Anthropology Offerings
The department offers a concentration in Anthropology.
Anthropology explores what it means to be human from many different perspectives. A social science similar in many ways to the humanities, anthropology tries to document and understand the enormous variety of lifeways that we human beings have invented for ourselves across time and space. At the same time, by making careful cross- cultural comparisons, anthropology tries to make useful generalizations about what all human beings share in common, in terms of behavior, culture and society.
What makes us human is part biological and physical, part social and historical, part cultural and symbolic. The various branches of anthropology address these different concerns. Biological, or Physical Anthropology seeks to unravel the process of human evolution and the role of biology in shaping how we think and act. Archaeology and Ethnohistory try to understand the forces that made and destroyed past societies, so that we may better understand the present and, hopefully, shape the future. Anthropological linguistics studies the thousands of systems humans have invented to communicate meaning, in sound, gesture and symbol. Social and cultural anthropology describe and interpret the dynamics of human groups and the beliefs and behaviors that keep us together and tear us apart.
In a very real sense, anthropology touches on all aspects of human endeavor, and offers insights and perspectives that can be useful in any field of study.
Anthropology
For more information about the Anthropology Offerings of the Department contact David Crawford. | 
