Please consult the online course catalog for cross-listed courses and full course information.
Course # (Section)
Title
Day/Times
Instructor
Location
Term
Course Details
AS.070.604 (01)
The Idea of Africa
F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Mohamed, Sabine
Mergenthaler 439
Fall 2023
This seminar interrogates the numerous ways that Africa, as a concept, has been generative in history, as well as in political and social thought. Although in the long arc of history, the period of European colonialism on the continent was brief, it fundamentally reshaped how we think about Africa as a space and place. Africa has long existed as a crucial “other” in European culture. But how do we think of Africa outside of this limiting history? The idea of Africa has also existed as an important rubric for African scholars to counter such colonial inheritances and for diasporas to re-engage the black Atlantic. The emergence of Pan-Africanism as well as liberation movements across the continent have pushed back against a reading of Africa simply as a site of exploitation, but as home (“Africa for Africans”), space (Afrofuturism), and as a site of radical politics. In this course, we explore the different histories, futures, and potentialities of Africa as an idea, re-sorting its geographies and stories.
×
The Idea of Africa AS.070.604 (01)
This seminar interrogates the numerous ways that Africa, as a concept, has been generative in history, as well as in political and social thought. Although in the long arc of history, the period of European colonialism on the continent was brief, it fundamentally reshaped how we think about Africa as a space and place. Africa has long existed as a crucial “other” in European culture. But how do we think of Africa outside of this limiting history? The idea of Africa has also existed as an important rubric for African scholars to counter such colonial inheritances and for diasporas to re-engage the black Atlantic. The emergence of Pan-Africanism as well as liberation movements across the continent have pushed back against a reading of Africa simply as a site of exploitation, but as home (“Africa for Africans”), space (Afrofuturism), and as a site of radical politics. In this course, we explore the different histories, futures, and potentialities of Africa as an idea, re-sorting its geographies and stories.
Days/Times: F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Mohamed, Sabine
Room: Mergenthaler 439
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/7
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.617 (01)
Methods
T 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Han, Clara
Mergenthaler 439
Fall 2023
The seminar will offer a forum for students to reflect on preliminary field research and think further about problems of ethnographic method. We will proceed in the manner of a workshop for ongoing projects. Open to anthropology graduate students only.
×
Methods AS.070.617 (01)
The seminar will offer a forum for students to reflect on preliminary field research and think further about problems of ethnographic method. We will proceed in the manner of a workshop for ongoing projects. Open to anthropology graduate students only.
Days/Times: T 2:00PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Han, Clara
Room: Mergenthaler 439
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.631 (01)
Politics of Language
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
MacLochlainn, Scott
Mergenthaler 426
Fall 2023
How does language become a site of contestation? From the attention to speech on social media, discrimination and exclusion based on how people sound, the realism of ChatGPT, to debates regarding what constitutes proper and improper language in school textbooks, we seem to increasingly talk about how we talk. How do we study language in these spaces, and amidst contestation and social change? Moving between a number of different contexts, this course explores how language becomes a focal point of agreement and disagreement. Topics include the history of code-switching, language identities around the world, AI and chatbots, indigenous revitalization projects, and how language is thoroughly embedded in our understandings of gender, race, and the concept of the social “other.” Throughout the course, we will read some classic linguistic anthropology texts as well as a contemporary literature, that together provide a foundation for how to think about the role of language in our lives.
×
Politics of Language AS.070.631 (01)
How does language become a site of contestation? From the attention to speech on social media, discrimination and exclusion based on how people sound, the realism of ChatGPT, to debates regarding what constitutes proper and improper language in school textbooks, we seem to increasingly talk about how we talk. How do we study language in these spaces, and amidst contestation and social change? Moving between a number of different contexts, this course explores how language becomes a focal point of agreement and disagreement. Topics include the history of code-switching, language identities around the world, AI and chatbots, indigenous revitalization projects, and how language is thoroughly embedded in our understandings of gender, race, and the concept of the social “other.” Throughout the course, we will read some classic linguistic anthropology texts as well as a contemporary literature, that together provide a foundation for how to think about the role of language in our lives.
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: MacLochlainn, Scott
Room: Mergenthaler 426
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/7
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.634 (01)
Contemporary Anthropology
T 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Khan, Naveeda
Mergenthaler 426
Fall 2023
Graduate students are encouraged to register for the departmental research colloquium in anthropology. The colloquium meets most (but not all) Tuesday afternoons during the semester.
×
Contemporary Anthropology AS.070.634 (01)
Graduate students are encouraged to register for the departmental research colloquium in anthropology. The colloquium meets most (but not all) Tuesday afternoons during the semester.
