Degree: B.A., Anthropology
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology concentrates on cultural anthropology–providing a foundation in the research methods, theories, and writing practices that anthropologists use to study contemporary and near-contemporary cultures and societies. Through courses that focus on various dimensions of cultural life or specific socio-geographic regions, we discuss the methods of cultural anthropologists; and we critically examine the theories that have been advanced to explain human differences and similarities. Besides making students more aware of the sheer complexity of what it means to be human and less ethnocentric in their evaluation of human differences, our courses offer opportunities for doing first-hand research in the communities of Fredericksburg and Richmond, and for those interested, elsewhere in the world as well. We also work closely with colleagues in the Department of Historic Preservation to train students interested in archaeology.
Anthropology provides an excellent background for careers in many governmental and private-sector organizations, among these museum work, publishing and journalism, advertising and market research, international business, human resources, contract archaeology, primary or secondary education, and third-world development, as well as for graduate work in anthropology and other related fields.
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Students will communicate verbally both in general and about topics in cultural anthropology.
2. Students will make arguments, deploy data, and analyze data.
3. Students will plan a holistic research agenda that addresses a scholarly problem or a practical question that anthropological field methods would help to solve.
4. Students will understand the basic ethical dilemmas raised by ethnographic research, articulate why a specific project is ethically appropriate and convince a public that their perspective is accurate.
5. Students will record data from observation and be proficient in open-ended interviews.
6. Students will understand how to search for relevant scholarly literature and potential primary sources.
7. Students will contextualize anthropology in relation to the humanities and social sciences.
8. Students will demonstrate a basic understanding of the career potentials in anthropology.
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 298 | Ethnographic Research Methods | 4 |
| ANTH 299 | Arguments in Anthropology | 3 |
| ANTH 480 | Senior Research | 3 |
| ANTH 481 | Senior Project | 3 |
| Select 18 elective credits in anthropology 1 | 18 | |
| Total Credits | 31 | |
- 1
Including up to 4 credits in ANTH 369 Field Research. Up to six credits (2 courses) from selected sociology and historic preservation courses in archaeology. Eligible are all upper-level sociology courses except SOCG 499 Internship . Eligible historic preservation courses include HISP 207 American Archaeology and HISP 467 Field Methods in Archaeology.
General Education Requirements
The general education requirements for Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degrees apply to all students who are seeking to earn an undergraduate B.A., B.S. or B.S.Ed. degree.
Students seeking a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree have a separate set of BLS general education requirements.
Electives
Elective courses are those that are not needed to fulfill a general education requirement or major program requirement but are chosen by the student to complete the 120 credits required for graduation with a B.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. degree or the BLS degree. These courses may be taken graded or pass/fail (or S/U in the case of physical education and 100-level dance). No student in a regular B.A./B.S./B.S.Ed. program may count more than 60 credits in a single discipline toward the 120 credits required for graduation.
Total Credits Required for the Degree: 120 credits
Plan of Study
This suggested plan of study should serve as a guide to assist students when planning their course selections. It is not a substitute for a student's Degree Evaluation or the Program Requirements listed for this major in the catalog. Academic planning is the student's responsibility, and course selections should be finalized only after speaking with an advisor. Students should familiarize themselves with the catalog in effect at the time they matriculated at the University of Mary Washington. Students should also familiarize themselves with general education requirements which can be fulfilled through general electives as well as major/minor course requirements. Course requirements and sequencing may vary with AP, IB, CLEP, Cambridge or previous coursework, transfer courses, or other conditions. To be considered full-time, an undergraduate student must be enrolled in 12 or more credits for the semester.
| Freshman | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| ANTH 101 | Introduction to Cultural and Social Anthropology | 3 |
| FSEM 100 | First-Year Seminar | 3 |
| General Education Courses | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ANTH 211 | Race in Global Perspective | 3 |
| General Education Courses | 12 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Sophomore | ||
| Fall | ||
| ANTH 298 | Ethnographic Research Methods | 4 |
| ANTH 299 | Arguments in Anthropology | 3 |
| General Education Courses | 9 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| Two ANTH Electives (can include HISP 207) | 6 | |
| General Education Courses | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Junior | ||
| Fall | ||
| Two ANTH Electives (can include SOCG Upper-level Electives) | 6 | |
| General Education Courses | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ANTH 491 | Individual Study and Research | 2-3 |
| ANTH Elective (can include HISP 467) | 3 | |
| General Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 14-15 | |
| Senior | ||
| Fall | ||
| ANTH 480 | Senior Research | 3 |
| ANTH Elective | 3 | |
| General Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ANTH 481 | Senior Project | 3 |
| ANTH 499 | Internship | 3 |
| General Electives | 9 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 120-121 | |