* a free alternative to expensive Introduction to Cultural Anthropology textbooks

* includes a full textbook and several original videos

* includes 10 "challenges" (assignments)

* a hub of original and found resources for teaching and learning anthropology

* a “connected course” of many faculty around the world sharing instructional materials

* an open course freely available to anyone online

* an emerging producer of original anthropological videos and other digital content

In this class, we will explore America's diversity through questions of immigration, race, gender/sexuality and class--some of the major ways our culture is organized. It is comprised of 9 lessons based on online resources, plus 2 auto-ethnography assignments. This class was originally taught by Huma Mohibullah at Renton Technical College. 

Religion is a significant aspect of human cultures everywhere. In these lessons, we explore questions such as: What are the main elements of religion? Why is believing in a higher power important to human beings across cultures? How is religion related to our social orders? How is religion related to the politics of today's world?This resource is comprised of 7 lessons based on online modules, plus a final presentation assignment. Each lesson includes a discussion or written assignment. This class was originally taught by Huma Mohibullah at Renton Technical College. 

These educational videos provide an invaluable resource on Ancient Nubia for Middle and High School Ancient World History and Geography teachers and students. The video content aligns with Geography, Economics, Civics, and Historical Thinking Social Studies standards across the nation. Key concepts and inquiry skills from each content area weave seamlessly throughout the videos and associated lesson plans. This unit overview document links to developed resources on the Archeology in the Community site.

This is a collection of mini lectures created by anthropologists and those in conversation with anthropology as supplimental material to assist college and university instructors who were made to shift their courses online because of COVID19.For more information, see here.To contribute, please create an OER author account and send your name and OER registered email to AnthropologyTeaching@gmail.com.

ANTH 150 World Archaeology
Introduction to archaeology and cultural change from the earliest times to the advent of state-level societies.

Course Description:
• When did we become fully modern humans?
• When (and why) did we stop being hunter-gatherers?
• When did inequality emerge?
• Why did some people decide to start living in cities?
• What led to the development of complex state-level
societies?
These are important questions about what it means to
be human that archaeologists address. In this course,
we’ll consider these topics while providing an
introduction to archaeology and the study of world
prehistory. The course provides an overview of human
prehistory from modern humans up to the
development of literate civilizations. The approach will
be problem oriented and comparative. We will
consider ancient cultures from around the world in
order to foster an appreciation for human cultural
diversity. Explaining why cultural developments
occurred is often hotly debated among archaeologists,
and different perspectives will be explored critically
throughout this course.

The Antiquities of Wisconsin, Increase A. Lapham's most important published work, includes 92 pages of text, illustrated with 61 wood engravings, and 55 lithographed plates and was the result of his research into the Indian effigy mounds found on Wisconsin's Landscape.

Becoming Human is a fast-paced, irreverent introduction to evolutionary theory, especially human origins. The book is based on the Open2Study MOOC, 'Becoming Human,' created by Dr. Greg Downey and Open Universities Australia. The book discusses traces of evolution in our bodies, basic evolutionary theory from Darwin to the genomic revolution, sexual selection and reproduction, and how human brain development affects our evolution, including into the future. Copiously illustrated, with some interactive diagrams, videos of Dr. Downey presenting the material are also available through Open2Study.

Becoming Human is an interactive documentary experience that tells the story of human origins. Multimedia, research and scholarship are presented to promote greater understanding of the course of human evolution. This site includes classroom materials, subject-designed exercises, games and activities to help make connections between the concepts that are presented and student learning. PDF versions of the resources may be downloaded from the site.

Students learn about material culture in this Moveable Museum lesson plan by taking a firsthand look at how culture influences the kinds of things we do. The 12-page PDF guide has educator materials including background information, teacher strategies, assessment guidelines, and detailed notes about the curriculum standards addressed. The Becoming a Cultural Researcher activity worksheet has a series of questions that prompts students to reflect on the material culture of daily activities, customs, or ceremonies. There is a kid-friendly glossary of related terms.

Interdisciplinary survey of people of African descent that draws on the overlapping approaches of history, literature, anthropology, legal studies, media studies, performance, linguistics, and creative writing. This course connects the experiences of African-Americans and of other American minorities, focusing on social, political, and cultural histories, and on linguistic patterns.

Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a noted Anthropology Professor at UC Berkeley and author of numerous award-winning works joins UC Berkeley's Harry Kreisler. (59 min)

This is a quick activity that shows how large amounts of rock and sediment are added to the edge of continents during subduction. You may ask, how can such a huge phenomenon be demonstrated quickly and cheaply? The answer is simple: with a cookie!

In this activity, learners use crayons to draw conclusions about rocks and the rock cycle. Learners form crayons ((which can be "weathered"--heated, compressed and cooled--like rocks) into models of sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks.

