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GRADUATE STUDENT HANDBOOK

Master of Arts in Anthropology

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

2014-2015

ANTHROPOLOGY PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT

     Anthropology is a social science discipline committed to the comparative and historical study of humankind.  It is the broadest in scope and the most methodologically diverse of the social sciences.  No human group, no matter where or when it existed, is off-limits to anthropological consideration.  Likewise, the discipline exempts no aspect of the human condition from potential inquiry and analysis. 

    Our mission is to advance knowledge of anthropology through scientific and humanistic research, high quality teaching, professional publications, and community outreach. The faculty conducts research, teaches, and trains in each of the four subfields of anthropology: cultural, linguistics, archaeology, and biological (physical).  Our graduate and undergraduate students learn, at the appropriate level, the fundamentals of the four subfields, how they interact with one another, and how they relate to other academic disciplines.

|UAB Contact Information |UA Contact Information |

| | |

|Mailing Address: |Mailing Address: |

|Department of Anthropology  |Department of Anthropology |

|322 Heritage Hall Building |P.O. Box 870210 |

|1530 3rd Avenue South |19-B Ten Hoor Hall |

|University of Alabama at Birmingham |University of Alabama |

|Birmingham, Alabama  35294-1152 |Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0210 |

| | |

|Departmental Chair: |Departmental Chair: |

|Douglas P. Fry |Ian Brown |

|(205) 934-3508 |(205) 348-9758 |

|dfry@uab.edu |ibrown@bama.ua.edu |

| | |

|Graduate Program Director |Graduate Program Director |

|Lori Cormier |Jason DeCaro |

|(205) 975-6526 or 934-8701 |(205) 348-9061 |

|lcormier@uab.edu |jason.a.decaro@ua.edu |

| | |

|Administrative Associate: |Departmental Administrators |

|Vern Bush |Teri Kirkendoll |

|(205) 934-3508 |(205) 348-1959 |

|Fax: 205-975-4510 |tkirdendoll@ua.edu |

|vern@uab.edu |Missy Sartain |

| |(205) 348-5947 |

| |msartain@ua.edu |

ABOUT THE UAB M.A. PROGRAM IN ANTHROPOLOGY

The UAB Anthropology program offers an M.A. in cooperation with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.  Students apply for admission to the program through the Graduate School in Tuscaloosa, indicating on the application the intent to participate in the joint UA/UAB M.A. program.  Once admitted, students are free to take courses and work with faculty in either department.  Together, the UA and UAB departments have twenty-two regular faculty, sixteen at UA and six at UAB.  The discipline's four traditional subfields (cultural, archaeology, biological and linguistics) are represented among the faculty of both departments, as are many areas of geographic, methodological, and topical expertise.

     For information about research opportunities supported by faculty in the Department of Anthropology at Tuscaloosa, see .  The sections below briefly summarize the research activities supported by faculty in the UAB department.  If you have any questions about research opportunities at UAB, freely contact any of the faculty members in the department.

Areas of Specialization at UAB

Physical (Biological) Anthropology:  Physical anthropology seeks to understand the biological nature of humans.  Historically, there are several foci of interest within physical anthropology, including primate (including human) evolution, human biological variation, and comparative primatology.  At UAB, Dr. Steven Merritt works in East Africa investigating hominin paleoecology, zooarchaeology, diet, and human-carnivore interaction.  He teaches in these areas and also offers classes in human osteology and forensic applications of physical anthropology.  In addition, Dr. Lori Cormier's historical ecological research encompasses human and wild primate interactions, including disease transfer, and Dr. Douglas Fry research areas include the evolution of behaviors such as aggression, restraint, cooperation, and conflict management.

Cultural Anthropology: Cultural anthropology seeks to understand the underlying causes of similarities and differences in human patterns of thinking and acting.  Topical areas of expertise include human ecological adaptations (Drs. Cormier and Kyle), medical beliefs and practices (Dr. Cormier), political behaviors (Dr. Kyle), human religious and symbolic systems (Dr. Cormier), and peace, nonviolence, and conflict resolution (Dr. Fry).  Faculty members have geographic specializations in Latin America (Dr. Kyle and Dr. Fry), Amazonia (Dr. Cormier), and native cultures of the southeastern United States (Dr. Cormier).

