Anthropology

[ Faculty] [ Courses]

Office: Social Science Building
http://anthro.ucsd.edu

Anthropology stands at the nexus between the social sciences, biological sciences, and humanities. It is dedicated to understanding the worldwide diversity of social institutions and cultural traditions, past and present, as well as to studying our nearest non-human relatives. Because there is increasing awareness of the importance of anthropological factors in domestic and international relations, as well as in a number of health related fields, a bachelor’s degree in anthropology has become accepted as a valuable preparation for careers in law, medicine, business, government, education, and various areas of public service. Anthropology majors can qualify for a California teaching credential from UCSD through the Teacher Education Program. The department offers a full range of courses in archaeology, as well as biological, social, cultural, psychological, political, and linguistic anthropology. Courses include offerings that focus on specific societies or regions of the world—especially Latin America, Asia, and Oceania—as well as more theoretically oriented topics. The department offers undergraduate major and minor programs, a senior thesis program, an undergraduate internship program, and a graduate program leading to the doctoral degree. Students also may enroll in archaeological field school and study abroad programs in the Middle East and Latin America.

The Undergraduate Program

Lower-Division

Lower-division offerings in anthropology are concentrated in the core series, ANTH 1, 2, 3. These courses are designed to provide a comprehensive orientation to the ideas and methods of anthropological investigation and a familiarity with case materials from a number of different societies (ANTH 1), prehistoric eras (ANTH 2 and ANTH 3), and historical periods (ANTH 3).

Students who intend to major or minor in anthropological archaeology are advised to take ANTH 3.

Students who intend to major or minor in
biological anthropology must take ANTH 2 (or the equivalent), which is prerequisite for most upper-division biological anthropology courses.

ANTH 23, which may not be offered every year, satisfies the campuswide requirement for a course in American Cultures.

Students who have already completed ANTH 103 (or the older sequence ANPR 105, 106, and 107) may not receive academic credit for ANTH 1.

Other lower-division courses are offered from time to time and will vary from year to year.

Upper-Division

The Department of Anthropology offers many general interest and specialized courses at the upper-division level. In addition to satisfying the requirements of the anthropology major, many of these may satisfy the requirements of other majors.

The Minor

Students may choose a minor in anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology, or sociocultural anthropology. Each consists of seven anthropology courses. At least five of these courses must be upper-division, and at least four should be taken at UCSD. Transfer credits from other anthropology departments are usually accepted. Education Abroad Program credits are acceptable at the discretion of the undergraduate advisor.

The Major

To receive a B.A. degree with a major in anthropology, the student must meet the requirements of Revelle, John Muir, Thurgood Marshall, Earl Warren, Eleanor Roosevelt College, or Sixth College. Additionally,the student must meet the following requirements of the Department of Anthropology:

  1. A minimum of twelve four-unit upper-division courses in the Department of Anthropology must be completed.
  2. The undergraduate core ANTH 101, 102, and 103 (or the now defunct sequence ANPR 105, 106, and 107) must be completed (included as three of the twelve courses required under No. 1, above). All or some of the courses in this sequence are prerequisites for some other upper-division courses. This sequence consists of:
    101 Foundations of Social Complexity
    102 Humans Are Cultural Animals
    103 Sociocultural Anthropology
  3. No courses taken in fulfillment of the above requirements may be taken on a Pass/Not Pass (P/NP) basis. [An exception is made for some courses accepted from other schools and for one independent study course (199), or one directed group study course (198), and a combination of one internship seminar (ANBI 187A, C or ANTH 187B) with the corresponding academic internship project (AIP 197). However, this exception does not extend to ANTH 101, 102, or 103, or to transfer credits accepted in lieu of them. These must be taken for a letter grade.]
  4. For the B.A. degree, a minimum average of 2.0 is required, both as an overall average in all anthropology courses and in the ANTH 101, 102, and 103 sequence (or the defunct ANPR 105, 106, and 107 sequence) considered separately.
  5. At least seven of the upper-division courses submitted for the major must be taken at the University of California, San Diego. The seven normally must include ANTH 101, 102, and 103 (or the older sequence ANPR 105, 106, and 107). A transfer course may be accepted in lieu of one of these core courses, if, in the opinion of the director of Undergraduate Studies, the content is substantially the same. In no case will transfer credit be accepted in lieu of more than one of these courses.
  6. All undergraduate majors in anthropology must satisfy the requirements of at least one of the three concentrations—anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology—described below.

