Anthropology (APY)

APY Courses

• APY 104LEC Great Sites and Lost Tribes: The Romantic Element in Archaeology
  Lecture
  

  Examines the romantic element in archaeology in the great sites of the world, such as Troy, Olduvai Gorge, Stonehenge, and so forth. Since the sites cannot be separated from their discoverers and excavators, we also consider the lives of the most famous and romantic archaeologists, including Schliemann, Leakey, and Kenyon.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 105LEC Introduction to Anthropology
  Lecture
  

  This class is a general introduction to the field of anthropology, the study of humanity. It is designed to pique your interest in the broad diversity of human behavior and lifestyles across the world and throughout time. This course will take a look at our four major subfields - archaeology, linguistic anthropology, physical anthropology, and cultural anthropology - and include discussions on our "youngest" subfield, applied anthropology. The goal of this class is to understand the wide range of issues covered by the fields of anthropology, the ways in which these issues are studied by specialists in the field, and the practical effects of the questions covered by anthropological study. In order to survey such a wide range of issues, the class is structured in a standard lecture format, with small group exercises and class discussions.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  
• APY 106LEC Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
  Lecture
  

  Surveys important ideas about culture and society that have shaped cultural anthropology. Studies the principal institutions of culture - language, social organization, religion, economics, politics, artistic expression, etc. - in their traditional ethnographic context and as they change through cultural contact and modernization.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 107LEC Introduction to Physical Anthropology
  Lecture
  

  For centuries preceding modern times, our uniqueness as a species was taken as a sign of special creation; we were not seen to be a part of nature. But as knowledge of human evolution, our closeness to other primates, and our adaptations to specific environments emerged, we have taken our place in the animal kingdom. Here, we learn how those insights developed, and about current methods of understanding human origins and the natural forces that have shaped us.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  
• APY 108LEC Introduction to Archaeology
  Lecture
  

  Archaeology is the study of the human past through its material remains and is of primary importance in reconstructing past human life ways that exist outside the realm of written record. Bridging the gap between the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, archaeologists integrate many types of evidence in order to shed light on the origins of our species. This course provides an overview of the methods, theories and models used by archaeologists to better understand past human societies, from the formulation of a research question, through the processes of survey and excavation, to the analysis of data, and the interpretation of the results. The many topics covered in the course include: excavation, interpretation, conservation, technology, cultural diffusion and evolution, and cultural heritage.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 11ASWC Special Studies Anthropology WC
  Conversion from Transcript
  

  Credits: 0 - 99
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 120LEC Environmental Anthropology
  Lecture
  

  It is clear that our environment appears to not always be kind to us. Whether we are exposed to toxins produced by industry, harsh temperatures or malnutrition, the outcome is often poorer health and shorter life. As a biological/behavioral science, anthropology is in a unique position to explore and expand this knowledge area.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 168LEC Myth and Religion in the Ancient World
  Lecture
  

  Provides an introduction to the mythology of the Greeks and Romans. In addition to considering the myths themselves, we study how they have been employed by ancient through contemporary cultures as reflected in areas ranging from religious and social practice to works of art and architecture. This course is the same as RSP 113 and CL 113 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 198SEM UB Seminar
  Seminar
  

  The one credit UB Seminar is focused on a big idea or challenging issue to engage students with questions of significance in a field of study and, ultimately, to connect their studies with issues of consequence in the wider world. Essential to the UB Curriculum, the Seminar helps transition to UB through an early connection to UB faculty and the undergraduate experience at a comprehensive, research university. This course is equivalent to any 198 offered in any subject. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade of F or R may not be able to repeat the course during the fall or spring semester.

  Credits: 1
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  Other Requisites: Students who have already successfully completed the UB seminar course may not repeat this course. If you have any questions regarding enrollment for this course, please contact your academic advisor.
  
