Anthropology
Full Time Faculty: Ron
Barrett, Olga Gonzalez, Arjun Guneratne, Scott Legge, Dianna Shandy (Chair)
Part Time Faculty: Sonia
Patten, Jack Weatherford
Anthropology is the study of humankind in all of its
aspects, cultural and biological, across both space and time. The
discipline consists of four sub-fields: cultural anthropology, linguistic
anthropology, archaeology, and biological (or physical) anthropology, which
studies human physical variation and the evolution of the genus homo. This
holistic approach to understanding human beings is a distinctive attribute
of the discipline and places it at the nexus of the social sciences, the
natural sciences and the humanities. Anthropology thus provides a broad,
comparative perspective on what it means to be human.
The anthropology program offers courses in both
cultural and biological anthropology, and stresses training in
anthropological methods. Anthropologists see culture not as a collection of
practices or behaviors but as the knowledge, values and systems of beliefs
and morality that shape human actions and the interpretations human beings
make of the world they live in. We believe that culture may best be
discovered by intensive ethnographic research (fieldwork) among the people
concerned, conducted in their language. Anthropology takes culture to be a
process, not a thing. We impart to our students this processual
understanding of culture, linking it to training in the methods and
techniques anthropologists use to conduct research.
The history of the human species is not complete
without understanding how it changed over time, and such an understanding
will help put to rest popularly held misconceptions regarding the nature of
biological difference among human populations. The emergence of a capacity
for culture (the ability to symbolize and engage in learned, shared
behavior) in an ancient population of hominoids, some 7 to 10 million years
ago, was the catalyst that drove human evolution forward. Natural selection
operated on those biological traits that were linked to the human ability
to symbolize and use tools, particularly the evolution of the neo-cortex
and of a musculoskeletal structure facilitating bipedalism. Culture and
biology therefore are the two parts of a double helix that accounts for why
humans evolved, and the department provides a broad range of courses that
address this relationship.
The aim of the anthropology program is to train
students to think anthropologically, that is, to think holistically and
critically about the human condition and the values, assumption and
premises they may encounter in a culturally complex and socially diverse
world that is being knit ever more closely together by the processes of
globalization. We seek to educate our students broadly in the wide-ranging
field of anthropology, to give them the theoretical training they need to
understand why we frame questions the way we do, and to train them in the
methods of anthropological inquiry. More narrowly, we prepare students for
graduate work in the discipline and in related fields, and provide them
with practical ethnographic skills that will be of value to them
professionally. To that end the department requires study abroad and
emphasizes courses in theory and in methods.
An anthropology major will prepare students for careers
in law, business, government, medicine, public health, humanitarian and
development work, museum administration, and any other occupation that
requires a knowledge of and appreciation for cultural diversity and an
understanding of symbolic meaning and social relations. We encourage
students to plan summer work, internships, and course work in light of
their general career objectives. Because of this need to plan, students
should choose course work carefully in consultation with their advisors.
General Distribution Requirement
All courses in the anthropology department count toward
the general distribution requirement in the social sciences except for
courses numbered 115, 340, 604, 614, 624, and 634. Courses numbered 115 and
340 count towards the general distribution requirement in math/natural
sciences.
General Education Requirements
Courses that meet the general education requirements in
writing, quantitative thinking, internationalism and multiculturalism will
be posted on the Registrar’s web page in advance of registration for
each semester.
Additional information regarding the general
distribution requirement and the general education requirements can be
found in the graduation requirements section of this catalog.
Major RequirementsConcentration
With effect from the class of 2012, a major in
anthropology consists of ten courses, to include either Anthropology 101 or
111 (a prerequisite for all other anthropology courses except 112, 115 and
340), Anthropology 230 (which should ideally be taken in the sophomore year
or before the student studies abroad), Anthropology 487, the senior seminar
(490) and other anthropology courses chosen in consultation with a
departmental advisor. Majors are strongly urged to take at least one
ethnographic area course. If a student cannot complete the course
successfully in two attempts, he or she must petition the department chair
for permission to attempt it a third time. For earlier classes, the major
consists of nine courses, including the required courses listed above.
In addition, a student majoring in anthropology must
complete one semester of study abroad after successfully completing a
course in research methods (either 230 or a similar course approved by the
department). The program chosen by the student should have a substantial
fieldwork-based component or the opportunity to engage in significant
independent research. Where appropriate, a student may, with the permission
of the department chair, count one course taken on study abroad towards the
major, with the exception noted below.
A maximum of two courses in anthropology taken at other
universities or institutions of tertiary education (including foreign
universities) may be counted towards the major at the discretion of the
department chair. An exception to this limit may be made at the discretion
of the chair for students who have a particular interest in archaeology or
biological anthropology and who wish to avail themselves of additional
courses in these areas offered at other universities.
If circumstances warrant, a student may petition the
department to waive a requirement, provided an alternative acceptable to
the department is proposed.
Internships and independent study do not in general
count towards the fulfillment of the course requirements in the major.
Minor Requirements
A minor in anthropology consists of five courses chosen
with the assistance of the student’s departmental advisor. One of the
courses must be Anthropology 111 or 101. Courses taken on study abroad or
at other universities do not count towards the minor.
Honors Program
The anthropology department participates in the Honors
Program. Eligibility requirements, application procedures and specific
project expectations for the anthropology department are available from
either the department office or the Director of Academic Programs.
Topics Courses
194, 294, 394, 494
Examination of selected topics of relevance to
anthropology, such as Mongols: Past & Present; Anthropology through
Science Fiction; Darfur: Conflict and Human Rights in Africa, and Applied
Anthropology. To be announced at registration. (4 credits)
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