Graduate Courses

The Department of Anthropology offers graduate courses in Evolutionary and Sociocultural Anthropology.


2022-2023 Graduate Courses

This information is for reference only. Please note that these courses are subject to change depending on teaching needs. For the most up-to-date listings, please see the Registrar's Office Schedule Builder or Class Search Tool.

  • Fall 2022 Graduate Courses
  • COURSE CRN INSTRUCTOR DAYS TIME ROOM
    ANT 200: History of Anthropology 53243 Caillaud TR 9:00 - 10:20 AM Young 224
    ANT 201: Critical Readings in Ethnography 22218 Elhaik W 3:10 - 6:00 PM Young 224
    ANT 202: History & Theory of Biological Anthropology 22219 Weaver W 9:30 - 12:20 PM Young 210
    ANT 210: Aspects of Culture Structure 22221 Mojaddedi T 2:10 - 5:00 PM Teaching & Learning Complex 3212
    ANT 254: Current Issues in Primate Sociobiology 52971 Isbell W 12:10 - 3:00 PM Young 224
    ANT 270: Anthropology Colloquium Seminar (E-Wing) 22224 Isbell M 4:10 - 5:00 PM Young 210
    ANT 270: Anthropology Colloquium Seminar (S-Wing) 22224 Giordano M 4:10 - 5:00 PM Young 224
  • Winter 2023 Graduate Courses
  • COURSES CRN INSTRUCTOR DAYS TIME ROOM
    ANT 204: Contemporary Issues in Anthropological Theory 45348 Zhang M 10:00 - 12:50 PM Young 224
    ANT 203: History & Theory of Archaeological 45347 Darwent R 10:00 - 12:50 PM Young 224
    ANT 206: Research Design & Method in Social Anthropology 12287 Srinivas T 12:10 - 3:00 PM Young 224
    ANT 210: Aspects of Culture Structure 45345 Dumit W 2:10 - 5:00 PM SocSci 1246
    ANT 210: Aspects of Culture Structure 45349 Giordano W 12:10 - 3:00 PM Young 224
    ANT 270: Anthropology Colloquium Seminar (E-Wing) 12290 Isbell M 4:10 - 5:00 PM Young 210
    ANT 270: Anthropology Colloquium Seminar (S-Wing) 12291 Girdano M 4:10 - 5:00 PM Young 224
  • Spring 2023 Graduate Courses
  • COURSES CRN INSTRUCTOR DAYS TIME ROOM
    ANT 210: Aspects of Culture Structure 32327 Sawyer W 2:10 - 5:00 PM Young 224
    ANT 210: Aspects of Culture Structure 32328 Choy R 3:10 - 6:00 PM Young 224
    ANT 208: Writing & Research Design in Evolutionary Anthropology TBD Henn W 11:00 - 1:50 PM Young 224
    ANT 261: Modeling the evolution of Social Behavior 62529 Moya M 9:00 - 11:50 AM Young 224
    ANT 270: Anthropology Colloquium Seminar (E-Wing) 32331 Isbell M 4:10 - 5:00 PM Young 210
    ANT 270: Anthropology Colloquium Seminar (S-Wing) 32332 Giordano M 4:10 - 5:00 PM Young 224


Course Descriptions

All Anthropology course descriptions are available in the UC Davis General Catalog.

  • Evolutionary Anthropology Course Descriptions

  • ANT 200 - History of Anthropology (4 units)

     

    Course Description: Historical development of socio-cultural theory within anthropology, from mid-19th to mid-20th Centuries. Focus on original theory texts in context of historical developments in the field as a whole. Offered in alternate years.

    Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 2 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 202 - History and Theory of Biological Anthropology (4 units)
     

    Course Description: History of thought in biological anthropology and analysis of major theoretical problems in the field. Suggested for all first-year graduate students lacking intensive preparation in biological anthropology.—Weaver

    Learning Activities: Seminar 2 hour(s); Term Paper.

    Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to graduate students.

    ANT 203 - History and Theory of Archaeology (4 units)
     

    Course Description: History of archaeology and archaeological theory and analysis of archaeological research methodology.—F. (F.) Bettinger

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    Enrollment Restriction(s): Generally restricted to graduate students; outstanding undergraduates with extensive training in archaeology with consent of instructor.

