2012-13 Catalog

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Anthropology [clear]


Title   Offering Standing Credits Credits When F W S Su Description Preparatory Faculty Days Multiple Standings Start Quarters Open Quarters
Adaptation: Evolutionary Patterns in Biological Space-Time
Bret Weinstein
  Program SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter Bret Weinstein Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter
America Abroad
Stacey Davis, Samuel Schrager and Eric Stein
  Program SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter S 13Spring . -Ralph Ellison To educated Europeans around 1800 the new republic called The United States of America was founded on an incredible idea drawn from 18th century Enlightenment discourse: that human beings could govern themselves. The fraught implications of this democratic ideal have played out ever since. They loom large in the promise of a new start that drew 35,000,000 immigrants between the 1840s and the close of unrestricted immigration in the 1920s, and millions more who have continued to come; in the institutions that supported 19th century slavery, 20th century Jim Crow segregation, and subsequent Civil Rights movements; in the aspirations, past and present, of women and other lower-status groups. The meanings of American democracy, contested at home, have also been much scrutinized abroad. While American power has often been feared or resisted, other peoples often invoke or adapt democratic ideals to serve their own needs.This program will explore these complex relationships between the world-in-America and America-in-the-world. How, we will ask, are our identities as Americans shaped by ethnic, religious, gendered, class and place-based experiences--for example, by the cultural hybridizations and the real (and imagined) ties to home cultures endemic in American society? How do diverse Americans wrestle with democratic values in their ordinary lives? We will also consider some of the contemporary manifestations of American presence and power in various locations abroad. Using an anthropological lens, we will reflect on people's often ambivalent readings of tourists and soldiers, American aid organizations and NGOs, Hollywood mediascapes, and American commodities. How, we will ask, ought we to understand American representations of foreign "others" in travel writing, cinema, or museum display, and how have Americans themselves been represented as "others" in relationship to the larger world?Our program will provide strong contexts for students to study and work closely with faculty in the fields of history, anthropology, folklore, literature and creative non-fiction. In the fall and the first half of winter we will focus on in-depth readings of texts and training in the crafts of ethnography, writing and academic research in preparation for major independent research and senior theses. Students will undertake these projects on a topic of their choice, from mid-winter to mid-spring, either in the U.S. or abroad, in ongoing dialogue with peers and faculty. In the last half of spring the program will reconvene to review students' written work in light of the leading issues of our inquiry. There will be three main kinds of research projects.  can be conducted locally, or elsewhere, on topics involving cultures, identities, community or place; they will have an emphasis on creative non-fiction writing, and optional opportunity for internships.  can explore a historical, art historical, literary, or sociological topic, using primary or secondary resources.  will combine service learning with research on an aspect of American culture or on values and practices in another society. Service opportunities include include health, education, youth, agriculture, community development, women's empowerment and human rights. Thailand will be a featured destination, with faculty providing language training and in-country instruction and support.  While students can choose any location with faculty approval, there will be additional opportunities for students in Guatemala and Western Europe. Stacey Davis Samuel Schrager Eric Stein Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter
Critical Ethnography: Eyes in a Transnational World
Rita Pougiales
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 8 08 Day Su 13Summer Session I The processes of economic and political globalization reshape and undermine the lives of people and communities throughout the world. Some anthropologists have turned their attention to the effects of globalization on traditional and modern cultures, attempting to bring to light the full complexities and consequences of these transnational practices. For example, Joao Biehl develops an argument linking global economic activity in Brazil to what he calls the development of "zones of social abandonment" in most urban settings. Anthropologists conduct their studies through critical ethnographic research, gathering data, over long periods of time, as both "participant" and "observer" of those they are studying. Doing ethnographic research is simultaneously analytical and deeply embodied. This program includes an examination of and application of ethnographic research methods and methodologies, a study of varied theoretical frameworks used by anthropologists today to interpret and find meaning in data, and an opportunity to conduct an ethnographic project of interest. Students will read and explore a range of ethnographic studies that reveal what an anthropologist—whom Ruth Behar calls a "vulnerable observer"—can uncover about the lives of people today, and advocate on their behalf. Rita Pougiales Tue Thu Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Summer Summer
Dead People and their Stuff: Introduction to Archaeology
Ulrike Krotscheck
