Introduction
Dickinson’s Anthropology curriculum provides students with a comparative perspective for examining and understanding human diversity and addressing challenges people face in our changing world. Anthropology is relatively unique because it connects the social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities, concerning all aspects of humanity, globally and throughout the time defined by human evolution. We cover this broad subject in three sub-fields. Biological Anthropology examines human evolution, biological variation in humans and nonhuman primates, and biocultural aspects of nutrition, health, and adaptation. Cultural Anthropology focuses on culture and society and how they interact with forces including politics, economics, and the environment. Archaeology delves into how past societies throughout the world developed and changed. Students in Anthropology compare people’s experiences in different societies and cultures, learn about people’s biocultural lives, and study cultures over great spans of time, thereby gaining important perspectives on the world.
The Anthropology major emphasizes student learning through experience and engagement. Each Anthropology major takes at least one course designated as “Research in Anthropology,” where they learn methods such as ethnographic fieldwork, identifying and analyzing the human skeleton, global health research, or statistical and biocultural approaches to understand human nutrition. In the Keck biological anthropology laboratory, students learn skills to study human evolution, human biological variation, and human skeletal identification. The Dickinson Environmental Archaeology Laboratory offers students experiences in archaeobotanical analysis, while the Keck archaeology lab provides training in archaeological excavation and Geographic Information Systems. In three junior-level seminars, students learn how anthropologists (and others) theorize the matters they research. These skills and the comparative perspective prepare students to conduct research culminating in the senior thesis and to pursue a range of post-graduation career options.
Recent examples of student research in Anthropology include the study of family and addiction management in North America; chronicity and caregiving in managing diabetes in the United States; selection biases in paleoanthropology research in Kenya and how to address them; and how American Indians resisted boarding schools’ efforts to eradicate their cultures and languages. See these and other examples of student research projects in the Student Honors Research link on the Anthropology Department web page.
Potential majors and advisors of first-year students should note the interdisciplinary potentials of Anthropology. Department courses contribute to and are cross listed with many other departments and programs, including Archaeology; Africana Studies; East Asian Studies; Environmental Studies; Health Studies; Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies; and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Courses in other fields also contribute to the Anthropology major. Many students choose to add a second major, a minor, or a certificate to their Anthropology majors.
Courses appropriate for prospective majors
Students who might be interested in Anthropology should take one of the department’s three introductory courses, offered at the 100-level, ideally during their first year. Each 100-level course introduces anthropology and explores the specific subfield it concerns. In Fall semester, some seats are reserved for first-year students, and first-year students and sophomores who have not declared a major always receive priority enrollment. Introduction to Biological Anthropology, ANTH 100, experiences high demand, and so taking it during the first year is ideal; Anthropology and Archaeology majors receive top priority in enrollment for the non-first-year spaces.
100-level Courses in Anthropology
ANTH 100, Introduction to Biological Anthropology (usually offered Fall semester)
ANTH 101, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (offered every semester)
ANTH 110, Archaeology and World Prehistory (usually offered Spring semester).
Students can also explore their interest in Anthropology by first taking a course at the 200 level. Most of these courses are appropriate for first-year students and they are popular ways that students discover Anthropology. Students should expect more topical focus and extensive analysis through reading, discussions, and writing in the 200-level courses than in the 100-level introductions. Here are some of our popular 200-level courses that are appropriate for prospective majors:
ANTH 212, Development Anthropology
ANTH 216, Medical Anthropology
ANTH 222, Anthropology of Latin America
ANTH 227, Forensic Anthropology
ANTH 229, Human Variation and Adaptation
ANTH 230, Ethnography of Postcolonial Africa
ANTH 256, Health and Healing in Africa
ANTH 260, Environmental Archaeology
ANTH 262, Archaeology of South America
We list courses on special topics as ANTH 245, and many of these courses are also appropriate for first-year students and prospective majors.
For course descriptions and requirements for the major, please refer to the Academic Bulletin: Anthropology.
Courses that fulfill distribution requirements
Social Sciences (Division II):
All Anthropology courses, except for ANTH 100, Introduction to Biological Anthropology, fulfill the Social Sciences (Division II) distribution requirement.
Lab Sciences (Division III):
ANTH 100, Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Global Diversity:
ANTH 101, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 110, Archaeology and World Prehistory
ANTH 216, Medical Anthropology
ANTH 220, Ethnography
ANTH 256, Health and Healing in Africa
and many other courses in the department
Sustainability Requirement:
ANTH 101, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (SCON)
ANTH 110, Archaeology and World Prehistory (SCON)
ANTH 100, Introduction to Biological Anthropology (SCON)
ARCH 260, Environmental Archaeology (SINV)
and other courses in the department
US Diversity
ANTH 261, Archaeology of North America
Other topics courses (ANTH 245 and ANTH 345), depending on the topic
Writing in the Discipline (WiD)
Students majoring in Anthropology complete the WiD requirement with their “Research in Anthropology” course at the 200 level and with their three topical seminars at the 300 level.
Suggested curricular flow through the major
The Anthropology major consists of courses at four levels.
- Courses at the 100 level introduce students to anthropology and its subfields (Biological Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, and Archaeology), forming a foundation for courses at higher levels. Majors take all three courses.
