Mon, Sep 17 @ 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm

Anthropology 150

Introduction to Symbolism

The purpose of these lessons is for students to be exposed to many of the ways humans communicate using symbols and other non-literal forms of communicating.  Students will participate in a guided discussion in class, with the instructor exposing them to various methods of symbolic communication and giving examples of some interpretations of it, while students begin analyzing and exploring their own perceptions of the material.

Class Description

This class will focus on symbols used during periods of human history before we had developed a written language, and potentially even before our ability to speak.  We will see an example of how it can be easy to misinterpret symbols depending on our perspective, and how we might extrapolate that to other interpretations of symbols.  Early examples of painted art and symbols will be analyzed to decipher their meanings, and we will also see how written communication was an evolution of symbols in communication.

Homework

For those of you who missed the last class, your homework due on Monday is to develop a symbol to represent yourself.  It has to be crafted in a way that would be easily created using primitive means, without using words or modern cultural references.  Include with it a description of the symbol, as well as what it means to you, what you wanted it to convey.  You can turn it in at the beginning of class, or email it to me any time in the week leading up to the first class.