Courses
Anthropology GE Classes
Please see our listing of Anthropology courses on our majors page that can be used in fulfilling GE requirements.
Lower Division Courses
ANTH 101 - Human Biocultural Origins (3 units) GE
Humankind’s place in nature; fossil evidence for hominid evolution; evolutionary theory;
racial, clinal and genetic variability; relationship of physical and cultural adaptations;
the rise of civilization.
ANTH 102 - Introduction to Socio-Cultural Anthropology (3 units) GE
Cross-cultural survey of systems of social, political, and economic organization,
language, gender, kinship, religion, and subsistence; culture change and intercultural
connections; ethnographic field methods and theories of culture; contemporary applications.
ANTH 103 - Introduction to Archaeology and World Prehistory (3 units) GE
Archaeology emphasizing the modern relevance of understanding the past. Beginning
six to seven million years ago in Africa, highlighting the physical and cultural evolution
of our human lineage.
ANTH 111 - Anthropology of the Night: Sleep, Dreams, and Demons (3 units) GE
Human nighttime activities and cultural understandings regarding the nocturnal world.
Cultural context and physiological, psychological, and social roots and ramifications
of dreams, sleep, and supernatural encounters.
ANTH 112 - Conspiracy and Culture (3 units) GE
Conspiracy theories in cultural context to include physiological, psychological, and
social dimensions. Power dynamics, voices of dissent, and culturally varied ways commitments
to “false” beliefs are created, maintained, and diffused.
ANTH 113 - Pseudoscience and Science in Archaeology (3 units) GE
How we know what we know using anthropology and archaeology case studies from around
the world.
ANTH 296 - Experimental Topics (1-4 units)
Selected topics. May be repeated with new content.
Note: See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination
of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor’s degree.
Upper Division Courses (Intended for Undergraduates)
ANTH 301 - Principles of Biological Anthropology (3 units)
Two lectures and three hours of laboratory.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101.
Theory and method in biological anthropology. Hands-on collection and interpretation
of data in primate comparative anatomy, human evolution, human skeletal biology, human
adaptability, and primate behavioral observation.
ANTH 302 - Principles of Archaeology (3 units)
Two lectures and three hours of laboratory.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 103.
History, method, and theory of archaeological data acquisition and interpretation.
Methods of data recovery and analysis suitable to resolution of historical and processual
questions. Archaeological examples from a worldwide sample of prehistoric and historic
societies.
ANTH 303 - Principles of Socio-Cultural Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Development of theories which explain nature of culture and cultural variation. Applications
of theory of culture to field methods in ethnography and interpretation of ethnographic
findings.
ANTH 304 - Principles of Anthropological Linguistics (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Structural nature of language. How languages differ, change and influence each other.
Language families of the world. Significance of language for human social life in
a variety of cultures.
ANTH 312 - Archaeological Field Techniques (3 units)
Six hours of activity.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 302.
Archaeological excavation of significant sites in San Diego. Techniques of excavation,
recording, and surveying.
ANTH 333 - Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in the Americas (3 units) GE
Same As: LATAM 333
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102 or LATAM 101.
History and contemporary forms of identity to include ethnicity, gender, nationality,
race, and sexuality in Canada, Latin America, and United States.
ANTH 348 - Historical Archaeology (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
How historical texts and archaeological artifacts are used to understand colonial
expansion and indigenous response across the globe over last half millennium. Incorporates
native and European worldviews in investigation of archaeological sites from historical
times.
ANTH 349 - Roots of Civilizations (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): Upper division standing.
Origins and major attributes common to civilizations. Form and function of fundamental
characteristics in different civilizations. Examples taken from Africa, Asia, the
Near East and the New World.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 350 - Cultures Around the Globe (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Cultural patterns of representative peoples. Industries, arts, social organization
and supernaturalism considered with view to environmental adjustment, historical development
and functional interrelation. Ethnological theories reviewed and applied in interpreting
illustrative societies.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 353 - Sustainability and Culture (3 units) GE
Same As: SUSTN 353
Examination of efforts of anthropology to understand sustainability and provide solutions
to human-environmental problems. Compares and explores sustainability in a variety
of contexts and scales, from San Diego region to diverse communities around the world.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 355 - Exploring Primate Behavior (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of
Learning II.A. Natural Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning. If a biological sciences
course is not taken to satisfy Foundations of Learning II.A. 2. Life Sciences, a college
course in biological sciences is required.
World of our closest living relatives. What it means to be a primate, where primates
live, how primates have evolved into different groups and adapted to different environments,
and what primates are threatened with extinction and why.
