Anthropology 434: The History of Anthropological Thought is a senior-level course that examines the range of responses to the fact of human diversity through the ages, with emphasis on modern and postmodern anthropology.
Outline
The course consists of the following eleven units:
Unit 1: Anthropological Thought to the Nineteenth Century
Unit 2: Nineteenth-Century Evolutionary Thought
Unit 3: Race
Unit 4: The Formation of General Theories
Unit 5: Boas and His Students
Unit 6: Functionalism/Structural Functionalism
Unit 7: Structuralism
Unit 8: Change and Conflict
Unit 9: Materialist Explanations of Culture Change
Unit 10: The Individual and Society
Unit 11: Postmodernism, Feminist Theory
Evaluation
To receive credit for ANTH 434, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least D (50 percent), and a grade of at least 50 percent on the examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
Activity
Weight
Telephone quiz
6%
Essay 1
22%
Research Paper
25%
Essay 2
22%
Final Exam
25%
Total
100%
The final examination for this course must be taken online with an AU-approved exam invigilator at an approved invigilation centre. It is your responsibility to ensure your chosen invigilation centre can accommodate online exams. For a list of invigilators who can accommodate online exams, visit the Exam Invigilation Network.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.
Materials
Barnard, Alan. History and Theory in Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. (Print)
Moberg, Mark. Engaging Anthropological Theory: A Social and Political History. New York: Routledge, 2013. (Print)
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.
Opened in Revision 4, June 6, 2017
Updated July 15, 2021, by Student & Academic Services