In this unit, you will explore globalization and development and its effects on indigenous peoples. Modern economic and political development is driven by the assumption that the results will be benefical for all people; however, cultural differences are not taken into consideration, leading often to the destruction of indigenous cultures. Understanding the context of modern development students become versant in the current debate about globalization.

By the end of the unit, you should be able to answer the following questions:

What is globalization?

How did the modern era of globalization develop?

What is the relationship between culture and globalization?

Dr. Stephen O'Brien of the National Cancer Institute discovers a 700-year-old mutation that makes a person resistant to HIV infection. From Evolution: "Evolutionary Arms Race."

Today, First Nations peoples living in Yukon, Canada are reviving and practicing their cultural traditions in exciting ways. At the same time, there has been an influx of newcomers to the territory who want to learn more about Yukon's Indigenous peoples and their cultures. With hundreds of references for those wanting to delve deeper into particular topics, ECHO is a handbook that provides the most current research pertaining to Yukon First Nations peoples. Topics include archaeology, ethnology, and lifeways, relationships with newcomers (in the past and currently), the arts, and modern-day land claims. The volume also includes interviews with research collaborators who discuss the importance of community-based research. Castillo, Schreyer, and Southwick's solidly researched handbook serves as an important tool, both for teachers and students, seeking accurate information pertaining to the Indigenous cultures of Yukon.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, learn how Muslims in America celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the Ű_í_Ű__Ű_ŒŰ_ŒŒŰ‹_Feast of Breaking the Fast.Ű_í_Ű__Ű_ŒŰ_ŒŰ_í_Ű_Œ

Examines theories and practice of environmental justice, concerns about race, poverty, and the environment in both domestic and international contexts, exploring and critically analyzing philosophies, frameworks, and strategies underlying environmental justice movements. Examines case studies of environmental injustices, including: distribution of environmental quality and health, unequal enforcement of regulations, unequal access to resources to respond to environmental problems, and the broader political economy of decision-making around environmental issues. Explores how environmental justice movements relate to broader sustainable development goals and strategies. This class explores the foundations of the environmental justice movement, current and emerging issues, and the application of environmental justice analysis to environmental policy and planning. It examines claims made by diverse groups along with the policy and civil society responses that address perceived inequity and injustice. While focused mainly on the United States, international issues and perspectives are also considered.

This course explores the proper role of government in the regulation of the environment. It will help students develop the tools to estimate the costs and benefits of environmental regulations. These tools will be used to evaluate a series of current policy questions, including: Should air and water pollution regulations be tightened or loosened? What are the costs of climate change in the U.S. and abroad? Is there a "Race to the Bottomâ€ in environmental regulation? What is "sustainable developmentâ€? How do environmental problems differ in developing countries? Are we running out of oil and other natural resources? Should we be more energy efficient? To gain real world experience, the course is scheduled to include a visit to the MIT cogeneration plant. We will also do an in-class simulation of an air pollution emissions market.

In this online activity, learners discover how random variation influences biological evolution. Biological evolution is often thought of as a process by which adaptation is generated through selection.Œć While it is recognized that random variation underlies the process, emphasis is usually placed on selection and resulting adaptation, leaving a sense that it is selection that drives evolution.Œć This simulation highlights the creative role of random variation, offering a somewhat different perspective: that of evolution as open-ended exploration driven by randomness and constrained by selection, with adaptation as a dynamic, transient consequence rather than an objective.

This video from Evolution explores the evolution of humans from a common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, and other apes.

In this video from Evolution, an exploration of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in the Russian prison system highlights one reason it is important to understand evolution.

Anthropology is the study of humanity, in all its biological and cultural aspects, past and present. It is a four-field discipline comprised of biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology. The focus of this book is biological anthropology, which explores who we are from biological, evolutionary, and adaptive perspectives.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, learn about Muslims in Lawrenceville, Georgia, their plans to build an Islamic cemetery and the stiff objections from their Christian neighbors.

This Evolution video segment depicts the landmark hominid fossil finds by Don Johanson and his team in Ethiopia.

This video segment adapted from NOVA shows how scientists use the fossil record to trace when early human ancestors and related species began walking on two legs instead of four, and to determine whether they were more apelike or human in appearance.

This booklet is a short but informative and critical response by archaeologists to various gender stereotypes that exist in the archaeological explanation of the past, as well as in the contemporary disciplinary practice.

The booklet includes 24 commonly encountered gender stereotypes in archaeology, explained and deconstructed in 250 words by archaeologists with expertise on gender in the past and in contemporary archaeology, most of them being members of the Archaeology and Gender in Europe (AGE) Community of the European Association of Archaeologists. In addition, the stereotypes are beautifully illustrated by Serbian award-winning artist Nikola Radosavljević.