The Major in Anthropology with Concentration in Archaeology

The department offers a B.A. degree in anthropology with concentration in archaeology. A minimum of at least twelve upper-division courses in anthropology are required. Specifically, this degree requires:

  1. The Anthropology Core Sequence: ANTH 101, 102 and 103. (or the now defunct ANPR 105, 106, and 107 sequence).
  2. The Archaeology Concentration Requirement: ANAR 111 (previously ANGN 181)
  3. Three additional four-unit upper-division courses with the prefix ANAR
  4. Five additional four-unit, upper-division elective courses within the Department of Anthropology

Some students may elect to take field school courses such as ANAR 194 or study abroad courses in archaeology that are more than four units. In these cases, the total number of units for such courses will be applied to the satisfaction of archaeology requirements 3 and 4. For example, a twelve-unit field school course with the ANAR prefix may be used to satisfy requirement 3 or to partially satisfy requirement 4.

Students majoring in anthropological archaeology are encouraged to take the field school ANAR 194.

The Major in Anthropology with Concentration in Biological Anthropology

The department offers a B.A. degree in anthropology with concentration in biological anthropology. A minimum of at least twelve upper-division courses within and beyond anthropology are required. Specifically, this degree requires:

  1. The Anthropology Core Sequence: ANTH 101, 102, 103 (or the now defunct ANPR 105, 106, and 107 sequence).
  2. The Biological Anthropology Concentration Requirement: ANBI 111

  3. Three additional four-unit upper-division courses with the prefix ANBI
  4. Five additional four-unit, upper-division elective courses. At least one of these five electives must be taken from an approved list of biology courses. This list is available from the undergraduate coordinator in the Department of Anthropology. Each of the remaining four electives is to be drawn from that list or must be an upper-division anthropology course.

The Major in Anthropology with Concentration in Sociocultural Anthropology

The department offers a B.A. degree in anthropology with concentration in sociocultural anthropology. A minimum of at least twelve upper-division courses in anthropology are required. Specifically, this degree requires:

  1. The Anthropology Core Sequence:
    ANTH 101, 102, 103 (or the now defunct ANPR 105, 106, and 107 sequence).
  2. The Sociocultural Concentration Requirement:
    Any three of the following six courses:
    ANSC 120 Anthropology of Religion (previously ANGN 120)
    ANSC 121 Psychological Anthropology (previously ANPR 107)
    ANSC 122 Language in Society (previously ANGN 149)
    ANSC 123 Political Anthropology (previously ANGN 151)
    ANSC 124 Cultural Anthropology (previously ANPR 106)
    ANSC 125 Gender, Sexuality, and Society (previously ANGN 125)
  3. One additional ANSC course focusing on a particular region, country, or religion (e.g., Indigenous Peoples of Latin America; Modernity in Brazil; Global Islam).
  4. Five additional four-unit upper-division elective courses within the Department of Anthropology.

Senior Thesis Program

The senior thesis is prepared during two successive quarters of ANTH196, senior thesis research, and is counted as two of the twelve upper-division courses required for a major. Students are admitted to the program by invitation of the faculty. Under normal circumstances, eligibility for the program requires the student (1) to have completed eight upper-division courses, including the core sequence, and (2) to have achieved grade point averages of at least 3.6 both overall and in the anthropology major by the end of the junior year. Some of these requirements may be waived by vote of the faculty. During the first quarter of the program (fall quarter), students select their research topic and write a preliminary paper. Those who receive a B+ or better will be invited to continue in the program and complete a thesis on the chosen topic by the end of the winter quarter. The thesis will be evaluated by a committee consisting of the thesis advisor and one other faculty member appointed by the department chair in consultation with the thesis coordinator. The thesis advisor has the sole responsibility for the grade the student receives in the winter quarter. The reading committee advises the faculty on the merit of the thesis for departmental honors. A senior thesis is required in order to be considered for department honors at commencement.

Students who wish to be considered for the Senior Thesis Program should notify the department’s undergraduate advisor by the second week of the spring quarter prior to the senior year.

