This Course and Program Catalogue is effective from May 2024 to April 2025.

Not all courses described in the Course and Program Catalogue are offered each year. For a list of course offerings in 2024-2025, please consult the class search website.

The following conventions are used for course numbering:

  • 010-099 represent non-degree level courses
  • 100-699 represent undergraduate degree level courses
  • 700-999 represent graduate degree level courses

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73 Results

ANTH 111.3: One World Many Peoples Introduction to Cultural Anthropology

Acquaints students with historical and contemporary approaches in Anthropology to the study of social and cultural variation.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Note: Students with previous credit for ANTH 110 may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 112.3: The Human Journey Introduction to Archaeology and Biological Anthropology

This course introduces students to the basic principles of archaeology and biological anthropology by examining human evolutionary and cultural development. The course follows the journey of humanity from our earliest bipedal ancestors, through the emergence of anatomically modern humans, to the eventual advent of agriculture and development of complex urban states.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Note: Students with credit for ANTH 110 or ARCH 112 may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 116.3: Introduction to Near Eastern and Classical Archaeology

Introduction to the archaeology of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Israel and surrounding regions, Greece and Rome. The course examines how archaeologists use material remains to reconstruct ancient societies, focusing on the archaeological characteristics and cultural dynamics of major periods, and the relationship between human communities and the environment.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 116 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 202.3: Anthropology and Indigenous Peoples in Canada

This course will acquaint students with anthropological and ethnographic approaches to Indigenous research in Canada. The course is focused on understanding first and foremost the historical and contemporary diversity and complexity of Indigenous societies and issues in Canada; secondly on understanding anthropological questions and the distinctive contributions and perspectives that anthropologists provide or have historically provided through Indigenous research in Canada.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 30 credit units of university courses.


ANTH 211.3: Cultural Competency in Community Health and Violence Intervention

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the anthropological grounding of cultural competency and its application to community, health, and violence intervention programming. The course uses a “case-study” approach so that the application of academic cultural competency models can be critically assessed.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or permission of the instructor.


ANTH 224.3: North American Plains Ethnography

A comprehensive survey of the ethnography, ethnohistory, and contemporary cultural issues facing the peoples of the North American plains. The composition and development of the plains culture complex and the impact of culture change will be considered centrally in this course.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3, INDG 107.3, ANTH 112.3, or ARCH 112.3; or permission of instructor.


ANTH 226.3: Business and Industrial Anthropology

Examination of the utility of cultural anthropology's concepts, theory, methodology and insights in creatively influencing the conduct of domestic and international business. Cross-cultural business etiquette, understanding of marketing and consumer behaviour, and importance of intercultural negotiation in solving business problems in multicultural/transnational organizational settings are also discussed.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or completion of 30 credit units at the university level including a 100-level social science course.


ANTH 227.3: Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe

Broadly considers society and culture in Eastern and Central Europe, how the region today is related to both the socialist and pre-socialist pasts, and how ethnography as a key research tool used by anthropologists helps to account for sociocultural changes the region is undergoing since the late 1980's.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or completion of 30 credit units at the university level, including an introductory social science course.
Note: Students with credit for ANTH 298 Special Topics: Cultures of Central and Eastern Europe may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 230.3: Cultural Dynamics

Examines some of the major dimensions of non-material culture including religion, magic, and constructs of space and time. It also examines processes of enculturation and culture change.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or permission of instructor.


ANTH 231.3: Cross Cultural Perspectives on Health and Illness

This course is an introduction to contemporary medical anthropology. It surveys anthropological approaches to the relationship between socio-cultural factors and illness, health, healing practices, the body, and mind. The ways in which social, cultural and political forces impact how various forms of human health and illness are understood, experienced, and dealt with will be examined.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or 30 credit units of university courses including an introductory social sciences course.


ANTH 235.3: Anthropological Approaches to Ethnicity and Ethnic Groups

Introduction and assessment of various anthropological approaches to the study of ethnicity and ethnic groups in a cross-cultural comparative framework.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or completion of 30 credit units at the university level including a 100-level social science course.


