Anthropology, Archaeology Concentration, BA

Anthropology studies human life in a comparative, cross-cultural, holistic, global perspective, through four subfields: cultural and social anthropology (the comparative study of the range and variability of cultures), archaeology (the study of the human past through material artifacts), linguistics (the origin and development of languages and their use in social contexts), and physical or biological anthropology (encompassing primatology and human evolution). Anthropology is distinct in its insistence that the foundations for theorizing and the comparison of cultures be based on firsthand ethnographic fieldwork. Current faculty in the department have conducted fieldwork or led January Term study abroad trips to places such as China, the Philippines, Hawai’i, American Samoa. In addition to its academic foci, a major emphasis of anthropology is its application in such fields as business, education, medicine, law, human rights, international development, and conflict resolution. Most of our graduates enter the working world, but some join non-government organizations, and a smaller number go on to graduate or professional schools. Our curriculum prepares all students broadly to be literate, informed, questioning, ethical and socially-aware citizens. All students are strongly encouraged to do an internship, learn a foreign language, and to study abroad. Students also can take advantage of a course exchange program to enroll in Anthropology and Archaeology courses at the University of California, Berkeley and California State University East Bay.