• APY 199SEM UB Seminar
  Seminar
  

  The three credit UB Seminar is focused on a big idea or challenging issue to engage students with questions of significance in a field of study and, ultimately, to connect their studies with issues of consequence in the wider world. Essential to the UB Curriculum, the Seminar helps students with common learning outcomes focused on fundamental expectations for critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and oral communication, and learning at a university, all within topic focused subject matter. The Seminars provide students with an early connection to UB faculty and the undergraduate experience at a comprehensive, research university. This course is equivalent to any 199 offered in any subject. This course is a controlled enrollment (impacted) course. Students who have previously attempted the course and received a grade of F or R may not be able to repeat the course during the fall or spring semester.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  Other Requisites: Students who have already successfully completed the first year seminar course may not repeat this course. If you have any questions regarding enrollment for this course, please contact your academic advisor.
  
• APY 245LEC Survey of the Primates
  Lecture
  

  Introduces the field of primatology, including primate taxonomy, ecology, and evolution. Uses a variety of visual aids. Encourages primate biology, and visits to the Buffalo Zoo and the Physical Anthropology Laboratory.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 250LEC Topics
  Lecture
  

  This is a topics course, and as such, represents a wide variety of potential offerings. Information about the current semester's topic(s) can be found here: http://anthropology.buffalo.edu/courses/undergraduate/

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 262LEC Anthropology and Justice
  Lecture
  

  Examines comparative studies of justice from the perspectives of local and global human problems, including analyses of the causes of conflict and dispute: inequality, poverty, racism, war and aggression, colonialism, sexism, economic exploitation, and so forth. Considers justice in the context of related cultural concepts and values (such as truth and harmony) and in a variety of institutional settings (such as the community, workplace, and nation). In addition, the course investigates aspects of crime, deviance, punishment and rehabilitation, and restitution.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 275LEC Culture, Health, and Illness
  Lecture
  

  People in all societies experience illness, but their understandings of the causes of disease and approaches for restoring health differ greatly. This course examines the social and cultural dimensions of health, illness, and healing. Through a variety of case studies, we will learn about the ways medical anthropologists study explanations of disease, experiences of suffering, and the social organization of health care. Western medicine, also called biomedicine, will also be an object of our analysis. We will discuss how the delivery of biomedical health care involves particular understandings of the body and appropriate social relationships. Emphasis will also be placed on how the stories that individuals and institutions circulate about human agency in suffering shape individual convictions about how to care, and for whom to care. The course aims to teach students to think about health, disease, and medicine in national, cross-cultural and global terms.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 304LEC Food and Culture
  Lecture
  

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 311LEC Psychological Anthropology
  Lecture
  

  Psychological anthropology explores the relationship between culture/society and psychological phenomena such as personality, emotion, cognition, and mental illness. Both anthropologists and psychologists have long recognized that there are complex associations between these phenomena, but identifying exactly how they are related has been a major challenge. This course surveys efforts to incorporate psychological perspectives into anthropology, starting with late 19th century psychoanalysis, examining the very influential work on culture and personality that shaped much of anthropology in the middle of the 20th century, and more recent research in cognitive anthropology.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 312LEC Culture and Reproduction
  Lecture
  

  Involves a cross-cultural and cross-national survey of human reproduction. Patterns of fertility regulation, pregnancy, birth, and early infant care.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 313LEC Anthropology and Film
  Lecture
  

  Studies culture through the use of visual materials (films, tapes, etc.). Emphasizes learning anthropological concepts, attitudes, and methodologies, with film as the primary medium for so doing. This is a class in anthropology, rather than a films course.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• APY 315SEM Cross-Cultural Study of Women
  Seminar
  

  Examines political, economic, and social systems of various non-Western societies in relationship to the roles women take as reproducers of cultural values or as activists working for change.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 318LEC Anthropology of War
  Lecture
  

  The course seeks to offer a deeper understanding of war as a contemporary social and political issue. Questions we will examine include whether war is intrinsic to human nature, what causes war, how war is conducted, how people in war-torn societies endure violence, and what the consequences of war are. The course will also explore debates about the so-called War on Terror and about recent attacks by ISIS and other militant groups.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 320SEM Seminar in Cognitive Anthropology
  Seminar
  

