間眅埶AV

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Anthropology Major

Bachelor of Arts

Program Requirements

Students complete 120 units, as specified below.

Lower Division Requirements

Students should complete all lower division requirements before completing upper division courses.

Students must complete all of

SA 101 - Introduction to Anthropology (A) (4)

An introduction to the study of human social and cultural life from an anthropological perspective. The course will explore the scope and nature of the discipline of anthropology through study of selected cases drawn from both technologically simple communities and complex modern industrial societies. Students with credit for SA 170 may not take SA 101 for further credit. Breadth-Social Sciences. Equivalent Courses: SA170. Breadth-Social Sciences.

SA 150 - Introduction to Sociology (S) (4)

The study of basic concerns of sociology, such as social order, social change, social conflict and social inequality. Breadth-Social Sciences. Equivalent Courses: PSA.101. Breadth-Social Sciences.

SA 201W - Anthropology and Contemporary Life (A) (4)

An introduction to the anthropological perspective as applied to the organization of everyday life in contemporary settings. Introduces positivist, interpretive, and critical interpretive approaches to the analysis of social actions, identities, and values as enacted in space and time. Students with credit for SA 291 may not take SA 201W for further credit. Recommended: SA 101. Writing. Prerequisite: . Equivalent Courses: SA201 SA291. Writing.

SA 255 - Introduction to Social Research (SA) (4)

An introduction to the conduct of sociological and anthropological research. Topics covered include: the relationship between theory and research, concept formation, operationalization, exploratory studies, hypothesis generation and testing, data collection techniques within both sociology and anthropology, the assessment of causality, the critical evaluation of research on both theoretical and methodological grounds, the definition of research problems, and ethical issues in social research. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150. Quantitative.

and one additional 200 division course in anthropology and/or sociology.

Upper Division Requirements

Students complete 32 upper division units including

SA 301 - Contemporary Ethnography (A) (4)

A consideration of key themes in contemporary anthropology. This course addresses theoretical and methodological questions by examining the work of contemporary anthropologists conducting research in diverse locations around the world. Prerequisite: SA 201W. Students with credit for SA 370 may not take SA 301 for further credit.

SA 356W - Ethnography and Qualitative Methods (SA) (4)

An examination of qualitative field methods, including participant observation, interviewing, archival research, cross-cultural research, life histories, network analysis, mapping, and ethical problems of fieldwork. Prerequisite: SA 255. Writing.

SA 402 - The Practice of Anthropology (A) (4)

An examination of the ways in which anthropology and ethnography may be used to affect action in the world. Topics may include: advocacy anthropology; the development and practice of applied anthropology; the emergence of anthropology and ethnography and the arts. Prerequisite: minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Recommended: at least two upper division courses in anthropology.

and eight upper division units chosen from the Calendar list of anthropology (A) courses.

An additional 12 upper division units are required, to be chosen from any A, S, or SA course.

In our information-based society, many employers and most graduate schools require considerable knowledge of conceptualizing research problems, information gathering, analysis and presentation. Students are strongly urged to balance theory courses with methods courses above the minimum and they may choose to range broadly across the two disciplines or to focus on a special interest. Courses fall broadly into the following groups.

  • Courses in Anthropology (A)
  • Courses in Sociology (S)
  • Courses in Sociology and Anthropology (SA)

Courses in Anthroplogy (A)

SA 301 - Contemporary Ethnography (A) (4)

A consideration of key themes in contemporary anthropology. This course addresses theoretical and methodological questions by examining the work of contemporary anthropologists conducting research in diverse locations around the world. Prerequisite: SA 201W. Students with credit for SA 370 may not take SA 301 for further credit.