ANTH 360 - From the Grave: Modern Forensic Anthropology (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of
Learning II.A. 2. Life Sciences. If a biological sciences course is not taken to satisfy
Foundations of Learning II.A. 2. Life Sciences, a college course in biological sciences
is required.
Physical anthropology and skeletal biology within medicolegal context. Methodologies
used in science of forensic anthropology, as interdisciplinary nature and authorities
in related fields.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 365 - Animals, Culture, and the Environment (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of
Learning II.B. Social Sciences. If a social sciences course is not taken to satisfy
Foundations of Learning II.B. Social Sciences, a college course in biological sciences
is required.
Exploration of human-animal relationships in archaeology and modern society, from
early hunting to the evolution of domestication. Biological, cultural, and environmental
changes associated with human-animal relationships.
ANTH 395 - Introduction to the Anthropology Major (1 unit)
Grading Method: Cr/NC
Coursework, faculty, and learning objectives for the anthropology major. Professional
standards and ethics in the field of anthropology.
ANTH 402 - Dynamics of Biocultural Diversity (3 units) GE
Offered at: SDSU Main Campus and SDSU Imperial Valley
Prerequisite(s): Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of
Learning II.A.2. Life Sciences. If a biological sciences course is not taken to satisfy
Foundations of Learning II.A.2. Life Sciences, a college course in biological sciences
is required.
Interaction of biology and culture in human populations. Relating genetic and cultural
processes to the changes in human populations over time.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 404 - Evolution of Human Behavior (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or BIOL 101.
Evolutionary approaches to human behavior to include evolutionary psychology, gene-culture
coevolution, and human behavioral ecology. Evolution of cooperation and altruism,
human health and survival, human mating, parenting, and violence and warfare.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 405 - Technology, Personhood, and the Body (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Upper division standing.
How interaction with present-day technologies mediates thought surrounding bodies,
identities, and sociocultural worlds. Examination of the influence of communication,
medical, and surveillance technologies, among others.
ANTH 410 - Language in Culture (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Survey of anthropological interests in the study of language and of linguistic interests
in the sociocultural context of language.
ANTH 422 - Music and Culture (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
How the forms, functions and meanings of music vary crossculturally. Understanding
a society’s music historically, holistically and experientially, with emphasis on
non-Western music. Universals of music and music use. Ethnological theories of music
and music change.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 424 - The Supernatural in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3 units) GE
Same As: REL S 424
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Magic and religion. Conceptions of the supernatural in a cross section of world’s
cultures. Anthropological theories relating to supernatural beliefs and practices.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 439 - Cultural Comparisons Through Film (3 units) GE
Principles of cultural anthropology to include signs and proxemics, cultural prerequisites,
kinship and social organization, and law and values. Feature and documentary films.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 440 - Mesoamerican Civilization Before the Europeans (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Pre-European cultures and civilizations of Mexico and upper Central America from 25,000
years ago to arrival of Spanish in 1517. Regional histories, economies, social organizations,
ideologies, and political systems, settlement patterns, architecture, and art.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 442 - Cultures of South America (3 units) GE
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Indian cultures in terms of origins, migration, relation to habitat, cultural variation
and relevance to contemporary trends. Development of Inca civilization, the effects
of the Spanish conquest and its aftermath.
Note: This course satisfies the general education cultural diversity requirement.
ANTH 443 - Anthropology of Violence (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Individual and collective acts of armed violence in variety of historical and cultural
settings. Structural violence with attention to how poverty and inequality are related
to violence and suffering. Warfare and aggression on the part of colonial powers and
the modern state.
ANTH 445 - Culture, Gender, and Race in Sports (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 102.
Intersection of culture, gender, and race through sports in Europe, Latin America,
and North America at amateur, community-based, and professional levels. Consideration
of sports’ participation and fandom and how gender, nationality, and race affect those
processes.
ANTH 451 - American Indian Identity (3 units) GE
Same As: AMIND 451
Multidisciplinary perspectives on American Indian identity today. Topics include perspectives
from political, ethnic, cultural and legal standpoints, both within and outside of
indigenous communities, as well as diachronic variation in perspectives.
Note: This course satisfies the ethnic studies [ES] requirement.
ANTH 460 - American Indian Languages (3 units) GE
Same As: AMIND 460 and LING 460
Structures of American Indian languages. Language families of North America, history,
and present circumstances. Interdependence of language and culture, differences in
ways of speaking. Issues of language endangerment, language death, language maintenance,
and language revitalization.
Note: This course satisfies the ethnic studies [ES] requirement.
ANTH 471 - Archaeology of North America (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 102.
Origins of the American Indian and survey of the main prehistoric cultures of the
North American continent.