ANTH 240.3: Cultural Landscapes and Environments

This course examines the cultural construction of landscapes, as well as of built and social environments, through a series of topical readings focusing on historical, archaeological, literary, and ethnographic understandings.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or permission of instructor.
Note: Not open to students with credit in ANTH 498.3(02): Anthropological Perspectives on Space and Place (2009).


ANTH 241.3: Archaeology and Cultural Development Ancient Israel and Syria Late Bronze Age to Hellenistic Period

Examines the archaeological reconstruction of cultural development in the regions of ancient Israel and Syria from the Late Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Period, focusing on methodological issues, major sites, and the defining characteristics of the cultures themselves.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 112.3 OR 116.3
Note: Students with credit for CLAS 237.3 or CLAS 244.3 or ARCH 244.3 may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 244.3: Political Ecology Anthropology and Global Environmental Issues

Taking a political ecology approach drawn from anthropology, cross-cultural examples, and other disciplines, the course examines the impact of major 20th. and 21st. Century economic and technological developments upon peoples and environments. The focus is upon Indigenous nations, farming, peasant, and other local communities in cross-cultural and global perspective. A core emphasis is on environmental crises (chronic and acute), often associated with asymmetrical power relations, and socio-cultural responses to them, especially in the form of movements of resistance, protest, and reform. Political ecology blends the insights of a unified political economic approach in the social sciences with cultural and human ecologies as well as a mixture of biological and social ecological sciences. The course also explores sustainable futures through this paradigm.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or ARCH 112.3 or successful completion of 30 credit units of university study.
Note: Students who have taken ANTH 298 (Special Topics): Political Ecology, Anthropology and Contemporary Environmental Issues may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 250.3: Introduction to Archaeological Science

A study of the theory, methods and techniques used by archaeologists in survey, excavation, analysis and interpretation. Emphasizes methods and techniques. Laboratory instruction is given in the handling of archaeological material and data.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 112.3 or 116.3.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 250 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 251.3: Introduction to Archaeological Interpretation

How do archaeologists reconstruct the lives of past peoples from the material remains they left behind? This course introduces the student to the methods, techniques and theoretical models used by archaeologists as they answer questions about our human past and the emergence of modern societies.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 112.3 or 116.3.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 251 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 252.3: Near Eastern Archaeological Field Work

Introduces students to the excavation and laboratory methods used in Near Eastern archaeology. Beginning with research design, the course leads students through the techniques of excavation in the field to the analysis of artifacts and data in the lab.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): 12 credit units in Archaeology or 30 credit units at the university.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 252 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 257.3: Archaeology of Ancient Egypt

A study of the archaeological evidence for the reconstruction of ancient Egyptian culture from the Neolithic through to the Roman periods, focusing on the particular characteristics of archaeology in Egypt, major cultural periods, and significant sites.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 112.3, ANTH 116.3, ARCH 112.3, or ARCH 116.3
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 257 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 258.3: Archaeology of Ancient Mesopotamia

A study of the archaeological evidence for the development of the cultures of ancient Mesopotamia from the Neolithic through to the Persian periods, focusing on the particular characteristics of Mesopotamian archaeology, major cultural periods, significant sites, and the relation of urban centres to the surrounding regions.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 112.3 or 116.3
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 258 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 259.3: Archaeology of North America

This course is designed as an introduction to the archaeology of North America. It presents a broad survey of culture areas, with a focus on adaptation, culture change, economy, and technology. It will use the comparative approach to study the past lives of hunter-gatherer, horticulturalist, and agricultural cultures of North America. It covers from Time Immemorial and the First Peopling into the Colonial Period. It contextualizes the role archaeologists have in re-interpreting the past and how Reconciliation affects our work.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 112.3, ANTH 116.3, ARCH 112.3, or ARCH 116.3
Note(s): Students with credit for ARCH 259 or 298.3 Archaeology of North America may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 270.3: Human Evolution

An introductory overview of human biology including the background for evolutionary biology, and the evolution, structure, and function of certain primate patterns.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 3 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): 24 credit units of university courses including ANTH 112.3/ARCH 112.3 or both of BIOL 120.3 and BIOL 121.3.
Note: BIOL 120 and 121 are strongly recommended.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 270 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 298.3: Special Topics

