include multiple colonization events throughout pre-Columbian and into colonial times; shifting survival strategies; varying scales of interactions networks; and changes in political, social, and economic organization through time. Particular attention will be paid to debates and competing hypotheses accounting for data in the archaeological, historical, and ethnohistoric records.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 103 and any 200-level ANTH course. This course will address the broad sweep of pre-Columbian history of North America. Given the importance of cultural interactions and influences between North America north of Mexico, Mesoamerica, and the Gulf Rim it is a great idea to include these regions in a course on North American archaeology. In addition, when addressing the first peopling of America it is impossible to ignore the Upper Paleolithic cultures of eastern Europe and northeast Asia.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level ANTH course. Cultural effects on diet, nutritional status, disease, and ecology; anthropological contributions to the study of food and food habits. Satisfies SEEDS Analyzing Cultures and Societies student learning outcome in alignment with Diversity and Intercultural Competency value.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 103; and any 200-level ANTH course. This is a course on Bioarchaeology, the contextual analysis of human remains. You will learn the basics of using human osteology and paleopathology for reconstructing diet, activity, lifestyle, trauma and violence, ancient surgery and body modification, and health and disease patterns in past populations.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level ANTH course. This course provides students with an understanding of human work across cultural space and historical time. Various subsistence strategies (e.g. foraging, pastoralism, agriculture and industrial) are covered. Connections among forms of work, the social relations of work, the meanings of work, and social stratification (e.g. class, gender, race/ethnicity, age) are discussed.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level ANTH course. An analysis of the influences of cultural systems on the processes of aging. Special emphasis is placed on the behaviors and meanings attached to the stages of growing older in a variety of cultural systems.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level ANTH course. The relationships between culture and the bio-physical environment, as well as the cultural environment. The emphasis will be on primitive and non-Western cultures.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 103 and any 200-level ANTH course. The course will cover the manufacture, use, preservation, analysis, and cataloging of prehistoric artifacts made of stone, bone and wood.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level ANTH course. What do "sex," "sexuality" and "gender" mean, and how have anthropologists dealt with these concepts? Using an anthropological perspective stressing an "emic" or insider view and structural constrains of class, gender, race, and nation, we will describe and analyze how genders are constructed, negotiated, and maintained throughout the world. We will examine ethnographic material from a variety of cultural settings to understand how cross-cultural studies of gender and sexuality have contributed to more complex understandings of human experience and how gender/sexual identities are constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed. Meets World Cultures Requirement.
Prerequisite(s): Any 200-level Anthropology course. This course considers how childhood and youth are culturally constructed and experienced in diverse ways across time and space. Drawing on anthropological case studies, we will examine children’s and young people’s actual lived experiences and social identities as they are shaped in the course of daily life, through their engagements with hierarchies of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and nation, and with key institutions. We will also consider the effects of globalization, economic restructuring, and shifting priorities of governance on the lives and identities of children and youth around the globe and on cultural constructions of childhood/youth. In the process of exploring these themes and topics, students will compare and contrast ethnographic case studies, and learn about the methodological and representational issues associated with the ethnographic study of childhood and youth.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. The development of anthropological theory during the past 100 years. Various subdisciplines of cultural and social anthropology are explored and applied to similar bodies of data.
Corequisite(s): ANTH 403. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 and any 300-level course in any discipline. Welcome to Primatology! In this fun applied course, you will learn more about the behavior, biology, evolution, ecology, and conservation of our closest relatives, the non-human primates. From tiny lemurs to giant apes, in this hands-on course you will work with skeletal materials, fossil casts, and observe living primates (and >200 other species) at the Turtle Back Zoo to explore the world’s primate diversity and learn, first-hand, the many techniques involved in primate field research. From evolution to conservation, and grant writing to practice – learn the tools to be a primatologist and study one of the world’s most fascinating groups of animals. *This course is held both on campus and at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange and should be taken concurrently with Methods in Primatology.
