Teaching
Online Learning
Dr. Sobo now offers a fully online version of ANTH 102, Introduction to Socio-Cultural Anthropology(GE: Foundations, Social and Behavioral Sciences). Students are able to complete the mostly-self-paced online version of the course from anywhere in the world. Click here to view a sample 102 syllabus (.pdf).
A fully online version of ANTH 402, Dynamics of Biocultural Diversity, also is offered. This course counts not only as a GE 'explorations' course in the 'natural sciences', and toward the 'cultural diversity' requirement, but also as a 'theory' course for the major. Students are able to complete the mostly-self-paced online version of the course from anywhere in the world. Click here to view a sample 402 syllabus (.pdf).
Current Courses Taught at SDSU
Dr. Sobo presently teaches several courses in anthropology at SDSU. These include:
Anthropology 102 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Cross-cultural survey of systems of social, political, and economic organization, language, gender, kinship, religion, and subsistence; culture change and inter-cultural connections; introduction to ethnographic field methods and theories of culture; contemporary applications
Anthropology 303 – 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, medical travel advertising methods, pet therapy, children’s nutrition, and etcetera. Upcoming projects with student involvement include an investigation of regulatory issues at a local hospital, and the organic food movement.
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. In addition, Dr. Sobo is spearheading a new internship program at a local K-12 school for students interested not only in educational and organizational anthropology but also in special topics such as art, dance, handcrafts, literature, child health and nutrition, and so on. For more information on this program, please visit http://anthropology.sdsu.edu/research.html