Archaeology:  Archaeology shares the broad aims of cultural anthropology, but differs in methods of analysis.  Where cultural anthropologists conduct direct observational studies of living human groups (a practice known as ethnography) and archival research with written records, archaeologists specialize in interpreting the material debris and other physical traces produced by human activity.  This specialization enables archaeologists to consider extinct as well as historical and contemporary societies.  The UAB department has specialists in prehistoric political and economic systems (Dr. Mumford), and using satellite and other imagery to detect past and present human activity (Dr. Parcak).  Geographic areas of specialization include ancient Egypt and the Near East (Drs. Mumford and Parcak) and the southeastern United States (Dr. Downs).

ADMISSION TO THE M.A. PROGRAM

Since the M.A. degree in anthropology at UAB is a cooperative degree with the University of Alabama, paperwork is required at both institutions to complete the application process. Admission involves a two-step process for students:

1) UA: apply for admission through the graduate school at the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa)

2) UAB: complete the Cooperative Admission Form for the Graduate School at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Further details on the admission requirements and process are described below.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA (Tuscaloosa)

Students apply to the M.A. program through the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa). Application is made online and the forms and other information about the graduate school are available at: . When filling out the application, students will be asked to indicate their area of study. It is important to indicate that you are applying to the UAB cooperative Master's degree so that the graduate director at UA is aware that your primary institution will be UAB.

Admission Requirements:

REGULAR ADMISSIONS

An applicant whose credentials meet both of the following minimum requirements may be considered for regular admission:

All applicants must meet the general guidelines for admission to the Graduate School at UA. These include a grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 point scale for the last 60 semester hours in a degree program, and a combined verbal and quantitative score of at least 1000 on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).  Additionally, a score of four (4) or greater on the Analytical Writing component of the test is required. 

Applications are accepted twice a year. Applications must be received prior to January 31 for admission to the subsequent fall semester and must be received prior to September 30 for admission to the subsequent Spring semester.     

PROVISIONAL ADMISSION FOR NON-NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS

• Provisional Language Admissions for International Graduate Students

Please follow the link provided at the UA Graduate School Website for information on Provisional Language Admissions for International Graduate Students:

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS

Action cannot be taken on an application until the Graduate School receives all the required materials. The materials required by the UA department of Anthropology are the following:

1. a completed application form with statement of purpose;

2. official transcripts for all undergraduate/graduate work;

3. GRE scores; and

4. three (3) letters of recommendation from individuals (typically professors) who are in a position to evaluate the applicant’s intellectual potential.

Students may submit additional supporting material (e.g., a curriculum vita, writing sample) if they wish. Further details on application materials and an application checklist can be found at the Graduate School website:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A bachelor's degree in anthropology is not required for admission to the Master's degree program. However, students who do not have a sufficient background in anthropology to prepare them to enter the M.A. program may be asked to take preparatory work.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM

After applying for admission through the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) students will need to complete the Cooperative Admission form for the University of Alabama at Birmingham in order to enroll in classes at this institution. The form can be found online at or through the UAB graduate school home page: . The form is to be completed after you are admitted to the M.A. program at U.A. It requires signatures from administrators at both institutions. UA (Tuscaloosa) is considered the "home institution" because that is where you apply for admission and UAB is the "host institution." Follow the procedure below to process the Cooperative Admission form.

1. Print and complete the Cooperative Admission form located at the UAB Graduate School:

2. Submit the Cooperative Admission form to the University of Alabama's (Tuscaloosa) Graduate Registrar, Beth Yarbrough:

Beth Yarbrough

P.O. Box 879118

102 Rose Administration Building

Graduate Registrar

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0118

Phone: 205-348-8285 or or (205) 348-5921.

