The Human Story
How do you know other humans when you see them? In our divided world, an Introduction to Anthropology reveals why the things that make us most human—food, language, rituals—are exactly what we use to exclude others from humanity itself.
Part 1: Anthropology: What, Why, How
Discover how anthropology helps us recognize humanity in ourselves and others
What is Anthropology?
Introduction and course overview
Body Ritual Among the Nacirema
“Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner (1956)
Four Fields of Anthropology
Chapter 1 (part 1 of 2), “Why Anthropology?”
What Does It Mean to Be Anthropological?
Chapter 1 (part 2 of 2), “Why Anthropology?”
Our Babies, Ourselves: How Culture Shapes Infant Care
“Our Babies, Ourselves” by Meredith Small (1997)
Doing Anthropology: Fieldwork and Methods
Chapter 2, “Doing Anthropology”
Part 2: Becoming Human
Trace our evolutionary journey through variation, not progress
Why Humans Look Different: Genotype, Phenotype, and Human Variation
Chapter 3 (part 1 of 2), “Human Variation”
Niche Construction and Human Evolution
Chapter 3 (part 2 of 2), “Human Variation”
Primate Diversity and Evolution
Chapter 4, “Primates: Our Closest Relatives”
Bipedalism: Why Humans Walk Upright
Chapter 5 (part 1 of 2), “Human Origins and the Earliest Hominins”
Stone Tools and Early Human Technology
Chapter 5 (part 2 of 2), “Human Origins and the Earliest Hominins”
Homo Sapiens Origins in Africa
Chapter 6 (part 1 of 2), “The Origins and Spread of Modern Humans”
Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens: What Happened When We Met Other Humans
Chapter 6 (part 2 of 2), “The Origins and Spread of Modern Humans”
Part 3: Societies
Explore how humans organize everything from language to lunch
Language and Power
Chapter 7 (part 1 of 2), “Language and Our Worlds”
Language and Justice
Chapter 7 (part 2 of 2), “Language and Our Worlds”
Origins of Agriculture
Chapter 8.1–8.2, “Human Settlement and Societies”
Social Complexity in Anthropology
Chapter 8.3–8.4, “Human Settlement and Societies”
Gramsci and Hegemony: Governing Complex Societies
A deeper dive on 8.4 from an earlier course iteration; the 2026 class folds this material into Social Complexity
Introduction to Economic Anthropology
Chapter 9 (part 1 of 2), “Food and Economic Systems”
Redistribution and Economic Systems
Chapter 9 (part 2 of 2), “Food and Economic Systems”
Warfare and Agriculture
Chapter 10 (part 1 of 2), “War and Group Violence”
Resistance, Refusal, Revolution, Reconciliation
Chapter 10 (part 2 of 2), “War and Group Violence”
Part 4: Issues
Apply anthropological insights to contemporary challenges. Chapters here follow teaching order rather than textbook order.
Sex and Gender in Anthropology
Chapter 11, “Gender”
Marriage Systems: Class Endogamy and Beyond
Chapter 12, “Sex, Love, and Marriage”
Illness, Disease, and Sickness in Medical Anthropology
Chapter 15 (part 1 of 2), “Disease, Health, and Healing”
Medical Pluralism: Multiple Healing Systems
Chapter 15 (part 2 of 2), “Disease, Health, and Healing”
Death Rituals and the Anthropology of Death
Chapter 13, “Death, Dying, and the Dead”
Race and Racism in Anthropology
Chapter 14, “Race and Racialized Societies”
Colonial Extractivism and Better Futures
Chapter 16, “Anthropology, Environment, and Better Futures”
Introduction to Anthropology Resources
See the Teaching Anthropology hub for more courses and Anthropological Foundations for the building blocks of anthropology.