The anthropology major stresses
two goals: the refinement of intellectual skills and the nourishing
of “citizen scholars.” The certificate programs are a valuable
means for emphasizing the cross-disciplinary trends increasingly
popular in the social and physical sciences. When students
graduate with a degree in anthropology, they are prepared
professionally to enter the world trained in their certificate
areas. This means that graduates will find employment opportunities
in the health care industry, social service agencies, international
and local corporations, educational institutions, nongovernmental
organizations, and not-for-profit groups.
Program Objectives of Anthroplogy Major
The Program Objectives for the Anthropology major are that graduating
seniors will:
Be able to apply key theoretical approaches in anthropology
to concrete ethnographic issues in a way that illuminates the
contextual dynamics at work
Be able to able to use the ethnographic method to enrich our
understanding of how people live their lives in contexts different
from our own
Be aware of the importance of cross-cultural and holistic approaches
to understanding the human condition.
Understand the importance of local cultural context in assessing
and interpreting human behavior.
Understand the way in which reflecting upon other cultures enhances
and reconfigures one’s understanding of one’s own background and
situation.
Be familiar with a common set of ethnographic cases that anthropologists
cite as exemplary works in the discipline
Graduate prepared for advanced degree programs in anthropology,
related disciplines or other graduate level programs.
Be competent in a second language as a means to understanding
another culture and as a foundation for better communication skills
cross-culturally in the future.
