Department of Sociology and Anthropology
ANTH 1150 BRIEF COURSE OUTLINE Fall 2025
Date: August 26, 2025
Instructor and course information: Instructor: Dr. Kelly Linton
Method of delivery: In person Lecture
Schedule: Tu/Th 11:30-12:50
Credit value: 0.5
Prerequisites: None.
Course Description: This introductory course offers an examination of an anthropological approach to the study of humanity. Taking into account the diversity of human experience across time and space, this course focuses on variation in social and cultural systems including kinship, politics, language, identity, economics, and belief systems. This course is intended to provide students with a comparative and critical framework with which to understand contemporary social issues such as race, gender, communication, and economic inequality and will include discussions of the unique nature of anthropological research and the historical legacy of anthropology as a discipline. A full course schedule including a week-by-week breakdown of topics and assigned readings will be available on Courselink before the first day of class.
Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Identify the methodology, concepts, and approaches used in the anthropological study of humanity.
2. Apply critical thinking and analytical skills to representations of human and cultural diversity.
3. Reflect on the connections between diverse social processes (economic and political systems, language, social organization, ontologies, etc).
4. Reflect on the purpose and usefulness of anthropological practice in the world. 5. Demonstrate how power intersects with social meaning and categories such as race, gender, ethnicity, and class.
Course Materials: Required textbook: Monaghan, John and Peter Just. 2000. Social & Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. E-book will be available via the campus bookstore.
In some weeks, short article readings, blog posts and videos will be assigned. These additional materials will be made available for download through the weekly lesson pages on the Courselink site. Public Anthropology Project: Students pay a $15 USD registration fee to participate in the project. Once registered, students have a free copy of “Why a Public Anthropology?”, auto-biographies of many key figures in cultural anthropology, and full access to the website and its support. More details about the project will be available in Courselink and discussed in class.
Evaluation: Grades will be based on the following: • Cultural Immersion Project – 25% • Midterm – 20% • Public Anthropology Project – 25% • Final Exam – 30%