Cultural Anthropology

Objectives

Anthropology is an integrated and interdisciplinary field. The discipline offers a holistic engagement with the question: What does it mean to be human? Anthropology is ideally suited to a critical understanding of the broad past, present, and the future of human experience, cultural interaction, and the person in society. Anthropology is embedded in an empirically based working theory of cultural diversity. Anthropological perspectives are especially suited to complement studies in fields in which humans are central: pre-medicine, psychology, political science, urban planning, journalism, education, and business.

The major is designed to develop students’ abilities and skills in knowledge of the field that will serve as a foundation for further study and/or career goals. A broad understanding of human culture around the world and across time is achieved through four types of classes. The first set of classes provide a foundational knowledge in the theories and methods of anthropology. The second set familiarizes students with a basic unit of study in anthropology, the family and kinship systems. The third set of courses provides detailed coverage of the cultural aspects of ethnicity. The fourth area provides in-depth coverage of cultural systems of knowledge and belief. In addition, students will take electives that enable them to achieve a breadth of information in areas such as medical anthropology, gender and sexuality, language, business and politics.

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Arts

Majors Offered

Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology with Departmental Honors

Minor Offered

Cultural Anthropology

Bachelor of Arts
Cultural Anthropology

In order to earn a bachelor of arts degree with a major in anthropology, students must complete a minimum of 180 quarter credits with a cumulative and a program/major grade point average of 2.00 that includes the following:

I. Core Curriculum Requirements
ENGL 110 College Writing: Inquiry and Argument: 5 cr.
PHIL 110 Introduction to Philosophy and Critical Thinking: 5 cr.
HIST 120 Origins of Western Civilization: 5 cr.
ENGL 120 Introduction to Literature: 5 cr.
MATH 107 or 110 or above: 5 cr.
Lab Science : 5 cr.
Fine Arts (one approved 5 credit course; see course descriptions): 5 cr.
PHIL 220 Philosophy of the Human Person: 5 cr.
Social Science I (not Anthropology): 5 cr.
Social Science II (not Anthropology and a different discipline from Social Science I): *5 cr.
Theology and Religious Studies Phase II (200-299): 5 cr.
Ethics (upper division): 5 cr.
Theology and Religious Studies III (300-399): 5 cr.
Interdisciplinary Course: 3 to 5 cr.
Senior Synthesis (ANTH 490 required in major): 5 cr.
*Economics 271 is the recommended Social Science II course for Anthropology majors.

II. College of Arts and Sciences Requirements
Modern Language 115, 125, 135, or equivalent: 15 cr.
Note: All students with a major in the College of Arts and Sciences must demonstrate competency in the level of 135 in a language other than English. This competency is ordinarily achieved by successful completion of the three-course sequence: 115, 125, and 135. Because these courses are a college requirement, no course in the sequence may be taken on a pass/fail, correspondence, or audit basis. Placement into other than the beginning course of the sequence is achieved by acceptable performance on the Modern Language Competency Examination. See the Modern Languages Department for details on the examinations. Courses used to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences modern language requirement may not be used to fulfill major requirements.

Choose one of the following two courses: 5 cr.
HIST 121 Studies in Modern Civilization
HIST 231 Survey of the United States

III. Major Requirements
55 credits in the following areas, including:

Area I: Foundations of Anthropology (all courses in this area are required)
ANTH 301 Principles of Cultural Anthropology: 5 cr.
ANTH 302 Ethnographic Methods: 5 cr.
ANTH 303 Social Linguistics: 5 cr.
ANTH 402 History of Anthropological Thought: 5 cr.
ANTH 490 Senior Synthesis: 5 cr.

Area II: Family and Kinship
Choose one of the following four courses: 5 cr.
ANTH 323 Culture and Personality
ANTH 324 Family and Kinship
ANTH 325 Asian Households and Families
ANTH 482 Culture and Reproduction

Area III: Culture and Ethnicity
Choose one of the following: 5 cr.
ANTH 341 Contemporary Chinese Society
ANTH 342 Contemporary Japanese Society
ANTH 438 People of the Pacific Northwest
PUBA 480 Asian American Experience: Culture, History and Community

Area IV: Religion and Politics
Choose one of the following: 5 cr.
ANTH 330 Anthropology of Religion
ANTH 333 Anthropology of Law
ANTH 335 Culture and Mental Illness
ANTH 336 Culture and Healing
ANTH 440 Shamanism