  Program FR–SOFreshmen - Sophomore 16 16 Day S 13Spring This program examines the material remains of past civilizations, including architecture, art, mortuary remains, and written sources. Our investigation takes us, virtually, to every corner of the globe and to many different periods in history, from the Mediterranean to Easter Island, and from the Neolithic Middle East to Colonial America. Primarily, we explore how the remains of past civilizations provide archaeologists and historians with clues that unlock the secrets of ancient societies. Students will gain a broad understanding of global prehistory and history, the rise and fall of civilizations, and human impact on the environment throughout history. We will examine how humans lived (the development of urbanism), how they organized their societies (experiments in politics), what they ate (hunter-gatherer to agriculture), how they worshiped (religion and myth), how they treated others (warfare and sacrifice), and how they explained the inexplicables of human existence (such as the afterlife).In addition, we will learn about the history of archaeological investigation and discuss archaeological methods and fieldwork techniques. These include different types of site formation processes (wet sites, dry sites, cold sites) as well as different excavation techniques, such as the differences between terrestrial and underwater archaeology. We will discuss how archaeologists and historians "date" the remains that they find using both "relative" and "absolute" dating techniques. Students will learn about the scientific methods used to find out detailed information about ancient peoples, such as what their diet was or how they dealt with injury and disease. Finally, we'll discuss the meaning of archaeology and the presentation of the past to different modern populations around the world. Students will have the opportunity to participate weekly in the work of a local archaeological lab and survey project.  We may also take an overnight field trip to the Makah Cultural Museum on the Olympic Peninsula, is schedule allows.  In addition, we will research archaeological sites around the globe using digital resources and we will learn to write site reports and draft archaeological artifacts and site plans. A research paper tailored to each student's specific interest will be the capstone of this program at the end of the quarter. This program assumes no prior knowledge of archaeology, and will be of interest to any student wishing to learn more about the ancient world, history, or who is interested in pursuing archaeological fieldwork in the future. humanities, social science, history, archaeology, and sociology. Ulrike Krotscheck Mon Wed Thu Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Spring Spring
Gender and Power in Cross-Cultural Context
Toska Olson
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring Around the world, people's sex, gender and bodies have been socially constructed in ways that have had profound impacts on power and interpersonal dynamics. This program is a sociological and anthropological exploration of gender, masculinity, femininity and power. We will examine questions such as: How do expectations of masculine and feminine behavior manifest themselves worldwide in social institutions like work, families, schools and the media? How do social theorists explain the current state of gender stratification? How does gender intersect with issues of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and social class identity? One major component of our inquiry will be an investigation of how people move, adorn and utilize their bodies to shape and reflect gender and sexuality. We will examine topics such as prostitution, body modification, standards of beauty and reproduction.We will study cross-cultural variation in gendered experiences and opportunities within several different social institutions. Lectures, sociological fieldwork exercises, and seminar readings will provide students with common knowledge about gender theory and gendered experiences in the United States and elsewhere. Students' collaborative research presentations will provide the class with information about gender in cultures other than their own.This program involves extensive student-initiated research and puts a heavy emphasis on public speaking and advanced group work. Students will learn how to conduct cross-cultural library research on gender, and will produce a research paper that represents a culmination of their best college writing and thinking abilities. Students are invited to register for this program if they are excited about working closely in a small group and conducting a large-scale independent research project. Students should be prepared to spend at least 20 hours per week in the library conducting research for these projects.Credit may be awarded in areas such as sociology of sex, gender, and bodies; cultural studies; anthropology of sex, gender, and bodies; student-originated studies; and collaborative research and presentation. Toska Olson Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring
Individual Study: East-West Psychology
Ryo Imamura
Signature Required: Spring 
  Contract SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring This is an opportunity for sophomore, junior and senior students to create their own course of study and research, including internship, community service, and study abroad options. Before the beginning of spring quarter, interested students should submit an Individual Learning or Internship Contract to Ryo Imamura, which clearly states the work to be completed. Possible areas of study are Western psychology, Asian psychology, Buddhism, counseling, social work, cross-cultural studies, Asian-American studies, religious studies, nonprofit organizations, aging, death and dying, deep ecology and peace studies. Areas of study other than those listed above will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Ryo Imamura Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring
Individual Study: Ethnographic Research and Writing
Samuel Schrager
  Contract JR–SRJunior - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring Students can undertake individual study contracts in ethnographic fieldwork and writing. The research can include interviewing and participant-observation in a community, place, organization, group, or culture. The writing, based on the research, can take the form of creative non-fiction or ethnography. The project can be carried out locally, elsewhere in the U.S., or as part of study abroad, and can also be done in conjunction with an internship. Fields of study supported by this contract include anthropology, sociology, folklore, history, education, American studies, community studies, cultural studies, gender studies, religious studies, journalism, and non-fiction writing. Senior thesis work welcome.     the humanities, social sciences, community work, education, and writing Samuel Schrager Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring
Individual Study: Queer Studies, Performance
Walter Grodzik
Signature Required: Fall 
