Anthropology (BA)

College of Arts and Sciences

Program Website

Program Description

The major is structured to provide both general grounding in three subfields of anthropology (sociocultural anthropology, anthropological archaeology, and biological anthropology, see below) and to support a student's particular area of interest of focus. Additional topics ranging from identity politics and globalization to prehistory and human evolution can be pursued in classes focused on every major geographical region in the world. Upper-level courses span a range of topical and theoretical issues related to religion, gender, economics, colonialism, democratization, prehistoric cultures, race, behavioral evolution, and conservation, to name a few.

Sociocultural Anthropology

Sociocultural anthropology is rooted in the precise observation and rigorous analysis of human cultural capacities and human social practices, relations, and institutions. All sociocultural anthropology involves both inquiry into the diversity of human cultures (ethnography) and comparative analysis of human social dynamics (social theory). Historically, sociocultural anthropology specialized in the study of nonwestern peoples, but today there are few places and domains of human activity that sociocultural anthropologists do not study. To give a few examples, sociocultural anthropologists study nuclear weapons scientists in California, the transformation of state power in Russia, and the politics of development in India. They study how television producers in Egypt contribute to nationalism, the social effects of truth commissions in Guatemala and South Africa, and the emergence of new religious and social movements in Latin America. What distinguishes sociocultural anthropology as a field is its engagement with the full abundance of human lived experience and its integrated, comparative effort to make sense of the key processes shaping this experience. As such, sociocultural anthropology is an excellent, flexible choice of major. It teaches core critical, analytical, and expressive skills and important perspectives on human cultural creativity and social life that are widely applicable. Recently, our majors have gone into careers as diverse as academic scholarship, activism, advertising, consulting, design, education, film, journalism, marketing, medicine, NGO-work, and politics and government.

Anthropological Archaeology

Anthropological archaeology studies the diverse societies of the past using the material traces they left behind in the archaeological record. In addition to studying artifacts, archaeologists use unique methods to study the settings in which artifacts were produced and used by examining regional settlement patterns, the structure of sites and communities, the organization of activities, and ancient symbolism and social relations. The concerns of anthropological archaeology range from basic questions about continuity and change in the past, to application of hard science methods to date sites and determine the sources of artifacts, criticism of the uses to which the past is put in contemporary society, and protection of the archaeological record. Anthropological archaeology can be distinguished from other forms of archaeology (such as Classical or Art Historical archaeology) based on its emphasis on holistically studying past cultural systems, and by the theories and approaches it shares with sociocultural and biological anthropology. There are numerous career opportunities for anthropological archaeologists, including work with museums, government agencies, and historic preservation groups in addition to academic employment. Private companies engaged in federally mandated cultural resource management (or CRM) archaeology employ thousands of archaeologists in the United States, and similar management programs exist in many other countries.

Biological Anthropology

Biological anthropology is the subfield of anthropology that explores the physical diversity, evolutionary history, and behavioral potential of our species. Consistent with anthropology more generally, biological anthropology is concerned with human variation. The distinctive perspective of this subfield is that it examines human variation within the framework of evolutionary theory. Analyses of both biology and culture, and of the interaction between the two, mark the broad boundaries of this discipline. Within that wide scope, specific areas of inquiry are diverse, including fossil studies, primate behavior, nutrition and development, sexual behavior, parental investment, molecular and population genetics, adaptation to environmental stress, disease evolution, life history analysis, and more. Some of the most pressing social issues of our time fall within the domain of biological anthropology as well as a range of professions: the controversy over evolution and intelligent design; race, gender, and genetic determinism; the control of disease; the roots of aggression; and conservation and the role of humans in ecological systems. Although the number of anthropology courses offered in this subfield are limited, students can pursue their interests through a variety of related courses in other departments and by constructing independent study courses with specific faculty members.

Honors Program

Honors in anthropology are awarded for excellence in the major, which includes overall GPA and completion of an honors thesis. Undergraduate students interested in working for an honors degree should apply to the chair of the Honors Committee in the second semester of their junior year (requests for late admission may be considered, but not later than the second week of the first semester of the senior year). It is the student's responsibility to identify an appropriate topic for a thesis and to find a faculty member willing to sponsor and supervise the research; the advisor and at least the general subject of the thesis must be identified at the time of application for admission to the Honors Program. Note that clearance from the University Committee on Human Subjects usually is required before research involving living people may begin; students contemplating such research should begin to work with their thesis advisors to design their investigations and obtain the clearance well in advance of the date when the involvement with research subjects is to begin.

Admission to the Honors Program requires an overall GPA of 3.3 or greater and a 3.5 GPA in the major. In addition, the student should have no outstanding incompletes in courses that will be used toward the major (provisional admission with incompletes is possible at the discretion of the chair of the Honors Committee on evidence that a good faith effort to finish them is under way). Under special circumstances, a student with an overall GPA of 3.0 may petition for admittance to the program.

Writing an honors thesis typically is a two-semester project involving 8 credits of course work; most students do this work during their senior year. During their first semester of honors work, students typically register for (1) ANTHR 4983 Honors Thesis Research (3 credits); and (2) ANTHR 4991 Honors Workshop I (1 credit). During their second semester of honors work, students typically register for (1) ANTHR 4984 Honors Thesis Write-Up (2 credits); and (2) ANTHR 4992 Honors Workshop II (2 credits). The two-course/term arrangement reflects the division of supervision over the thesis between the thesis advisor and the chair of the Honors Committee. The thesis advisor is ultimately responsible for guiding the scholarly development of the thesis; the chair of the Honors Committee is mainly responsible for assuring timely progress toward completion of the thesis, and providing a context for students in the Honors Program to share ideas (both editorial and substantive) as their theses progress.

The department is pleased to offer the Freedman Award for Undergraduate Research in Anthropology. The award is designed to support undergraduate majors wishing to undertake anthropological research either independently or in collaboration with an existing program of ethnographic or archaeological research. Our first priority is to support students who propose to collect original data in preparation for writing honors theses, but proposals for non-thesis oriented research are also welcome. Please contact the Director of Undergraduate Study for more information.

First-Year Writing Seminars 

The department offers first-year writing seminars on a wide range of anthropological topics. Consult the John S. Knight Institute for times, instructors, and descriptions.

Independent Study 

Specialized individual study programs are offered in ANTHR 4910 - Independent Study: Undergrad I, a course open to a limited number of juniors and seniors who have obtained permission and supervision of a faculty member. Undergraduates should note that many graduate level courses are open to them by permission of the instructor.