L&S Curricular Connections

Being a mother, a father, a son or daughter: these are universal human conditions, yet in every human society they are experienced differently. Grounded in universals of human sexual variation, this course takes experiences of people of different sexes at many points in history as a lens to explore how history, art history, and anthropology make arguments about human beings in the past. Archaeological case studies are used to explore masculinity, motherhood, childhood and aging, and the intersection of sex with other aspects of identity such as race and ethnicity. Central to this course is the way archaeologists use expertise in the study of material remains to approach such questions, often considered accessible only through texts or direct observation of action.

Even though this is an upper-division course, freshman and sophomores who are intrigued by this topic are also welcome to enroll. You may find, as one student in spring 2006 said, “As a freshman, I found the material a little challenging since it is an upper division course and I had no prior knowledge of anthropology/archaeology, but I learned a lot and your unique teaching method helped me grow intellectually.” Like this student any lower division student should find this class rewarding: as another freshman participant said, “I had never read anything similar to the articles assigned in class. Though at times they were extremely difficult for me to forage through, reading and discussing not only the subject matter but style, form, and content of each one has almost forced me to approach all of my readings with the same critical eye.”