Course Description
Anthropology is the holistic and comparative study of human beings and their closest primate relatives. This course introduces students to its various fields; these include physical anthropology, archaeology, anthropological linguistics, ethnology, cultural, and applied anthropology. All cultures have values that influence individual decisions and create conflicts and disagreements. Anthropology helps us comprehend why and how individuals behave as they do. Issues such as diversity and choice are especially important for people living in contemporary, multicultural Canada. A better understanding of different cultures is achieved by broadening students' perspective beyond the narrow limits of an ethnocentric view, informed by the principles of cultural relativism and humanism, and by the study of humanity's shared biology.