Internship Program

The department sponsors an internship program that allows students to gain academic credit for supervised work in the Museum of Man, the San Diego Zoo, or the Wild Animal Park. The three tracks of the program allow internship experience in (1) biological anthropology, (2) ethnology and archaeology at the museum, or (3) primate behavior and conservation at the Zoo or Wild Animal Park. A combination of on-campus and on-site supervision makes these courses intellectually provocative but practical and applied. They are an especially valuable complement to a major or minor in anthropology. One four-unit internship (AIP 197) taken with the corresponding two-unit internship seminar (ANBI 187A, C and ANTH 187B) can be counted as one of the twelve upper-division courses for the anthropology major or minor. Applications to these programs are accepted during the first seven weeks of the quarter before the one in which the internship is to be done.

Academic Enrichment Programs

Faculty Mentor Program

The program offers research experience to any junior or senior with a GPA of 2.7 or higher who wants to prepare for graduate or professional school. Participants work as research assistants to UCSD faculty members during the winter and spring quarters. Students present their research papers at the Faculty Mentor Research Symposium at the conclusion of the program in the spring.

Summer Research Program

The program offers full-time research experience to underrepresented (i.e., minorities, women, and low-income, first-generation college) students who are interested in preparing for careers in research or university teaching. Juniors and seniors who have a 3.0 GPA or above and plan to attend graduate or professional school are eligible to participate.

Education Abroad Program

One of the best ways to understand the concept of “culture” is to live in a different culture for a time. Anthropology majors are encouraged to participate in the UC Education Program (EAP) or UCSD’s Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP). Students considering this option should discuss their plans with the faculty undergraduate advisor before going abroad, and courses taken abroad must be approved for credit to the major by the advisor upon return. More information on EAP and OAP is provided under the Education Abroad Program in the UCSD General Catalog. Interested students should contact the EAP staff in the International Center.

The Graduate Program

The Department of Anthropology offers graduate training in sociocultural (including psychological and linguistic) anthropology, anthropological archaeology, and biological anthropology. The graduate program is designed to provide the theoretical background and the methodological skills necessary for a career in research and teaching anthropology at the university level, and for the application of anthropological knowledge to contemporary problems. It is assumed that all students enter with the goal of proceeding to the doctoral degree.

Admission to the graduate program occurs in the fall quarter only.

Any decision to waive a requirement for either the master's degree or the Ph.D. must be made by a majority of the faculty.

Graduate Advising

One member of the departmental faculty functions as the graduate advisor and is referred to as the director of graduate studies. The role of graduate advisor is to inform students about the graduate program, approve individual registration forms, and give assistance with respect to administrative matters.

First-Year Mentors

Each first-year student is assigned a faculty mentor in the student’s subdiscipline. Students are encouraged to meet regularly with their mentors for course planning and guidance in meeting specific requirements and recommendations for their subdiscipline.

After completion of the requirements for the master’s degree, the chair of the student’s doctoral committee serves as the student's major advisor.

Evaluation

In the spring of each year, the faculty evaluate each student’s overall performance in course work, apprentice teaching, and research progress. A written assessment is given to the student after the evaluation. If a student’s work is found to be inadequate, the faculty may determine that the student should not continue in the graduate program.

The Master of Arts Degree

Students entering the doctoral program must complete a master’s degree before continuing toward the doctorate. Entering students who already have a master’s degree in anthropology are not permitted by university regulations to receive a second social science or related-field master’s degree, but are required by the department to complete the requirements for the master’s degree. Rare exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis by the consent of the majority of the faculty and approval of the Office of Graduate Studies.

Requirements for Master’s Degree

Required Courses:

230

Departmental Colloquium (4 quarters, 1 unit each)

281A-B

Introductory Seminars (1 unit each)

295

Master’s Thesis Preparation (1–12 units)

Four core courses, as specified in the following sections.

Core Course Offerings

Six core courses are offered in the graduate program in anthropology:

ANTH 280A. Core Seminar in Social Anthropology (4 units)
ANTH 280B. Core Seminar in Cultural Anthropology (4 units)
ANTH 280C. Core Seminar in Psychological Anthropology (4 units)
ANTH 280D. Core Seminar in Anthropological Archaeology (4 units)
ANTH 280E. Core Seminar in Biological Anthropology (4 units)
ANTH 263. The Anthropology of Language and Discourse (4 units)

(Note: Although not in the 280 series, ANTH 263 is a core seminar. It is also open to graduate students from other departments, with instructor’s permission. It may be offered in alternate years.)

ANTH 280A, 280B, 280C, and 263 are all core courses within the Sociocultural track. ANTH 280D and 280E are core courses in, respectively, the anthropological archaeology and biological anthropology tracks.