Fax: 205-348-0400

Email: beth.yarbrough@ua.edu or gradreg@aalan.ua.edu

FYI

The UA Graduate Registrar then obtains signatures and faxes a copy of the approved Cooperative Admission form and a copy of the student's UA admission letter to the UAB Graduate Admission office to the attention of Susan Banks at (205) 996-5852.  Mrs. Banks may be contacted at (205) 934-8227 or snoblitt@uab.edu. After UAB receives the approved Cooperative Admission form from UA, the student will be added to UAB’s record system and will then be allowed to register for UAB courses online after obtaining a Blazer ID and creating a strong password.

M.A. in ANTHROPOLOGY PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

General Requirements

COURSEWORK:

Each student must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours of courses numbered 500 or above. Without special prior approval of the student's advisor, committee, and the Graduate Program Director, ANTH 699 (Thesis Research) will not count towards the minimum 30 hours. If the thesis option is not taken, then 6 additional credit hours of coursework are required, resulting in a total of 36 required credit hours. In other words, there are additional coursework requirements for the two non-thesis options.

CORE CURRICULUM:

All students are required to complete satisfactorily a core curriculum composed of one graduate course in at least three of the four fields of anthropology and a course in research methods. Courses from the three of the four fields should be chosen from among:

Four Fields (three courses)

1) Linguistics

UAB: ANTH 608 (Advanced Linguistic Anthropology)

2) Archaeology

UAB: ANTH 609 (Advanced Archaeological Anthropology)

3) Cultural Anthropology

UAB: ANTH 605 (Advanced Cultural Anthropology)

4) Biological Anthropology

UAB: ANTH 610 (Advanced Biological Anthropology)

Research Methods (one course)

UAB: ANTH 690 (Research Methods) or ANTH 615 (Ethnographic Field Methods)

Entering students must provide evidence of having passed introductory level courses in each of the four fields before taking the graduate courses. A student who has not had an introductory course may be required to take or audit the appropriate undergraduate course before enrolling in the graduate course. Credits earned from such preparatory course work may not be applied to the 30 credit hour requirement.

LANGUAGE/RESEARCH SKILL COMPETENCY

Each student is required to demonstrate competency in a foreign language or research skill. This requirement may be satisfied in several ways including:

1. Successful completion (meaning a grade of B or better) of at least the second course in a language course sequence such as FR 101/102, GN 101/102, or SPA 101/102.

2. Certification of competency by examination from the appropriate language department.

3. Successful completion of a graduate level statistics course such as Sociology 701 or another statistics course subject to the approval of the Graduate Program Director.

4. Graduate-level coursework in forensics, remote sensing, or other similar specialized research skill if it is used in thesis research. The process for approval of a substitution is to submit a petition to the Graduate Program Director demonstrating how the skill is employed in the thesis.

Students must get the approval of their advisor before undertaking any of these options. The student will be responsible for furnishing evidence of completion of this requirement to the director of graduate studies and the department chair.

M.A. COMMITTEE:

Students will be assigned a temporary advisor when they enter the M.A. program. By the start of the second semester of academic work each graduate student will be required to have identified a faculty member willing to serve as permanent advisor and at least three additional faculty members to comprise an M.A. jury. This committee is subject to final approval by the chair and program director and functions as the principal advisory and research project approval board. The committee may include an external member of the Graduate Faculty.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATIONS:

All students must take and pass comprehensive examinations on their knowledge of the field of anthropology. The student will take three-hour written exams in at least three of the four subdisciplines. One of the exams must be taken in the student's area of concentration (archaeology, cultural, biological, or linguistic anthropology). The other two areas will be decided in collaboration with the faculty advisor. All members of the graduate faculty will be involved in composing questions and evaluating responses in their given areas of expertise. The faculty's evaluations will be communicated to the director of graduate studies and to the chairman of the department.

INTERINSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENT

Students must take at least 6 hours of graduate credit (normally two courses) at the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) as required by the Interinstitutional MA. Students may enroll in any of the 500-level (Masters level) courses offered at UA. The 600-level courses at UA are generally intended for students in the UA doctoral program.

Three Plans of Study for the Master's Degree

In addition to choosing one of the two program options outlined above, the student must satisfy the requirements for one of the following three plans of study. Choice of the plan of study must be made by the student in consultation with the M.A. Committee and the faculty advisor.