Corequisite(s): ANTH 402. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 and any 300-level course in any discipline. Welcome to Primatology! In this fun applied course, you will learn more about the behavior, biology, evolution, ecology, and conservation of our closest relatives, the non-human primates. From tiny lemurs to giant apes, in this hands-on course you will work with skeletal materials, fossil casts, and observe living primates (and >200 other species) at the Turtle Back Zoo to explore the world’s primate diversity and learn, first-hand, the many techniques involved in primate field research. From evolution to conservation, and grant writing to practice – learn the tools to be a primatologist and study one of the world’s most fascinating groups of animals. *This course is held both on campus and at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange and should be taken concurrently with Primate Behavior and Ecology.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH, BIOL, EAES or MEDH course. As biological entities, cultural agents, and natural resource users we affect and are affected by local ecologies. Many of our pressing concerns as humans (jobs, housing, health, equal rights, conflict, mental and economic wellbeing) have environmental drivers and depend on a functioning ecosystem. Can people and the planet live in harmony? This course will explore the exciting new discipline of “Planetary Health.” Students will learn how ecosystems and human health affect each other around the world, and how policy and action can change both their personal health, and the health of our planet.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. Public Archaeology is a practical course in archaeology and community engagement drawing on opportunities for field research in the local region. Students will work with MSU faculty and staff as well as community partners to examine the history and archaeology of specific events, people, or places. Students will gain direct research experience in various aspects of archaeological research including developing a research design; archival research; field survey, excavation, and documentation; laboratory analysis of artifacts; and writing of a professional report. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 hours.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. Identification and analysis of contemporary issues and problems in anthropology - e.g., models of society; new directions in anthropological inquiry and methodology; etc. May be repeated twice, if the topics are different, for a maximum of 9 credits.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. Case studies of community, conflict and decay, conflicts over immigration, problems of racial and cultural diversity, multiculturism and cultural misunderstandings, role of education and the local school system, urban infrastructure and community decline, sprawl versus community, introduction to basics of program evaluation.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. The overall goal of this course is to examine the relationship between the structure, composition, formation and evolution of communities and their environment. The course has three major and interrelated objectives: one, to provide an overview of the major theoretical frameworks that have been utilized to conceptualize community-environment interactions; two, using case studies, demonstrate the use of anthropological methods and perspectives in resolving environment problems affecting communities, in diverse socio-cultural contexts; three, provide examples of the contributions of anthropology to environmental policy making.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. The study of how social and cultural influences and inequalities related to age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation impact health and disease in communities. Case studies will examine health in relationship to community issues including homelessness, the health care delivery system, role of community in disease prevention/treatment, social inclusion, and program evaluation.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. Selected case studies of community development programs nationally and internationally and their implications for community development in New Jersey, importance of citizen participation, inclusion of people with disabilities, aging in place, localization theory, smart growth, ecovillages, cohousing, permaculture, community supported agriculture, community land trusts, community development banks and corporations, program evaluation skills.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102 and ANTH 301. Provides hands-on training in collecting, transcribing, and analyzing social interaction and various forms of public discourse to identify the deeper value systems and meanings embedded in everyday social life. Students will use qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze how ethnographic contexts -- from neighborhoods to nations, and marketplaces to new media -- are supported or subverted by the ways people use language.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. Examination of cross-cultural concepts of illness, health and medical care. Ecological and historical aspects of diseases in human evolution are also studied.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. This course is designed to provide students with opportunities to explore potential uses of photography in anthropological research and practice. Each student is guided in the development of a project which demonstrates the significance of recording and interpreting visual data in the study of selected aspects of culture, social interaction patterns, and/or individual behavior. As the focus of this experience is on the collection and interpretation of visual data, not the technical aspects of photography, only basic skills and knowledge about effective camera usage are required.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. Provides practical field experience in the various aspects of survey and excavation techniques. A specific area will be surveyed and a site will be excavated. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. Preparation of a paper on a major theoretical issue in anthropology. A tutorial without formal class meetings.
Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level ANTH course. According to interest and preparation, students are placed in cooperating agencies in order to provide an opportunity to test their acquired theoretical knowledge and to gain disciplined practice in their profession. Under faculty guidance and agency supervision, students are to engage in anthropological fieldwork by conducting research and/or special projects.