This is the first unit in a high school course that is designed to be used in lieu of the traditional textbook based Government class in public high schools.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, meet an American Muslim as he prepares for Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that commemorates the Abrahamic roots of Islam.

Performed with over two million other Muslims, the rites of Hajj, the required pilgrimage to Mecca, have a profound personal impact on each pilgrim. In this video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, a Muslim from America experiences Hajj for the first time.

Students learn about an American Muslim's impressions of his first pilgrimage to Mecca in this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

A dining hall at Dartmouth College accommodates the religious dietary requirements of Muslims, Jews and Hindus as explained in this video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

This video segment, adapted from NOVA, explores reasons why Homo sapiens had an advantage over Neanderthals in the pursuit of territory and natural resources.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial, learn how modern genetics and molecular biology offer compelling support for evolution. The video features an interview with biologist Ken Miller.

Almost everywhere on the world, international migration is a hot topic. Most of the time the debate about migration is fierce and charged with prejudices and fears. At the political level, this has far-reaching consequences, ranging from electoral victories of populist right-wing parties to the increasing isolation policy of Europe and the United States. But what exactly is migration? What are its causes? And what are problems and opportunities?

Designed to meet the scope and sequence of your course, OpenStax Introduction to Anthropology is a four-field text integrating diverse voices, engaging field activities, and meaningful themes like Indigenous experiences and social inequality to engage students and enrich learning. The text showcases the historical context of the discipline, with a strong focus on anthropology as a living and evolving field. There is significant discussion of recent efforts to make the field more diverse—in its practitioners, in the questions it asks, and in the applications of anthropological research to address contemporary challenges. In addressing social inequality, the text drives readers to consider the rise and impact of social inequalities based on forms of identity and difference (such as gender, ethnicity, race, and class) as well as oppression and discrimination. The contributors to and dangers of socioeconomic inequality are fully addressed, and the role of inequality in social dysfunction, disruption, and change is noted.

Introduction to Biological Anthropology OER Text and Reading List

ATH 101. Introduction to Biological Anthropology.

Introduces biological anthropology and the study of evolution in the context of modern genetics and primate behavior studies. Examines human fossil record, diversity, and commonality of present and past populations of humankind.

Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course calendar using the open textbook Perspectives: http://sacc.americananthro.org/publication/open-source-textbook/

Course Description
Considers contemporary human cultures from an anthropological perspective. Covers fieldwork, language, race, gender, sex and marriage, kinship, politics, world view, religion, economics, and globalization from a cross-cultural perspective. This course compares cultures found around the globe, focusing closely upon at least two specific cultures, with extended discussion of additional cultures and societies as appropriate. Greater understanding of particular cultures will be achieved through an application of the comparative method.

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:

Describe basic concepts, methods, and theories associated with cultural anthropology.
Use an understanding of anthropology to identify and compare values, beliefs, norms, economic systems, and social organization or institutions in a variety of societies in different world regions.
Examine systems of power and social justice issues related to U.S. society and other cultures from an anthropological perspective.
Explore fieldwork methods and ethical considerations of doing anthropological fieldwork.

An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology: Perspectives on Humanity Reading List and Schedule

ANTH 213

Introduces a comparative study of human culture. Covers kinship systems, politics, economics, language, ritual, cultural change, ecological adaptations, and ethnographic methodology. Explores cultural similarities and differences and the linkages among cultural, social, political, and economic institutions.

Introduction to Paleoanthropology covers the various species and subspecies that gave rise to human beings. Paleoanthropology is a subdiscipline of physical anthropology that focuses on the fossil record of humans and non-human primates.

Members of the Islamic Center of Washington, DC discuss the religious and spiritual significance of Ramadan and the celebration that concludes it, Eid al-Fitr, in this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.

This is a fun assignment for Cultural Anthropology students. They can research one or both parents, and/or step parents. 

A unique perspective on the confluence of the three basic conceptual frameworks in human experience. Contains several studies, with data, of remarkable world views of disparate cultures based on their specific cultures language. The premise is that how people experience the world, then think about it, then create a language around it, alters their perception of the world in very fundamental ways. The radical notion is that thought and language, creates the circumstances of, and contribute to significantly different realities for different peoples.

The internalization and realization of this concept is significant and can possibly radically alter and change how different cultures assess their ability to, at the most basic levels, understand other cultures realities.

This Evolution video segment describes how the famous track fossils known as the Laetoli footprints might have been formed and what they can reveal about the creatures who left them.

