People and Cultures of the World

Course Overview Link

The main goal of “Peoples and Cultures of the World” (ANT 121) is to introduce students to the daily life, rites of passage, marriage, family, work, politics, social life, religion, ritual, and art among different types of societies. In this course, we will especially explore the relationship between culture, power and identities and to examine how anthropologists have been grasping, understanding and writing about these issues in diverse social and cultural settings. In order to critically approach and study peoples and cultures around the world, we will especially focus on the processes that have been conceptually grouped under the rubric of social inequality and violence.

This class is divided into two main parts. In the first part, titled “Culture/Power/Identities” we will draw on a number of ethnographic writings and films that focus on the basis of social inequality and relationships shaped by differences of race, class, ethnicity, generation and gender. The second half of class, broadly titled “Global Assemblages,” will address numerous effects that global processes have had on peoples and cultures of the world. Here we will investigate the phenomena such as neoliberalism, tourism, organ trafficking, commercial surrogacy, family relations, and migration, and we will critically examine the emerging forms of social inequality that these global processes generate.

All students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Completion and have the opportunity to request a Syracuse University credit transcript.

Learning Objectives Link

• Define, understand and use the key anthropological concepts (such as culture, society, power, cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, globalization, etc.) in writing assignments and section discussions.
• Understand anthropology’s methodological tools, especially ethnography, and think critically about what kind of knowledge this method contributes to.
• Understand the range of variability of cultures in the global world.
• Think critically about the nature of violence and social inequality in different historic and socio-cultural settings.
• Critically assess and compare class readings according to the theoretical arguments put forward in lecture and recitation.
• Write a research paper on a contemporary issue, utilizing the knowledge of core concepts of cultural anthropology discussed in class.

Course Information Link

Course Prefix and Number: ANT 121

Format: On Campus

Eligibility: Students must be of rising high school junior or senior status – or a 2024 high school graduate. 

Credit: 3

Grading: A-F

Cost:

• Residential: $4,695
• Commuter: $3,766

Program rates are subject to change and will be approved by the board of trustees. Discounts and scholarships are also available.

Program Information Link

Summer College – On Campus: Experience what college is really like: take a college-level course, live in a residence hall, have meals with friends in a dining hall, and participate in activities and events on campus.