College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Courses

Anthropology

Anthropology is the comparative study of peoples and cultures past and present. The discipline's four major subfields--cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and archaeology--have important connections to other social sciences, physical and biological sciences, and to the arts and humanities.

Anthropology provides a framework for understanding the relation of human beings to their natural environment and to the social and cultural worlds they create and inhabit. The field provides insight into biological and sociocultural evolution and includes a focus on economic, social, and political organizations, symbolic systems, and social systems. Comparative studies of these and other aspects of past and present cultures yield information on regularities and differences.

Undergraduate Programs

Upon graduation, anthropology majors embark on careers in government work, international affairs, public health, gerontology, urban and regional planning, conservation, social work, marketing, museum work, and education. Others pursue graduate study in law, business, and health care as well as anthropology and related social science disciplines. Some are employed in cultural resource management.

The department also offers a minor in anthropology.

Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science

The B.A. in anthropology requires 33 s.h. in the major; at least 15 s.h. in the major must be earned at The University of Iowa.

The B.S. in anthropology requires 42 s.h. in the major (not including the semester hours for the minor); at least 15 s.h. in the major must be earned at The University of Iowa.

Transfer students pursuing the B.A. or B.S. must earn at least 15 s.h. in anthropology at The University of Iowa. Students may apply semester hours earned at approved field schools offered by other institutions toward the B.A. or B.S. in anthropology.

Students who declare anthropology as their major when they are admitted to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences are advised at the Academic Advising Center until they have earned 24 s.h. Students who have earned more than 24 s.h. are advised in the department. Students are assigned an advisor based on faculty advisor loads and student interests.

Common Requirements

One of these:

113:003 Introduction to the Study of Culture and Society

3 s.h.

113:010 Anthropology and Contemporary World Problems

3 s.h.

All of these:

113:012 Introduction to Prehistory

3 s.h.

113:013 Human Origins

3 s.h.

113:014 Language, Culture, and Communication

3 s.h.

113:050 Issues in Anthropology

3 s.h.

One 100-level course in archaeology (areal or topical) or biological anthropology
One 100-level course in sociocultural or linguistic anthropology
One 100-level course in area studies
Three 100-level electives

Anthropology electives offer many choices, including courses dealing with biological anthropology, environment and culture, expressive culture (art, verbal arts, literature, music, and dance), gender, human evolution, human evolutionary anatomy, human osteology, human prehistory, identity, language and culture, medical anthropology, psychological anthropology, religion and ritual, and urban anthropology. Department faculty members offer area studies courses on Latin America, Africa, Europe, Japan, the Caribbean, the Middle East, South Asia, and Native North America.

Additional Bachelor of Arts Requirements

Additional Bachelor of Science Requirements

A quantitative, mathematical, or formal reasoning tool: at least two courses, minimum 6 s.h.

Directed laboratory or field research: at least one course, 3 s.h. (credit may be applied to honors major when appropriate)

Allied topical course work (related minor)

QUANTITATIVE, MATHEMATICAL, OR FORMAL REASONING TOOL

DIRECTED LABORATORY OR FIELD RESEARCH

Laboratory research: a laboratory practicum in anthropology research labs or independent, faculty-guided, laboratory research, including use of the collections of the Office of the State Archaeologist.

Field research project: faculty-advised projects involving the collection of primary data in a fieldwork setting.

A University of Iowa field school program or approved equivalent (current field schools include Plum Grove Historical Archaeology and the University of Iowa Southwest Archaeology Field School).

An approved internship: typical approved internships include work in cultural resource management firms, museums, and public health research or education projects. To receive research credit for an internship, students must make a final report to their faculty advisor, summarizing the work accomplished or presenting materials that document the nature of the work.

ALLIED TOPICAL COURSE WORK

Four-Year Graduation Plan

Bachelor of Arts

Before the fifth semester begins: at least two courses in the major and one-half of the semester hours required for graduation

Before the seventh semester begins: at least seven courses in the major and at least three-quarters of the hours required for graduation

Before the eighth semester begins: at least eight courses in the major

During the eighth semester: enrollment in all remaining course work in the major, all remaining General Education courses, and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate

Bachelor of Science

Before the fifth semester begins: at least four anthropology courses or other courses in the major, one course in the minor area, one course for the quantitative or formal reasoning tool requirement, and one-half of the semester hours required for graduation

Before the seventh semester begins: at least seven courses in the major, three courses in the minor area, the second quantitative or formal reasoning tool course, and at least three-quarters of the hours required for graduation

Before the eighth semester begins: at least nine courses in the major, including the directed research requirement and four courses in the minor area

During the eighth semester: enrollment in all remaining course work in the major and in the minor area, all remaining General Education courses, and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate

Honors

Students pursuing the B.S. can count their directed research project or laboratory practicum towards the semester hours needed to complete honors requirements, but meeting the research requirement by itself does not meet the honors requirement. Students must work with their honors thesis advisor to structure their research so that it meets the added requirements of honors work.

