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Anthropology Courses
anth 615 Public Archaeology +
Description:
An examination of cultural resource management in New England and the United States. This course studies the significance of state and federal environmental and historic preservation legislation, and the implementation of these laws from drafting proposals and the granting of contracts to the collection of data and its analysis for recommendations to mitigate the impact of construction on archaeological sites. Students learn the processes of national register nomination, problem-oriented proposal and report writing, and calculation of budget estimates for proposed work. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
anth 625 Graduate Seminar in Historical Archaeology +
Description:
This course provides an overview of the field of Historical Archaeology. Since its emergence in the 1960's, historical archaeology has grown to become the most rapidly expanding field of archaeological research. Starting with a focus on North America, historical archaeology is now a global field that concentrates on the study of the emergence of the modern world and other complex societies. Drawing on a rich palette of interdisciplinary approaches, historical archaeology explores complex global processes such as colonization, industrialization, urbanization, and globalization. This course will focus on the methods employed by the field's practitioners, the various contexts in which this work is conducted, and the theoretical underpinnings of the field as a whole. More Info
Offered in:anth 635 Material Life in New England +
Description:
Material Life in New England draws on both archaeological and non-archaeological sources (particularly vernacular architecture and material culture studies) to familiarize students with the analysis of material remains from the period between European colonization and the mid- 19th century in New England. Focusing on houses and households (rather than on institutions or industry), the course follows a roughly chronological framework to examine New England's most important archaeological sites and the questions being addressed by archaeologists in the region such as the forms of early settlements, the consumer revolution and rise of gentility in the 18th century, and the transformation of urban and rural life (through industry, reform ideologies,and trade) in the 19th century. Special attention will be paid to differences within New England (urban vs. rural; one region vs. another) and to distinct aspects of New England's material life (compared to other regions of the country). More Info
Offered in:anth 640 Archaeological Methods and Analysis +
Description:
This course introduces the practice of historical archaeology in the laboratory and in the field through considerations of research design, methodology, material culture, and technical analyses of archaeological remains. The first portion of the course will involve discussions and readings on research design, field methodology, and sampling and recovery. The remaining segments will cover material culture and technical analyses in the laboratory, with a focus on ceramics, metal, glass, stone, plant remains, animal remains, and conservation techniques. The latter component of the course will be strongly devoted to hands-on, practical training in laboratory techniques and material identification. More Info
Offered in:anth 642 Latin American Historical Archaeology: Addressing Colonialism, National, Diaspora, and Displacement +
Description:
This course brings together archaeological narratives, practices, and approaches pertaining to Latin American history and the politics of race, gender, colonialism, and national constructions. Students will explore a variety of dialogues around the topic of Latinidad as a historical category built on the bases of narratives of resistance, survival, and recognition. Since the 1960s, Latin American archaeologists have developed their own interpretations of the past, ones that differ from North American archaeology. Latin American historical archaeology specifically has generated post-colonial theories and practices developed in the peripheries and for local communities, aiming for social justice and active processes of decolonization. The course also explores diverse practices and discourses around Latin American material heritage as an adaptable source for ethnic, national, and gender narratives in the present so that students can learn about the past with a deep influence in present social, political, and cultural dynamics around Latin@ collective identities in the Americas. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
anth 643 Reconstruction the African Diaspora +
Description:
This seminar is an introduction to African Diaspora archaeology, a growing area of study within history and anthropology. Students will explore how archaeologists have investigated physical and cultural landscapes, food ways, ritual and religion, and consumption to reveal the ways that African-descended people responded to slavery as well as racial oppression. Students will trace the trajectory of African Diaspora archaeology from its early studies of plantations to the field's current emphasis on understanding racism and processes of racial formation. Students will assess the significance of the field to yielding alternate interpretations of the Black past as well as its potential for uniting scholarship and political activism to challenge contemporary manifestations of injustice. More Info
Offered in:anth 645 Topics in Environmental Archaeology +
Description:
This course provides an overview of tools and techniques archaeologists use to investigate the interrelationship between culture and their environments. We will explore how archaeologists and environmental scientists study past human-environment interactions, including human alteration of the environment and cultural responses to environmental change. Discussions of case studies provide examples of the interpretive power of interdisciplinary environmental archaeology research. Laboratory work with collections from archaeological sites provides practical experience and the basis for student research projects. More Info
Offered in:anth 650 Materials in Ancient Societies +
Description:
A one- or two-semester laboratory course offered as part of the teaching program of the Boston Area Center for Materials Research in Archaeology and Ethnology, of which UMass Boston is a member. The topic of the course rotates annually among lithic materials, ceramics, faunal/floral materials, metals, and archaeological data analysis. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
anth 655 Historical Landscapes and Geographic Information Systems +
Description:
This course aims to provide a basic understanding of how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to visualize and analyze spatial data for historical landscape studies. Through readings and discussion we will explore the social construction of space and spatial analytical techniques. Students will learn basic techniques for acquiring, manipulating and creating geospatial data in several forms, from raster-based satellite imagery and digital terrain models to point, line and polygon representation of vector data. Students will create a GIS project for a region of their choice; this may be an area of personal interest or for thesis research. More Info
Offered in:anth 660 Critical Approaches to Race in Anthropology +
Description:
This seminar will draw on theories, models, and analytical techniques and data derived from at least three of the traditional four subfields of anthropology to critically examine current approaches to the study of rac. Students will analyze the definition of race and consider the implications of conceptualizing it as a social instead of biological phenomena. Students will aslo explore the ways that race changes of develops new meanings over time and space through case studies that highlight examples of political, economic, judicial, health and cultural inequalities. The course will conclude with a consideration of personal and collective strategies for combating racism. More Info
Offered in:anth 665 Graduate Seminar in Archaeology +
Description:
This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive background in current archaeological method and theory. It focuses on the major theoretical schools in archaeology, and their historical development. The course includes lectures and discussions on theory and method in archaeology, as well as discussions of methods employed in other historical disciplines. Emphasis is also given to the articulation of social theory as developed in anthropology, history, and archaeological research. More Info
Offered in:anth 672 Culture Contact and Colonialism in the Americas +
Description:
This course explores the multifaceted nature of colonial encounters between Europeans and indigenous people. Using the Americas as the geographical focus, the course devotes special attention to the analytical and theoretical discourse-shaping anthropological approaches to colonialism through the topics of material culture, gender, ideology, ethnicity, race, identity, labor, class, and resistance. Readings and discussions will draw on data and perspectives from ethnohistory, historical archaeology, and cultural anthropology to tackle the simultaneously global and local nature of colonialism. More Info
Offered in:anth 685 Summer Field School in Historical Archaeology +
Description:
Summer field survey or excavation in historical archaeology for 6-8 weeks in the Boston or New England area. More Info
Offered in:anth 696 Independent Study +
Description:
Students may take this course in addition to those required in the program in order to pursue research relevant to the program of study. More Info
Offered in:anth 697 Special Topics in Archaeology +
Description:
The content of this course, while always relevant to the program, will vary depending on the specialty of the visiting or permanent faculty member who may teach this course on a one-time basis. More Info
Offered in:- TBA
anth 698 Practicum in Archaeology +
Description:
For this course, graduate classroom education is applied in a practical situation, such as field work or a research project for a public archaeology contract agency, a museum, an archaeological laboratory, an historical commission, or a preservation agency. In the practicum students develop a wide range of valuable skills and experience related to possible future employment. More Info
Offered in:anth 699 Thesis Research Projects in Historical Archaeology +
Description:
In this course, an MA thesis will be developed from a problem-oriented analysis of documentary and archaeological data. The MA thesis will include a description of the problem in the context of the disciplines of anthropology and history, its application to the data, a description of the analyses undertaken, and their results with reference to the problem. In the conclusion the results of the research project should be discussed in relation to other current research in the field. The MA thesis must be read and approved by an examining committee made up of three faculty readers, one from the History Program, one from the Anthropology Department, and one from a department to be determined. More Info
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