  Examines human thinking as a cultural and social, as well as a psychological (or computational), phenomenon. Regards cognition as closely interconnected with cultural forms, social systems, and everyday activities. The course also addresses the very concept of 'cognition' as a cultural product whose social and historical origins require investigation.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 321SEM Topics
  Seminar
  

  This is a topics course, and as such, represents a wide variety of potential offerings. Information about the current semester's topic(s) can be found here: http://anthropology.buffalo.edu/courses/undergraduate/

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 323LEC Anthropology and Education
  Lecture
  

  This course takes a global perspective on human teaching and learning in a variety of cultural contexts. We explore ethnographic methods in educational research and anthropological approaches to education in its widest sense, both in and out of schools. Such forms of socialization as apprenticeship and initiation will be discussed alongside of the formal educational institutions of North American and European nations. This course will also address the educational issues facing immigrants and minority populations in contemporary societies. Readings and discussion will emphasize research and practice. We will work with various qualitative methods, including autoethnography, and will also explore depictions of teachers and students in both ethnographic and feature films. There are no prerequisites.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 324LEC Approaches to the Study of Religion
  Lecture
  

  Introduces different approaches to the study of religion, their main contributions and shortcomings, and the debates within the study of religion. Students become familiar with contemporary issues in the study of religion and apply theory with critical awareness in the analysis of religious phenomena.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  Prerequisites: APY 106
  
• APY 325SEM Contemporary Afro-Caribbean Religion
  Seminar
  

  Explores the many religious experiences developed from the blending of Christian, African, and Indian cultures in the Caribbean. Although the principle focus is on Voudou and Santeria many less known religions of the region are also explored through a multidisciplinary perspective. This course is the same as AMS 325 and LLS 325 and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 326LEC Near East and Mid East Prehistory
  Lecture
  

  Archaeology of the prehistoric Near and Middle East from the peopling of the region through the emergence of the first villages and the domestication of plants and animals to the emergence of city-states in the 3rd millennium BC.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• APY 330LEC Prehistory of Europe
  Lecture
  

  Examines European prehistory from the Paleolithic period through the formation of the earliest states in Europe.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 331LEC Archaeology of New World
  Lecture
  

  Examines prehistoric development of Indian cultures in North and South America, from the initial aboriginal occupation of the Americas.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 333LEC North American Archaeology
  Lecture
  

  Studies the peopling of the continent, landscape evolution, origins and spread of agriculture, and the rise of chiefly forms of social organization. Also examines Meso-American influences, and the effects of European conquest.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 334LEC People of South East Asia
  Lecture
  

  Examines the history and culture of both mainland and island Southeast Asia, emphasizing kinship, religion, and political systems, as well as art forms.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 338LAB Field Research Archaeology
  Laboratory
  

  Field Research Archaeology provides an intensive and rewarding archaeological field and lab experience for graduate and undergraduate students interested in archaeology. Field school is geared towards college students with some interest in North American Archaeology. The goal is to introduce college students to the techniques of archaeological site location, artifact identification, excavation, mapping, and material analysis in a fun but rigorous academic setting. Students will locate, excavate, document and interpret a major archaeological site in western New York while learning professional techniques and using the latest technology available including a laser transit and total station. This exciting six week experience includes hands-on instruction and active participation by all students and instructors. Students will take away the skills of site survey, mapping, excavation, soil sampling, artifact processing, artifact identification and analysis, and in the interpretation of a Native American archaeological site. Secondary goals of the course include discovering how people made and used stone tools and some of the earliest pottery in western New York. The team will reconstruct ancient artifacts and life ways while exploring what kinds of foods were collected and processed at the site, and try to answer how and why people came to live at certain locations. Participants will learn to present archaeological information through multimedia platforms including video and web-based applications. The experience is made more comprehensive through a series of guest lectures regarding the current state of western New York archaeology, and of archaeology around the world.

