Students will examine the concept of culture from a historical and global perspective and learn tools for cross-cultural comparative analysis with an emphasis on critical thinking with cultural values and practices, variation in human behavior, the organization of social life, and the making of cultural identity. Cross-cultural topics include subsistence, power, law, language, gender, family and kinship, and the impact of globalization on human societies. Students will also learn fundamental concepts in anthropology to better understand the causes and conditions of our contemporary world.

Catalog Description:

“Cultural anthropology draws on the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to explore human variation in peoples’ practices, values, identities, and institutions, and the nature of human conflict. ANT 1001 challenges students to critically examine: what is “cultural,” what is “natural?” How do race, class, gender, sexuality, science and technology, politics and the economy, and globalization shape the contemporary world? Regardless of the focus—arts and sciences, business, or policymaking—anthropology equips Baruch students to engage a multi-cultural and interconnected world.”

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This course has three main objectives:

(1) To provide an overview of key topics in cultural anthropology.

(2) To encourage critical thinking about crucial anthropological and social scientific debates, past and present; and

(3) To analyze explanations for and causes of cross-cultural similarities and differences.

Learning Goals:

By the end of this course, students should be able:

• To identify the subject matter of cultural anthropology and its development as an academic discipline and practice over time.
• To demonstrate an understanding of the research methods used by cultural anthropology.
• To demonstrate a critical understanding of the concept of culture as used in anthropology.
• Reflect on the learning process to become more aware of it as it happens.