All students must take at least four of these six core courses by the end of their second year in the program (and preferably during the first year) as a requirement for receiving the master’s degree or for equivalent advancement in the program. The subfields specify particular choices among these core offerings for the students admitted to their respective tracks, as detailed below. The department strongly encourages all students in all subfields to take additional core courses as elective seminars to complete their program.

Anthropological Archaeology core
requirements:

280D (Anthropological Archaeology); and
280E (Biological Anthropology); and
Two of the remaining four core courses in anthropology, selected in consultation with the student’s assigned mentor.

Biological Anthropology core requirements:

280E (Biological Anthropology); and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology); and
Two of the remaining four core courses in anthropology, selected in consultation with the student’s assigned mentor.

Sociocultural Anthropology, Psychological Anthropology, and Linguistic Anthropology

All students in sociocultural anthropology and its allied fields of psychological and linguistic anthropology will take at least four core courses, selected as follows and with the consent of the individual student’s faculty mentor. Students identifying two or more areas of concentration must satisfy the requirements of each of these areas.

Core requirements for students in the General Sociocultural track:

280A (Social Anthropology); and
280B (Cultural Anthropology); and
280C (Psychological Anthropology) or 263 (The Anthropology of Language and Discourse); and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology) or 280E (Biological Anthropology).

Core requirements for students in the Psychological Anthropology track:

280C (Psychological Anthropology); and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology) or 280E (Biological Anthropology); and
Two of the following:
280A (Social Anthropology),
280B (Cultural Anthropology),
263 (Anthropology of Language and Discourse).

Core requirements for students in the Linguistic Anthropology track:

263 (Anthropology of Language and Discourse); and
280D (Anthropological Archaeology) or 280E (Biological Anthropology); and
Two of the following:
280A (Social Anthropology),
280B (Cultural Anthropology),
280C (Psychological Anthropology).

Master’s Thesis

Students must complete a master's thesis or master's thesis equivalency project of a length, format, and scope to be approved by the student's M.A. committee and the director of graduate studies. The M.A. thesis must be at least 8,000 words in length and generally should not exceed 10,000 words. Students must have completed three quarters of coursework in order to begin writing a master's thesis. By the end of the spring quarter of the student's first year, he or she will form a master's committee in consultation with the director of graduate studies and first year faculty mentor.

Students will submit a draft of the master's thesis or master’s thesis equivalency project by the first day of winter quarter of their second year. Students may revise the master’s thesis or master’s thesis equivalency project in the winter quarter. Students will register for four credit hours of ANTH 295 (Master’s thesis preparation) in the fall quarter of their second year. Upon consultation with the M.A. committee and director of graduate studies, an additional four credits of ANTH 295 may be taken in winter for revisions. Successful completion of the master's thesis or master’s thesis equivalency will determine whether an M.A. degree is awarded, where applicable, and weigh significantly in second-year student evaluations.

Elective Courses

Four elective, letter-grade courses are required. These courses can be undergraduate or graduate seminars. At least two of these elective courses must be within the anthropology department. Other electives may be taken outside of the department with the approval of the department chair or the graduate advisor.

The Doctoral Degree

Continuation in the doctoral program is granted to students who have satisfactorily completed the master’s program and who have completed courses and the master’s thesis at a level of excellence that indicates promise of professional achievement in anthropology.

Requirements for Doctoral Degree

1. Required Courses
In order to achieve candidacy, students must complete two additional letter-grade electives beyond the four required for the master’s.

2. Research Methods
Students are required to develop a plan for their training in research methods and present it to the anthropology department faculty on their proposed dissertation committee in the spring quarter of their second year.

3. Apprentice Teaching
In order to acquire teaching experience, each student is required to serve as a teaching assistant for at least one quarter anytime during the first four years of residency. This experience may take place either in our department or in any teaching program on campus. The relevant course in the anthropology department is ANTH 500: Apprentice Teaching, taken for four units and S/U grade. Upon petition, this requirement may be waived by the anthropology faculty.

4. Foreign Language
Unless a student is planning on fieldwork in English-speaking areas, knowledge of one or more foreign languages may be essential for the successful completion of a Ph.D. in anthropology at UCSD. Students will determine specific language requirements for their degree in consultation with the faculty and their doctoral committee.

