COURSES TAUGHT
Comparative Religions/ Magic, Witchcraft, & Religion
New York City College of Technology, Fall 2008- present
People rely on religion and various belief systems to bring meaning and understanding to everyday life. This course will show how anthropologists unravel and interpret cultural belief systems to gain insight into the cultural environment. Cross-cultural ethnographic examples will illustrate the various ways in which anthropologists analyze belief systems as a way to understand a culture. Topics include religion, worldview, symbolism, taboo, myth, ritual, witchcraft, shamanism, magic, and spirits. https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/socialscience/docs/courses/ANTH1102.pdf
Sex, Gender, and Culture – Contemporary Women
New York City College of Technology, 2008- Present, Santa Monica College, Earth Science Department, Winter 2003, Fall 2007, Winter 2008
Designed upper division lecture course that weaves a general history of the study of gender in Anthropology with a series of articles that illustrate the range and scope of the discipline. This course addresses the categories of male and female and the relations between them from a cross-cultural perspective. Developed syllabus, lectures, and exams. Graded all materials and wrote extensive comments. Students applied concepts and theories from the course to a final paper analyzing their own raw data. Course emphasizes understanding gender in American society through cross-cultural comparison. Conducted course evaluation. Developed syllabus, lectures, exam materials, and writing assignments. https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/socialscience/docs/courses/ANTH1103.pdf
Sociology of Aging – Life Course Transitions
New York City College of Technology, Fall 2009 – present
This course looks at understanding aging as a process that occurs over a lifetime. Though the emphasis of this course is on Aging in the US, we look at some cross-cultural studies as comparison. The social, political, economic, as well as historical context have an impact on the elderly. We will address the role elderly play in such social institutions as religion, community, and the family. As we go through the different life stages that encompass a life we will address special issues related to aging. The point is to see the entire life leading up to older age as this informs the experience of the elderly.
Introduction to Anthropology
New York City College of Technology, Social Science Department, 2008- Present.
Designed and taught lower division introductory course that explores how the four fields of anthropology study humankind. The course traces Biological/Physical Anthropology, Archeological Anthropology, Linguistic Anthropology, and Cultural Anthropology. Students learn about different types of societies: Foragers, Pastoralists, Horticulturalists, Agriculturalists, and Post Industrial. The course covers social institutions ranging from Family organization, political systems, economic systems, as well as religious systems. Developed syllabus, lectures, exam materials, power point presentations, and writing assignments. https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/socialscience/docs/courses/ANTH1101.pdf
Continuity and Change: The effects of the socialist state on post socialist societies
University of California, Los Angeles, Anthropology Department Spring 2006, Spring 2007
This course serves to acquaint students with Eastern and Central European society and culture by looking at continuity and change, personal practice, and the anthropology of power, within the context of post socialism. While the course puts a special emphasis on Hungarian culture, I discuss other post socialist societies. The course looks at the affects of a society in transition to explore common themes in the literature (social constructions of time and space, cultural expressions, identity construction). The basis of this course is anthropology, though I draw on multiple disciplines. Students work in small groups to present a poster presentation on a given theme. Each student writes a 10-page literature review addressing the themes of the course. Developed syllabus, lectures, exam materials, and writing assignments.
Symbolic Systems
University of California, Los Angeles, Anthropology Department, Spring 2002 & Summer 2003
This course looks at how people experience the world through symbolic systems that bring understanding to everyday life. Classic theoretical approaches define the symbol and its significance and ethnographic examples illustrate how anthropologists use symbolic analysis. Developed syllabus, lectures, exam materials, fieldwork and writing assignments for an upper division undergraduate course. Graded all materials and wrote extensive comments. Included fieldwork assignment and application of key theories for a symbolic analysis (10-15 page paper). Students learn how to understand and interpret symbolic systems in their own culture by applying theory to an analysis of symbolism in American society. Conducted course evaluation. Developed syllabus, lectures, exam materials, and writing assignments.
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
University of California, Los Angeles, Anthropology Department, Spring 2007, Spring 2008.
Santa Monica College, Earth Science Department, Summer 2002 to 2008.
Designed and taught lower division required introductory lecture course that explores how anthropologists study culture in order to further understand humankind. Presented key anthropological concepts and issues that address a range of societies and methods anthropologists’ study. This course covers social organization, kinship, religion, globalization, power relations, and ethics. Developed syllabus, lectures, and exams. At SMC graded all materials and wrote extensive comments. At UCLA, supervised Teaching Assistants. Included life history writing assignment. Course emphasizes an understanding American culture through cross-cultural comparisons. Conducted course evaluation. Developed syllabus, lectures, exam materials, and writing assignments.
Sociology of the Family
New York City College of Technology, Fall 2008.
This course looks at the role of society and culture to understand the Family as an institution and social group. The emphasis is on the family as a social system in a changing society. Topics will include: marriage, descent, kinship, race, class, gender, age groups, and conflict. We will explore both an historical and cultural understanding of the family.
Social Systems
University of California, Los Angeles, Anthropology Department, Winter 2006.
What does it mean for an individual to be a part of a group? What does it mean for an individual to be excluded from a group? A social system is a complex concept that refers to “society” and the particular “systems” within it. Social anthropology looks at the meaning of social relations. This course addresses social systems by looking at kinship, political organization, economic life, religious organization, gender systems, ethnicity, race, and class. These “systems” consist of groups of individuals; therefore this course explores the individual within society in terms of inequality, power/resistance, and identity. This course addresses the relation of social organization to social structure. Students evaluate their own group project experience and write a final paper based on the theories presented in the course. Developed syllabus, lectures, exam materials, and writing assignments.
Emerging Global Society
New York City College of Technology, Spring 2013
This course takes a sociological view of the globalization that includes themes such as: 1) homogeneity or glocalization?, 2) The end of the nation state? 3) McDonalization 4) Ecological, economic, and cultural dimensions of globalization, 5) Issues of social inequality.
Developed New Course to be taught at New York City College of Technology:
ANTH 2000: Medical Anthropology
Medical Anthropology aims to understand the interrelationship between culture and understandings of disease, health, and healing. Anthropologists look at the biocultural basis of health to understand how different cultures experience and treat illness. This course looks at medicine in terms of health, illness, and forms of healing from an Anthropological perspective that includes biological and cross-cultural perspectives. Whereas Western biomedicine tends to favor an application of science, in some societies health and illness cannot be separated from their worldview and spiritual belief systems. This course will address the various theories and methods used to analyze and understand the body as a site of illness and healing. Topics include Healers and Healing, Ethnomedicine, Humoral Medicine, Belief Systems (Religion, Spirituality, Worldview) and understandings of health, Diet and Nutrition, Social Inequality & Health Disparities, and Cultural understandings of Mental Health.
