In History of Anthropological Theory, Fall 2026, we will organize our observations according to different anthropological perspectives. We will consider how one topic, such as our commutes, can be understood in vastly different ways when we take different approaches to analysis. Each anthropological approach will include readings from our syllabus illuminating that particular anthropological tradition.

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Image Analysis Exercise

In the above photograph, date unknown, Professor Tucker Pamella Farley teaches her Women and Literature course with a group of Brooklyn College Students. The course ran from 1970 to 2005. Farley also helped found Brooklyn College’s women’s studies program and women’s center, both of which still exist.

Discuss

• What do you notice about this image?
• What questions would you ask to better understand the photo’s historical context?
• In our course, we learn that gender is a social and cultural system for organizing human reproductive labor and meaning. How does gender affect people’s ability to access education in contemporary U.S. society and in different cultures you have learned about?
• Has the U.S. gender system changed since the late-1900s when this photo was likely taken? How?
• In our course, we discuss “gendering” as a social process in which people come to inhabit and internalize a particular gender role. What kinds of gendering have you encountered in educational settings?