ANTH 483 - Topics in Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ANTH 102 and upper division standing.
Archeological, biological, linguistic, or sociocultural dimensions of anthropology.
May be repeated with new content. Maximum Credits: six units.
Note: See Class Schedule for specific content.
ANTH 495 - Internship in Applied Anthropology (1-3 units)
Grading Method: Cr/NC
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 301, ANTH 302, ANTH 303, ANTH 304.
Supervised field placement of students in campus or community organization, museums,
cultural resource management firms, social service and development agencies, forensic
laboratories and other offices including business firms where concepts and principles
of anthropology can be put into practice. May be repeated for maximum credit three
units.
ANTH 496 - Experimental Topics (1-4 units)
Selected topics. May be repeated with new content.
Note: See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination
of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor’s degree.
ANTH 499 - Special Study (1-3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.
Individual study. Maximum Credits: six units.
Upper Division Courses (also Acceptable for Advanced Degrees)
ANTH 501 - Primate Behavioral Ecology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 301.
Ecology and behavior of nonhuman primates to include history of primate ecological
research, feeding ecology, predation, demography and dispersal, reproduction, conflict
and cooperation, conservation as well as contemporary primatology.
ANTH 504 - Seminar in Human Adaptability (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101, ANTH 301, BIOL 100, or graduate standing.
Biocultural responses to environmental and social stressors. Human adaptability history,
methods, and theory. Behavioral, biological, cultural, developmental, and genetic
responses to stress. Linkages between human adaptability, human variation, and social
and health disparities.
ANTH 505 - Human Osteology (3 units)
Two lectures and three hours of laboratory.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 301.
Identification of individual bones and teeth; sex, age, and racial variation; stature
reconstruction; continuous and discontinuous morphological variations; paleopathology.
Training in observations, measurements, and analyses.
ANTH 508 - Medical Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Socio-cultural ecology of disease, medical health beliefs and practices in cultural
context, and complexities of health care delivery in pluralistic societies.
ANTH 510 - Environmental and Ecological Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Ecological thinking in anthropology with focus on relationships between human environmental
and ecological systems in tribal, peasant, and industrial societies. Cultural aspects
of how and why human societies have maintained or undermined their ecosystems.
ANTH 520 - Ethnographic Field Methods (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Problems and techniques of field work in ethnographic and social anthropological research;
field work projects conducted using various qualitative and quantitative research
techniques. Students work with informants in various settings.
ANTH 529 - Urban Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Urban adaptations of past and present societies. Descriptive topics and applied concerns
regarding urban origins, migrations, kinship, ethnicity, stratification, and change.
Ethnographic examples drawn from Western and non-Western societies.
ANTH 531 - Methods in Applied Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Anthropological concepts and methodologies to solve human problems in both western
and non-western societies through intervention, community development, impact assessment,
and cultural communication.
ANTH 532 - Anthropology of Development and Conservation (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Anthropological perspectives on design, implementation, and assessment of development
projects and conservation initiatives in “Third World.” Interlinkages between resource
exploitation, underdevelopment, and local autonomy; and political and ethical dilemmas
faced by anthropologists involved in projects.
ANTH 533 - Race, Ethnicity, and Identity (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Theories and practices of race, ethnicity, and identity from a cross-cultural and
anthropological perspective. History of race in US and other regions, focusing on
how identities are constructed around concepts of difference.
ANTH 536 - Gender and Human Sexuality (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Constructions of gender and sexuality from anthropological perspective. Social constructions
of body, norms, deviance, and medicalization of sexuality.
ANTH 537 - Anthropology of Childhood (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 303.
Childhood in diverse cultural settings; evolutionary, biosocial, and health-related
aspects of childhood; social and cultural uses of idea of childhood; enculturation
and children’s relationship to material culture.
ANTH 546 - Seminar in Biocultural Perspectives of Substance Use (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 301 or graduate standing.
Substance use within biological and cultural perspectives. Prehistory and cross-cultural
evidence of substance use. Cultural, evolutionary, and medical anthropology models
of substance use. Contemporary patterns of substance use to broader biological, cultural,
ecological, and historical factors.
ANTH 560 - Advanced Archaeological Field Techniques (3 units)
Six hours of activity.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 312.
Advanced projects in excavation and stabilization of ruins, archaeological surveys,
laboratory analysis, preparation of reports, and act as unit supervisor. Course may
be repeated with consent of instructor. Maximum Credits: six units.
ANTH 561 - Archaeological Laboratory Methods (3 units)
Two lectures and three hours of laboratory.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 302.
Application of palynology, paleontology, and relevant technologies. Individual laboratory
research project required.
