As a discipline of study within the College of Arts and Sciences, anthropology is no longer limited to the study of “primitive” peoples and cultures. Contemporary anthropologists are concerned with the following questions:
•How and why are cultures created?
•What social, political, economic, and environmental conditions promote particular cultural understandings while suppressing others?
•How does culture intersect with history, economics, international business, and education?
Cultural anthropology is an exciting program of study that provides students with the conceptual and methodological tools to examine these questions while studying challenging social and cultural phenomena such as international race relations, gender, sexuality, nationalism, terrorism, war, and the displacement and resettlement of people now experiencing refugee life throughout the world. The courses introduce students to new theories and methods that are influenced by perspectives on social justice, including postcolonial studies, feminism, postmodernism, and political economy, that have emerged in response to these complex global phenomena.
The anthropology faculty invites you to a program of study that equips students with international and intercultural communication skills and perspectives, enabling them to pursue career goals that address contemporary needs in the field. Most of the classes are small so that students can receive personal attention from faculty in the classroom experiences as well as in selecting courses while developing career goals. A deep commitment to a liberal arts training is maintained; students receive interdisciplinary perspectives in conjunction with their professional training in such fields as business administration, nursing, and public health. Students can combine anthropology with the childhood/middle childhood education major and become teachers. Anthropology majors have also continued to pursue graduate education and receive master’s and doctoral degrees in anthropology or other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, including sociology, social work, political science, and international relations.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Students will be able to analyze systems of privilege, with particular emphasis on the ways in which race, class, and gender shape social and cultural life
2. Students will develop analytical skills, including: critical thinking, oral communication, and problem solving skills.
3. Students will learn to disturb the assumptions that equate culture with diversity from various perspectives including their own.
4. Students will able to describe and evaluate the role of scientific method in investigating and understanding the social world.
5. Students will learn about cultures, not as monolithic objects but as lived experiences from diverse perspectives including their own.
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