Courses Taught

At the College of Southern Nevada

ANTH 101: Introduction to Anthropology

An in-depth analysis of culture revealed by world ethnography.

Course Description and Objectives

This course is an introduction to human nature and culture, the universal aspects of culture and the range of cultural variation as revealed by an examination of world ethnography. At course’s end, the student should be able to:

  1. Define the field of anthropology.
  2. Discuss the four major sub-fields of anthropology.
  3. Define the concept of culture.
  4. Discuss the various institutions that comprise culture.
  5. Apply anthropological concepts to the analysis of individual cultures, including American culture.
  6. Apply anthropological concepts to the comparative examination of cultures.
  7. Apply anthropological concepts to the analysis of cultural problems, including those in the United States

ANTH 201: People and Culture of the World (Prepared but canceled)

A study of human societies and their peculiar institutions as seen in the cultures of various peoples around the world.

Course Description and Objectives

This class is a study of human societies and their peculiar institutions as seen in the cultures of various peoples around the world. It offers a more thorough examination of human culture and nature, particularly in relation to specific culture areas and geographic areas, than does Anth 101, Intro to Anthropology. Specific areas to be dealt with include Australia, Africa, the Pacific Islands, Native North America, state-level societies around the world and in relation to under- and unevenly-developed areas of the modern world.

By course’s end, through the successful completion of assigned papers, projects, and examinations, the student should be able to:

  1. Define the major culture areas of the world.
  2. Discuss the defining criteria of the major culture areas.
  3. Discuss in detail specific cultures from each area.
  4. Discuss variation within these culture areas based on
    information from specific cultures.
  5. Compare cultures on the same level of organization from
    the different culture areas.
  6. Discuss the impacts, pro and con, of western civilization
    on “underdeveloped” cultures in the various culture areas.

WMST 113: Gender, Race, and Class

Interdisciplinary,cross-cultural survey of the ways in which
gender interacts with race, age,class,and sexuality to shape
human consciousness and determine the social organization
of human society.

Course Description and Objectives

Through the reading of and reflection on an assortment of theoretical, historical, legal, autobiographical, and artistic documents, you will become able to:

  1. Develop respect for and engage in constructive discussion about significant social and ethical issues.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge about how race, class, and gender intersect.
  3. Interpret and debate multidisciplinary perspectives.
  4. Evaluate cultural and structural analyses.
  5. Evaluate evidence from a feminist perspective.

At the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

WMST 113: Gender, Race, and Class

Interdisciplinary, cross-cultural survey of the ways in which gender interacts with race, age, class, and sexuality to shape human consciousness and determine the social organization of human society.

Course Description and Objectives

Our lives, our identities, and our society are fundamentally affected by the complex interaction of gender, race, and class. In this class we will explore how these categories are constructed by, and function in, society and the ways they shape and are shaped by both the institutions that make up society as well as our individual lives and experiences. Often operating unconsciously and invisibly, race, gender, and class nevertheless profoundly influence our perspective on and actions in the world, and provide channels through which power flows in society, creating privileged and unprivileged categories and working to make those categories seem “natural” and “unchangeable”. In this class we will seek to make visible and understand the workings of these categories, from the perspective of academics trying to accurately represent the world around us as well as from the perspective of individuals whose experience of our own lives exists at the intersection of race, class, and gender. Through the reading of and reflection on an assortment of theoretical, historical, legal, autobiographical, and artistic documents, you will become able to:

  1. Develop respect for and engage in constructive discussion about significant social and ethical issues.
  2. Demonstrate an understanding of how race, class, and gender intersect with each other as well as with other categories of social experience such as sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, ability, and age.
  3. Show how social categories function to create and justify systems of advantage and disadvantage in society.
  4. Comprehend the diversity and complexity of American society, and your own place in it.
  5. Demonstrate critical thinking skills including writing, speaking, and listening with clarity and purpose.
  6. Interpret and debate multidisciplinary perspectives.
  7. Evaluate cultural and structural analyses.
  8. Evaluate evidence from a feminist perspective.
  9. Investigate local activism.