SA 318 - The Anthropology of Medicine (A) (4)

Explores the role of biomedicine in society and culture through inquiry into the social and ideological organization of health and healing. Special attention will be paid to how biomedical categories structure experiences of the body, how means of life and death are shaped through medical interventions, and how social relations organize the delivery of biomedical technologies. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 319 - Culture, Ethnicity and Aging (A) (4)

An examination of the effects of culture and ethnicity on the aging process and the treatment of the aged. Although the orientation of the course is cross-cultural and comparative, particular emphasis will be placed on the social aspects of aging among various ethnic groups in contemporary Canada. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 323 - Symbol, Myth and Meaning (A) (4)

An examination of myth, symbolism, ritual and cosmological systems. Anthropological theories of magic, possession, witchcraft, healing and religious movements analyzed in ethnographic context. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 332 - The Anthropology of Childhood (A) (4)

A cross-cultural examination of the social and cultural relations that shape childhood in different settings. Topics to be considered could include: the social definition of childhood and child rearing; the institutional arrangements established for children and youth and the impact that these have on children, families, and society; the social construction of child and youth cultures. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 201W.

SA 352 - Games, Sports and Cultures (A) (4)

An anthropological examination of games and sports in cross-cultural perspective. Particular attention will be given to the social construction of games and athletic activities as well as the cultural, political and aesthetic meanings attached to these. Topics that may be examined include: the embodiment of culture in sporting activities; the impact of inter-cultural contact and globalization on games and sport; the shaping of gender, class and ethnic identities through sport involvement; appropriate methodologies for producing sport ethnographies. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 201W.

SA 359 - Special Topics in Anthropology (A) (4)

Explores a topic in Anthropology not regularly offered by the department. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 365 - Selected Regional Areas (A) (4)

An examination of selected aspects of the social structure, culture and the processes of social change in varying regional areas. The focus will vary from semester to semester. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 368 - Language, Ideology, and Power (A) (4)

Examines how language shapes and is shaped by culture, power, and social relations and introduces the major concepts, approaches, and theories used by anthropologists in the investigation of relations between language and cultural forms. Prerequisite: SA 101, 201W, or 150.

SA 388 - Comparative Studies of Minority Indigenous Peoples (A) (4)

The social and cultural patterns of aboriginal populations within various modern nation-states. Their relations with majority societies and with other indigenous groups across the world. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 402 - The Practice of Anthropology (A) (4)

An examination of the ways in which anthropology and ethnography may be used to affect action in the world. Topics may include: advocacy anthropology; the development and practice of applied anthropology; the emergence of anthropology and ethnography and the arts. Prerequisite: minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Recommended: at least two upper division courses in anthropology.

SA 421 - Commodities and Substances: Bodies, Consumption and Ingestion (A) (4)

Addresses current theoretical and methodological approaches to the anthropological study of consumption and ingestion of diverse substances. Topics include historical perspectives on production, distribution and consumption; power and meaning; inequality and governance of legal and illegal drugs, drug foods, medicines and diverse populations of consumers and ingesters. Prerequisite: Minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W, or graduate student status in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences or Faculty of Health Sciences. Students who have taken SA 460 may not take this course for further credit.

SA 451 - Issues in Anthropological Theory (A) (4)

A senior seminar on current perspectives in anthropological theory. Emphasis will differ from semester to semester. Prerequisite: Minimum of 72 units including SA 301, a GPA of at least 3.25 and consent of the instructor.

SA 459 - Special Topics in Anthropology (A) (4)

An advanced seminar devoted to an in-depth examination of a topic in Anthropology not regularly offered by the department. Prerequisite: Minimum 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 472 - Anthropology and the Past (A) (4)

Anthropologists frequently turn to historical documents (traveller's reports, missionary archives, etc.) in order to reconstruct the nature of past societies; likewise, every society has a sense of its own past and represents it in its own way. This course examines the relation between history and anthropology. Content may include: the use of historical material in anthropological research; construction of traditional knowledge as a cultural process; history and the politics of culture; the relation between individual and collective memory. Prerequisite: Minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 496 - Directed Readings in Anthropology (A) (4)

Directed readings in a selected field of study under the direction of a single faculty member. A paper will be required. Prerequisite: minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Students with credit for SA 497 may not take SA 496 for further credit.

Courses in Sociology/Anthropology (SA)

These courses count as anthropology or sociology credit whenever they are completed.

SA 302W - Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism (SA) (4)

An introduction to the political economy and culture of capitalism in relation to global problems. Case studies may focus on issues of population, famine, disease, poverty, environmental destruction, social inequality, and nation-state violence. Resistance, rebellion and social movements in response to these problems also will be addressed. Students who took SA 294 in 03-1, 04-1 and 04-2 may not take SA 302 for further credit. Writing/Breadth-Social Sci.