    ANT 216 - Problems in Archeological Method (4 units)


    Course Description: Techniques for analyzing archeological data; application to various prehistoric cultures. May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. —Darwent, Steele

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 217 - Quantitative Modeling in Archaeology (4 units)


    Course Description: Examination of the nature of archaeological data with a focus on the quantitative and statistical techniques available to model, analyze, display, and make sense of such data. Offered irregularly.—Eerkens

    Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 218 - Topics in New World Prehistory (4 units)


    Course Description: Advanced study on current problems in New World Prehistory and archaeology. May be repeated for credit only if material is unique for that student and with consent of instructor. Offered irregularly. May be repeated for credit only if material is unique for that student and with consent of instructor. —Darwent, Eerkens

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 219 - Topics in Old World Prehistory (4 units)


    Course Description: Advanced study on current problems in Old World prehistory and archaeology.  Offered irregularly. May be repeated for credit only if material is unique for that student and with consent of instructor. —Steele, Zwyns

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 250 - Behavioral Ecology of Primates (4 units)


    Course Description: Concepts, issues, and hypotheses in primate behavioral ecology, with emphasis on the social and ecological determinants and consequences of variation in social organization for individuals. Offered in alternate years.—Isbell

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 154A (may be taken concurrently) or the equivalent, graduate standing.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 252 - Human Evolution Seminar (4 units)


    Course Description: Study of selected topics in human evolutionary studies. Each year course will focus on one or more of the following: molecular evolution, primate evolutionary biology, Tertiary hominoids, Australopithecus, Homo erectus, archaic Homo sapiens, brain evolution. May be repeated for credit. —S. (S.) Weaver, Zwyns

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 152 or the equivalent; consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 253 - Seminar in Human Biology (4 units)


    Course Description: Study of selected topics in human biology. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 153, 157, or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 254 - Current Issues in Primate Sociobiology (4 units)


    Course Description: Analysis of primate behavior, with particular emphasis on preparation for field studies. May be repeated for credit when topic differs.—Crofoot, Isbell

    Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite: ANT 154B or the equivalent.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 256 - Primate Conservation Biology (4 units)


    Course Description: Class size limited to 10 students. Application of understanding of primate biology to conservation of primates and their habitat. Topics include evolutionary anthropology, behavioral ecology, biogeography, macroecology, population biology, and socio-ecology of primates. May be repeated one time for credit if term paper differs. (S/U grading only.) Offered irregularly.

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 154, graduate standing or upper division undergraduate with consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 261 - Modeling the Evolution of Social Behavior (4 units)


    Course Description: Tools and topics in modeling the evolution of social behavior in humans and other animals. Game theory, basic population genetics, animal conflict, altruism, reciprocity, signaling, and group selection.

    Prerequisite(s): Mathematics 16C or the equivalent or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Lecture 3 hour(s); Extensive problem solving.

    ANT 262 - Evolution and Human Behavior (4 units)


    Course Description: Exploration of the links between behavioral ecological theory and human cultural variation, focusing on reproduction, marriage, parental investment and family structure; implications of evolutionary theory for social organization in human communities, historical and contemporary. Offered in alternate years.—Borgerhoff, Mulder

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Dicussion 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 263 - Human Applications of Foraging Theory (4 units)


    Course Description: Foraging theory models and their use in ethnographic and archaeological analyses of human behavior, with a focus on hunter-gathers and resource selection, patch use, population and habitat, central places, sharing, stochastic processes, population dynamics, and conservation behavior. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 258. Offered irregularly.

    Learning Activities: Discussion 3 hour(s), Laboratory 3 hour(s).

    ANT 270 - Anthropology Colloquium Seminar (1 unit)


    Course Description: Reports and discussions of recent advances in the four subfields of anthropology. To be presented by guest speakers. May be repeated two times for credit. (S/U grading only.)—F, W, S. (F, W, S.)

    Learning Activities: Seminar 1 hour(s).

    ANT 291 - Advanced Topics in Human Behavioral Ecology (4 units)


    Course Description: Topically focused, critical discussion of current and emerging research in the field of human behavioral ecology, giving special attention to theory, concepts, models, and methods for the evolutionary analysis of ethnographic and archaeological evidence. May be repeated one time for credit if topic differs.

