This course introduces students to a variety of the world s cultures and the concepts and methods anthropologists use to understand them. Particular attention will be paid to current debates about the nature of culture in light of the globalizing forces that touch even the most remote societies. William F. Kelleher Professor Kelleher has done fieldwork among Southeast Asian refugees in the United States and among Catholics and Protestants in a border area of Northern Ireland, a region of violent ethnic conflict. Professor Kelleher s research interests include the relationships between social class and political conflict, the anthropology of violence, the processes of boundary making, and the historical legacies of colonialism in the international and ethnic relations of the present. This course helps students develop an understanding of the rich diversity of languages and cultures found among Native North American peoples from the perspectives of sociocultural and linguistic anthropology.
Students develop projects based on their own interests and course materials.
American Indian scholars, including elders and tribal leaders, may visit the classroom to discuss contemporary issues affecting Native peoples today. She recently began comparative field research among the Kiowa and Comanche nations of Oklahoma. Dr. Farnell s research also extends into the area of American Indian language preservation and revitalization.