ANTH 1A: Introduction to the Comparative Study of Human Societies

Instructor: Medha Asthana

Prerequisites: None

Course Description: This course introduces the principal ideas and methods of social and cultural anthropology, the comparative study of human societies in all their remarkable diversity and complexity. The special mandate of the field is to discover new and less harmful ways of perceiving and understanding the different experiences, histories, and values of people and communities from all parts of the world. Anthropology also examines how categories of difference and inequality are constructed in our own and other societies, including the often-pernicious effects of hierarchies tied to class, caste, race, gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, nation, and citizenship in human societies. The course is designed to examine the ways people make sense of and order their lives within a range of societies, including in North and South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania. It emphasizes that other possibilities, beyond the ones we are most familiar with, exist for solving problems and for achieving meaningful lives.
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The course will introduce you to the concepts of cultural analysis, fieldwork (how anthropologists gather data), and ethnography (the written account of the study of a social setting). We will explore key features of social-cultural life, including meaning and values, social inequalities, language and communication, kinship and relatedness, gender and sexuality, political and economic systems, religion and ritual, sickness and healing, and social change. The course will explore as well the theme of globalization, from the period of European colonial expansion, when anthropology first came into being, to the current global era, when many societies have become increasingly part of a world-embracing political, economic, and cultural community.
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The course serves as a core requirement for majors in Anthropology and International and Global Studies. The course also fulfills the Difference and Justice in the World (DJW) requirement for the general education curriculum.

Session: Session I

Day: M, T, Th

Time: 1:50pm - 4:20pm

Credit Hours: 4 Credits

Course Format: Remote Learning Course for Summer 2026

Brandeis Graduation Requirement Fulfilled: DJW, NW, SS

Enrollment Limit:

Course Classification: Undergraduate Level Course

Course Tuition: $3,825

Course Fees: None

Open to High School Students: Yes

Course Syllabus