  Contract SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall Individual study offers individual and groups of students the opportunity to develop self-direction, to learn how to manage a personal project, to focus on unique combinations of subjects, and to pursue original interdisciplinary projects without the constraints of an external structure. Individual and groups of students interested in a self-directed project, research or internships in Queer Studies or the Performing and Visual Arts should contact the faculty by email at Walter Grodzik Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall
The Making of Global Capitalism, 1500-1914
Jeanne Hahn
  Program JR–SRJunior - Senior 16 16 Day W 13Winter Working together in a seminar format, students and faculty will establish an historical, theoretical and analytical understanding of the birth of capitalism in the crisis of 16th century European feudalism, its rise and consolidation in the late 18th and 19th centuries, the development of the global political economy, and its first structural crisis accompanied by a major burst of imperial expansion in the late 19th century. We will find this is a topic steeped in controversy. Capitalism has transformed the world materially, socially and ecologically. We will consider the interrelationships among these three categories as capitalism developed and changed through its formative period. Major analytical categories will be imperialism, colonialism, and globalism, the accompanying ecological transformation, and the rise of social classes in support of and resistance to these developments. We will study the rise of liberalism in its historical context, as well as its counterparts, conservatism and socialism. Understanding the trajectory, deep history and logic of historical capitalism will provide students with the insights and tools necessary to assess the current historical moment. The program will require close and careful reading and discussion as well as considered and well-grounded writing. Our work will be conducted at an upper-division level. Jeanne Hahn Junior JR Senior SR Winter Winter
Movements and Migrations: Sustainable Communities in a Transnational World
Karen Gaul and Therese Saliba
  Program FR–SRFreshmen - Senior 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter From Yoga to Facebook, transnational cultural and economic practices and new information technologies are creating an increasingly interconnected world. A central question for this program is, how do highly mobile transnational relationships such as these affect the integrity, identity, and sustainability of local communities?We will examine how particular resources (such as oil, textiles, and food) as well as technologies, labor, and ideas, have propelled migrations, cultural transformations, and movements for sustainability and justice. Tourism, for example, generates the production and consumption of cultural heritage, eco-tourism, and yoga vacations that draw millions of people to new destinations around the world, and are major economic forces, raising urgent questions about cultural sustainability in the face of globalization. At the same time, Facebook has played an instrumental role for Arab youth in organizing revolutions, highlighting the ways people may use foreign technologies to fuel movements for political and social justice.Migrations of peoples, materials, and ideas have been around for millenia, often producing vibrant cultural practices based on adaptation and innovation. Yet colonization, empire, and capitalist globalization have also contributed to the systematic destruction of indigenous and non-Western cultures, inciting various forms of resistance. Focusing on South Asia and the Middle East, we will explore the ways communities and cultures are disproportionately affected by conditions and by-products of resource extraction, unjust labor conditions, pollutants, waste disposal and broader climate change. We will consider lessons that can be learned from their movements to create sustainable and just futures in a transnational world.Through the lenses of cultural studies, cultural anthropology and sustainability studies, we will explore the tensions between movement and rootedness, the familiar and unfamiliar, and how movements for justice are conditioned by both individual and systemic change. We will draw on yoga, both as an example of cultural exchange that has fueled debates about authenticity and appropriation, and as a practice of sustainability from the inside out. Through the writings of Gandhi, Alice Walker, and Arundhati Roy, and a range of cultural, feminist, and postcolonial theories, we will explore the connections between individual and social transformation, as we seek to build communities rooted in the concepts of sustainability and justice.In fall quarter we will develop an intentional learning community, and explore program themes through lectures, films, shared readings, field trips, and workshops. We will build skills in cultural analysis through critical reading, creative writing, ethnographic methods, visual literacy, and seminar discussions. In winter quarter, students will begin to frame projects focusing on program themes in particular cultural areas, which they will develop and research. Karen Gaul Therese Saliba Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Fall Fall Winter
Picturing Domestic Space: Sociocultural Perspectives
Stephanie Kozick, Amjad Faur and Susan Aurand
  Program FR–SOFreshmen - Sophomore 16 16 Day F 12 Fall W 13Winter S 13Spring How do the places where we live form the essence of our conception of space? Do human actions shape rooms, or do rooms shape human actions?Domestic space is another way of saying “the rooms in a house;” those rooms, where we spend so much of our daily lives, offer occasions for thinking about a number of intriguing questions. One philosopher (Gaston Bachelard) argues that our perceptions of houses and other shelters shape our thoughts, memories, and dreams. Others have proposed that, “Domestic space is one of the most difficult terms to define.” What an invitation to inquiry!And what are the psychological implications of domestic space? Some sociologists have stated that “The history of the house is the history of the dialectic that emerges between these two impulses: shelter and identity.” What are the relationships between one's "shelter" and one's "identity"?The kitchen is a particularly fascinating room for sociocultural considerations; food preparation is common to homes in all cultures. We will consider the ethnographic work of Roderick Lawrence on kitchens, conduct ethnographic work of our own, and read delicious memoirs inspired by kitchens.Overall, this program’s curriculum will include perspectives