Days/Times: T 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda
Room: Mergenthaler 426
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.656 (01)
Anthropology of Religion
M 8:45AM - 10:45AM
Khan, Naveeda
Mergenthaler 426
Fall 2023
Pairing classics in the anthropology of religion (e.g. Durkheim, Weber, Turner, Asad) with contemporary writings (ethnography, literature), this course will explore the jagged edge of religious self-making, experience and expression and its intersections with the state, capital and nature.
×
Anthropology of Religion AS.070.656 (01)
Pairing classics in the anthropology of religion (e.g. Durkheim, Weber, Turner, Asad) with contemporary writings (ethnography, literature), this course will explore the jagged edge of religious self-making, experience and expression and its intersections with the state, capital and nature.
Days/Times: M 8:45AM - 10:45AM
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda
Room: Mergenthaler 426
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.659 (01)
Proposal Writing
T 10:30AM - 12:30PM
MacLochlainn, Scott
Mergenthaler 439
Fall 2023
The seminar will offer a forum for students to discuss research projects, prepare grant proposals and think further about issues of ethnographic methodology and writing. Open to Anthropology graduate students only.
×
Proposal Writing AS.070.659 (01)
The seminar will offer a forum for students to discuss research projects, prepare grant proposals and think further about issues of ethnographic methodology and writing. Open to Anthropology graduate students only.
Days/Times: T 10:30AM - 12:30PM
Instructor: MacLochlainn, Scott
Room: Mergenthaler 439
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.674 (01)
Readings in Anthropology
Th 10:30AM - 12:30PM
Mohamed, Sabine
Mergenthaler 439
Fall 2023
In this course we will engage classical texts from the anthropological archives and explore debates and contemporary salience.
×
Readings in Anthropology AS.070.674 (01)
In this course we will engage classical texts from the anthropological archives and explore debates and contemporary salience.
Days/Times: Th 10:30AM - 12:30PM
Instructor: Mohamed, Sabine
Room: Mergenthaler 439
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (01)
Dissertation Research
Angelini, Alessandro
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Angelini, Alessandro
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (02)
Dissertation Research
Das, Veena
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (02)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Das, Veena
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 1/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (03)
Dissertation Research
Poole, Debbie
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (03)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Poole, Debbie
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (04)
Dissertation Research
Haeri, Niloofar
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (04)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Haeri, Niloofar
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (05)
Dissertation Research
Khan, Naveeda
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (05)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (06)
Dissertation Research
Pandian, anand
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (06)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Pandian, anand
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (07)
Dissertation Research
Han, Clara
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (07)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Han, Clara
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (08)
Dissertation Research
Cervone, Emma
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (08)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Cervone, Emma
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.801 (09)
Dissertation Research
Obarrio, Juan M
Fall 2023
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.801 (09)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Obarrio, Juan M
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.867 (01)
Directed Reading & Research
Han, Clara
Fall 2023
×
Directed Reading & Research AS.070.867 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Han, Clara
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.867 (02)
Directed Reading and Research
Khan, Naveeda
Fall 2023
×
Directed Reading and Research AS.070.867 (02)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda
Room:
Status: Waitlist Only
Seats Available: 0/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.867 (03)
Directed Reading and Research
Degani, Michael
Fall 2023
×
Directed Reading and Research AS.070.867 (03)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Degani, Michael
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.867 (04)
Directed Reading and Research
Pandian, anand
Fall 2023
×
Directed Reading and Research AS.070.867 (04)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Pandian, anand
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 2/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.871 (01)
Directed Reading and Research
Das, Veena
Fall 2023
×
Directed Reading and Research AS.070.871 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Das, Veena
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.606 (01)
Governing Health: Care, Inequality, and the State
F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Ziv, Tali R
Mergenthaler 439
Spring 2024
Governing health explores the vital relationship between governance and health. The class interrogates how the stratification and management of populations are linked with the diagnoses, categories, and inequities that make up our contemporary health landscape. We will explore how the concept of governance troubles our understandings of key concepts in medical anthropology like care, inequality, and the state. Moving from the level of the population to the individual body, from state institutions to the four walls of the clinic, this course traces governance as it generates and degenerates health.
×
Governing Health: Care, Inequality, and the State AS.070.606 (01)
Governing health explores the vital relationship between governance and health. The class interrogates how the stratification and management of populations are linked with the diagnoses, categories, and inequities that make up our contemporary health landscape. We will explore how the concept of governance troubles our understandings of key concepts in medical anthropology like care, inequality, and the state. Moving from the level of the population to the individual body, from state institutions to the four walls of the clinic, this course traces governance as it generates and degenerates health.
