TEACHING AND ADVISING
Last Modified 5/27/08
Current Courses Taught at SDSU
Dr. Sobo presently teaches several courses in anthropology at SDSU. These include:
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Anthropology 303 – History of Ethnological Theory/Principles of Socio-cultural Anthropology |
§ Development of theories which explain nature of culture and cultural variation. Applications of theory of culture to field methods in ethnography and interpretation of ethnographic writings.
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Anthropology 402 – Dynamics of Biocultural Diversity |
§ Interaction of biology and culture in human populations. Relating genetic and cultural processes to the changes of human populations over time.
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Anthropology 403 – Body Culture |
§ Examines human embodiment from the socio-cultural perspective. Explores various body ideals as well as body decoration, modification, care, and use in cultural context. Includes discussion of the relationship between mind and body, and culture's relationship to the individual.
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Anthropology 508 – Medical Anthropology |
§ Evolution and ecology of disease, medical beliefs and practices in non-Western cultures, and complexities of healthcare delivery in pluralistic societies.
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Anthropology 537 – Anthropology of Childhood |
§ Explores childhood in diverse cultural settings; attends to evolutionary, biosocial, and health-related aspects of childhood; considers the various social and cultural uses of the idea of ‘childhood'; examines enculturation and children’s relationship to material culture.
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Anthropology 600 – Seminar: Issues in the Anthropology of Health |
§ An intensive study in advanced anthropology. Topic subject to change. Refer to class schedule for specific content.
In the Works
Dr. Sobo is working with Dr. Conway on developing a course in the anthropology of the Caribbean specifically for SDSU. Meanwhile, a course on science culture, or science and technology studies, is simmering on a back burner.
In addition to developing new courses, Dr. Sobo will soon assume responsibility for certain courses already listed in our undergraduate and graduate catalogs. These may include, among other courses, Anth 424(The Supernatural in Cross-Cultural Perspective) and 531 (Applied Anthropology).
Other Courses taught at all degree levels
Anthropology of Religion, Anthropology of the Body, Birth and Conception (team taught), Body and Senses (team-taught), Childhood and Family Cross-culturally, Culture and the Individual (Psychological Anthropology), Four-field Introduction to Anthropology, Health and Development, Health in Cultural Perspective, Intro to Urban Health (team taught), Medical Anthro for Medical Residents, Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean, Ritual and Symbol, Socio-cultural Anthropology.
Student Advising
In addition to classroom teaching, Dr. Sobo advises students one-on-one through internship, special studies, and master’s thesis mechanisms as well as during office-hour chat sessions. Since joining SDSU, she has helped students to study or develop research on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, ethnobotany, women in the workforce, indigenous healing traditions in Baja, hospital discharge processes, evolutionary medicine, stress reduction for childbirth, racism in the USA, women’s physical fitness or exercise culture, Caribbean culture and history, holistic healing, birthmarks, mental health policy, and etcetera. Upcoming projects with student involvement include complementary and alternative medicine for children with special health are needs, and medical travel advertising methods. Some of the study sites Dr. Sobo has linked students into for internships and projects include Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, UCSD’s Hillcrest Medical Center, and SDSU’s Children’s Center.
Another form of advising and educating comes through Dr. Sobo’s work as Book Reviews Editor for Medical Anthropology Quarterly. Dr. Sobo has arranged for a number of her students to write and publish reviews for the journal; others have learned about the publication process through internships in the editorial offices. As part of this ‘learning laboratory’, Dr. Sobo organizes a publication workshop on a yearly basis. The workshop involves other SDSU faculty involved in journal publication as key speakers, providing students at all levels as well as staff and junior faculty the opportunity to ‘peek inside a journal’ and to create a personal action plan for achieving their goals within academic publication. To view the handouts from the workshop, please visit: http://anthropology.sdsu.edu/resources.html