How is our understanding of the past, and of scientific discovery in general, determined or framed by the concerns of the present?  How does popular media cover scientific research about the past? How do ingrained social biases affect this media coverage? This seminar considers these questions through a focus on Ancient East Asia.  In the process, we learn about the origins of the people, cultures, and civilizations of this region, but our primary focus is not historic details, but instead examining how the varied and complicated histories and relationships among people and...

Prof. Sarah Hlubik

T/Th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM

This course will cover the archaeological record of the Pleistocene. Students will gain an understanding of the biological and geological setting of the time period, with a biogeographic overview of Plio-Pleistocene hominins, including the geological setting of the African continent. The course will cover the Early, Middle, and Late Pleistocene archaeological records of Africa in detail, with comparisons to the Eurasian records and discuss the methods through which we study these time periods. The discussion sections will...

Prof. Gabriella Coleman
W 3:00 PM - 5:45 PM

This course is part seminar, part practicum. Its purpose is to help students conceptualize and design a research project, to craft effective research and grant proposals, and to prepare for ethnographic and archival work. The first and longest part of the course will focus on formulating a researchable project, in all its various elements; how to write a statement of problem, to frame arguments/theses, to situate work in the appropriate anthropological literature/s, to develop a methodological approach, and...

Department Faculty
By Arrangement

Individual work in preparation for the doctoral dissertation.

Consult the appropriate member of the Department.
Limited to candidates for the PhD in Anthropology who are in residence and who are in good standing in the Graduate School.

N/A
By Arrangement

Students enrolled in PhD in Anthropology should utilize this course to indicate time spent researching and reading outside of coursework.

Oftentimes used towards maintaining full-time status, when not enrolled in coursework or writing the dissertation.  Not counted towards PhD requirements.

Prof. Diana Loren
By Arrangement

The purpose of the practicum is to provide curatorial experience in the Peabody Museum (PMAE), directly supervised by a PMAE curator. The practicum is designed to designed to introduce students to contemporary museum curatorial practice, to provide hands-on experience working with PMAE collections, and opportunity for reflexive research based in historical context. The practicum will be developed in consultation with PMAE curator and will be related to PMAE projects and initiatives.

Archaeology Faculty 
By Arrangement

Preparation with Archaeology cohort for the general examination in Archaeology. This course should be taken during the fall semester of the second year and involves weekly meetings to study and prepare for the general exams in January.

Restricted to candidates for the PhD degree and ordinarily to those who have completed at least one year in residence.