Anthropology as a Discipline

In the past, anthropology concentrated on "primitive" cultures. Today it is better characterized as the study of contemporary social life from more complex industrial societies to technologically simple ones, as well as those known only by way of the archaeological record. An emerging interest in anthropology is the transnational character of most human lives. The discipline includes four subfields:

1. cultural or social anthropology, which is concerned with the patterns of social life (economics, kinship, gender, politics, race, and religion).

2. physical anthropology, which studies human beings as biological organisms, focusing on human genetics, race, and evolution.

3. archaeology, which investigates societies of the past by excavating and analyzing their material remains.

4. linguistics, which studies languages as systems of communication.

Anthropology majors at Bates are exposed to all subfields, though our emphasis falls on cultural anthropology.

Some anthropology courses have a geographical focus and others a methodological or theoretical one. The department emphasizes Southern Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean, the American West, as well as the prehistoric and early historic cultures of northeastern North America.

Whv Major in Anthropology?

Students come to major in anthropology for all manner of reasons--they arrived at Bates knowing that they wanted to take at least one course in archeology, they happened into an anthropology course and liked it, they grew up outside of the United States and came to college realizing how different life is in other places, or they brought with them an interest in Africa or Asia and realized that anthropology was a great way to pursue this interest. All of those rationales are entirely legitimate, and all lead to a properly anthropological recognition that we live in a world of cultural and political diversity.

Anthropology has a distinctive view of the world, centered on the everyday, taken for granted aspects of social life--what people eat, whom they marry, how they understand themselves and the natural world--as well as the connection between politics, economics and social organization and these mundane practices. One way of making these taken-for-granted practices more visible is by examining not one's own society, but other parts of the world. Thus, within the liberal arts, anthropology can be defined by its concern with studying the Other, with an eye to understanding both human difference and similarity. Traditionally, this concern has been expressed in anthropology's interest in non-Western and primitive societies. Nowadays, anthropologists have become interested in diasporic communities, transnational phenomena such as advertising and television, women's studies, and both post-colonial and post-emancipation societies.

Tens of thousands distinct societies have existed in the history of the earth. To focus upon those of recent time in Europe and North America alone is to neglect the vast majority of forms society has taken. Indeed, 99% of human history has been lived by people born into hunting and gathering societies. To ignore these ways of life is to ignore humankind's most common adaptations to the environment. Recognizing and valuing difference is only one part of the task; the other part is recognizing that we do not live in isolated and self-contained societies but a world in which what happens in one place often has implications to other human beings living in faraway places.

Anthropology also has important career applications. Undergraduate anthropology majors can go on to medical or law school, just as they do with backgrounds in biology or political science. The major can prepare students equally well for other graduate programs, but anthropology has particular relevance to students interested in the fields of foreign affairs, international business and development, social services and community affairs and public health.

The most convincing way to suggest how anthropology serves students' career interests is to cite particular cases. You can do just that by clicking on the Anthropology Department Alumni Page

Requirements for the Major

Students majoing in anthropology must successfully complete six required courses: Anthropology 101: Social Anthropology 102: Archaeology and Human Evolution 333: Culture and Interpretation 339: Economic Anthropology 441: History of Anthropological Theory 458: Senior Thesis; a course or unit containing a fieldwork component (Anthropology 335, s25, or s32); and at least four other courses in anthropology not including Anthropology 360. With departmental approval, two of these elective courses may be replaced by two related courses from other departments or programs.

There is no strictly defined sequence for these courses. However, most students schedule them in the following order: Freshman/Sophomore year--Anthropology 101, 102 Sophomore/Junior year--Anthropology 333, 339 Senior year--Anthropology 441, 458.

Majors must also complete one course or unit that includes a fieldwork component (either Anthropology 335, s25, or s32) and at least four other courses in anthropology, not including 360. Two of these elective courses in anthropology may be replaced by two related courses from other departments or programs with departmental approval.

Given the discipline's emphasis on everyday life in other societies, anthropology students are strongly encouraged to make use of the Junior Year Abroad and off-campus Short Term units. In recent years, students have spent their junior years studying in Cameroon, Kenya, Ireland, Greece, Sri Lanka, and South India as well as in more common programs in Europe. Professor Kemper's Short Terms in India, Burma, Nepal, and Bali, Professor Danforth's Short Term in Greece and Professor Bourque's Maine reconnaissance and excavation Short Term have offered students hands-on exposure to anthropological and archaeological fieldwork.

Bates offers students a number of other courses with anthropological relevance. Since studying other societies usually involves knowledge of another language, work in the foreign language department makes good sense. A knowledge of French, German, Spanish, Russian or Japanese is not only important in itself, but also as a vehicle for studying formerly colonial societies.

Course work in religion, philosophy, history, sociology, biology, geology and psychology are also recommended. Students constructing clusters or related course work can consult with the department about logical connections between fields. In the past, students have done both interdisciplinary majors focusing on anthropology and joint majors with religion, psychology, biology and art. The Department encourages such innovative connections.

Senior Theses and Honors Theses

All Anthropology majors write a senior thesis in collaboration with one faculty member. We have urged students in the past to build a thesis project around ethnographic or archeological fieldwork, and many students have done so, either taking up a new project or returning to work they began during a study-away program.

Rising senior majors with a 3.0 average in the major are eligible to write an honors thesis. Candidates for an honors project submit a prospectus to the department early in the Autumn semester.