THESIS OPTION:

Thirty (30) hours of non-thesis course work, successful completion of the comprehensive examinations, plus a master's thesis. A student electing this plan of study will be required to conceive and execute a research project under the direction of his or her M.A. committee. A student should present a research project plan to the committee before twenty hours of course work have been completed. The student's advisor will convene the committee as necessary to discuss, refine, and approve this plan. After twenty hours of course work are completed, the student may enroll in ANTH 699 (Thesis Research). The purpose of this coursework is to provide a structure for supervised contact hours with the student’s faculty advisor. Such coursework, including the decision as to the number of contact hours required, must be pre-arranged in consultation with the faculty advisor. Hours completed in ANTH 699 must be over and above the 30-hour minimum.

In preparing a thesis, the student should consult the booklet, A Manual for Students Preparing Theses and Dissertations available from the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) Graduate School. Students who take the thesis option will present a departmental colloquium based on the results of their research in the final semester in residence. Students should consult their faculty advisor and the director of graduate studies in scheduling and posting advance notice of their colloquia.

NON-THESIS RESEARCH PROJECT OPTION:

Thirty-six (36) hours of non-thesis course work plus successful completion of one of the following:

1) Presentation of a research paper at a national meeting which has been approved in advance by the student's M.A. Committee, or

2) Acceptance for publication of a research paper submitted to a refereed journal which has been approved in advance by the student's M.A. Committee.

In either case, it will be the responsibility of the student's committee to approve a written draft of the research paper. Approval of the paper will be conveyed in writing to the director of graduate studies and to the department chairman by the student's advisor. Final approval of the research project requirement is at the discretion of the M.A. committee. Students who elect the thesis option will be required to defend their thesis before a departmental committee in the final semester of residence.

NON-THESIS OPTION BY EXAMINATION:

This option involves completion of at least thirty-six (36) hours of non-thesis course work and successful completion of written and oral examinations.

UAB Course Descriptions

For courses at the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa), see the graduate catalog of that university. Unless otherwise noted, all courses are for 3 semester hours of credit. Course numbers preceded with an asterisk indicate courses that can be repeated for credit, with stated stipulations.

Anthropology (ANTH)

600. Medical Anthropology. Seminar addressing health care systems and theories cross-culturally; including historical changes and examination of wide variety of simpler and more complex systems.

601. Forensic Anthropology. Applied human osteology, emphasizing ability to identify age, sex, and population type of skeletal material. Effects of disease and behavior on bones.

602. The Conquest of Mexico. Examines the Spanish conquest of Mexico from both Spanish and indigenous perspectives. Surveys the institutionalization of Spanish control over the fallen Aztec Empire and the broader intellectual and material consequences of the conquest.

605. Advanced Cultural Anthropology. Critical review of theoretical approaches in cultural anthropology.

608. Advanced Linguistic Anthropology. Historical development of theory and field practice of linguistics.

609. Advanced Archaeological Anthropology. Principal theoretical approaches in 19th- and 20th-century archaeology; historical, processual, and postprocesual.

610. Advanced Biological Anthropology. Human evolution, primatology, race, human genetics. Tasks performed by physical anthropologists.

611. Field Archaeology. Archaeological field and laboratory techniques, including excavation, surveying, and artifact analysis and description; general problems of archaeological interpretation.

613. Human Osteology. The identification of human skeletal remains. This laboratory/lecture course provides the groundwork for much of the work in physical anthropology. The first course of the sequence into Anth 601.

615. Ethnographic Field Methods. Classroom instruction and practical experience in techniques of ethnographic fieldwork, including participant observation, household surveys, structured and unstructured interviewing, and genealogies.

617. Origins of Agriculture. Survey of evidence for animal and plant domestication and reasons for spread of feed production.

619. Food and Culture. The role of food in human culture through time and in a variety of geographic settings. Examines the biological basis of diet, how foodways develop and change, how and why anthropologists study diet, and variations in foodways around the world.

