Department of Anthropology
Location: Candelaria 2200
Email: HSS@unco.edu
Website: www.unco.edu/hss/anthropology
Faculty: Andrew T. Creekmore III, Ph.D.; Whitney L. Duncan, Ph.D.; Marian Hamilton, Ph.D.; Michael Kimball, Ph.D.; Britney Kyle, Ph.D.; Ather Zia, Ph.D.
Emeritus Faculty: Robert Brunswig, Ph.D.; Sally McBeth, Ph.D.; James A. Wanner, Ph.D.
Course(s) Offered (Prefix):
Program(s) Offered:
The discipline of anthropology is subdivided into cultural/social anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, applied anthropology and anthropological linguistics. Anthropology faculty at UNC specialize in cultural/social anthropology, archaeology, and applied and biological anthropology.
Anthropology is the study of humans at all times and in all places. It investigates past human behavior and the evolutionary history of our species through the study of the archaeological record to understand cultural and biological change through time. Anthropology focuses on human culture to explore how cultures are similar and different across time and space. It offers a holistic perspective on what it means to be human and uses anthropological tools and perspectives to address pressing human problems.
Laboratory-based and hands-on classes in biological anthropology, archaeology, ethnology, applied and medical anthropology are a major focus of UNC Anthropology’s instructional program. Courses examine culture in all areas of the world, and faculty have special expertise in the Americas, Near East, and South Asia. In our instruction we stress social processes such as culture change, acquiring culture, ethnicity, urban anthropology, the interaction between biology, culture, and society, and current problems such as those related to conflict, immigrant rights, heritage loss, and climate change.
Students in Anthropology will gain the following skills in the specific subfields:
- Cultural Anthropology — Cultural awareness, participant observation, interviewing, listening, and ethnographic description, interpretation, and comparison in the development of ethnographic assessments.
- Biological Anthropology — Techniques for evaluating evolutionary change in human populations, analysis of the selective advantages of human variation in different environments, methods in forensic anthropology, and statistical methods in applied settings.
- Archaeology — Field and laboratory techniques, interpreting site and survey data, report writing, interdisciplinary approaches, integration of subfields in cultural resource management and heritage preservation.
- Applied Anthropology — research design, project management, ethnographic interviewing and content analysis, intercultural exchange, and heritage studies.
- Multicultural Studies — Multicultural awareness, critical thinking, empathy for others, ability to conceive and apply alternative interpretations to the contemporary problems of culturally diverse societies.