Margaret Everett Associate Professor of Anthropology Portland State University Home | Background | Recent Publications | Courses | CV | Anthropology Home |
Courses
Social Theory (ANTH 304)
How do people arrange themselves to produce and reproduce the societies in which they live? What is the role of kinship in small-scale and complex societies? How have anthropologists adapted their theoretical and methodological tools in order to study the changes brought by colonialism, globalization and transnationalism? This course offers a brief, and selective, tour of social theory in anthropology, from the social theorists of the 19th century to emerging trends in the 21st century. Topics include kinship debates, old and new, global inequalities and local responses, gender and stratification, power and discourse, and globalization.
Peoples and Cultures of Latin America (ANTH 311U)
This course provides an introduction to the anthropology of Latin America as well as to the diverse contemporary cultures of the region. Course topics include problems associated with contact, development and globalization; identity and ethnicity; the role of social movements in the region; the changing status of women; and the relationship between ecology and culture. Throughout the course, we will consider the roles that anthropologists have played in Latin America, including as advocates of human rights and cultural preservation.
Culture, Health and Healing (ANTH 325U)
This course provides an introduction to medical anthropology – the study of the relationships among culture, social structure, the environment, disease and healing. Generally, medical anthropologists begin from a biocultural perspective, that biology and culture are equally important in the human experience of disease. Through case studies, we will review various approaches to medical anthropology, including critical, interpretive, ecological and ethnomedical perspectives. We will pay special attention to the ecological perspective, that is the impact of environment on health, and the interplay between human behavior, environment and health.
Anthropology of Folklore (ANTH 330)
This course will review folklore -- including legend, folktales, folk music and dance – and its role in society. Folklore, in both western and non-western contexts, can reveal social relations, conflict and resistance, social change, and oral history. In this class we will explore vampire beliefs, American urban legends, carnival, culinary tourism, and songs from the Texas-Mexican border in order to develop an understanding of forms and meanings of folklore in a variety of cultural settings.
Perspectives in Medical Anthropology (ANTH 425/525)
This course offers a detailed examination of the anthropological study of medical practice and illness experiences. We will focus primarily on examples from the United States and biomedicine, as well as the distribution and response to global diseases, such as AIDS. Students will learn about the theoretical tools anthropologists use to discern the human experience of illness and to recognize the exercise of power in medical practices. We will pay special attention to developments in medical technologies (such as prenatal screening and organ transplants) and the implications for the status of “the body.”