Corequisite(s): ANTH 503. Prerequisite(s): Any 400-level course in any discipline. Welcome to Primatology! In this fun applied course, you will learn more about the behavior, biology, evolution, ecology, and conservation of our closest relatives, the non-human primates. From tiny lemurs to giant apes, in this hands-on course you will work with skeletal materials, fossil casts, and observe living primates (and >200 other species) at the Turtle Back Zoo to explore the world’s primate diversity and learn, first-hand, the many techniques involved in primate field research. From evolution to conservation, and grant writing to practice – learn the tools to be a primatologist and study one of the world’s most fascinating groups of animals. *This course is held both on campus and at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange and must be taken concurrently with Methods in Primatology.
Corequisite(s): ANTH 502. Prerequisite(s): Any 400-level course in any discipline. Welcome to Primatology! In this fun applied course, you will learn more about the behavior, biology, evolution, ecology, and conservation of our closest relatives, the non-human primates. From tiny lemurs to giant apes, in this hands-on course you will work with skeletal materials, fossil casts, and observe living primates (and >200 other species) at the Turtle Back Zoo to explore the world’s primate diversity and learn, first-hand, the many techniques involved in primate field research. From evolution to conservation, and grant writing to practice – learn the tools to be a primatologist and study one of the world’s most fascinating groups of animals. *This course is held both on campus and at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange and must be taken concurrently with Primate Behavior and Ecology.
As biological entities, cultural agents, and natural resource users we affect and are affected by local ecologies. Many of our pressing concerns as humans (jobs, housing, health, equal rights, conflict, mental and economic wellbeing) have environmental drivers and depend on a functioning ecosystem. Can people and the planet live in harmony? This course will explore the exciting new discipline of “Planetary Health.” Students will learn how ecosystems and human health affect each other around the world, and how policy and action can change both their personal health, and the health of our planet.
Public Archaeology is a practical course in archaeology and community engagement drawing on opportunities for field research in the local region. Students will work with MSU faculty and staff as well as community partners to examine the history and archaeology of specific events, people, or places. Students will gain direct research experience in various aspects of archaeological research including developing a research design; archival research; field survey, excavation, and documentation; laboratory analysis of artifacts; and writing of a professional report. Graduate students will have the opportunity either to be team leaders on a given project or to undertake a project individually.
Case studies of community conflict and decay, conflicts over immigration, problems of racial and cultural diversity, multiculturalism and cultural misunderstandings, role of education and the local school system, urban infrastructure and community decline, sprawl versus community, introduction to basics of program evaluation.
How environmental change affects community structures and practices, social and cultural responses to environmental change, role of citizen organizations, government and other institutions in solving environmental problems, green building and certification, ecological community planning and design, urban planning aspects of community and environment, sustainable cities initiatives, case studies, program evaluation skills, environmental policy making, perceptions of the environment, environmental discourses, environmental justice.
The study of how social and cultural influences and inequalities related to age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation impact health and disease in communities. Case studies will examine health in relationship to community issues including homelessness, the health care delivery system, role of community in disease prevention/treatment, social inclusion, and program evaluation.
This course will analyze selected case studies of community development programs nationally and internationally and evaluate their implications for community development in New Jersey. Topics will include the importance of citizen participation, inclusion of people with disabilities, aging in place, localization theory, smart growth, ecovillages, cohousing, permaculture, community supported agriculture, community land trusts, and community development banks and corporations. Program evaluation skills will be integrated into the topics.
Prerequisite(s): Departmental approval. The course provides a comprehensive knowledge of cultural resource surveys. Included is the study of the federal and state legislation governing contract archaeology. Other topics include: ethics, reading engineering plans, interviewing local informants, conducting documentary research and discussing various subsurface testing strategies. To gain practical experience, the student is required to prepare a cultural resource survey.
General background in Native American archaeology, and theory and method in this subdiscipline. Selected culture areas and problems relating to time depth, cultural interaction, and the nature of archaeological evidence north of Mexico.