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours


ANTH 299.6: Special Topics

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations. Students interested in these courses should contact the department for more information.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours


ANTH 302.3: The Practice of Ethnography

This course examines the practice of ethnography by integrating a discussion of ethnographic research methods with training in the critical reading of ethnography and skills development in writing ethnography. Specific techniques are explored, with an emphasis on qualitative approaches. The relationship of ethnographic theory and methodology is highlighted.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or permission of instructor.
Note: Students who have credit for ANTH 430 may not take ANTH 302 for credit.


ANTH 304.3: Anthropology Research Course

Supervised research (literature, laboratory, or field-based) course in a particular aspect of one of anthropology not offered in lecture form in this department. A detailed research program will be designed on an individual basis and will be guided by regular consultation with one or more faculty members. The student is required to consult with prospective faculty member(s) to plan a research project and make arrangements for supervision. The student may register in the course only after a detailed course syllabus has been approved by the Department Head.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 24 credit units ARCH or ANTH courses; and permission of department.
Note: This course is available for graduate credit. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the Department to ensure that the topics covered are different. There may be costs additional to tuition fees.


ANTH 305.3: Anthropology Reading Course

Supervised reading course in a particular aspect of anthropology not offered in lecture form in this department. A detailed reading program will be designed on an individual basis and will be guided by regular consultation with one or more faculty members. The student is required to consult with prospective faculty member(s) to plan the reading course and make arrangements for supervision. The student may register in the course only after a detailed course syllabus has been approved by the Department Head.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 24 credit units ARCH or ANTH courses; and permission of department.
Note: This course is not available for graduate credit. Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the Department to ensure that the topics covered are different.


ANTH 306.3: Anthropology of Disaster and Dislocation

This seminar course explores anthropological approaches to the human experience of disaster, disruption, and dislocation. Adopting perspectives primarily from medical and environmental anthropology, the course examines social and cultural responses to natural and human-made disasters, forced resettlement, and other forms of population disruption.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units 200-level ANTH, or permission of instructor.
Note: Students who have received credit for ANTH 405.3 may not receive credit for ANTH 306.3. Also, students who have received credit for ANTH 498.3: Anthropology of Disaster and Disruption may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 310.3: Anthropology of Gender

Introduces students to the anthropological approaches to gender, looking specifically at the gendered norms of collective behaviours and identities. The course centers on two questions: How is gender understood in different cultural contexts? What are the processes by which people learn to identify themselves as gendered and sexual citizens?

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or WGST 112.3 or permission of instructor.


ANTH 311.3: Selected Topics in Anthropology

Coverage of specialized areas of anthropological and/or ethnographic analysis.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Permission of instructor is required.
Note: Students may take this course more than once for credit, provided the topic covered in each offering differs substantially. Students must consult the Department to ensure that the topics covered are different. Some sections of this course will have additional lab hours.


ANTH 321.3: Myth Ritual and Symbol

Critically examines various approaches to the study of religion and religious symbolism. Different ways of interpreting myth, ritual, and symbol are considered through a survey of the works of both early social scientists and contemporary scholars. The role of symbols and rituals in social communication is examined.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units of 200-level ANTH or permission of instructor.


ANTH 326.3: Applied Anthropology

Applications of anthropological concepts to contemporary cultural and social issues. There is a focus on anthropology as a policy science including research and non-academic practice. Applied methods and domains are emphasized, including needs and social impact assessment, program evaluation, rapid assessment, participatory-action, and advocacy. Discussion focuses on anthropological contributions to community and economic development, environmental impact and sustainability, business and industry, cultural and natural resource management, education, immigration, Indigenous issues, technology transfers, and health.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units of 200-level ANTH or permission of instructor.


ANTH 329.3: Environmental Anthropology

Examines the variety of cultural adaptations that both large-scale and small-scale societies make to local and, increasingly, global environments. Illustrates how the principles of general ecology apply to humans in their environmental relations, while also applying ethnographic perspectives to new political manifestations of environmentalism.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units 200-level ANTH or permission of instructor.


