The physical and cultural evolution of the human species through the fields of Physical Anthropology and Archeology.

This course analyzes the structure, variety, development, and change of culture. The specific focus is on the shared beliefs, values, rituals, customs and behaviors that are communicated within and between groups of people. Case studies of societies from around the world is discussed as illustrations of the concept of culture and its application in understanding how human societies and interactions work.

This course aims to introduce students to the field of Biological Anthropology. Using the scientific method of inquiry in an evolutionary theoretical framework, students will learn what it means to be ‘human’ from biological, evolutionary, and cultural perspectives. The course will present an overview of the following major topics in Biological Anthropology: skeletal analyses of human remains in a forensic and bioarchaeological context, primate human anatomy and physiology, and modern human biological variation, including the concept of race and differential predisposition to disease.

This course is an overview of the field of medical anthropology. It focuses on the social, cultural, political, and economic dimensions of health, illness, and healing. Relying on practices, illness behaviors, and concepts of the body are culturally constructed and mediated. The course examines how cultural ideas about health and medicine shape people’s experience, including physical experiences such as pain or suffering. It also applies anthropological theories and methods to understand the cultural meaning assigned to disease, reproduction, sexuality, and bodily processes. Topics covered by this course include cultural interpretations and narrative representations of sickness, healing, and the body; belief, ritual, and ethno-medicine; social suffering; illness and inequality; medicalization; cultural dimensions of perceptions of the body and illness in Western societies; cultural dimensions of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic; and policies of global health.

This course is an introduction to medical anthropology, emphasizing the literature on health and healing in different cultures. The objectives of the course are to understand health and healing in social and cultural context, to compare health, illness and healing in different cultures, and to introduce the theoretical orientations and basic concepts of medical anthropology. Readings illustrate the different theoretical orientations used by medical anthropologists and explore topics such as mental health and illness, healers and healing, disease etiologies, health seeking behavior, child birth across cultures and practical uses for medical anthropology in health care settings. Case studies from Italy, North America, Africa, Europe and Latin America illustrate key concepts. <b>Conducted in English on the Seville, Spain campus</b>

This course is an introduction to forensic anthropology and its increased application in cases of global human rights violations. Beginning with the history of forensic anthropology as a field, the course explores the techniques used by forensic anthropologists (recovery, biological profile construction, time since death, trauma, and disease), as well as special techniques (DNA analysis, facial reconstruction, and photo superimposition) and how each contributes to forensic anthropology. Finally, the course examines how human rights are conceived as a means to protect and promote freedom, peace and justice for citizens against the abuses of the state. Global conflicts and resolutions are considered using case studies, determining how organizations attempt to repair the individual and collective traumas to promote justice and the rule of law in societies.

This course is an anthropological survey of the diverse ways in which sex and gender roles, ideologies, expectations and relationships are socially constructed in difference modern and historical contexts. Class lectures, readings and writing assignments will emphasize the main theoretical and analytical frameworks; thus, exploring cross-cultural diversity insexual identites and gender ideologies within households and communities globally. In addition, a selection of ethnographic cross-cultrual case studies will illuminate the complexities of gender and show the ways in which gender roles and relationships diverge or intersect with a wide range of cultural and instituttional spheres.

From bubonic plague to HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases have been credited with defeating armies, causing mass relgious conversions, and dramatically changing population demographics. Drawing from anthropology, archaeology and sociology, this course will explore how infectious diseases have shapen human populations, how they impact us today, and how they might affect human development in a future, warmer, more immediately connected world. <p> In class, lectures and discussion will focus on a history of human understanding of diseases, the evolutionary history of humans and microorganisms, the ways in which social scientists study diease transmission and effects, and major epidemic episodes in human history. Additionally, the class will be divided into small groups to each select a specific case history that has demonstrated how infectious disease influenced the direction of human development, and how similar circumstances could arise again in the future. Each group will present their findings to the class as a final assignment.

This course explores the phenomenon of human trafficking in historical, political and social context. The course begins with the query: What is human trafficking? While a seemingly straightforward question, it is one that remains hotly contested, despite the existence of legal definitions. Students examine the issue through the lens of international, U.S., and state and local legal frameworks as well as looking at the ways in which society and culture influence diverse understandings of the topic. Students also explore the complicated histories under-pinning current perceptions and how they influence contemporary responses to the problem. Drawing on a variety of sources – academic articles, media accounts, survivor narratives, policy documents, NGO reports, and film – the course explores the issue from multiple and intersecting perspectives in order to more fully grasp its complexity. The course also examines the types of advocacy that are being done around human trafficking and how survivors are impacted by anti-trafficking policies and responses.

This course uses anthropological perspectives to explore western traditions of magic, witchcraft, and sorcery from pre-history to the present resurgence of belief in astrology and the esoteric in popular culture. Exploring anthropological distinctions between religion, folklore, science, magic, and shamanism, we will consider the potential evolution of traditions (such as the development of ritual deposition of iron in northern European prehistory into the use of lucky horseshoes in the modern era) as well as backlash against these beliefs and traditions. We will also investigate whether many modern trends in health, “wellness”, and spirituality can be understood to be magical beliefs, as considered by anthropologists. 

This course explores health, inequality, and intersectionality through an anthropological perspective. Drawing on concepts including structural violence, health disparities, and social determinants of health, the course examines topics such as global infectious disease epidemics, migrant health, substance use disorder, incarceration, pregnancy, and elder care through an intersectional lens. Exploring these issues through a series of ethnographic texts, and in line with calls to promote health equity, the course will explore the role of anthropology in better understanding and addressing human health and social problems.