  Credits: 6
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Summer
  
• APY 341LEC Introduction to Primate Behavior
  Lecture
  

  Behavior, and social organization of non-human primates: current theories, evolutionary processes, and research methods, both in the field and in the laboratories.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• APY 344LEC Animal Communication
  Lecture
  

  Surveys natural communication systems within the animal kingdom, including the structure, functions, development, and evolution of natural communication systems among both human and non-human animals.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• APY 345LEC Comparative Primate Anatomy
  Lecture
  

  Studies descriptive and functional primate anatomy, with relevance to the origin and adaptation of groups within the order of primates.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  Prerequisites: Juniors and Seniors only.
  Corequisites: APY 346LAB
  
• APY 346LAB Dissections in Comparative Primate Anatomy
  Laboratory
  

  Covers basic primate gross anatomy learned by dissecting and making comparative observations of various species of primates. There is a fee associated with this class.

  Credits: 2
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  Prerequisites: Juniors and Seniors only.
  
• APY 347LEC Understanding Human Variation
  Lecture
  

  Modern humans are very unusual primates. We have low levels of genetic variation relative to other primates, yet are outwardly quite diverse in our external appearance. This diversity is structured geographically due to the fact that we live on almost every continent on earth. The history of population dispersals, migrations, gene flow, and natural selection have shaped our genetic and phenotypic variation. Here we will explore the empirical reality of modern human population genetic and phenotypic variation and set it in its evolutionary and historical context.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 348LEC Forensic Anthropological Osteology
  Lecture
  

  Covers fundamentals of human skeletal anatomy through lecture, demonstration, and laboratory work. Considers procedures and applications in contemporary and historical human biology and in archaeology, stressing both technical approach and theoretical application. This lecture and laboratory course demonstrates the fundamentals of human skeletal biology and anatomy. Stresses procedures and applications used in evaluating archaeological and contemporary human populations. Considers forensic applications.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 349LEC Human Genetics
  Lecture
  

  Examines contemporary human genetics relevant to families and society, including genetic diseases, family planning and demography, genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis, genetic engineering, and genetics and the law. Provides students with sufficient understanding of contemporary human genetics to intelligently address these issues.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 353LEC Old World Prehistory
  Lecture
  

  Studies the archaeology of Africa, Asia, and Europe, from the Paleolithic period through the appearance of the earliest civilizations.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 356SEM Social Learning and Cultural Evolutionary Approaches in Anthropology
  Seminar
  

  Humans pass on and receive information, consciously and unconsciously, via social interactions. Some of this information manifests itself in the form of cultural traditions; for example, artifacts spread over time and space or the languages we speak. Using a framework of social transmission theory, many anthropologists have increasingly turned to evolutionary theory and methodology to study cultural traditions in material artifacts, language, or other products of cultural transmission processes. This course enables students to explore the main theoretical and methodological aspects of using social transmission theory and cultural evolutionary principles to address human behavioral patterns. A large part of the class deals with evolutionary theory, and allows students to better understand evolutionary theory and its application. Case studies will be presented, which will highlight the broad range of data to which such approaches may be applied. We will consider a range of case studies from a diversity of chronological periods and geographic settings (including contemporary settings). You will also critically consider the concept of ?culture,? its presence (or otherwise) in animals other than humans, and what this may mean for the study of cultural phenomena. Students will come to see how contemporary applications of this approach differ from previous (and often theoretically erroneous) applications of evolutionary principles to the study of human behavior, which negatively taint evolutionary approaches to humanity to this day. The course will also help to dispel common misconceptions regarding the use of evolutionary theory to study culture, but be sensitively astute as to the reasons why these issues arise. By the end of the course, students will have an understanding of both the theoretical and practical (methodological) tools involved in this type of work, and be able to conceive of how to apply them across various aspects of anthropological research.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 366LEC Peoples of Asia
  Lecture
  