ANTH 330.3: Oral History and Storytelling Anthropological Perspectives

Offers an anthropological perspective on stories and storytelling events, their meanings, interpretations, and applications. Drawing on a wealth of scholarship generated by folklorists, anthropologists and oral historians, students will examine current theories and principles of oral historical research and consider the implications of storytelling and oral narrative in modern societies.

Weekly hours: 1.5 Lecture hours and 1.5 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units 200-level ANTH or permission of instructor.
Note: Students with credit for ANTH 398 Special Topics: Oral History and Storytelling may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 331.3: The Archaeology of Human Environmental Impact

This course illustrates how humans have been an integral and active component of earth’s ecology for many thousands of years. This history of interaction between humans and their environments has had both deleterious and positive impacts, for us and other species. By studying how humans impacted their environments in the past, we gain a better appreciation of the potential effects of our own activities and their environmental consequences. Many of the processes affecting the planet today are rooted in our past, as many of the actions we see today were produced by and had impacts upon past societies. Similarly, past societies were forced to deal with the effects of climate change, a problem with which our current society is struggling. A better understanding of how these situations arose in the past may help us to better discern general principles that continue to operate today, and thus plan toward our future.

Weekly hours: 1 Lecture hours and 2 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s):ANTH 250.3 or ANTH 251.3 or permission of the instructor
Note:Students with credit for ARCH 330 or ARCH 398 Special Topics: The Archaeology of Human Environmental Impact may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 332.3: Anthropology of Infectious Disease

Offers a biocultural anthropological perspective on infectious diseases, epidemics, syndemics, and pandemics. The course focuses primarily on gendered and racialized experiences of infectious disease.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3 or WGST 112.3 or permission of instructor.
Note: Students with credit for WGST 353.3 may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 339.3: Cultural Change, Globalization and Development

Surveys anthropological theories that relate to change, from classical ones (such as neo-evolutionism, acculturation and assimilation, innovation, and diffusion) through more contemporary approaches to urbanization, social movements and networks, development, and globalization, to complexity and emergence theories. The tensions between the capacity for people to direct their futures and the limiting of external determinants are discussed through this course.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units 200-level ANTH or permission of instructor.


ANTH 350.3: Introduction to Boreal Forest Archaeology

An introduction to the archaeology of the boreal forest region stretching from Quebec to the northern prairie provinces, and including southern Keewatin and adjacent southeastern Mackenzie. The archaeological cultures will be discussed in detail and the methodological and theoretical approaches to the archaeology of this region.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250.3 or 251.3
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 350 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 353.3: Plains Archaeology

A survey of the prehistory of the Plains region of North America with emphasis on the recognition and examination of archaeological problems.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250.3 or 251.3
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 353 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 355.3: The Archaeology of Culture Contact

Examines the nature and consequences of early contacts between indigenous peoples and Europeans by utilizing the archaeological record, supplemented by ethnohistorical and historical sources. The primary focus will be North America north of Mexico with comparative case studies from interactions in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250 or 251.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 354 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 356.3: Development of Complex Cultures in Eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern Regions

A study of the development of complex cultures in the eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern regions from the hunting and gathering societies of the Upper Palaeolithic period to the establishment of complex urban cultures during the Early Bronze Age, with an emphasis on the geographical areas of ancient Syria and Israel.

Weekly hours: 2 Lecture hours and 1 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): One of ANTH 244.3, ANTH 250.3 or ANTH 251.3.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 356 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 358.3: Zooarchaeology I

This course is designed to expose you to the basic elements of zooarchaeology, which is the study of faunal remains from archaeological sites. It will focus on specimen identification, quantification, taphonomy, modification, age and sex estimations, seasonality, and other contemporary techniques in this discipline. You will be exposed to a wide variety of animal taxa from large and small-bodied ungulates, to carnivores, fishes, and birds. The presentation of course material is based on lectures, laboratory activities, and discussions of methods, approaches, and case studies. A heavy emphasis is placed on learning through hands-on experience and developing practical skills in working with large faunal assemblages. Please note that this is NOT a course in comparative vertebrate or invertebrate anatomy, nor this is a course in human or non-human mammalian anatomy.

