Anthropology

Faculty: Professor Quick (coordinator) 

Anthropology engages with all three threads. It emphasizes an awareness of the diverse societal, environmental, and cultural contexts contributing to humanity’s existence (global awareness). This awareness then contributes to a broader understanding of social phenomena like art, language, economics, family, and leadership (global awareness, leadership). Further, this awareness then reinforces anthropology’s mandate to communicate these diverse contexts in a responsible manner to the broader public (social responsibility).  

Degrees and Minors

Courses

ANT/SOC 235: Race, Class, Gender & Sexuality

Credits 4
This course examines race, class, gender, sexuality and other identities within an intersectional framework. These identities will be considered within varied institutional settings and geographic regions within the United States and beyond.

ANT/SOC 281: Food, Society, and Culture

Credits 4

Food unites people in ritualized gatherings, while it also divides them over politics and economics. Besides considering  food’s place in socolology and anthropology, this course will examine food and identity as well as food’s significance in social, political, and economic systems. Students will become active in Cottey’s  organic garden as a part of this course.

ANT/WGS 201: Cultural Anthropology

Credits 4
This course introduces students to cultural anthropology, considering such topics as ethnography, ethics, culture, society, religion, and ritual. Students also learn how anthropologists have approached difference and inequality within and across cultures - focusing on race and gender as well as considering global varieties of economies, political structures, and kinship.

ANT/WGS 304: Gender Across Cultures

Credits 4
This course examines the ways in which gender intersects with social class, work, politics, sexuality, and religion in multiple cultural contexts. We also consider multiple gender identities—masculine, feminine, transgender, and others—as well as multiple sexualities with a global perspective.

ANT 101: General Anthropology

Credits 4
This course introduces students to the field of anthropology, including its historical origins and its four major subfields - cultural, linguistic, archaeological, and biological anthropology. Applied aspects of each of the four subfields are included as well as an emphasis on the holistic nature of the discipline.

ANT 250: Language and Culture

Credits 4
This course introduces students to Linguistic Anthropology. Taking an anthropological approach pushes us to consider language, culture, society, and communication as all interrelated aspects of the human condition. The overall goal is to encourage students to appreciate the complex and diverse communication signals that humans engage in, while also considering some of their own language and communication biases.

ANT 310: Indigeneity in US & Beyond

Credits 4
This course examines the unique perspectives of those who identify as Indigenous. While it considers some historical issues, its focus is primarily on the contemporary Indigenous experience. The course includes at least one fieldtrip with a focus on the Osage Nation.

ANT 350: Anthropology of Music & Dance

Credits 4
This course focuses on the society and culture surrounding music and dance in global settings. We consider music and dance’s function, its relation to various identities (class, gender, nationality, ethnicity) as well as to technology, globalization and new media. We also delve into the intellectual history and varying approaches encompassing the study of music and dance.