5. Formation of the Doctoral Committee
All students must choose the chair of their doctoral committee by the end of their second year. They must choose two more internal members of the doctoral committee by the end of the fall quarter of their third year. In consultation with the chair of the doctoral committee, two faculty members from outside the department (one of whom must be tenured) should be added to the committee by the end of the winter quarter of the third year.

Anthropologists in other departments who are identified by the faculty may serve as either inside members or outside members of the committee. However, there must be at least two inside members from within the department, and only one outside member may be an anthropologist. The final composition of the committee is approved by the Office of Graduate Studies.

The chair of the doctoral committee serves as the student’s advisor for the remainder of the student’s program.

6. The Fieldwork Proposal
Advancement to candidacy will be based on the submission of two to three position papers and a research proposal. The position papers are intended as a way for students to demonstrate competence in particular areas of theory, methods, and/or regional studies that are significant to the dissertation research project. The number of the position papers and the specific topics they address are to be formulated in consultation with the student’s committee chair and, as appropriate, with other members of the student’s dissertation committee. It is expected that the position papers will amount to some fifty to sixty pages and that the research proposal will be in the twenty- to thirty-page range. Students should enroll in directed reading courses (ANTH 298) during the quarters in which they are writing the position papers. Additionally, students should also enroll in ANTH 296 during the quarters in which they are writing their dissertation research proposal. A maximum of three quarters is allowed for the preparation of both the position papers and proposal. The position papers, research proposal, and oral examination for advancement to candidacy must be completed no later than the end of the spring quarter of the student’s fourth year.

7. Advancement to Candidacy
Advancement to doctoral candidacy must take place no later than the end of the spring quarter of the fourth year. This requires the successful completion of all course work requirements, the position papers, the dissertation research proposal, and an oral qualifying examination administered by the student’s committee. The proposal and position papers must be turned into the student’s committee at least three weeks prior to the examination.

Upon petition, students may advance to candidacy as early as the spring quarter of the third year, if all candidacy requirements noted earlier have been satisfied by that time. This requires the agreement of the graduate advisor, the student’s dissertation advisor, and other members of his or her committee.

Successful completion of this examination marks the student’s advancement to doctoral candidacy. These exams will be open to the extent that university regulations allow.

8. Dissertation and Dissertation Defense
Upon completion of the dissertation research project, the student writes a dissertation that must be successfully defended in an oral examination conducted by the doctoral committee and open to the public. This examination may not be conducted earlier than three quarters after the date of advancement to doctoral candidacy. A full copy of the student’s dissertation must be in the hands of each of the student’s doctoral committee members four weeks before the dissertation hearing. An abstract of the student’s dissertation must be in the hands of all faculty members ten days before the dissertation defense. It is understood that the edition of the dissertation given to committee members will not be the final form, and that the committee members may suggest changes in the text at the defense. Revisions may be indicated, requiring this examination to be taken more than once. Acceptance of the dissertation by the university librarian represents the final step in completion of all requirements for the Ph.D.

9. Time Limits
Precandidacy status is limited to four years. Candidates for the doctorate remain eligible for university support for eight years. Instructional support (teaching assistantships, readerships, and tutors) is limited to six years (eighteen quarters). The doctoral dissertation must be submitted and defended within nine years. This is in accordance with university policy. Normative time, which is the expected time to complete all requirements for the Ph.D., is six years for anthropology students.

10. Additional Requirements for the Ph.D. in Anthropological Archaeology

Prior to receiving the Ph.D., anthropological archaeology students must complete a minimum total of fifty-six units (the equivalent of fourteen four-unit courses) of formal classroom/seminar courses. Students must choose all courses in consultation with their faculty advisor, who will be assigned during the first quarter. Archaeology students must take at least two sociocultural areal or topical courses (upper-division or graduate) OR two advisor-approved courses in other social science or humanities departments that are relevant to their regional or theoretical focus of study. Each archaeology student must take at least one 200-level course focusing on cultures of the Old World and one 200-level course focusing on cultures of the New World. Students of anthropological archaeology are required to take at least one course in a modern or ancient language, or at least one course in linguistics. If offered, students must take ANTH 286 (Topics in Anthropological Archaeology). Anthropological archaeology students are required to take at least one course in quantitative methods (statistics or GIS). Because archaeology is closely allied to various earth and biological sciences, students are required to take at least one course in either of these fields that is relevant to their interests. Finally, graduate students in anthropological archaeology are expected to seek and obtain archaeology field and laboratory training. This requirement may be fulfilled by working with the anthropological archaeology track faculty in the Department of Anthropology or with archaeologists at other institutions.

