ANTH 434: The History of Anthropological Thought. Course Introduction

ANTH 434: The History of Anthropological Thought. Course Introduction

Calling all Anthropology lovers! Athabasca University has released a new distance education course called the History of Anthropological Thought (ANTH 434). It is a 400-level course which delves right into the heart of anthropology by studying the progression and trends in anthropological thought over last the two centuries.

Consisting of 12 units, ANTH 434 begins with an overview of anthropological thought prior to 1800, then moves forward to discuss aspects of anthropology from 1800 to the present. The overview begins with theory formation and culture change, then moves on to psychological anthropology, cognitive anthropology, functionalism, and structuralism, and finally postmodern anthropology, society, feminism, and feminist theory.

The History of Anthropological Thought (ANTH 434), a 3-credit course in the Social Sciences, has 2 prerequisites; student should have previously taken ANTH 275 as well as another anthropology-related course, worth 3 credits. ANTH 434 is offered via individualized study only, and possesses a course webpage with fascinating readings related to the units and topics covered in the course. In addition, students are given a series of videos in their course packages, as a course supplement.

The evaluation for ANTH 434 consists of 2 essays, each worth 22% of your final mark. A telephone quiz counts for 6%, and the final 50% of your grade is derived from a research paper and the final exam, each of which is worth 25%.

ANTH 434’s course professor, Sheila Greaves, was introduced to the world of distance education while completing the last part of her PhD program, the dissertation of which focused on ethnicity and Canadian aboriginal cultures. She has worked with Athabasca University since 1991, first as a tutor, and currently now as the Assistant professor of Anthropology.

In addition to acting as course professor for The History of Anthropological Thought, Dr. Greaves also coordinates the following Athabasca anthropology courses: the Archaeology of Ancient Peoples (ANTH 277), the Inuit Way (ANTH 307), Ancient Civilizations of the Americas (ANTH 318), First Nations of Canada (ANTH 362), Alberta Archaeology: Prehistoric Lifeways (ANTH 376), Urban Anthropology (ANTH 394), and Archaeology: Principles in Practice (ANTH 476).

Dr. Greaves is also currently writing 2 additional 200-level anthropology courses for Athabasca University; one course deals with the archaeology of ancient peoples, and the other discusses human evolution. However, Dr Greaves’ anthropological work does not end here; she is also currently active in literature pertaining to this subject, and has written several publications. For more information on Dr Greaves, you can visit: http://www.athabascau.ca/anthropology/staff/sheila.php

If you are interested in learning more about Athabasca University’s new anthropology course, The History of Anthropological Thought (ANTH 434), you can visit the course syllabus at: http://www.athabascau.ca/html/syllabi/anth/anth434.htm

For the AU Anthropology center, visit: http://www.athabascau.ca/anthropology/