Department of Anthropology

Interim Department Chair: Dr. Sue Curry Jansen, Professor of Media & Communications
Department Chair: Dr. Janine Chi, Associate Professor of Sociology
Assistant Professors: Bywater, Carter, Finkelstein
Visiting Assistant Professors: Campoamor, Cheruoff, Sadeghi

Anthropology is the study of the origins, evolution and diversity of humans as cultural and biological creatures, from our emergence millions of years ago to the present. With a perspective that is holistic, comparative, and interdisciplinary, anthropology is subdivided into specializations that explore the full range of cultural, social, archaeological, evolutionary, and biological aspects of our species, providing a broadly comprehensive assessment of the human condition. Cultural anthropologists deploy an immersive methodology, integrating themselves for an extended period of time into the everyday lives of local communities around the world, documenting the diversity of beliefs and practices associated with language, kinship, religion, politics, economics, illness and health, child-rearing, and other aspects of social life. While archaeologists are interested in the same topics, they use architectural, artifactual, and human remains to reconstruct the human past, extending our understanding of people beyond history.

Special Programs

Honors Program

We offer an honors program that includes conducting advanced original research through a close working relationship with a faculty member. Requirements for admission to the honors program include: 1) a 3.60 GPA in anthropology courses and an overall 3.00 at the time of application; 2) the successful completion of at least two 300 level electives in the department; 3) the successful completion of the methods course requirement; and 4) an application that includes a statement of purpose and a proposal for the research project. This application should be submitted to the candidate’s faculty advisor and the department chair in the Spring semester of the junior year. For more information on the Honors Program in Anthropology, students should refer to the department website.

Career Considerations

We offer a sequence of courses designed to help students understand the central concepts, principles, issues, and methods of anthropology. Majors from the department have a strong record of successful applications to graduate programs across the country, as well as employment in academic and research institutions, cultural resource management, law, museums, national parks, civil service, social services, education, public health and policy, marketing research companies, and non-profit research organizations. International organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, and World Health Organization regularly hire anthropologists for research and policy analysis.

Programs

Major

Anthropology, A.B.

Minor

Anthropology Minor

Courses

Anthropology