ANTH 621 - Societies in Transition

3 Credit(s)

Description:
What happens to people’s bodies when a society’s way of life changes? Human history has witnessed significant transitions in the ways that people find and use food, exert themselves in activity, take shelter, organize their living communities, and have children. Taking the long view, we can think about these transitions as (1) an ancient shift, starting around 10,000 years ago, from semi-nomadic hunting and gathering to settled agriculture; and (2) a mover recent transition, beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing into the present, from large families living in extended family groups to parents living with a small number of children. This later shift is often called the “demographic transition,” and it is influenced by the use of technology in every part of human life, from food production and distribution to contraception and fertility treatments. Many populations in the global South are undergoing such changes now. This course is most applicable to the health and environment tracks.

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