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 261, 262, or 263, or comparable experience in anthropology or related disciplines and consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Discussion 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

  • Sociocultural Anthropology Course Descriptions

  • ANT 201 - Critical Readings in Ethnography (4 units)


    Course Description: Critical readings of selected ethnographies that examine a wide range of important topics and analytical issues in social and cultural anthropology. Emphasis on how and why ethnographic writing has changed over time and its relationship with contemporary theoretical explorations.—F. (F.) Zhang

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate student in Anthropology or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 204 - Contemporary Issues in Anthropological Theory (4 units)


    Course Description: Advanced consideration of fundamental issues in anthropological theory. Emphasis on critical examination of major contemporary debates between proponents of competing theories.

    Prerequisite(s): ANT2; ANT 137; or consent of the instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s).

    ANT 206 - Research Design & Method in Social Anthropology (5 units)

     

    Course Description: Formulation of research problems and preparation of research proposals; relationships between theory and method, funding, pre-fieldwork preparations, entering the community, field research techniques, and problems of ethics; intensive work on proposal writing. May be repeated one time for credit.—S. (S.)

    Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 4 hour(s).

    Enrollment Restriction(s): Limited enrollment.

    ANT 207 - Ethnographic Writing (4 units)


    Course Description: Relationship between conducting participant observation of others and writing it up, emphasizing the processual rift between the reality of fieldwork and its written representation. Study of various literary genres and textual strategies used in cultural anthropology. May be repeated for credit.

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 137, 201, or the equivalent.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 210 - Aspects of Culture Structure (4 units)


    Course Description: Analysis of various phases of culture, such as religion, economics, law, and folklore. May be repeated for credit when topic differs.—F, W, S. (F, W, S.)

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 211 - Advanced Topics in Cultural Ecology (4 units)


    Course Description: Topics of current analytical and methodological importance in cultural ecology. Examination of general issues in cultural ecology through study of human response to and influence on climate. (Same course as Ecology 211.)

    Prerequisite(s): Environmental Science and Policy/Anthropology 133, graduate standing in Anthropology or Ecology.

    Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 212 - Political Ecology (4 units)


    Course Description: Interdisciplinary seminar evaluating contributions from ecological anthropology, political economy, cultural constructivism, postmodernism, and feminism towards development of theories of political ecology. Historical relationships between local/global power structures, environmental degradation, and resistance movements. Case studies of desertification, deforestation, mining, conservation, development.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Lecture/Discussion 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 220 - Field Course in Linguistics (4 units)


    Course Description: Techniques of eliciting, recording, and analyzing; work with a native speaker.

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 310, 311.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 2 hour(s), Laboratory 2 hour(s).

    ANT 221 - Rural Transformation in Postcolonial Societies (4 units)


    Course Description: Problems of rural transformation arising out of political and economic interaction between national elites and rural regional and local populations under varying conditions of induced change in postcolonial societies. Attention will be given to the implications of this interaction for rapid economic growth. May be repeated for credit.

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 223, 265, or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 222 - Cities and Citizenship (4 units)


    Course Description: Explores the nature of modern cities, urban socioeconomic life, and urban culture and politics from an anthropological perspective.—F. (F.) Zhang

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing; consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 223 - Economic Anthropology (4 units)


    Course Description: Selected current methodological and theoretical problems in the analysis of nonindustrial economic systems.

    Prerequisite(s): ANT 122 or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 224 - Problems in Comparative Religion (4 units)


    Course Description: Advanced study of current problems in the anthropological study of religion.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 225 - State and Nation in the Modern World (4 units)


    Course Description: A presentation of current anthropological theories of the origins and nature of the modern nation-state in both the First and Third Worlds, with special reference to state ideology (nationalism) and forms of control.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 226 - Consciousness and Resistance (4 units)


    Course Description: Consideration of approaches to the study of social inequality, and responses of subordinated groups. Emphasis on situating approaches to contemporary social theory, concrete research problems, and political strategies. Topics: formation of consciousness and identity; collective action, accommodation to frontal resistance.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first-year graduate work or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 228 - Culture and Power (4 units)


    Course Description: Exploration of one of the core paradigms within contemporary anthropological inquiry, "culture and power." Focus on how distinct theoretical perspectives—Marxism, post-Marxism, structuralism, post-structuralism, and feminism—have examined the mutually constitutive nature of culture and power.—W. (W.) Sawyer

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing or consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s), extensive writing.

