What Does It Mean to be Human?
An Anthropological Perspective
Anthropology offers a broad, comparative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of human life in all its complexity, past and present. The major in anthropology is designed to nurture critical, intercultural, and reflexive perspectives as part of a liberal education and to prepare students for graduate study and for a wide range of careers in an increasingly complex and changing world. The major offers the opportunity to examine social problems and controversies through a historical and cross-cultural perspective in order to help anthropology majors become more informed citizens, both globally and locally.
Major Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- Use a holistic perspective to understand how different facets of culture and society interrelate.
- Pose an anthropological question and address that question through original research or through a relevant academic literature.
- Discuss the main intellectual trends, important theories, and key concepts in anthropology.
- Describe and critically evaluate the key methods used by anthropologists; apply some set of those methods to gather original data; use anthropological theories and concepts to analyze data.
- Describe and debate the ethical principles and practices that guide anthropological inquiry and cross-cultural interaction.
- Analyze identity, difference, and inequality and how they are culturally and historically constructed.
Minor Learning Outcomes
Students will:
- Use a holistic perspective to understand how different facets of culture and society interrelate.
- Discuss the main intellectual trends, important theories, and key concepts in anthropology.
- Describe and critically evaluate the key methods used by anthropologists.
- Describe and debate the ethical principles and practices that guide anthropological inquiry and cross-cultural interaction.
- Analyze identity, difference, and inequality and how they are culturally and historically constructed.