Anthropology 137
Winter 2008
TR 2-3:15
Embarcadero Hall
http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/classes/Anth137/

Instructor
Susan Harris
Office: HSSB 2067
Phone: 893-3752
Office Hours: TR 3:30- 5:00 or by appointment
Email: sharris@anth.ucsb.edu

Daniel Sznycer
Office: HSSB 1010
Office Hours: M 5-7
E-mail: dsznycer@umail.ucsb.edu

Download a shortened version of this syllabus HERE

Course Description and Goals

The main goal of this class is to present the culture and lifeways of the classic ancient Maya and their ancestors. With images of the Maya so prevalent in popular culture today from popular films to dramatic pictures of ruins hidden away in exotic jungles, it can be difficult to separate the scientific facts from the romanticized fiction. We will begin with an introduction to the Maya ancestors, and then explore different facets of the Classic Maya such as subsistence patterns, religion and ideology, economics, and politics. Finally, we will look at the Classic Maya collapse and the transformations that followed. Throughout the course, I will illustrate how anthropologists go about understanding a society that is different from there own, and link the research questions with the methods we use to answer them.

Grading and Course Policies

Grading will be based on 1 map quiz (10%) 1 midterm (40%) and 1 final exam (50%). There will be no makeup exams, so check the syllabus for test dates and plan accordingly.

Required Readings

Both required readings should be available at the bookstore, and easy to find online. There are also copies on reserve at the library.

Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization (2004). Arthur Demarest.

Copán: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Maya Kingdom (2000). David Webster, AnnCorinne Freter, and Nancy Gonlin.

Reading/Lecture Schedule