In this activity, learners explore the "nuts and bolts" of gene chips. Learners construct a simple model of a DNA microarray (also known as gene chips) and learn how microarrays can be used to identify and treat disease--including cancer. This resource includes references and an explanation of microarrays.

This video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly gives a primer on the history and evolution of madrasahs, institutes of higher learning in Islamic studies.

This presentation talks about anthropological perspectives of relevance to mass drug administration. Anthropology is a social science discipline focused on studying culture, including norms, values, perceptions and practices and how people enact these in their daily lives.

Examines the ways in which people in ancient and contemporary societies have selected, evaluated, and used materials of nature, transforming them to objects of material culture. Some examples: glass in ancient Egypt and Rome; powerful metals in the Inka empire; rubber processing in ancient Mexico. Explores ideological and aesthetic criteria often influential in materials development. Laboratory/workshop sessions provide hands-on experience with materials discussed in class. Subject complements 3.091. Enrollment may be limited.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, learn about the daily prayer rituals of the Muslim faith and their significance in the life of a Muslim living in America.

Native Peoples of North America is intended to be an introductory text about the Native peoples of North America (primarily the United States and Canada) presented from an anthropological perspective. As such, the text is organized around anthropological concepts such as language, kinship, marriage and family life, political and economic organization, food getting, spiritual and religious practices, and the arts. Prehistoric, historic and contemporary information is presented. Each chapter begins with an example from the oral tradition that reflects the theme of the chapter. The text includes suggested readings, videos, and classroom activities.

The Norman Miller Archive is a multimedia collection of photos, scholarly articles, film, books, and unpublished field notes gathered by Norman Miller (1933-Present), one of the first American field workers who spent long periods of time in remote regions of Kenya and Tanzania. It covers a variety of topics, including rural local government, decolonialism, environmental conservation, the role of women in rural societies, HIV/AIDS, and Witchcraft.

This website features many of the OER conversion projects completed at John Jay College over the past few years. Class conversions using the Blackboard platform are not represented because of the BB firewall. These are not the actual LibGuides, but content from the LibGuides, using the LibGuide platform for access. The entire website is public.

The left navigation panel displays the academic departments with the overview and objective of the department. Also, navigation to the specific departmental classes, with corresponding OER content, are found at the bottom of the academic department pages. You can also directly navigate to the specific converted class, by clicking on the course title under the department tab. When clicking on a specific class (e.g. Science 110), the link takes you to the course description, learning outcomes of the course and a link to the OER content for the specific course. The OER content features creative commons OER Textbooks, vetted open Internet sites, academic journal articles and library owned streaming video, requiring a login to the John Jay Library. Each academic department features a link to "Discussion and Comments". In addition all pages have navigation arrows to previous pages and next pages. On many of the OER content pages, the class calendar by week is featured with links to the reading assignments. In addition to the specific OER content by class, there is a link at the top of the main page to access generic OER by subject and/or topic.

Catalog description for ANTH 180 (Language and Culture): This course provides answers to these provocative questions by exploring the anthropological disciplines of descriptive, historical and ethno linguistics: How does language work? Where is it in the brain? How do children acquire it? How does language affect thought and our perception of the world? How is our language different from that of other animals? How did human language evolve and develop throughout history?

This class provides a historical survey of the ways that people have interacted with their closest animal relatives, for example: hunting, domestication of livestock, exploitation of animal labor, scientific study of animals, display of exotic and performing animals, and pet keeping. Themes include changing ideas about animal agency and intelligence, our moral obligations to animals, and the limits imposed on the use of animals.

The first peer-reviewed open access textbook for cultural anthropology courses. Produced by the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges and available free of charge for use in any setting. 2nd edition. This book is an edited volume with each chapter written by a different author. Each author has written from their experiences working as an anthropologist and that personal touch makes for an accessible introduction to cultural anthropology. The first edition of Perspectives was published in 2017 and is also available at: http://perspectives.americananthro.org/

This video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly shows the daily activities of two young American Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.

The sighting of a new moon determines the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. In this video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, follow the process of sighting a new moon for American Muslims.

In this video segment from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, an American Muslim family observes Ramadan, the month in which Muslims fast daily from sunrise to sunset in order to demonstrate piety and develop self-restraint.

For the last century, precepts of scientific management and administrative rationality have concentrated power in the hands of technical specialists, which in recent decades has contributed to widespread disenfranchisement and discontent among stakeholders in natural resources cases. In this seminar we examine the limitations of scientific management as a model both for governance and for gathering and using information, and describe alternative methods for informing and organizing decision-making processes. We feature cases involving large carnivores in the West (mountain lions and grizzly bears), Northeast coastal fisheries, and adaptive management of the Colorado River. There will be nightly readings and a short written assignment.