Days/Times: F 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Ziv, Tali R
Room: Mergenthaler 439
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.610 (01)
Households and Crisis
Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Khan, Naveeda
Mergenthaler 439
Spring 2024
The household appears as commonsensical to us. It is where people, most often those of a family, reside together, sharing its resources, labor and collective fate. However, anthropologists have been arguing against this commonsense since it emerged in the 1950s. Yet the household is back again in current policy discussions as being most vulnerable to the problems associated with temperature extremes, food insecurity, exacerbated disease, enhanced competition and political violence. How might anthropological debates and controversies relating to households and householding as an activity within the context of war, famine and migration, provide important insights into today’s urgencies?
×
Households and Crisis AS.070.610 (01)
The household appears as commonsensical to us. It is where people, most often those of a family, reside together, sharing its resources, labor and collective fate. However, anthropologists have been arguing against this commonsense since it emerged in the 1950s. Yet the household is back again in current policy discussions as being most vulnerable to the problems associated with temperature extremes, food insecurity, exacerbated disease, enhanced competition and political violence. How might anthropological debates and controversies relating to households and householding as an activity within the context of war, famine and migration, provide important insights into today’s urgencies?
Days/Times: Th 1:30PM - 4:00PM
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda
Room: Mergenthaler 439
Status: Open
Seats Available: 8/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.616 (01)
Proseminar
M 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Han, Clara
Spring 2024
This course will consist of close reading of anthropological and philosophical texts to trace
some important aspects of the underlying presuppositions of social theory. We will try to see how regions generate both data and theory; and also see how some abiding concerns around the relation between structural formations and formations of subjects are expressed in classical and current anthropological thought.
×
Proseminar AS.070.616 (01)
This course will consist of close reading of anthropological and philosophical texts to trace
some important aspects of the underlying presuppositions of social theory. We will try to see how regions generate both data and theory; and also see how some abiding concerns around the relation between structural formations and formations of subjects are expressed in classical and current anthropological thought.
Days/Times: M 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Instructor: Han, Clara
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 13/15
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.634 (01)
Contemporary Anthropology
T 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Khan, Naveeda
Maryland 217
Spring 2024
Graduate students are encouraged to register for the departmental research colloquium in anthropology. The colloquium meets most (but not all) Tuesday afternoons during the semester.
×
Contemporary Anthropology AS.070.634 (01)
Graduate students are encouraged to register for the departmental research colloquium in anthropology. The colloquium meets most (but not all) Tuesday afternoons during the semester.
Days/Times: T 4:00PM - 5:30PM
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda
Room: Maryland 217
Status: Open
Seats Available: 6/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.648 (01)
Wittgenstein and Austin in Anthropological thought
F 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Das, Veena
Mergenthaler 439
Spring 2024
How does the idea of a form of life as the mutual absorption of the social and the natural inform anthropological conceptions of the human? Taking the status of the example in both Wittgenstein and Austin, and how it bears on conceptual innovation, this course offers a reading of primary texts from philosophy and anthropology on these issues. Open to advanced undergraduates with permission from the instructor.
×
Wittgenstein and Austin in Anthropological thought AS.070.648 (01)
How does the idea of a form of life as the mutual absorption of the social and the natural inform anthropological conceptions of the human? Taking the status of the example in both Wittgenstein and Austin, and how it bears on conceptual innovation, this course offers a reading of primary texts from philosophy and anthropology on these issues. Open to advanced undergraduates with permission from the instructor.
Days/Times: F 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Instructor: Das, Veena
Room: Mergenthaler 439
Status: Open
Seats Available: 7/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.698 (01)
Defining Region
W 1:00PM - 3:00PM
Khan, Naveeda; Mohamed, Sabine
Spring 2024
This course is open to anthropology graduate students only and is to be run on a workshop
model. It is to help those students writing their regional essay for the comprehensive exams to
acquire expertise in regional debates and literature relevant to their field research. Our
understanding of regions is one of cross-cutting concepts and questions rather than geographical framings alone. After identifying a concept or question, each student will create an annotated bibliography, trace the shape of arguments as they emerge within the readings, create an outline and work toward a draft of the final essay.
×
Defining Region AS.070.698 (01)
This course is open to anthropology graduate students only and is to be run on a workshop
model. It is to help those students writing their regional essay for the comprehensive exams to
acquire expertise in regional debates and literature relevant to their field research. Our
understanding of regions is one of cross-cutting concepts and questions rather than geographical framings alone. After identifying a concept or question, each student will create an annotated bibliography, trace the shape of arguments as they emerge within the readings, create an outline and work toward a draft of the final essay.
