ANTHR 2411 - [Nature and Culture]

Spring. 4 credits.

Next offered 2012–2013.

S. Sangren.

Sociocultural anthropology, because it encompasses the comparative study of humankind in society, provides a unique vantage point on the nature of humanity. One of the focal questions of the discipline is the relationship between the physical/biological, the symbolic/biological, and the symbolic/moral worlds in which people live. This inquiry places anthropology squarely at the center of social theory, as most social theories and political ideologies are founded on premises regarding human nature. Through study of several conceptual categories which have been flashpoints for debates about nature and culture (e.g., gender, race, and sexuality), this course examines a variety of past and current attempts to explain the relationships between nature and culture in human life.