622. Landscape Archaeology. Archaeological techniques of reconstructing past landscapes, including remote sensing, GIS, survey, excavation, and environmental analysis.

625. African American Archaeology. African American archaeology is one of the better established research interests within U.S. historical archaeology. This course will examine the development of “the archaeology of the African diaspora” from its beginnings in the 1960s to the present day. Its principal focus will be the plantation of the Southern United States. The course will include an examination of history of the plantation economy as well as an exploration of issues currently of interest to archaeologists studying the archaeological record of African American life.

628. Comparative Religion. Human behavior in relation to the supernatural; religion as a system of social behavior and values; theories of religion.

630. Zooarchaeology. Introduction to methods and theories of zooarchaeological research. Practical experience in processing, identification, and interpretation of animal bone remains from archaeological sites. 4-6 hours.

634. Observing the Earth from Space. This course will provide students with an introductory knowledge of remote sensing analysis. Students will learn how to analyze diverse types of satellite imagery in a wide range of fields, and how to apply this knowledge in original research projects.

637. Real World Remote Sensing. Real world applications of remote sensing technology. Students work closely with UAB professors and scientists at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center doing original remote sensing research on diverse topics, possibly including terrorism, global warming, health, anthropology/archaeology, atmospheric studies, urban expansion, and coastal management.

640. Archaeology and History of the Bible Lands. Archaeology and History of the Bible Lands. Examination of region spanning modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordon from 10,000-585 BC.

641. Anthropology of Human Rights. Examination of conceptual, political, and legal aspects of human rights from an anthropological perspective. Topics considered may include: state violence; the history of human rights claims; the opposition of cultural rights and human rights claim; human rights as a form of political discourse; human rights practices in select contemporary settings.

642. Historical Archaeology. This course involves all stages of archaeological filed work at a historical archaeology site. Students will learn survey skills, excavation, mapping, recovery, and post-field analysis techniques.

645. Medical Anthropology. This course explores the bio-cultural basis of health and cross-cultural variation in illness and healing which includes theoretical bases of medical anthropology, comparative health care systems, and social, political, and economic issues related to health care delivery.

646. Explorers, Mummies and Hieroglyphs. This course provides a thematic approach to pharaonic Egypt in general, with one portion covering diverse aspects such as geography, an overview of the history of Dynasties 1-31, society and government, daily religion, mortuary religion, architecture, literature, the military, trade, economy, and daily life. Another portion of the course provides several documentaries regarding early to more recent explorers and Egyptologists. The third focus introduces Egyptian hieroglyphs in eight grammar classes and follow-up user-friendly, in-class exercises, aiming to enable students to translate basic hieroglyphic texts.

647. Peace Studies. Intensive exploration of concepts and issues involved in the study of peace, social justice, nonviolence and conflict resolution. Students will engage in an in-depth examination and critique of anthropological approaches to peace and the associated theoretical and practical problems and applications.

649. Egyptian History & Archaeology.

650. Nationalism, Ethnicity and Violence. Social and cultural analysis of ethnicity and nationalist ideologies particularly where these have led to violent confrontations within modern nation-states. Considers primordialist versus constructionist theories of difference; the varying weight to be attributed to political, historical and cultural factors in the study of nationalism; and the politics of culture vs. the culture of politics.

653. Primatology. Biology, behavior, and distribution of living nonhuman primates with emphasis on field studies of old-world monkeys and apes.

655. Archaeology of Alabama.

657. Anthropology of Gender. Cultural construction of gender differences in human societies; shifting definitions of proper male and female roles across cultures and through time.

659. Politics, Drugs and Society in Latin America. This course will examine the role of drug production and the drug trade in the economic and political life of Latin American societies. Viewed historically and ethnographically, the course will include coverage of the traditional uses of drugs in indigenous societies as well as the more recent globalization of the industry.

660. Ecological Anthropology. Examines interactions among behavioral, technological, institutional, and ideological features of human cultures that serve to adapt societies to their environment.

661. Historical Ecology. This course explores the topic of Historical Ecology and examines the relationship between humans and their environments from the perspectives of history, anthropology, archaeology, ecology, and biogeography.