- At the 200-level, students take at least one “Research in Anthropology” course, introducing research methods, and they choose electives from the breadth of the field. These courses focus on parts of the world and/or provide extensive examination of topics. Examples include Environmental Archaeology (ANTH 260), Medical Anthropology (ANTH 216), Human Osteology (ANTH 225), and Global Eastern Africa (ANTH 255).
- For the 300 level, students take at least three courses from two of Anthropology’s subfields. These 300-level seminars focus on topics that students explore more intensively than in lower-level courses, and students learn about theories involved in these topics. Recent 300-level courses include Contesting Biological Normalcy; Anthropology of Learning, Knowing, and Education; Life in the Anthropocene; and Ancient Pasts, Modern Politics, each offered as Advanced Topics in Anthropology (ANT 345).
- At the 400 level, students apply lessons from lower levels to their own engagement with anthropology. In the required Senior Colloquium (ANTH 400, Fall semester, senior year), students design and carry out research leading to a senior thesis. If a student is eligible for and wishes to pursue departmental honors, they register for ANTH 495, Senior Thesis (Spring semester, senior year), where they work directly with a thesis advisor.
Courses for the major do not necessarily need to be taken in a specific sequence, although course content and expectations build with the course level, and some courses have prerequisites. Students can tailor their course selections in discussions with an Anthropology faculty member. Here is a suggested flow through the Anthropology major:
First Year
ANTH 100, Introduction to Biological Anthropology (usually offered in the Fall)
ANTH 101, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (offered Fall and Spring)
ANTH 110, Archaeology and World Prehistory (usually offered in the Spring)
We recommend taking at least two 100-level courses in the first year
Consider taking a 200-level elective
Sophomore Year
Complete 100-level coursework
Take a 200-level course designated as “Research in Anthropology”
Take ANTH general electives at the 200-level
A student planning to study abroad for a full year should take a “Research in Anthropology” course and at least one 300-level course this year.
Junior Year
ANTH general electives at the 200-level
ANTH 300-level electives
Study Abroad—full year or semester; a student should speak with their advisor about possible Anthropology electives abroad
Senior Year
ANTH 400, Senior Colloquium (Fall semester only)
Finish any remaining ANTH requirements or electives
ANTH 495 (Spring semester only) if pursuing Departmental Honors
Other pathways through the major are possible. Find course descriptions and additional information in the Academic Bulletin: Anthropology.
Many students who major in Anthropology also study abroad and successfully complete a second major, a minor, and/or a certificate, and some students complete two additional majors.
Honors
Eligibility for honors candidacy requires a minimum overall GPA of 3.6. By the beginning of their senior year, students wanting to be considered for honors in anthropology must identify themselves to the department faculty and submit a two-page proposal for an honors project to the department chair. In the senior year, the prospective honors student participates in the senior colloquium (ANTH 400) in the Fall and will continue with ANTH 495 in the Spring. The quality of the senior thesis project, judged "exceptional" by the anthropology faculty, is the primary basis for awarding honors to graduating seniors at the end of the spring semester.
We strongly recommend that students consult with their advisor in the Junior year if they are considering the thesis option, as preparation for the project may start prior to the beginning of the Senior year. The strongest projects emerge from field or laboratory projects initiated in prior coursework, study abroad, or field experiences.
Co-curricular activities/programs
Anthropology Club
Students in the Anthropology Club organize activities including video nights, museum visits and field trips, Anthropology Day events each February, and ways to promote anthropology and anthropological perspectives on campus. Club membership provides the initial eligibility gateway for membership in Lambda Alpha, the national anthropology honors society. Students in the Anthropology Club may also be eligible for free membership, through the department, in the American Anthropological Association, the national professional association for anthropologists.
Anthropology and Archaeology Majors Committee
Majors can join the Majors Committee, which is a student organizing arm of the department. Students on the majors committee help interview job candidates; contribute to discussions about the department and the majors; contribute to faculty reviews; and organize special programming, activities, and events with the department. Students who join the majors committee tend to care about the department and their experiences at Dickinson and want to help make these experiences and the department even better.
Human Cultures House
The department helps to support a Special Interest House for Anthropology and Archaeology Majors. Students living in the house study together and bring classroom and campus discussions about human cultures to their living spaces. The house also hosts BBQs and events with students and faculty.
Opportunities for off-campus study
Most students majoring in anthropology study abroad at some point during their time at Dickinson. Others pursue opportunities for off-campus study in the United States. Students gain unique, hands-on experience in anthropology by participating in field schools in cultural anthropology or archaeology, or through internships at museums and other sites. Opportunities for such experience exist with the Summer Field School in Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 396), for the six-week summer ethnographic field school in Tanzania, East Africa, or for other field schools.
Additional Remarks
Careers
Students completing the Anthropology major gain broad skills in research methods (often both qualitative and quantitative research skills), project design, writing, and presentation. They also develop an “anthropological perspective,” which affords insights into and productive approaches to almost any part of contemporary life. Graduates with the Anthropology major have pursued advanced degrees in anthropology, archaeology, education, law, linguistics, medicine, public health, and academic administration, among other fields. Some go directly into work in these fields and others. Department faculty are glad to discuss with students their possible career opportunities and to help them achieve their goals.