First Session, May 21 - Jun 15

ANTH 026 Biological Anthropology (instructor: Deborah Blom)

ANTH 040 Parenting and Childhood (instructor: Deborah Blom)

ANTH 069 Latinos in the U.S. (instructor: Teresa Mares)

ANTH 104 Archaeology of the Americas (instructor: Scott Van Keuren)

ANTH 195 Bikes, Globalization, and Sustainability* (Instructor: Luis Vivanco)

ANTH 200 Fieldwork in Archaeology* (Instructor: John Crock)

Second Session, Jun 18 - Jul 13

ANTH 024 Prehistoric Archaeology (Instructor: Scott Van Keuren)

ANTH 028 Linguistic Anthropology (Instructor: Emily Manetta)

Third Session, Jul 16 - Aug 10 

ANTH 021 Cultural Anthropology (Instructor: Jonah Steinberg)

ANTH 095 Gypsy Road (Instructor: Jonah Steinberg)

ANTH 165 Peoples of South Asia (Instructor: Jonah Steinberg)

*these are experiential courses meeting on/off campus

ANTH 021, Cultural Anthropology (Jonah Steinberg)

Introduction to cultural anthropology, using fieldwork-based concepts and methods to study diverse cultural views and practices, varied forms of social organization, and contemporary global issues.

ANTH 024, Prehistoric Archaeology (Scott Van Keuren)

Examination of the origins and development of culture from the earliest human fossils through the appearance of civilization; the nature of archaeological data and interpretations.

ANTH 026, Biological Anthropology (Deborah Blom)

Biological Anthropology, one of the core courses in Anthropology, will introduce you to the subfield and provide you with the basics of evolutionary theory, genetics and inheritance, nonhuman primates (monkeys and apes), and the fossil hominid record, so that you can better understand the ways that human individuals and populations adapt to physical and cultural environments.  We will explore the concept of “race” biologically and culturally and study the effects of human genetics and the many aspects of our physical bodies that are products of our environments rather than our genes.

ANTH 028, Linguistic Anthropology (Emily Manetta)

This class explores the study of the way we use language to better understand human culture and human social interactions. In this summer online version of the course, we focus on small-group discussion and debate surrounding hot topics in the discipline – topics like language and racism, President Trump’s tweets, texting and language change, and slang and expletives. I hope you will join us for this high-contact, up-to-date version of the course that gives you the opportunity to better understand the language in use all around you!

ANTH 040, Parenting and Childhood (Deborah Blom)

Is there a "best way" or a "natural way" to raise a child from infancy to adolescence?  Should a child sleep alone? Will "boys be boys"? Should you pick up the baby every time it cries? Parents and others living and working with children are bombarded with multiple, often conflicting theories about "proper" childrearing.  Anthropologists can provide a unique perspective to the study of childhood by considering both cultural and biological aspects of humanity.  Throughout the semester, we will read sources written by anthropologists and consider questions regarding child rearing from many different aspects, such as cross-culturally and through non-human primate studies.  In doing so, we can appreciate the diversity and multiple perspectives on the topic of children and how to raise them and begin to decide which theories are most credible and relevant for any given situation. Throughout the semester, we will develop the necessary skills to fully consider humans as biocultural beings, neither solely products of our biology nor our culture, but a dynamic combination of the two.

ANTH 069, Latinos in the U.S. (Teresa Mares)

This course is designed as a survey of peoples of Latino/a and Hispanic descent living in the United States. Through reading three groundbreaking ethnographies about Latino/a communities and groups, students will learn both about the history and diversity of Latinos/as and how anthropologists define and study race and ethnicity. Students will also consider the many connections that Latinos/as maintain with Latin American nations and cultures.

ANTH 095, Gypsy Road (Jonah Steinberg)

The Roma, also known as “Gypsies,” are an ethnic group of Indian origin that likely left South Asia around 1500 years ago during a series of invasions, possibly as fugitives or slaves. They share a common language, and a core set of common cultural features, across Europe, North America, and West Asia. They can also be said to be the most universally impoverished, excluded, persecuted, marginalized, and discriminated-against people in Europe, and consistently are relegated to or confined in special camps. They survive on the very edge of society by begging, performing, working scrap metal, and engaging in other itinerant traditions. They were also killed in great numbers alongside Jews in death camps in the Holocaust. At the same time, the “Gypsies” are the focus of an endless public fascination, and everyone has an idea of what a “Gypsy” is. Gypsies appear over and over again in popular music (from the Allman Brothers to Fleetwood Mac to Lady Gaga to Gavin Degraw), classical music, fiction, film (e.g. The Hunchback of Notre Dame), videogames (Assassins’ Creed), and beyond. They are romanticized, celebrated, and misunderstood in these realms. This course is an introduction to the reality and representation of the Romani people, and an exploration of the gap between the two. The course will be augmented by materials from the professor’s own research.

ANTH 104, Archaeology of the Americas (Scott Van Keuren)

Archaeological overview of North and South America from the peopling of the New World to European contact in the sixteenth century. Prerequisite: Minimum Sophomore standing.

ANTH 165, Peoples of South Asia (Jonah Steinberg)

Culture and social organization of peoples of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Theoretical issues in anthropological analysis of these societies discussed.

ANTH 195, Bikes, Globalization, and Sustainability (Luis Vivanco)

In recent years the bicycle has enjoyed a renaissance as a form of sustainable urban transportation in many major cities throughout the world, primarily as governments and activists seek ways to reduce the social, health, and environmental problems caused by automobile pollution and congestion. This course examines the complex connections between globalization, cycling, and urban sustainability. These themes include: theorizing contemporary forms of urban mobility and how transportation technologies, specifically the bicycle, relate to social change; the dynamic history and role of the bicycle around the world (primarily Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America) as a form of transportation; and the current adoption of the bicycle by urban environmental movements. We will take several bicycle fieldtrips around Burlington, and work in service learning with several local bicycle advocacy organizations.  This class will also include a service-learning component.

ANTH 200, Fieldwork in Archaeology (John Crock)

Contribute to the understanding of Vermont’s archaeological past.  Learn archaeological methods and techniques while investigating preContact era Native American sites near Burlington, Vermont.  After a brief orientation in the classroom to prepare for the field, spend the entire course outdoors conducting archaeological field work and visiting notable archaeological sites in Vermont.   Develop professional skills while receiving hands-on training in survey and excavation, artifact identification and settlement analysis.