  Provides students with an anthropological introduction to the early periods of Chinese and Indian civilizations through lectures, audiovisual materials, and discussion. Compares these cultures with the West in terms of religious ideas, archaeological materials, political forms, family systems, and basic values.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 367LEC Meso-American Archaeology
  Lecture
  

  Examines art, iconography, architectures, and archaeology of ancient Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; also covers religious, political, and economic development from its beginning, around 2000 B.C.E., to its decapitation by the Spaniards in 1521.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 368LEC Theories in Archaeology
  Lecture
  

  Introduces archaeological theory and methods; including the proper design of archaeological research projects, data analysis, and interpretation of results.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 369LEC Peoples and Cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa
  Lecture
  

  Explores cultures of hunting, pastoral, and agricultural societies, including history, social structure, political and economic systems, religion, and aesthetics. Also considers the impact of colonialism, industrialization, urbanism, and political independence upon African societies and cultures.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 373LEC Plains Indian of North America
  Lecture
  

  Examines the native North American culture, including contact history, impact of political relations with Euro-Americans, and contemporary realities. Also studies revitalization movements, pantribalism, and land claims actions.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 377LEC Magic, Sorcery & Witchcraft
  Lecture
  

  Understanding the nature of magic and the anthropology of sorcery and witchcraft beliefs around the world and throughout history offers insights into some fundamental aspects of human belief and behavior. The course will show that the ways of thinking which comprise what anthropology calls magic and the complex attributes of the imaginary evil witch, are not only absolutely universal, they are rooted in our evolutionary biology and hence are basic to the human condition.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 379LEC Mythology
  Lecture
  

  Exploration of mythology both as a kind of knowing and as sacred stories in religion, literature, anthropology, psychoanalysis, and science. A: Mythology of the Americas Study of the myths, tales, and legends told by the native peoples of the New World, which open roads that lead the imagination into alternative worlds. The class will read and listen to the words of native storytellers, orators, singers, and dramatists. For example: Prof. J. Frake: Gods, Heroes and Dragons: Germanic Mythology The course explores the importance of the Germanic mythological corpus for medieval literature and on its continued influence on post- Renaissance European culture. In each case a selection of material has been made to illustrate the uses to which Germanic mythology has been adapted: artistic, social, political, didactic. The course content ranges from the `high art of Wagner to the `triviality of Thor comics, from Beowulf to Borges. The course deals with Germanic mythology from four different perspectives, each of which is characteristic of one of the stages of the interpretation and reception of the originally religio-mythological texts: 1) myth as religious artifact; 2) myth as an integral source of cultural values and artistic material; 3) myth as Romantic ideal and artificial source of cultural values (Wagner, Tolkien); 4) myth as ideological vehicle for an artificial system of values (modern exploitations in politics, film, video games, clubs). For example: Prof. D. Tedlock, Myth in the Americas Myths not only create imaginal worlds that offer alternatives to the life world, but also offer keys to the interpretation of the life world itself, revealing a mythic level of significance in everyday events. Myths also give shape and meaning to dreams and visions, and dreams and visions give rise to further myths. This course will try to catch those moments when the mythic world comes in contact with the world of experience. We will undertake a close reading of selected myths from the Americas, attempting to enter imaginal worlds and to look back at the life world from a distance. We will consider myths that come down to us from storytellers, speechmakers, singers, and dramatists. In addition to readings, lectures, videos, and discussions, there will be guest appearances by Native American storytellers. For example: Prof. D. Christian, Myths of Origin This class will consider myths of origin and sexual organization from all over the world, ancient and modern. Where and how did the world and we come to be? This course is the same as ENG 377, and course repeat rules will apply. Students should consult with their major department regarding any restrictions on their degree requirements.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 380SEM Myth, Ritual, Symbolism
  Seminar
  

  Explores the ethnography of symbolic form and process in myth and ritual. Also examines metaphor and the problem of meaning in the structuralist, dramatistic, hermeneutic, and semantic approaches of Claude Levi-Strauss, Victor Turner, Clifford Geertz, Edmund Leach, and others.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 382LEC Indians of South America
  Lecture
  