Weekly hours: 1.5 Lecture hours and 1.5 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250.3 or ARCH 250.3.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 458 or ANTH 457 may not take this course for credit. This course was formerly half of ARCH 458.6.


ANTH 359.3: Archaeology of the Northwest Coast and Plateau

This course is designed as an introduction to the archaeology of the Northwest Coast and Plateau culture areas of North America, which stretches from coastal Alaska to northern California. This will include the pivotal role this region played in the peopling of the New World and the rise of social complexity in hunter-fisher-gatherer societies. It will question the concept of complexity, and how the term has shaped research in the region. It covers from Time Immemorial and the First Peopling into the Colonial Period. It contextualizes the role archaeologists have in re-interpreting the past and how Reconciliation affects our work.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250.3 or ANTH 251.3
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 359 or ARCH 398.3 Archaeology of the North West Coast and Plateau may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 360.3: Archaeological Resource Management

This course provides a theoretical and methodological introduction to the management and conservation of archaeological sites and materials. We will examine the various facets of cultural resource management on international, national and provincial levels with detailed examination of regulations, procedures, realities and weaknesses of what is essentially applied archaeology in western Canada. Important developments within CRM including increasing involvement of First Nations and the Duty to Consult; concerns regarding sacred objects, sites, and landscapes; human remains; professional ethics; conservation of sites and curation of collections and other topics will be addressed.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250.3 or ANTH 251.3.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 360 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 361.6: Archaeological Field Methods

Six weeks of field experience in archaeological research techniques including site survey, excavation, and laboratory analysis. The field location will depend on areas of departmental projects. Offered only in Spring and Summer Session.

Weekly hours: 60 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250.3 or 251.3
Note: There will be costs in addition to tuition fees. Students with credit for ANTH 261.3 may not take this course for credit.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 361 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 365.6: Study Abroad Museology and Egyptian Material Culture

In this study abroad course, students will travel to Turin, Italy, to learn about museology and Egyptian material culture, working primarily at the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum). Students will gain hands-on experience working with ancient objects, databases, and learning from museum professionals. They will receive lectures and demonstrations from many experts, learning not only about objects and display choices, but also about the different professions connected to the museum in order to consider diverse career opportunities. Field trips to other museums, cultural heritage sites, archaeological sites, and conservation laboratories provide further opportunities to understand the many different means of communicating space and object histories to diverse audiences, and ways to participate in the museum field. Throughout these different approaches, students will be asked to consider the ethics of collecting and displaying objects and human remains, particularly taking into consideration a European, colonial viewpoint.

Prerequisite(s): 30 credit units of university coursework including at least 6 credit units of ARCH/ANTH, CMRS, or HIST courses; or by permission of the instructor.
Note: Costs in addition to tuition will apply to this course. Please contact the department for details.


ANTH 370.3: Human Osteology

A comprehensive investigation of the human skeleton. Primary emphasis involves preparing students for archaeological fieldwork and advanced research in biological anthropology.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 3 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): 48 credit units of university courses including ANTH 270.3 or ARCH 270.3.


ANTH 386.3: Computer Applications in Archaeology

Explores the interaction between archaeological theory, excavation methods, and modes of analysis, and various computer applications, such as databases, computer assisted mapping and drawing programs, and geographic information systems utilized in archaeological research.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 1 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250.3 or ARCH 250.3; and ANTH 251.3 or ARCH 251.3; and an additional 6 credit units of Archaeology or Anthropology at the 200/300 level or permission of the department.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 385 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 390.3: Birth and Sex and Death Anthropological Life Course Perspectives

This course takes an anthropological life course approach to examine cultural and historical dynamics of birth, sex, and death cross-culturally. These three universal facts of human life are experienced, valued, and undertaken in in vastly different ways across cultural contexts and throughout time. Major topics include fertility, political and cultural determinants of birth and infant survival, emergent sexualities, sexual citizenships, sexual agency, aging, documenting death, and funerary rites.