Minor

Graduate Programs

Students must complete all M.A. requirements before advancing to the Ph.D. program. Entering graduate students are not required to have an undergraduate degree in anthropology. Applicants who hold an M.A. in anthropology from another institution may apply directly for admission to the Ph.D. program.

Once a student completes all requirements for the M.A., his or her committee makes a recommendation to the faculty concerning the students' potential for completing the Ph.D. The committee recommends continuation or dismissal from the program.

Master of Arts

During the first semester of the M.A. program, students are advised by the director of graduate studies. By the end of the second semester, they must select an advisor and begin forming an M.A. committee. In consultation with the committee, the student develops a research project and writes an M.A. paper. The committee must approve the M.A. paper by the end of the fourth semester of study. The student also publicly presents the paper. As an alternative to the M.A. paper, students may choose to write a formal M.A. thesis, which must follow the Graduate College thesis guidelines. Students must submit a final copy of their M.A. thesis or paper to the department.

GENERAL COURSE WORK

113:240 Seminar: Sociocultural Anthropology

3 s.h.

113:268 Seminar: Archaeological Theory and Method

3 s.h.

113:271 Seminar: Linguistic Anthropology

3 s.h.

113:285 Seminar: Biological Anthropology

3 s.h.

In addition, all students are required to take 113:210 Anthropological Data Analysis or another course in statistics within the first three years of graduate study, preferably during the M.A. program (first two years of graduate study).

ELECTIVES

Doctor of Philosophy

Ph.D. students also may elect to pursue a concentration in feminist anthropology or paleoanthropology. See "Concentrations" below.

To ensure focus on the student's research interests, the department has an integrated process of simultaneous preparation of reading lists, research proposals for submission to granting agencies, dissertation proposal, and position papers. In order to complete the degree, all doctoral candidates are required to complete appropriate course work and the Ph.D. comprehensive process, carry out original anthropological research, and write and defend a dissertation. Students work closely with their advisor and committee at all stages.

In the first semester after completing the M.A. (or the first semester in the program for students who enter with an M.A. in anthropology from another institution), the student selects an advisor. By the end of the second semester, the student selects a committee to oversee his or her completion of the comprehensive process.

Students immediately begin consulting with their advisor, and eventually their committees, to start compiling an annotated bibliography of works relevant to future research. The annotated bibliography is a working document for the student's use in the Ph.D. program; it is not a formal requirement and does not require formal review.

In the third and fourth semesters of the program, the student completes the comprehensive process. Then he or she may select a dissertation committee.

REQUIRED COURSE WORK

Students must not rely heavily upon independent study courses.

Students must take at least one theory course beyond the course they took to fulfill the master's requirements in their specialization subfield. This course should be chosen from one of the following lists.

Sociocultural Anthropology

Linguistic Anthropology

Archaeology

Biological Anthropology

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

THE PH.D. COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS

Successful completion of the comprehensive process advances the student to Ph.D. candidacy.

To remain in good academic standing, students must complete the comprehensive process by the end of the fourth semester in the Ph.D. program. Students who do not adhere to this timeline are placed on departmental probation.

Research Proposal and Prospectus Defense

Position Papers

Position papers should demonstrate analysis, evaluation, synthesis, and control of a body of information (knowledge and comprehension). They should critique a major problem or debate (application and analysis), and they should develop a position on an issue and provide an explanation or theoretical justification for the position (evaluation and synthesis).

DISSERTATION

Concentrations

Completion of a concentration indicates substantial expertise. It is recognized as a department credential and may be added to a student's curriculum vitae.

FEMINIST ANTHROPOLOGY CONCENTRATION

Course work in the concentration emphasizes feminist perspectives, theories, methods, and analytic techniques in anthropology. It improves students' academic job prospects in anthropology and other fields, especially women's studies and gender studies. It also helps students prepare for careers in applied or public anthropology.

Feminist anthropology students take 15 s.h. of course work in the concentration in addition to their regular core requirements. The 15 s.h. should be divided between graduate seminars and elective courses as noted below.

Concentration courses may fulfill requirements for graduate electives in anthropology.

Feminist anthropology was offered as a track in the Master of Arts in academic year 2006-07 and earlier. Students who took courses as part of the M.A. track may count them toward the Ph.D. concentration.

The following list of approved courses is subject to change; contact the Department of Anthropology for updates. Students may petition to count other courses in anthropology or other disciplines toward the concentration, if the courses or the students' work in them includes significant relevant content. Petitions are reviewed by the feminist anthropology faculty.

