content

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS ANTHROPOLOGY (ANT)

5023 History, Method, and Theory of Archaeology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. A survey of the history and development of archaeology, research techniques, and method and theory of prehistoric research. May be repeated for credit with different instructors.

5033 Paradigms of Americanist Anthropology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. This course surveys the main conceptual, methodological, and theoretical developments in cultural anthropology, with particular emphasis on their application to the study of indigenous peoples of the Americas.

5043 Seminar in Laboratory Methods in Anthropology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. This seminar reviews the physical and technical aspects of analysis of anthropological materials. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

5053 Seminar in Economic Anthropology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Economic anthropology is the comparative study of the organization of production, distribution, and consumption, and the values and meanings associated with those activities. This course provides an overview of the history, scope, and development of economic anthropology, including formalist, substantivist, and Marxist approaches. Ethnographic cases are used to examine economies across different levels of complexity and to explore how anthropologists have described preindustrial and industrial economies.

5073 Advanced Biological Anthropology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. An intensive review of the history of biological anthropology and current developments in method and theory. Topics will be drawn from the four major areas of biological anthropology: genetics and evolutionary theory, human variation and adaptation, pimatology, and paleoanthropology.

5283 Hunters and Gatherers
(3-0) 3 hours credit. A study of the major issues archaeologists address concerning the cultural ecology and cultural evolution of hunters and gatherers around the world.

5413 Seminar in the Prehistory of Texas and Adjacent Areas
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Intensive study of prehistoric and early historic aboriginal cultures of Texas and adjacent areas. Focus is on problems of interpretation, current archaeological research of the region, and the impact of federal legislation on Texas archaeology.

5453 Seminar on the Archaeology of the American Southwest and Adjacent Regions
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Review of the major prehistoric cultures of the American Southwest, including the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam cultural regions and adjacent areas. Emphasis is on current research.

Table of Contents | Catalog Home | Previous Page

5473 Settlement Pattern Analysis
(3-0) 3 hours credit. This course explores the wide array of data and theories used to identify and explain the patterned distribution of human activity. Archaeology’s dependence on settlement pattern data is underscored, and the relationships between data and theory are critically evaluated.

5513 Seminar in Analytical Methods in Archaeology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Basic quantitative and qualitative approaches to the analysis and interpretation of archaeological field and laboratory data are reviewed.

5546 Current Technological Applications in Archaeology
(6-0) 6 hours credit. Students will be exposed to the application of current computer-related technologies to archaeology, such as Global Positioning Systems, Total Stations, and/or Geographic Information Systems.

5556 Field Course in Archaeology
(2-12) 6 hours credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. The opportunity for advanced training in field procedures and their applications to problem-oriented field research. May be repeated for credit.

5723 Seminar in Evolution and Human Behavior
(3-0) 3 hours credit. This seminar focuses on how anthropologists and scholars in related fields approach the relationship between culture change and biological evolution. Topics include the evolution of the capacity for culture in hominids, human evolutionary ecology, and competing models of cultural evolution.

5733 Seminar in Primate Behavioral Ecology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. This course draws from current literature in primate behavioral ecology. Topics include kinship and dominance, feeding competition, mating strategies, and social organization. The contribution of primate studies to understanding human evolution is considered. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

6113 Seminar in the Anthropology of Mesoamerica
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Attention is centered on a limited number of significant problems in Mesoamerican anthropology to which materials from archaeology, ethnology, and ethnohistory contribute. Examples of such problems are demography and the rise of Mayan civilization, roots of Mesoamerican peasant culture, and distribution analysis of cultural and language variance. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

6133 Seminar in Medical Anthropology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Course focuses on a limited number of significant problems in medical anthropology to which materials from ethnohistory, archaeology, ethnology, paleopathology, and cultural ecology contribute. Topics may include interaction of genetic and cultural influences and health consequences of technological change. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

6203 Seminar in Recent Trends in Archaeological Method and Theory
(3-0) 3 hours credit. A survey of major issues in archaeological method and theory. Attention is focused on recent methodological and theoretical developments in archaeology. May be repeated for credit with different instructors.

6213 Topics in the Anthropology of Native North America
(3-0) 3 hours credit. An organized course examining topics of current interest to anthropologists with a focus on North America. May be repeated for credit.

6223 The Archaeology of Household and Residence
(3-0) 3 hours credit. This course examines the data, methods, and theories used to reconstruct the composition and activities of domestic groups. The relevance of household studies in archaeology is stressed through inspection of the economic, political, and ideological links between domestic groups and broader social formations.

6303 Seminar in Research Design and Proposal Writing
(3-0) 3 hours credit. This course familiarizes students with the philosophical foundations of social science research, the structure and types of research designs, and pragmatic considerations of data acquisition and analysis. The relationship between theory and research design and methods is emphasized. The final project is a thesis research proposal.

6353 Field Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
(3-0) 3 hours credit. The study and practice of field research methods of cultural anthropology emphasizing participant observation and use of informants.

6443 Supervised Field Research
(0-9) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. The course is designed to offer the opportunity for intensive training and requires the student to carry out independent research and analysis of field data. The grade report for the course is either “CR” (satisfactory performance) or “NC” (unsatisfactory performance). May be repeated for credit.

6503 Seminar in Cultural Resource Management
(3-0) 3 hours credit. This seminar reviews the legislative basis, practical application, and current state of cultural resource management in Texas and the United States.

6931-3 Internship in Anthropology
1 to 3 hours credit. A supervised experience, relevant to the student’s program of study, within selected community organizations. Must be taken on a credit/no credit basis, but not more than 6 hours will apply to the Master’s degree.

6951-3 Independent Study
1 to 3 hours credit. Prerequisites: Graduate standing and permission in writing (form available) of the instructor and the student’s Graduate Advisor of Record. Independent reading, research, discussion, and/or writing under the direction of a faculty member. For students needing specialized work not normally or not often available as part of the regular course offerings. May be repeated for credit, but not more than 6 hours, regardless of discipline, will apply to the Master’s degree.

6961 Comprehensive Examination
1 hour credit. Prerequisite: Approval of the appropriate graduate program committee to take the Comprehensive Examination. Independent study course for the purpose of taking the Comprehensive Examination. May be repeated as many times as approved by the Graduate Program Committee. Enrollment is required each term in which the Comprehensive Examination is taken if no other courses are being taken that term. The grade report for the course is either “CR” (satisfactory performance on the Comprehensive Examination) or “NC” (unsatisfactory performance on the Comprehensive Examination).

6971-3 Special Problems
(1-0, 2-0, 3-0) 1 to 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. An organized course offering the opportunity for specialized study not normally or not often available as part of the regular course offerings. Special Problems courses may be repeated for credit when the topics vary.

6981-3 Master’s Thesis
1 to 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Permission of the Graduate Advisor of Record and thesis director. Thesis research and preparation. May be repeated for credit, but not more than 6 hours will apply to the Master’s degree. Credit will be awarded upon completion of the thesis. Enrollment is required each term in which the thesis is in progress.

Table of Contents | Catalog Home | Previous Page

text size– | + | R |