Welcome to the Review Module!

This module is an OPTIONAL REVIEW. You may skip to Module 1.

What is anthropology? Do we dig up dinosaurs? Do we study ants? What do you think?

In this module we review the historical origins of the discipline of anthropology. We explore the discipline of anthropology and its four major subfields: archaeology, biology, culture, and linguistics. We will also discuss research methods, science, bias, and ethics.

To clarify, the optional review module contains lecture slides that I use for my ANT 2000 class - I have posted them here as optional review content. Their only function is to review basic anthropology concepts and otherwise they have no impact on the class. They will not be the topic of exams or assignments. Please disregard the mention of the extra credit assignment and any other assignments/tasks in the lectures, as these are for the introductory course.

I have posted them here only as a courtesy to you so that you can review basic anthropological concepts and history. I especially hope that those of you who are not anthropology majors and have not had any anthropology classes will find them especially helpful, since they provide the foundation that this course is built on.

Anthropology is rooted in the word anthros which translates to "human." So, Anthropology would look at non-human animals or the environment in ways that incorporate humans. For example: how human behaviors have led to the destruction of environments/species, why we think about "destruction" as unnatural, what steps we take to advocate/resist/change how we interact with our environment, and so on. This would include how we did these things in the past as part of archaeology or paleoanthropology.

A common misconception is that Anthropologists study dinosaurs - not exactly! Dinosaurs are studied by paleontologists (paleo means "old"). Part of this may arise from paleoanthropology (the study of fossilized primates and hominids) or archaeological studies of the Paleolithic (Stone Age). However, anthropologists could study how dinosaurs fit into culture - how we think about them, preserve them, display them, incorporate them into pop culture - lots of approaches.

If you are unfamiliar with the discipline of anthropology, I recommend at least skimming the pdfs of the PowerPoint presentations. Having a basic grasp of the discipline will help you connect the dots among topics we discuss over the semester.

Learning Outcomes

Course: Students will review information from ANG 2000, General Anthropology

Module: Students will understand the historical origins of the discipline of anthropology, including key approaches and foundation concepts

Learning Objectives, Review:

Understand the discipline and make connections between each of its four fields
Compare anthropology to the sciences and humanities
Identify the characteristics of anthropological methods
Define the ethical principles that guide anthropological work
Explain the usefulness of anthropology in light of globalization

TO DO:

Your tasks for this module are to review the basics of anthropology.

Readings:

Module Overview page

Videos:

I use these videos in the first week of my ANT 2000 class; for you, watching these is OPTIONAL. They are here to refresh your memory and provide an understanding of how anthropological research is conducted. This background information may be useful as you work through course content.

Lecture 01a Chapter 01 Discipline of Anthropology
Lecture 01b Chapter 01 Logic and Philosophy of Anthropology
Lecture 01c Chapter 01 Researcher's Responsibilities (Ethics)