Anthropology

Anthropology is the interpretive, scientific, and comparative study of humankind. Students will learn about topics from the origins of humanity to the ongoing changes in contemporary societies. Course topics include human biology, health and evolution, food trade and sustainability, social networks and the arts, global cultures and indigenous heritage, social media and endangered languages, and more. Students will also engage with faculty with international fieldwork and research experience of all sorts within the disciplines of Anthropology. The Department of Anthropology offers courses in the history of the discipline, museum studies, general anthropology, and in four core subfields:

Anthropological linguistics concentrates on human communication through language, the structure of languages, and the history of their development and interrelationship. Through this, students study how language reflects and influences social life.

Archaeology deals with the origins of culture, past societies around the world, and the study of their material remains. Students of this subfield understand the past through pre-historic and historical materials, architectural features, landscapes, and remains.

Bioanthropology emphasizes primate origins, evolution, and present day biological/genetic variation, adaptation of human populations, and disease. Students will examine human and non-human primate evolution, ecology, behavior, and biocultural variation.

Social/cultural anthropology studies contemporary and historical cultures and societies of every scale around the world. Under this subfield, students investigate social patterns and processes with and across cultures.

All students will gain experience in two or more of these subfields. Students will also study anthropological methodology, getting hands-on experience with an aspect of anthropological investigation that the student chooses.

Students may also wish to pursue an Anthropology and Linguistics BA as an interdepartmental major. Students of this major will gain experience in both linguistics and anthropology to focus on language, culture, and the relationships between these domains. Coursework will provide both a historical perspective on language as well as an investigative perspective developed through a fieldwork course. Students may also select an African or American focus, studying in-depth the languages and cultures of that region.