  Surveys the indigenous societies of cultures and South America, including both highland Andean and lowland Amazonian people. Provides a perspective on the prehistory, history, and contemporary situation of native South Americans, examining traditional anthropological topics as well as current political issues surrounding indigenous rights, integration into national societies, and environmental destruction.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 384SEM Book of Ancient Mayas
  Seminar
  

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 393LEC Anthropology of Religion
  Lecture
  

  Compares religious beliefs, rituals, and organization; also considers relationships of religion to other aspects of culture and society, and religion as a dynamic system.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 394LEC Shamans and Healers in South America
  Lecture
  

  This course will focus on the healing traditions of Native South American people as an important part of our contemporary experience. We will examine the images, forms, and meanings that are common to the healing experience of many Native South Americans: concepts of order, time, space, power, destruction, and renewal which allow us to group them together despite their geographical and sociopolitical diversity. We will also analyze some specific ethnographic examples of how they are manifested through funerary cannibalism, shamanism, sorcery, animal spirits and metaphors, the use of tobacco, narcotics and hallucinogens, and rituals for healing, fertility and collective well-being. Classes will consist of presentations, viewing films, and class discussions.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• APY 401LEC Theory in Anthropology
  Lecture
  

  Reviews the growth of anthropology as a scientific discipline. Analyzes in detail major anthropological approaches and theories.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 402SEM Contemporary Europe
  Seminar
  

  In recent decades, Europe has become a major area of investigation for cultural anthropologists. In this seminar, we ask both what an anthropological perspective can contribute to our understanding of European peoples and also what a consideration of European peoples can contribute to anthropological theory and method. The course focuses on issues of identity, history, and power as these shape and are shaped by social forms and local practices.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 408SEM Ethnographic Field Methods
  Seminar
  

  Traditional and new methodological approaches to the diachronic and synchronic analysis of societies and cultures.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 409SEM Primate Social Behavior and Organization
  Seminar
  

  Examines systems of social organization among primates; also studies general principles of social behavior that may have relevance to humans.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 410SEM Special Topics
  Seminar
  

  Course content varies by instructor.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 411SEM Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
  Seminar
  

  Studies the four horsemen in all their guises. Examines their importance historically and at present. They have been and are religious icons, symbols of the major processes of warfare, disease, famine, and death, as well as cultural, literary, and artistic symbols throughout the generations. The course traces one of the horsemen through both time and space in the intellectual area of the students' choice.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 414SEM Museum Management
  Seminar
  

  Museum and collection management and research is motivated by two things: a love of objects, and a fascination with the ways in which they speak about the past and present. The care of artifacts cannot stop at identification, physical conservation and exhibition. Research about museum and collection objects must be seen as part of a larger task: an exploration of the social and cultural significance of objects in relation to each other and to the people who made, used, and kept them as well as who collected them. Conservation must include preservation of the information accompanying an object, information beyond provenance, or artifact type. Finally, curatorial research entails a critical awareness of our own culturally-bound responses to artifacts. This course prepares students for research in the museum environment, and for the challenge of developing meaning and value for those collections in the context of the Cravens Collection housed since March 2010 in the Anderson Gallery of the UB College of Arts and Sciences where the course will be held. Each class integrates presentations, group work and discussion, case studies, and independent research. In addition, the instructor will facilitate visits from guest lecturers. At the end of the course, the students will curate together their own public exhibition of objects from the Cravens Collection and will write up short narratives about the objects they have studied during the course. The narratives will then be included in an exhibition catalogue. N.B.: Please note that the course will take place in the Anderson Gallery of the UB College of Arts and Sciences (1 Martha Jackson Place).