Area V: Major Electives: 15 cr.
Option I
15 credits required in anthropology and other subjects. One course must be taken from option I and the other courses can be from option I or II.
AIST 200 Introduction to Asian Studies
ANTH 337 Culture and the Body
ANTH 338 Culture, Ecology and Geography
ANTH/CRJS 460 Forensic Anthropology
ANTH 481 Anthropology of Gender and Sport
SOCL 219 Deviance and Social Control
SOCL 303 Sociology of Community
SOCL 316 Class and Inequality
SOCL 317 Race and Ethnicity
SOCL 318 Gender Roles and Sexuality
SOCW 300 Human Behavior in the Social Environment
THRS 334 Asian Religions
WMST 388 Emerging Subjectivities in Chican@ Literature
WMST 393 Women, Ethnicity and Culture
ANTH and SOCL Special Topics Courses

Option II
CMJR 385 Intercultural Communication
CRJS 405 Gender, Race and Crime
CRJS 423 Punishment and Social Theory
ECON 370 American Economic History
ECON 376 Economic Development
ECON 461 Economics of Gender and Family
ENGL 361 Literature of India
ENGL 362 African Literature
ENGL 391 Asian American Literature
ENGL 391 Contemporary South Asian Literature and Culture
ENGL 480 African American Literature
HIST 371 Modern Latin American
HIST 383 Modern China
HIST 387 Modern Japan
FREN 315 French Culture and Civilization**
FREN 452 Development of Modern French**
GERM 315 German Culture and Civilization**
SPAN 315 Latin American and Spanish Culture and Society**
PSYC 230 Psychology of Religion
SOCW 410 Practice II: Social Work with Groups
**These courses require language comprehension.
118 Cultural Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences

Note: Several courses in the cultural anthropology major have been identified as satisfying the senior synthesis and the core interdisciplinary requirements. Those courses may be used to fill major requirements or major electives while also fulfilling university core requirements. The credit for each course completed is included in totals only once.

Bachelor of Arts
Major in Cultural Anthropology with Departmental Honors

The honors major in cultural anthropology offers an opportunity for motivated and capable students to engage in more extensive interaction with faculty and to complete challenging individual research projects that will further their personal and professional goals.
Application to the major: To be accepted to the program, students must have both a cumulative and major/program grade point average of 3.50 and must have completed ANTH 301, ANTH 302, and ANTH 401. Interested students should apply in spring quarter of the junior year or fall quarter of the senior year.
Completion of the major: During senior year, cultural anthropology honors students will take the cultural anthropology honors sequence (ANTH 477 for 3 credits in the fall quarter, ANTH 478 for 3 credits in the winter quarter, and ANTH 479 for 4 credits in the spring quarter). Students in the cultural anthropology honors major complete 10 credits of course work above the norm for cultural anthropology majors (for a total of 65 credits in cultural anthropology), and also complete a substantial thesis under the direction of a faculty member. The thesis will be subject to approval by department faculty and will be presented in an oral defense. In order to complete the requirements for cultural anthropology honors, students must also maintain a cumulative and major/program grade point average of 3.50. In addition, the grade received for ANTH 479 cultural anthropology Honors Thesis Supervision must be an A or A-. In addition to the cultural anthropology major requirements, the honors major also includes the following:
Cultural Anthropology Honors Requirements
10 credits in Cultural Anthropology honors, including:
ANTH 477 Cultural Anthropology Honors Directed Reading: 3 cr.
ANTH 478 Cultural Anthropology Honors Directed Study: 3 cr.
ANTH 479 Cultural Anthropology Honors Thesis Supervision: 4 cr.

Minor in Cultural Anthropology

In order to earn a minor in cultural anthropology, students must complete 30 credits of approved anthropology courses including:
ANTH 301 Principles of Cultural Anthropology: 5 cr.
ANTH 302 Ethnographic Methodologies: 5 cr.
ANTH 402 History of Anthropological Thought: 5 cr.
Anthropology Electives: 15 cr.
See policy for minors (84-1) for more information.

For full course description, download this pdf:
Anthropology Undergraduate Bulletin 

To view a typical two-year program of study for the BA Cultural Anthropology major download this pdf:
Anthropology 2-year Program of Study