    ANT 229 - Gender, Identity, and Self (4 units)


    Course Description: Intersections of gender, identity, and selfhood cross-culturally and historically. How the self is feminized and masculinized, and interfaces with sexual, race, class, work, national, minority, and majority identities under different historical, cultural, and social structural conditions. May be repeated for credit when topic differs.—W. (W.) Joseph

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hour(s); Term Paper.

    ANT 230 - Family Systems and Reproduction: Theory and Comparisons (4 units)


    Course Description: Comparative examination of family systems in historical context and of reproductive behaviors and strategizing. A major theme is how family-system norms specify the relative desirability of differently configured offspring sets. Cases are drawn from Western Europe and South and East Asia.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing in one of the social sciences including History.

    Learning Activities: Lecture 1.5 hour, Seminar 1.5 hour; Term Paper.

    ANT 232 - Political Movements (4 units)


    Course Description: An interdisciplinary approach to political movements of protest, reform, and revolution emphasizing historical comparison and evaluation of major theoretical approaches including world systems, resource mobilization, state and culture, rational choice, moral economy, social class and gender.

    Prerequisite(s): Completion of first-year graduate work recommended.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Term Paper.

    ANT 239 - Problems in African Society and Culture (4 units)


    Course Description:  Diachronic analyses of traditional institutions in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Term Paper.

    ANT 241 - Topics in North American Ethnology (4 units)


    Course Description: Advanced study on current problems in North American ethnography and culture history. May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Term Paper.

    ANT 245 - Ethnology of Northern and Central Asia (4 units)


    Course Description: Lectures on the culture aboriginally found north of the Caucasus-Korea line. Supervised study of the primary and secondary sources. Work with informants when available.

    Prerequisite(s): A reading knowledge of German, Russian, Chinese, or Japanese.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Term Paper.

    ANT 246 - Ethnology of Europe (4 units)


    Course Description: Supervised study of the primary and secondary sources dealing with the ethnography and ethnology of the peoples of Europe. Emphasis upon folk, peasant, and minority groups.

    Prerequisite(s): A reading knowledge of a European language other than English.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Term Paper.

    ANT 248 - Topics in Chinese Culture and Society (4 units)


    Course Description: Selected topics in the anthropology of Chinese society. Focus on one or more of the following topics: state-society dynamics, family and gender, city formation and urban life, social movement, labor politics, and religion and ideology in Chinese society. May be repeated for credit when topic differs.

    Prerequisite(s):  Graduate standing in the social sciences, history, or the humanities.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Term Paper.

    ANT 265 - Language, Performance, and Power (4 units)


    Course Description: Exploration of the intersection between linguistic and social theories in the language-state relation and the performance of identity. Ideological sources of language differentiation; nation-building and linguistic difference. Political economic, sociolinguistic, and ethnographic approaches to understanding linguistic inequality. (Same course as Linguistics 265.) Offered in alternate years.—Shibamoto-Smith

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Term Paper.

    Enrollment Restriction(s): Restricted to graduate standing or consent of instructor.

    ANT 270 - Anthropology Colloquium Seminar (1 unit)


    Course Description: Reports and discussions of recent advances in the four subfields of anthropology. To be presented by guest speakers. May be repeated two times for credit. (S/U grading only.)—F, W, S. (F, W, S.)

    Learning Activities: Seminar 1 hour.

    ANT 292 - Seminar in Linguistic Anthropology (4 units)


    Course Description: Selected topics in linguistic anthropology. May be repeated for credit when topic differs.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Term Paper.

  • Research and Teaching Courses

  • ANT 298 - Group Study (1-5 units)

     

    Course Description: Group study. (S/U grading only.)

    ANT 299 - Research (1-12 units)


    Course Description: Research. (S/U grading only.)

    ANT 299D - Dissertation Research (1-12 units)


    Course Description: Dissertation research. Professional. (S/U grading only.)

    ANT 390 - Teaching Anthropology (4 units)


    Course Description: Intellectual and practical elements of college teaching in the field of Anthropology, from curriculum design and the syllabus through grading and course evaluations, including classroom and information technology methods, and problems and rewards of teaching in higher education. Offered in alternate years.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing in Anthropology or closely related discipline.

    Learning Activities: Seminar 3 hours; Practice 1 hour.

    ANT 396 - Teaching Assistant Training Practicum (1-4 units)

    Course Description: Teaching assistant training practicum. May be repeated for credit. (S/U grading only.)—F, W, S.

    Prerequisite(s): Graduate standing.