Graduate Seminars

113:220 Seminar: Feminist Anthropology

3 s.h.

113:221 Seminar: Feminist Ethnography

3 s.h.

113:223 Feminist Medical Anthropology

3 s.h.

113:273 Seminar: Language and Gender

3 s.h.

113:290 Feminist Perspectives on Biology and Culture

3 s.h.

Electives

113:102 Ethnography and Auto/Biography

3 s.h.

113:105 Mothers and Motherhood

3 s.h.

113:107 Gendering India

3 s.h.

113:133 The Anthropology of Women's Health

3 s.h.

113:141 History of Feminist Anthropology

3 s.h.

113:152 Japan and Other Cultural Constructs

3 s.h.

113:154 Anthropology of Sexual Minorities

3 s.h.

113:156 Sexuality and Culture

3 s.h.

113:180 Women Writing Culture

3 s.h.

113:182 Women, Health, and Healing

3 s.h.

PALEOANTHROPOLOGY CONCENTRATION

Paleoanthropology students take 15 s.h. of course work in the concentration in addition to their regular core requirements. The 15 s.h. should be divided between graduate seminars and elective courses as noted below.

Students may choose core seminars to fulfill requirements for both the M.A. general course work and the paleoanthropology concentration.

The following list of approved courses is subject to change; contact the Department of Anthropology for updates. Students may petition to count other courses in anthropology or other disciplines toward the concentration, if the courses or the students' work in them includes significant relevant content. Petitions are reviewed by the paleoanthropology faculty.

Graduate Seminars

Electives

Admission

Students normally are admitted directly to the Ph.D. program. For students without an M.A. in anthropology, the first two years of the Ph.D. program are devoted to fulfilling the requirements of the M.A. After those requirements are completed, the student's committee recommends to the faculty whether the student should continue to work toward the Ph.D.

Students with an M.A. in anthropology from another institution may proceed directly into a Ph.D. program organized around their special research interests.

Applicants for admission to the graduate program must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College or the Graduate College section of the Catalog.

Applicants are required to submit the following:

a completed University application form;

transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work;

three letters of recommendation from individuals competent to judge the applicant's potential for graduate training;

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores;

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) scores for international applicants whose first language is not English and whose previous university work was not conducted in English; and

at least one written example of previous work (for example, a term paper).

Financial Support

Students are notified in writing of a provisional financial award before the semester or summer session for which the award has been granted. Although awards are made before the end of the previous semester, each award is contingent upon satisfactory completion of that semester's work by the awardee.

Archaeological Field Research

Resources, Facilities

The department maintains a documented human osteology teaching collection amassed by the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and it holds a substantial documented human osteology research collection originally from Stanford University's medical school that is maintained jointly with the Office of the State Archaeologist.

Individual faculty members maintain field laboratories and conduct research outside the United States, maintaining ties with research institutions in foreign countries, including the Teotihua:acu.can Archaeological Research Facility, in Mexico; the Laboratoire d'Ethnologie Préhistorique at Pincevent; the Centre de Recherches Archéologiques at Verberie, in France; the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), in Indonesia; the Gemeente Nijmegen, Bureau Archeologie, Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and the Deutsches Arch:u.aologisches Institut of Madrid.

The department also has well-equipped laboratories for the study of archaeology, biological anthropology, and multimedia linguistic anthropology.

The University is a charter member of the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), an extensively annotated set of source materials on the peoples of the world--their environments, behavioral patterns, social lives, and cultures. Through HRAF and other library resources, anthropology students have access to source materials on more than 400 different cultures.

The University's exchange programs for Iowa students provide opportunities and some scholarships for study abroad.

Faculty

Current faculty interests include patterns of political and economic development of emerging nations; the trade in Mexican folk art, material culture, and the politics of consumption; Andean peoples and cultures; indigenous movements; gender and the cultural politics surrounding sobriety in native North America; the cultural production of scientific knowledge about racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality in U.S. public health; stress, blood pressure, and social support in Mozambique; coping strategies in post-war Angola; power, memory, and social inequality in ancient Iberia; language and gender; expressive culture and performance in the Brazilian Amazon; Sanskrit, colonial linguistics, cultural politics of language, religion, and ethnicity; spiritual tourism in India; community and conflict, ritualization, localized religion, and environmentalism in Japan; paleoanthropological investigations of Pleistocene karst caves in China and northern Vietnam; geological and paleoanthropological field surveys of the Plio-Pleistocene Sangiran Dome, in Java; Neanderthal craniofacial form, function, and evolutionary history; anatomical modernity and the origins of modern humans; historical archaeology of Iowa; precontact state systems and the historical archaeology of the Basin of Mexico; and faunal and spatial analyses from Paleolithic sites in France and the Ukraine.

Courses