The anthropology department emphasizes the holistic study of the human condition. Our interests range from world cultures and global challenges, to human rights and human origins.
Faculty are committed to a creative alliance between teaching and research, as well as constructive dialogues among different theoretical perspectives.
Our topical specialties include transnational migrations, violence and human rights, environmental and political movements, issues of development and sustainability, human variations, human health, and human evolution.
Our geographic specialties include Latin America, Africa, South Asia, Europe, and North America.
Our students learn methods for studying peoples and cultures in the field. We encourage students to plan summer work, internships, and course work in light of their general career objectives. They also develop theoretical tools for the critical analysis of human issues. Many of our students spend a term abroad, and most develop their experiences into senior capstone papers and honors theses.
In addition, many of our majors pursue concentrations and minors in:
- African Studies
- Asian Studies
- Community and Global Health
- Human Rights and Humanitarianism
- International Development
- Latin American Studies
- Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Our graduates are well-positioned for careers in law, medicine, business, education, higher education, public health, social work, and non-profit organizations – anywhere that requires a global perspective, a flexible mind, and a willingness to consider other peoples’ views
The Anthropology Department’s Ethnographic Laboratory, designed to help students with individual and class projects, includes state-of-the-art computers, printers, recorders, transcribing equipment, and digital cameras. Computers are equipped with ATLAS.ti, a qualitative data analysis software package. The Human Relations Area File is available online for students. Learn more about our Ethnographic Interviewing course here!
The Biological Anthropology Laboratory houses the department’s skull cast collection. The collection contains examples of some of the most important fossil finds in human evolution from the past seven million years as well as numerous casts of living primates from around the world.