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 420SEM Topics
  Seminar
  

  This is a topics course, and as such, represents a wide variety of potential offerings. Information about the current semester's topic(s) can be found here: http://anthropology.buffalo.edu/courses/undergraduate/

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 421SEM Topics
  Seminar
  

  This is a topics course, and as such, represents a wide variety of potential offerings. Information about the current semester's topic(s) can be found here: http://anthropology.buffalo.edu/courses/undergraduate/

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 427LEC Comparative Urbanism
  Lecture
  

  Considers the origin of the city, starting with Mesopotamia. Defines urban and civilization, examines the urban environment, and compares the archaeological city to the modern city.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall
  
• APY 429LEC Anthropology of Architecture
  Lecture
  

  Examines the material culture of eastern North America from 1620 to the present. Focuses on the house and its contents as a means by which the settlers of the North American continent adapted to their environment. Uses a developmental perspective to organize the materials.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 432LEC Peoples of the Arctic and Subarctic
  Lecture
  

  Anthropological survey of arctic and subarctic populations, primarily focusing on Canada and Alaska, with some comparative coverage of Greenland, Siberia, and the Lapps of northern Europe. Develops multidisciplinary models using ethnographic, historical, and epidemiological sources to analyze traditional patterns and contemporary changes in northern communities. A variety of ecological and cultural systems have emerged in the North since the period of contact and settlement by Europeans, and the course encourages students to do comparative analyses of national, regional, and ethnic differences and similarities.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 434SEM Topics
  Seminar
  

  This is a topics course, and as such, represents a wide variety of potential offerings. Information about the current semester's topic(s) can be found here: http://anthropology.buffalo.edu/courses/undergraduate/

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 435SEM Archaeological Techniques
  Seminar
  

  Skills course emphasizing the use of photography and drawing, both in the field and in illustrating site reports. Intended primarily for students with an archaeological career orientation, the course deals with factors in the preparation of art manuscripts: draftsmanship, work on drawings, maps, and plans, including line work and photography. Also considers artifact drawing, and processes of printing and production.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 437LEC Celt Anglo-Saxon Viking
  Lecture
  

  This course explores these three late prehistoric and protohistoric cultures in Europe, and their impact on the course of European development. Topics of study will include political and economic organization, such as the rise of chiefdoms and states and their political economies, technology, trade and cultural contact, plus social structure and ideology, aesthetic expression, and religious beliefs. We will also examine current myths and stereotypes about these cultures, and their role in modern national and ethnic identity construction.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 439SEM Laboratory Techniques in Archaeology
  Seminar
  

  Involves individual instruction and guidance in the study of artifacts through lab projects.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 440LEC History of Archaeology
  Lecture
  

  Summarizes the history of archaeology, beginning with its classical and European antecedents. Examines the major trends of seventeenth- through twentieth-century archaeology. Explores major archaeologists and sites, emphasizing the New World. Relates history of archaeology to history of science.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 441SEM Anthropological Demography
  Seminar
  

  Examines the development and demographic characteristics of human populations in the prehistoric and ethnographic record.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 443SEM Advanced Physical Anthropology
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary. May be taken more than once for credit.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 444SEM Ethology Practicum
  Seminar
  

  Semester long, quantitatively based research project on the behavior of animals at the Buffalo Zoo. Goals include: becoming familiar with a range of techniques used to study animal behavior in the field and in captivity, learn to observe animal behavior in a scientific manner, an gain experience in all aspects of scientific research - generating an interesting question, researching what is already known about the topic and species, designing a protocol to answer the question, collecting data at the Zoo, analyzing the data, and reporting the results and conclusion both in an oral presentation and in a written scientific report.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  Other Requisites: APY 246 or APY 344 or another course in animal behavior
  
• APY 448SEM Human Genetics/Legal and Ethical Issues
  Seminar
  

  Recent advances in genetic technology have presented the scientific and lay community with ethical and legal problems, yet to be resolved. The objective of this course is to provide an opportunity for informed discussions of such issues relating to contemporary human/medical issues.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 449SEM Mayan Civilization: Past and Present
  Seminar
  

