Courses

Public Notes

This course uses sex, gender, and sexuality as critical analytical tools to understand contemporary and historical social worlds. Drawing on ethnographic studies, theoretical texts, and multimedia sources, we will examine how regimes of gender and sexuality are constructed in relation to race, class, citizenship, religion, colonialism, and the nation-state. We will also explore how these regimes shape political organizing, structures of power, and global inequalities.

Over the semester, we will engage with a range of historical and contemporary issues, including marriage, kinship, gender affirmation, masculinity, HIV/AIDS, reproduction, state violence, migration, displacement, belonging, and resistance. In addition to exploring diverse ethnographically grounded topics, students will gain a foundation in key theoretical concepts central to anthropology and gender and sexuality studies, such as biological determinism, cultural essentialism, social constructionism, difference, power, and agency.

Public Notes

Sounding it Out: Music and African Diasporic Life This course is an exploration of the intersection of the histories of colonialism, museum practices and the construction of heritage in the present. In working to move away from extractive and oppressive legacies, how have museums confronted the multiple modes of coloniality? Through various examples, we ask: How does the history of colonialism shape what we come to experience as museum collections and exhibition displays? In what ways do constructions and contestations of heritage reveal enduring colonialities, and how can contemporary art, for instance, be part of forging shared and liveable spaces amongst communities? Can be museums be liberatory spaces? What do we want museums and cultural institutions of the future to look like?

Public Notes

This course explores gender and sexuality through an anthropological lens, with an emphasis on applying critical knowledge to everyday life and contemporary social justice issues. Course materials include anthropological and interdisciplinary texts by queer, trans, feminist, and Indigenous scholars, activists, and community members that examine gender and sexuality regimes across diverse global contexts. We will also engage with multimedia sources such as films, zines, and podcasts. By analyzing and comparing these materials, students will grapple with key questions and debates about gender, sexuality, and power in cross-cultural perspective.

A critical examination of gender and sexuality involves confronting various forms of systemic and interpersonal violence, which may be difficult or triggering for some students. To support students in this process, the course adopts a trauma-informed approach and centers solidarity, resistance, and joy as vital frameworks for understanding how marginalized communities navigate and resist violence and oppression. In addition to more traditional forms of assessment, such as quizzes and a mid-term exam, students will complete a final research paper that explores a chosen course concept through engagement with community activism, social movements, public events, digital campaigns, or artistic practices. Students will also have the opportunity to bridge academic knowledge with embodied and engaged learning by participating in an Orange Shirt Day commemoration in their chosen location. As part of this assignment, they will practice observation and field-note-taking methodologies and produce a reflective essay.

Public Notes

This course explores the rich history of anthropology and its theoretical contributions to understanding human behavior. By studying the works of influential scholars across major anthropological traditions, we discuss the discipline's “conditions of existence.” Through contextualizing key theorists and their texts, we explore the central questions driving anthropological inquiry and study the evolution of concepts and theories. Through critical analysis, we navigate the interplay between theoretical frameworks, social contexts, and ongoing scholarly dialogue. This course therefore helps us explore our discipline's intellectual heritage.