of history, fiction and non-fiction literature, social science studies, and cinematic representations of rooms in homes, which in turn will inspire “picturing” domestic space through photography, story writing, and fine art expression. A variety of readings will provide “food” for discussions and other learning activities that concern the design, meaning, organization, and use of all the rooms in a home.In fall quarter students can expect to study the overall concept of space as it applies to domestic dwellings, and to engage photography as a form of visual anthropology. Readings, such as, Bill Bryson’s "At Home" provides a “comfy” examination of spaces as Bryson sets out “to wander from room to room and consider how each has featured in the evolution of private life.” In the same way, students will wander through rooms with a camera to act on the dynamics of space and objects. Bryson’s wanderings will join books, such as, "At Home: An Anthropology of Domestic Space," Bachelard’s "The Poetics of Space," and Busch’s "Geography of Home."Winter quarter examines a specific room in the house: the kitchen.  Its purpose, history, design, tools, and tastes support interdisciplinary study.  As both a solitary and social space, the kitchen offers a wide platform of sociocultural concerns.  Readings, drawing workshops, a film series, photography, and project work consider the variety of meanings associated with the kitchen.  Writing workshops will facilitate students’ own meaning making in memoir writing or “meditations” on the kitchen.  The kitchen is inevitably connected to food with all its physical, aesthetic, and social aspects; the Organic Farm Sustainable Agriculture Lab (SAL) affords a kitchen workspace for program food tastings and other discoveries.   Photography work will involve shooting, developing, and peer critiquing color photography concerned with kitchen culture. Instruction on lighting and creating color prints in the darkroom presented by Hugh Lentz.During spring quarter, the study of domestic space continues with students identifying and pursuing individual research plans or projects.  Students might prepare a formal research project that deals with ethnography, theater, writing, health and sustainability, poetry,or other literary approaches.  Students might also choose to engage the practices of design, drawing, painting, collage, and various forms of media to create visual representation works concerning domestic space. Each room of the structures we call “house” has special meaning, entertains special activities, and implies that there is human intent or deliberateness, a human tendency that Ellen Dissanayake ("What is Art For") connects to the very nature of what we refer to as “art.” Spring quarter will also include modes of sharing the development of individual projects through individual WordPress sites and weekly progress meetings that take up concepts of domesticity. Stephanie Kozick Amjad Faur Susan Aurand Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Fall Fall Winter Spring
Student-Originated Studies: Research in Psychology and Related Social Sciences
Laura Citrin
  SOS SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring This SOS program is designed to provide an opportunity for intermediate and advanced students working within the social sciences to conduct independent projects within psychology or related social science disciplines, within a supportive intellectual environment of other researchers. It is an ideal capstone program for students completing their studies.  Research projects may be inductive or deductive in their approach, and may utilize qualitative or quantitative methodology. Research may be aimed at testing a well-established theory, replicating a study, crafting an elegant psychological experiment, designing and executing a written survey, conducting interviews, or engaging in observational, ethnographic research. Faculty will also support substantial work with secondary research (library research) exclusively, resulting in a thorough literature review (a review of all of the work conducted on your topic of interest within the field). Students will form learning communities based on shared research interests (or methodological interests or theoretical interests). Faculty will provide structured support to these learning communities across all aspects of the research process.Students entering this SOS program should do so with a particular project in mind, although faculty will work one-on-one with students to help shape the nature of their project in both practical and theoretically meaningful ways. Laura Citrin Mon Tue Thu Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring
Student-Originated Studies: Sustainability and Justice
Karen Gaul
Signature Required: Spring 
  SOS SO–SRSophomore - Senior 16 16 Day S 13Spring This SOS is open to students doing internships, community-based research and/or volunteer projects, in collaboration with the Center for Community-Based Learning and Action (CCBLA) at Evergreen. This is an excellent opportunity for students wishing to engage deeply and effectively with real-world problems in the community, and possibly to develop a capstone experience for their studies in Sustainability and Justice.   Students will work collaboratively in teams or individually to engage with local organizations or agencies in order to advance their work in the community. Other students may organize themselves around other internship or volunteer opportunities. The CCBLA can help students explore community and organizational needs (http://www.evergreen.edu/communitybasedlearning).  All students will meet regularly with the faculty and one another to discuss shared readings, as well as report back and monitor their work in the community. Workshops on effective ethnographic methods will be provided to those working on community research projects. All students will participate in orientations for working in the community, gaining good background information on the issues with which they are engaging, and gathering skills necessary to work effectively and respectfully with communities and organizations. Participation in this program means practicing accountability to other communities, interacting as a respectful guest with other cultures, and engaging in constant communication with your own learning community of faculty and fellow students. For more information, please contact Dr. Karen Gaul at gaulk@evergreen.edu or phone 360.867.6009 on campus. Karen Gaul Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR Spring Spring