Introduction to Required Core Courses

ANTH 280A. Core Seminar in Social Anthropology. Core seminar focuses on individual action and social institutions.

ANTH 280B. Core Seminar in Cultural Anthropology. Core seminar focuses on personal consciousness and cultural experience.

ANTH 280C. Core Seminar in Psychological Anthropology. Core seminar focuses on motives, values, cognition, and qualities of personal experience.

ANTH 280D. Core Seminar in Anthropological Archaeology. Integral part of the training for graduate students focusing on anthropological archaeology. It is one of a set of core anthropology courses available to graduate students; required of anthropological archaeology students but open for students in other sub-fields.

ANTH 280E. Core Seminar in Biological Anthropology. This seminar will examine the central problems and concepts of biological anthropology, laying the foundation for first-year graduate students in biological anthropology as well as providing an overview of the field for graduate students in other areas of anthropology.

ANTH 281A-B. Introductory Seminars. These seminars are held in the first two quarters of the first year of graduate study. Faculty members will present an account of their current research and interests. When appropriate, a short preliminary reading list will be given for the particular lecture.

ANTH 263. Anthropology of Language and Discourse. Examines the theoretical and methodological foundations and principal research questions of linguistic anthropology, providing the fundamentals for graduate study in this area. Required for students specializing in linguistic anthropology, and open to other students. Prerequisite: graduate standing in anthropology or consent of instructor.

NOTE: Not all anthropology courses are offered every year. Please check the quarterly UCSD Schedule of Classes issued each fall, winter, and spring, for specific courses.

The Melanesian Studies Resource Center and Archive

These facilities embody the substantial interests in the Pacific Basin that are represented on the UCSD campus and the special prominence of the UCSD Department of Anthropology in the study of cultures and societies of Oceania and especially of Melanesia. In cooperation with the UCSD libraries, the Melanesian Studies Resource Center and Archive has two major projects. First, there is an ongoing effort to sustain a library collection of monographs, dissertations, government documents, and journals on Melanesia that make UCSD the premier center for such materials in the United States. Second, there is an endeavor to collect the extremely valuable unpublished literature on Melanesia, to catalog such materials systematically, to produce topical bibliographies on these holdings, and to provide microfiche copies of archival papers to interested scholars and to the academic institutions of Melanesia. This innovative archival project is intended to be a model for establishing special collections on the traditional life of tribal peoples as dramatic social change overtakes them. In the near future, anthropological research on tribal peoples will take place largely in archives of this kind. These complementary collections will support a variety of research and teaching activities and are already attracting students of Melanesia to this campus.

The Melanesian Studies Resource Center and Archive are directed by members of the Depart-ment of Anthropology faculty, in collaboration with Geisel Library.

The Archaeological Research Laboratory

Archaeology laboratories were established at UCSD in 1995. The present facilities are geared to the study of lithics, ceramics, biological remains, and other small finds retrieved on faculty expeditions in the old and new worlds, including Belize, Israel, Jordan, and Peru. Multimedia research, AutoCAD, and other computer based studies are carried out in the lab. Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to participate in lab studies.

The Biological Anthropology Laboratory

The biological anthropology laboratories have twin missions in teaching research. They house collections of modern skeletal material and fossil hominid casts used for teaching both at the lab and in local outreach presentations. The primary research focus involves a large collection of histological sections and computerized images of living and postmortem human and non-human primate brains that were obtained through magnetic resonance scans. These are reconstructed in 3D using state-of-the-art equipment for comparative analysis and study of the evolution of the human brain. Undergraduate and graduate student involvement in the lab is welcomed.

The Anthropology of Modern Society Faculty Research Group

The Anthropology of Modern Society is a project of graduate training and research dedicated to the critical study of modernity and its counterpoints. The group is concerned with the changing nature of membership in modern society. Its participants focus on issues of citizenship and democracy, social formations in tension with the nation-state, modern subjectivities, social and religious movements, governmental rationalities and public works, transnational markets and migrations, relations of local to global processes within the current realignments of regional, national, and transnational sovereignties, and the social life of cities as making manifest these kinds of concerns. Participants are committed to reorienting anthropological theory and ethnographic practice towards such contemporary social and political problems. Guiding this project is the group’s interest in combining critical theory with a comparative and empirically grounded study of cases to constitute an anthropology of modernity.