  Explores Mayan civilization from its earliest beginnings to the current situation. The seminar begins with the pre-classic roots of Mayan civilization, then moves through classic splendor, post-classic turbulence, the European invasion, and into the current period of rebellion and ethnic resurgence. Students select a particular geographically and linguistically distinctive Mayan population and trace the group historically through artifacts, written records, life histories, and ethnographies. Student activities include active class participation in discussions and preparation of an annotated bibliography on a key aspect of Mayan civilization.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 457LEC Evolutionary Biology of Humans
  Lecture
  

  Explores the application of evolutionary theory and method to modern human populations. Among the topics are heritability of biological and behavioral variables, developmental biology and natural selection, biological distance, biogeography and race, adaptive theory, adaptation to environmental change, and such emergent problems as crowding, hunger, epidemic disease, and global warming. Specific topics may vary depending on developments within the profession.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  Prerequisites: one course with substantial evolutionary biology content
  
• APY 474LEC Cities and Cultures
  Lecture
  

  This course takes a broad historical and geographical approach aimed at encompassing the ethnographic diversity that characterizes city life.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 476LEC Health Care in the United States
  Lecture
  

  Explores the culture and social organization of health-care systems in the United States, including mainstream allopathic medicine and nursing, as well as more 'alternative healing' modalities, such as faith healing, chiropractic, 'New Age' healing, and so forth. Gives students a specifically anthropological understanding of health care in American society. This anthropological perspective draws attention to the many diverse components of health care in the United States, from high-tech advanced medical science to faith healing.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 477SEM Culture and Disability
  Seminar
  

  This course is an introduction to disability studies. Researchers working within this sub-field search for understanding of societal and cross-cultural attitudes and policies regarding impairment, illness, and difference, especially those whose physical or behavioral differences have been stigmatized through negative social or medical labels. Among the topics to be considered are the meanings and perceptions of impairment in various cultures and how individuals and their families experience disability, severe injury, stigmatized illnesses, and severe trauma and come to develop new identities through these experiences. We will consider community support systems and government policies that positively or negatively affect traumatized and disabled individuals and their families.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Spring
  
• APY 480SEM Collapse of Civilization
  Seminar
  

  Explores the causes of societal disintegration from an archaeological perspective. The ancient Mayan and pre-Aztec civilizations of Mexico, as well as that of ancient Shang China, are the focus for analyzing various factors that might lead to the destruction of complex social and political systems.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 490SEM Economic Anthropology
  Seminar
  

  Examines the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption systems of non-Western peoples; the integration of economic systems with other aspects of culture; and problems of underdeveloped areas.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 492LEC Political and Legal Anthropology
  Lecture
  

  This course examines politics and power in local, national, and transnational contexts. It considers both formal political institutions and everyday forms of power and influence. We trace the historical development of this field as well as its current focus on issues of identity, the nation-state, bureaucracy, citizenship, and questions of power, domination and resistance. Case studies examined range from small-scale nonwestern societies to the institutions of the European Union. Considers systems of government and control in the non-Western world, emphasizing tribal organization. Focuses upon law and warfare, the two most important political functions or tasks engaged in by a political community.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Varies
  
• APY 494SEM Senior Seminar
  Seminar
  

  Topics vary. Seniors have registration priority.

  Credits: 3
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 495SEM Supervised Teaching
  Seminar
  

  Credits: 1 - 6
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring
  
• APY 496TUT Internship
  Tutorial
  

  Students wishing to complete an internship with a host agency may register for this course with the agreement of the agency supervisor and the faculty advisor.

  Credits: 1 - 6
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  Prerequisites: permission of instructor
  
• APY 499SEM Independent Study and Research
  Seminar
  

  Individually designed program of reading, research, or skills development in close association with an instructor.

  Credits: 1
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  Prerequisites: permission of instructor
  
• APY 499TUT Independent Study and Research
  Tutorial
  

  Individually designed program of reading, research, or skills development in close association with an instructor.

  Credits: 1 - 8
  Grading: Graded (GRD)
  Typically Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
  Prerequisites: permission of instructor