SA 315 - New Information Technology and Society (SA) (4)

Explores the new social spaces and social practices fostered by new information technology. Special attention will be paid to who is making decisions about what technologies to adopt and how, what social changes are resulting, and who benefits and who loses. A significant portion of activity in this course will involve direct engagement with new information technology.

SA 316 - Tourism and Social Policy (SA) (4)

An examination of tourism from the perspectives of sociology and anthropology, focusing primarily upon the social and cultural impacts of tourism and the social policy implications of tourism development in different societies. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201w.

SA 322 - Religion and Society (SA) (4)

An examination of the relations between religion and the social environment. Consideration will be given to classical theoretical debates in the anthropology and sociology of religion. Specific topics vary from year to year, and may include: religion in personhood and communities; religion, gender, ethnicity and social class; secularization and secularism; the role of religion in political mobilizations; interreligious relations; religious freedom and citizenship. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 340 - Social Issues and Social Policy Analysis (SA) (4)

An examination of how sociological and anthropological theories and methods can be applied to the examination of social problems and issues which become the object of social policy. A central concern of the course is the question of how social issues are defined as problematic. Particular attention will be given to gender, ethnicity, class and generation. Substantive examples of social policy issues will be selected from a number of fields. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 345 - Race, Immigration and the Canadian State (SA) (4)

An introduction to critical perspectives on the social construction of race, nation building and transnational migration, with an emphasis on state policies and the experiences of immigrants. The course will cover a review of colonialism and the construction of racialized labour market. Core topics may include: racialization of space, anti-racist feminist thought, immigration policy, settlement services, multiculturalism, citizenship, racial profiling, diasporas, and refugees. Comparative material will be used to complement the Canadian focus. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 356W - Ethnography and Qualitative Methods (SA) (4)

An examination of qualitative field methods, including participant observation, interviewing, archival research, cross-cultural research, life histories, network analysis, mapping, and ethical problems of fieldwork. Prerequisite: SA 255. Writing.

SA 358 - The Philosophy of the Social Sciences (SA) (4)

An analysis of the nature of explanation in the social sciences: 'mind' and action, positivist and interpretive modes of explanation, sociological and historical explanation, objectivity, forms of relativism, the concept of rationality. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 360 - Special Topics in Sociology and Anthropology (SA) (4)

A seminar exploring a topic not regularly offered by the department. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 363 - Process of Development and Underdevelopment (SA) (4)

An examination of sociological and anthropological theories of development and underdevelopment as applied to the Third World. The nature and consequences of world system linkages; colonialism and decolonization; patterns of social change in selected societies and regions. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 364 - Urban Communities and Cultures (SA) (4)

Anthropological approaches to urbanization, the nature of the city as a social system, and urban cultures and lifestyles. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Students with credit for SA 464 may not take SA 364 for further credit.

SA 371 - The Environment and Society (SA) (4)

An examination of environmental issues in their social context. Environmental issues are on the leading edge of contemporary public concern and public policy debates. This course will examine such issues as the relationship between social organization and mode of subsistence, the politics of hunger, and the way in which human societies in their particular social, historical, and cultural contexts view and interact with the natural world. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 386 - The Ethnography of Politics (SA) (4)

An examination of the ways in which ethnographers seek to understand a world experiencing profound changes in the relationships between governments and the societies they govern. Topics to be considered may include: relations between indigenous peoples and governments; the social and cultural dynamics of public policy making; the articulation of human rights issues. The focus of the course will vary from semester to semester. Prerequisite: SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 418 - International Health: Global Policies and Local Realities (SA) (4)

An investigation of the social, cultural, and political issues that contribute to problems of ill-health in resource-poor countries and the major efforts in international public health to address these problems. It explores the application of knowledge about social, and especially gender relations in international health, with particular attention to local perspectives and grassroots initiatives. Institutional frameworks intended to promote health development are examined in historical and contemporary perspective through case studies on topics such as: malaria, population control, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. Prerequisite: 90 credit hours, which must include SA 101 or 150. Highly recommended: SA 218, 302 and 318. Breadth-Social Sciences.