ANTH 562 - Computational Archaeology (3 units)
Two lectures and three hours of laboratory.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 302 or graduate standing.
Computational spatial research in anthropology and archaeology to include applications
of computer modeling, digital imagery analysis, and geographic information systems.
ANTH 563 - Anthropogenic Landscapes (3 units)
Two lectures and two hours of activity.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 302.
Human activity that has shaped the Earth’s surface over time. Past human impacts to
include geo-archaeology and laboratory analyses of anthropogenic sediments.
ANTH 564 - Zooarchaeology Methods (3 units)
Two lectures and three hours of laboratory.
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 302 or graduate standing.
History and theory of zooarchaeology. Osteology and identification of amphibians,
birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles for archaeological studies. Functional and comparative
analyses, anatomy, curation, histology, observation, and report writing for archaeological
collections.
ANTH 565 - Paradise Lost?: The Archaeology and Ethics of Human Environmental Impacts
(3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 103.
Human impact on the environment over the last 50,000 years. Interdisciplinary anthropological,
archaeological, and historical case studies from around the world.
ANTH 566 - Seminar in Archaeologies of the Borderlands (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 103 or graduate standing
Archaeological and contemporary human cultures and the environment in the Southwestern
borderlands. Issues of migration, subsistence, and water.
ANTH 582 - Regional Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.
Study of societies in a major geographical region of the world such as Africa, the
Arctic, East Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America, Oceania,
or South Asia. May be repeated with new content. Maximum Credits: six units.
Note: See Class Schedule for specific content.
ANTH 583 - Topical Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.
Study of a major subdiscipline such as political anthropology, economic anthropology,
social anthropology, psychological anthropology, cultural ecology, applied anthropology,
anthropological genetics, or environmental archaeology. May be repeated with new content.
Maximum Credits: six units.
Note: See Class Schedule for specific content.
ANTH 596 - Topics in Anthropology (1-3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Consent of instructor.
Advanced topics in anthropology. May be repeated with new content.
Note: See Class Schedule for specific content. Limit of nine units of any combination
of 296, 496, 596 courses applicable to a bachelor’s degree. Credit for 596 and 696
applicable to a master’s degree with approval of the graduate adviser.
Graduate Courses
ANTH 600 – Seminar (3 units)
An intensive study in advanced anthropology. Maximum Credits: six units applicable
to a master’s degree.
Note: See Class Schedule for specific content.
ANTH 601 - Seminar in Biological Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate standing.
History, theory, and current research in biological anthropology. Key literature from
core topical areas such as primatology, paleoanthropology, human biology, bioarchaeology,
and skeletal biology.
ANTH 602 - Seminar in Archaeology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate standing.
History and theory in archaeological data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
ANTH 603 - Seminar in Sociocultural Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate standing.
Current debates, evolution, and history pertaining to the methodologies, practices,
scope, and theories of sociocultural anthropology.
ANTH 604 - Seminar in Linguistics (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate standing.
History and theory of linguistics stressing the significant literature on such topics
as cultural cognition, descriptive linguistics, lexicostatistics, and transformational
analysis.
ANTH 605 - Seminar in Applied Anthropology (3 units)
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate standing.
Use of anthropological theory and methods in solving contemporary social problems.
Contemporary ethnographic examples from differing regions of the world reviewed to
understand complexity and locally specific variables that must be addressed in proposing
interventions and solutions.
ANTH 795 - Internship in Anthropology (3-9 units)
Grading Method: Cr/NC
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate standing and consent of instructor.
Students assigned to various government and private agencies in which anthropological
theory can be applied. Supervision shared by department supervisor and on-the-job
supervisor. Maximum Credits: nine units; three units applicable to a master’s degree.
ANTH 797 – Research (3 units)
Grading Method: Cr/NC/RP
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate standing.
Independent investigation in the general field of the thesis.
ANTH 798 - Special Study (1-3 units)
Grading Method: Cr/NC/RP
Prerequisite(s): Classified graduate standing.
Individual study directed toward the preparation of a paper on a specific problem.
May be repeated with variable content. Maximum Credits: three units applicable to
a master’s degree.
ANTH 799A – Thesis (3 units)
Grading Method: Cr/NC/RP
Prerequisite(s): An officially appointed thesis committee and advancement to candidacy.
Preparation of a project or thesis for the master’s degree.
ANTH 799B - Thesis Extension (0 units)
Grading Method: Cr/NC
Prerequisite(s): Prior registration in Thesis, 799A, with an assigned grade symbol
of RP.
Registration required in any semester or term following assignment of RP in Course
799A in which the student expects to use the facilities and resources of the university;
also student must be registered in the course when the completed thesis is granted
final approval.