人类学

学部简介

人类学探索s the diversity and commonalities of the human condition across the world, 在时间. Anthropologists work in faraway places and at home, examining the contemporary moment as well as the distant past. The field is inherently multicultural and multidisciplinary. It covers history, archeology, biology, and social and cultural studies. Our students gain a profound understanding of human nature and the role of culture in everyday lives, 包括他们自己. 我们的教师 carries out research in Nepal, 巴尔干半岛, 玻利维亚, 苏丹, 冰岛, 中亚, 和韦尔斯利, 质量.

学习目标

Learn the basic features of human prehistory, as represented through material and fossil remains.
Practice methods used in anthropological field research, including the excavation of archaeological 网站s and the construction of ethnographies.

学习项目

主修和副修人类学

Students will gain an understanding of how human cultures vary in their social institutions and practices across time and space.

主要的需求

小的需求

课程强调

宗教人类学

ANTH233

This course offers an introduction to the anthropological study of human religious experience, with particular emphasis on religious and ritual practice in a comparative perspective. What is the relationship between religion and society? Can categories such as “religion” and “the sacred” be legitimately applied to all cultures? Does religion necessarily imply belief in a God or sacred beings? We will concentrate on a range of small-scale, 非西方, 这学期的大部分时间, returning to religious experience in the modern industrial world and the concept of "world religions" at the course’s end.

(ANTH 233 and REL 233 are cross-listed courses.)

更多信息

人类学 Methods and Project Design

ANTH205

This course is intended to provide a theoretical framework as to how anthropologists construct questions, 设计研究策略, and produce anthropological knowledge. Students will discuss and 探索 major framing questions for anthropological methods while pursuing an independent project of their choice. 和指导老师一起工作, students will engage in independent research, while using the class as a workshop and discussion environment to refine their project. Students will be exposed to issues of positionality, 研究中的伦理义务, mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, and writing for specific 观众s. This course is required of all anthropology majors and will provide a bridge between introductory and advanced courses.
Culture, Politics, and Power: Anthropological Perspectives on Latin America

ANTH245

This course 探索s contemporary issues in Latin America from an anthropological perspective. We will discuss legacies of colonialism and Cold War power struggles, as well as the central role social movements are playing in crafting Latin American futures. We will t比赛 the ways the region is enmeshed in transnational processes and migrations and analyze the intersection of culture, 比赛, 性别, and class in shaping urban centers, 内陆农村地区, and livelihood strategies within them. 特别是, we will discuss how ethnographic research – the long-term fieldwork conducted by anthropologists – can enrich our understanding of hotly debated issues such as statecraft, 边界, and shifting meanings of citizenship; in/security, 人权, and democratization; and, 非法经济, 采掘业, and critical approaches to development. (ANTH 245 and LAST 245 are cross-listed courses.)

探索所有课程

研究突出了

In collaboration with 韦尔斯利 colleagues, Professor 亚当·范·阿斯代尔 is constructing a virtual reality (VR) evolutionary anatomy lab, 是什么使学生能够访问, 探索, and interact with human skeletal anatomy and the human fossil record in ways that are not possible in the “real” world.
Professor 苏珊·埃里森’s research links debates about democracy, 外国援助, 正义, and trust to lived experiences of violence and financial insecurity. 埃利森的书, Domesticating Democracy: The Politics of Conflict Resolution in 玻利维亚 杜克大学出版社, 2018), received the Bryce Wood Book Award from the Latin American Studies Association and the Association of Political and Legal 人类学 book prize in critical anthropology.

在韦尔斯利

Careers of anthropology graduates include health care, K–12 education, and higher education. Recent employers include 质量achusetts General Hospital, 美国志愿队, 和橡树泉花园基金会.