Weekly hours: 2 Lecture hours and 1 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 111.3; and 30 credit units of university-level courses or permission of the instructor.
Note: Students who have taken ANTH 311: Selected Topics - Birth and Sex and Death may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 398.3: Special Topics

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours


ANTH 399.6: Special Topics

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours


ANTH 400.3: Contemporary Issues in Archaeology and Anthropology

This is a fourth-year capstone course that integrates archaeology and anthropology in a weekly seminar focusing on contemporary (i.e., 21st century) issues spanning the two sub-disciplines. Students will engage in a variety of contemporary readings and discussions and will be required to produce an original research paper that integrates archaeological and anthropological literature in a (previously-approved) topic of their choice. While weekly topics will vary from year to year, they will be grouped under one or more of five broad themes: Power, Identity, Community, Conflict, and Body. Topics covered will be timely and responsive to current events. This course will require active engagement by students, rather than passive absorption of lecture material. Assessment will be based on class participation, presentation, and an iterative series of writing assignments (a research paper proposal, annotated bibliography, and original research paper). This is a required course for the BA and BA Hons degrees in Archaeology and Anthropology.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 24 credit units ANTH or ARCH courses; and permission of the department.


ANTH 401.3: Independent Research in Anthropology

Students will undertake a project involving original research or a review essay under the direction of a faculty member. An oral presentation and written report submitted at the end of the project will be evaluated by a faculty committee. Topics are open within the field of Anthropology, subject to the availability of a faculty advisor. An outline of the project must be submitted to the course coordinator in the term preceding registration and be approved before Departmental permission will be granted.

Prerequisite(s): Admission to Honours program in Anthropology; and permission of the department.


ANTH 403.3: Anthropology of Healing

This course exposes students to critical anthropological perspectives on the concepts of healing, health, and well-being. Emphasis is placed on understanding the meaning of healing in cultural context, and on the cultural bases of psychosocial, medical, restorative, and transformational therapeutic processes.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units of 300 level ANTH, or permission of the instructor.
Note: Students who have taken ANTH 498 (Special Topics): Anthropology of Healing may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 406.3: Analysis and Public Exhibition of Cultural Artifacts

Independent study of a particular cultural artifact or artifact type, culminating in the public presentation of an exhibit in the Museum of Antiquities. Includes practical experience as a volunteer in the Museum.

Weekly hours: 4 Practicum/Lab hours and .5 Tutorial hours
Permission of the head of ARCH and ANTH required.
Prerequisite(s): 60 credit units at the university.
Note: Students with credit for CMRS 403 or ARCH 403 cannot take this course for credit.


ANTH 422.3: Anthropology in Context Contemporary Influences

This course consists of a broad survey of the development of contemporary concepts and theories in anthropology and related fields. Special emphasis will be given to the evolution of such terms and ideas as ethnography, culture, subjectivity, and the shifting models of the relationship between individual and group in contemporary theory.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): 3 credit units 300-level ANTH or permission of instructor.
Note: Students with credit for ANTH 420 may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 440.3: Archaeology of Food

This course examines the role food has played in creating and shaping ancient societies. It focuses on understanding how our bodies and different types of archaeological materials, including artefacts and plant and animal remains, can be used to reconstruct ancient diets and food practices. It also explores social aspects of how ancient food choices relate to identity, gender, economics, power, status, trade, and their roles in daily lives and ceremonies. This course integrates various case studies ranging from analyses of the diets of Neanderthals, Holocene hunter-gatherers, and early farmers to the impacts of ancient food on globalization, sustainability, modern cuisines, daily meals, and other food practices.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 250.3 or ANTH 251.3; and at least one 300-level ANTH or ARCH course.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 498.3 Archaeology of Food may not take this course for credit.


ANTH 458.3: Zooarchaeology II

This course is designed to expose you to advanced issues and discourses in the field of zooarchaeology related to contemporary methods and theoretical approaches. It will address a range of topics that cover different aspects of human-animal studies including subsistence, foraging strategies, domestication, bone chemistry, use of biometrics, animal life histories, integration of Indigenous knowledge, and other contemporary techniques and approaches applied in the discipline. The presentation of course material is based on lectures, laboratory activities with a sample faunal assemblage, and discussions of methods, theoretical approaches, and case studies. A heavy emphasis is placed on learning through hands-on experience and developing practical skills in working with large faunal assemblages.