SA 429 - Sex, Work, and International Capital (SA) (4)

Through a program of focused readings, films, and case studies, this course examines the experiences of women in the Third World in relation to the global economy and reorganization of states and cultures. The course challenges conventional ways of thinking about everyday life in households and workplaces, and emphasizes that issues which may seem specifically third World-based are shared by many around the world. An awareness of this commonality helps us assess the balance of structural constraints and opportunities, and stimulates a discussion on the organization of alternative ways of living. Prerequisite: A minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Students who took SA 463 in 2003 SA 460 in 2003 and SA 360 in 2004 may not take this course for further credit.

SA 430 - States, Cultures and Global Transitions (SA) (4)

Through a program of focused readings, case studies, and films, this course offers a new perspective on the study of globalization. It balances classical themes with contemporary approaches to global processes of economic, political, and cultural transformation. The course tackles such topics as the material aspects of cooperation and coercion, class relations in structures of capital accumulation and global governance, and cultural dynamics. Alternatives to Euro-American centrism are explored through the examples of citizenship, cultural politics, ethnic and religious conflicts, human rights, indigenous rights, and women's rights. Prerequisite: Minimum of 72 units including either SA 101 or 150 or 201W. Students with credit for SA 463 completed in 2004-3 may not complete this course for further credit.

SA 460 - Special Topics in Sociology and Anthropology I (SA) (4)

An advanced seminar devoted to an in-depth examination of a topic not regularly offered by the department. Prerequisite: Minimum 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 463 - Special Topics in Development Studies (SA) (4)

An examination of processes of social change in selected Third World societies. Topics will change from semester to semester, but may include: liberation movements and colonialism, the comparative study of post-revolutionary societies; the persistence, transformation and disappearance of contemporary peasantries; directed change programs. Prerequisite: Minimum of 72 units including SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

SA 498 - Field Study in Sociology and/or Anthropology (SA) (8)

Advanced field project in a research setting. 間眅埶AV dependent on availability of appropriate field placements and departmental supervisory capacity. Prerequisite: Students must successfully complete a Criminal Record Check.

SA 499 - Honours Essay (SA) (8)

An honors essay to be written under the direction of a member of faculty, a copy of which is to be permanently lodged with the department. Applications should be submitted to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee 4 weeks prior to the beginning of the term in which SA 499 is to be undertaken. Students should submit a paper proposal, a work plan, and confirmation of faculty supervisor.

Theory and methods requirements should be completed early in the upper division. Students are strongly urged to balance theory courses with methods courses over the required minimum.

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Major Requirements

For all bachelor of arts (BA) programs (except the honours program), students complete 120 units, which includes

  • at least 60 units that must be completed at 間眅埶AV
  • at least 45 upper division units, of which at least 30 upper division units must be completed at 間眅埶AV
  • at least 65 units (including 21 upper division units) in Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences courses
  • satisfaction of the writing, quantitative, and breadth requirements
  • an overall cumulative grade point average (CGPA) and upper division CGPA of at least 2.0, and a program (major, joint major, extended minor, minor) CGPA and upper division CGPA of at least 2.0

Writing, Quantitative, and Breadth Requirements

Students admitted to 間眅埶AV beginning in the fall 2006 term must meet writing, quantitative and breadth requirements as part of any degree program they may undertake. See for university-wide information.

WQB Graduation Requirements

A grade of C- or better is required to earn W, Q or B credit

Requirement

Units

Notes
W - Writing

6

Must include at least one upper division course, taken at 間眅埶AV within the student’s major subject
Q - Quantitative

6

Q courses may be lower or upper division
B - Breadth

18

Designated Breadth Must be outside the student’s major subject, and may be lower or upper division
6 units Social Sciences: B-Soc
6 units Humanities: B-Hum
6 units Sciences: B-Sci

6

Additional Breadth 6 units outside the student’s major subject (may or may not be B-designated courses, and will likely help fulfil individual degree program requirements)

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Residency Requirements and Transfer Credit

The University’s residency requirement stipulates that, in most cases, total transfer and course challenge credit may not exceed 60 units, and may not include more than 15 as upper division work.

Elective Courses

In addition to the courses listed above, students should consult an academic advisor to plan the remaining required elective courses.

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