Days/Times: W 1:00PM - 3:00PM
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda; Mohamed, Sabine
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/6
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.802 (01)
Dissertation Research
Das, Veena
Spring 2024
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.802 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Das, Veena
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.802 (02)
Dissertation Research
Lans, Aja Marie
Spring 2024
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.802 (02)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Lans, Aja Marie
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.802 (04)
Dissertation Research
Poole, Debbie
Spring 2024
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.802 (04)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Poole, Debbie
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.802 (05)
Dissertation Research
Khan, Naveeda
Spring 2024
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.802 (05)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.802 (06)
Dissertation Research
Haeri, Niloofar
Spring 2024
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.802 (06)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Haeri, Niloofar
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.802 (07)
Dissertation Research
Han, Clara
Spring 2024
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.802 (07)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Han, Clara
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.802 (08)
Dissertation Research
Pandian, anand
Spring 2024
×
Dissertation Research AS.070.802 (08)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Pandian, anand
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.866 (01)
Directed Readings and Research
Pandian, anand
Spring 2024
×
Directed Readings and Research AS.070.866 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Pandian, anand
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.867 (01)
Directed Reading and Research
Han, Clara
Spring 2024
×
Directed Reading and Research AS.070.867 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Han, Clara
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 10/10
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.872 (01)
Directed Readings and Research
Das, Veena
Spring 2024
×
Directed Readings and Research AS.070.872 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Das, Veena
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.874 (01)
Directed Readings and Research
Haeri, Niloofar
Spring 2024
×
Directed Readings and Research AS.070.874 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Haeri, Niloofar
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.874 (02)
Directed Readings and Research
Staff
Spring 2024
×
Directed Readings and Research AS.070.874 (02)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Staff
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.886 (01)
Directed Readings and Research
Lans, Aja Marie
Spring 2024
×
Directed Readings and Research AS.070.886 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Lans, Aja Marie
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 5/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.070.892 (01)
Directed Readings and Research
Khan, Naveeda
Spring 2024
×
Directed Readings and Research AS.070.892 (01)
Days/Times:
Instructor: Khan, Naveeda
Room:
Status: Open
Seats Available: 4/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.100.662 (01)
Inter Asia Research Seminar
T 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Han, Clara; Kim, Yumi
Gilman 305
Spring 2024
An intensive research seminar for graduate students currently conducting research on theories, methodologies, and histories of inter-Asian movements and networks. Instructor permission required.
×
Inter Asia Research Seminar AS.100.662 (01)
An intensive research seminar for graduate students currently conducting research on theories, methodologies, and histories of inter-Asian movements and networks. Instructor permission required.
Days/Times: T 10:00AM - 12:00PM
Instructor: Han, Clara; Kim, Yumi
Room: Gilman 305
Status: Open
Seats Available: 3/5
PosTag(s): n/a
AS.215.718 (01)
Public Humanities Writing Workshop
M 1:30PM - 3:30PM
Seguin, Becquer D
Gilman 479
Spring 2024
Humanists possess a reservoir of scholarly abilities that prime them for contributing to debates well beyond the academy. This semester-long workshop will introduce graduate students to the basics of writing for such broad audience. Each session will be organized around particular topics in public humanities writing, including the pitching, writing, editing, and publishing processes of newspapers, magazines, and online outlets. We will also consider the forms of writing that most allow scholars to draw from their academic training and research: reviews, personal essays, op-eds, interviews, and profiles. Throughout the course we will see how the interdisciplinarity, comparativism, and multilingualism of fields from across the humanities can be helpful for reaching wide audiences. Beyond the nuts and bolts of getting started in so-called “public” writing, this course aspires to teach graduate students how to combine quality writing with academic knowledge, scholarly analysis with a general intellectual readership—and, ultimately, make academic knowledge a public good. Taught in English.
×
Public Humanities Writing Workshop AS.215.718 (01)
Humanists possess a reservoir of scholarly abilities that prime them for contributing to debates well beyond the academy. This semester-long workshop will introduce graduate students to the basics of writing for such broad audience. Each session will be organized around particular topics in public humanities writing, including the pitching, writing, editing, and publishing processes of newspapers, magazines, and online outlets. We will also consider the forms of writing that most allow scholars to draw from their academic training and research: reviews, personal essays, op-eds, interviews, and profiles. Throughout the course we will see how the interdisciplinarity, comparativism, and multilingualism of fields from across the humanities can be helpful for reaching wide audiences. Beyond the nuts and bolts of getting started in so-called “public” writing, this course aspires to teach graduate students how to combine quality writing with academic knowledge, scholarly analysis with a general intellectual readership—and, ultimately, make academic knowledge a public good. Taught in English.