Weekly hours: 1.5 Lecture hours and 1.5 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 358.3.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 458.6 may not take this course for credit. This course was formerly half of ARCH 458.6.


ANTH 462.3: Contemporary Archaeological Theory

Detailed survey of the basic concepts and schools of thought in contemporary archaeology considered on a world-wide basis, with emphasis on Canada and the United States. Theoretical models relating to culture history, settlement, ecological and other approaches are discussed.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 251.3 and 3 senior credit units in archaeology.
Note: Students with credit for ANTH 451.3 may not take this course for credit.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 462 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 471.3: Forensic Anthropology

Concerned with the analysis of human skeletal materials and specifically the identification of age, sex, stature, race and other features. Laboratory sessions supplement lectures.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours and 3 Practicum/Lab hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 470.3.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 471 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 472.3: Palaeopathology

The diagnosis and interpretation of disease in antiquity and the overall health status of earlier human populations. Although skeletal pathology will be emphasized, analysis of mummified tissues and ancient DNA will be included.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 470.3.
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 472 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 475.3: Bioarchaeology

Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains from archaeological contexts in order to reconstruct past lifeways. In this course, students will become familiar with the history and development of bioarchaeology, the nature and recovery of ancient human remains, and the various applications and interpretive frameworks employed by bioarchaeologists. Course material will be contextualize within some of the broader sociocultural and political processes that have characterized more recent human history.

Weekly hours: 3 Lecture hours
Prerequisite(s): ANTH 270.3 or permission of instructor
Note: Students with credit for ARCH 475 may not receive credit for this course.


ANTH 498.3: Special Topics

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours


ANTH 499.6: Special Topics

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours


ANTH 802.3: Community-Based Research Ethnography and Engagement

This course explores strategies for community-based research and engagement, with an emphasis on the practice of ethnography.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Permission of the instructor required.


ANTH 804.3: Medical Anthropology

Will survey the theoretical and conceptual trends within the field of medical anthropology, spanning biocultural, clinical, and critical interpretive approaches. The substantive areas of focus include reproductive health, infectious disease, disability, mental illness and healing.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Permission of the instructor required.


ANTH 806.3: Environmental Anthropology

Environmental Anthropology is the study of human interactions with nature. Topics include livelihood, place, adaptation, spirituality, environmental justice and environmental risk.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Permission of the instructor required.


ANTH 808.3: Seminar in Practicing and Applied Anthropology

This course will familiarize students with the application of anthropological insights to address social and other problems. Professional and practicing skills will be developed to assist students developing careers outside of the academy, as well as those wishing to take a scholarly approach to applied research.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Restriction(s): Must be enrolled in the M.A. Project-based program in Anthropology, with a concentration in Practicing Anthropology.


ANTH 898.3: Special Topics

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Reading hours
Permission of the instructor required.


ANTH 899.6: Special Topics

Offered occasionally by visiting faculty and in other special situations to cover, in depth, topics that are not thoroughly covered in regularly offered courses.

Weekly hours: 3 Reading hours
Permission of the instructor required.


ANTH 990.0: Seminar

During residence, all graduate students will register in and attend ANTH 990 and will make at least one presentation based on their research. Graduate students in the Anthropology program are required to attend and participate; interested undergraduate students may also be invited.

Restriction(s):Enrolment in the graduate program in Anthropology or permission of the Graduate Chair or designate.


ANTH 992.6: Research Project in Anthropology

Students enrolled in the M.A. Project-based program in Anthropology must complete this course.

Weekly hours: 3 Seminar/Discussion hours
Prerequisite(s):Open to students admitted to the M.A. Project-based program in Anthropology.


ANTH 994.0: Research – Thesis

Students writing a Master's thesis must register for this course.


ANTH 996.0: Research – Dissertation

Students writing a Ph.D. thesis must register for this course.