664. Political Anthropology. The comparative analysis of political structures and process throughout the world, focusing especially on non-Western forms; a survey of anthropological attempts to understand the complex interplay of culture and power in human societies.

667. Museum Studies. This course uses case studies, analysis of topical issues, and problem-based learning exercises to explore the many aspects of museum studies relevant to the administration and management of not-for-profit museums. This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to museum work.

669. Ethnographic Perspectives on Mexico. Comparative and historical analysis of rural Mexican communities, emphasizing the impact of recent neoliberal economic policies and democratic political reforms.

671. Evolution of Human Carnivory. In this course, students will use analytical methods from zooarchaeology and taphonomy as well as observation of non-human primates and contemporary hunter-gatherers to investigate the paleoecology of carnivory during the evolutionary history of the human lineage. Prerequisites: ANTH 102 [Min Grade: C] or ANTH 211 [Min Grade: C] or ANTH 453 [Min Grade: C] or ANTH 694 [Min Grade: C] or ANTH 610 [Min Grade: C]

681. Anthropology and the Health Professional. Introduction to anthropological theory and practice most relevant to the health care professions (e.g., medicine, nursing, public health, psychology, etc.) Emphasis will be given to anthropological perspectives on the practice of health care as well as practical applications of anthropology in providing health care to culturally diverse peoples.

690. Research Methods.

691. Special Problems in Cultural Anthropology. Supervised study of specified topic area; defined problem explored in depth. Topics determined by student and instructor interest in cultural anthropology.

692. Special Problems in Archaeology. Supervised study of specified topic area; defined problem explored in depth. Topics determined by student and instructor interest in archaeology.

693. Special Problems in Linguistics. Supervised study of specified topic area; defined problem explored in depth. Topics determined by student and instructor interest in linguistics.

694. Special Problems in Biological Anthropology. Supervised study of specified topic area; defined problem explored in depth. Topics determined by student and instructor interest in special topics in physical anthropology.

695. Special Problems in Multimedia Anthropology. Supervised study of multimedia applications to anthropological topics. Specific problem area addressed to be determined by student and instructor interest.

697. Special Topics in Anthropology. Topics vary. See class schedule for details and click to see course topics.

699. Thesis Research. Independent development of research project. Prerequisite: Admission to candidacy.

 Master's Level Courses Offered at UA

ANT 501 Anthropological Linguistics

ANT 502 Gender, Ethnicity, and Health

ANT 504 Analysis of Kinship Systems

ANT 505 Culture, Mind, and Behavior

ANT 507 Sexual Stratification in Society

ANT 508 Ancient Mayan Civilizations

ANT 511 Culture, Health, and Healing

ANT 512 Peoples of Europe

ANT 513 Peoples of Latin America

ANT 514 Peoples of Africa

ANT 516 Peoples of South East Asia

ANT 517 Peoples of South Asia

ANT 518 Development in Non-Western Cultures

ANT 519 Myth, Ritual, and Magic

ANT 520 Background of Anthropological Thought

ANT 521 Ethnography

ANT 522 Political Anthropology

ANT 523 Legal Anthropology

ANT 524 Economic Anthropology

ANT 526 Archaeology of Eastern North America

ANT 527 Archaeology of Western North America

ANT 528 Analytical Anthropology

ANT 529 Archaeology of Europe

ANT 530 Archaeology of Africa

ANT 535 Sociolinguistics

ANT 537 Kinship

ANT 538 Social Organization

ANT 539 Topics in the Anthropology of Religion

ANT 541 Documenting Justice I

ANT 542 Documenting Justice II

ANT 543 Advanced Field Archaeology

ANT 544 Anthropology and Cemeteries

ANT 545 Historical Anthropology

ANT 550 Problems in Anthropology

ANT 555 Africans in the Americas

ANT 560 Anthropology and Natural History Museums

ANT 571 Fossil Man and Evolution

ANT 573 Human Osteology

ANT 575 Human Adaptability

ANT 576 Nutritional Anthropology

ANT 577 Human Behavioral Ecology

 

 

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