BA in Anthropology - Social cultural anthropology Track

Program Learning Outcomes for BA in Anthropology Students graduating from this program will: Acquire a solid foundation in anthropological debates, concepts, goals, and historical development of the discipline. They will develop an understanding of the major subfields; familiarity with the debates, concepts and goals at the core of the discipline of anthropology; and a grasp how these are relevant to the discipline’s changing understanding of the dynamics of cultures past and present. Acquire a solid understanding of culture and social practice. Through the application of anthropological concepts, methods, and theories, they will acquire a historically-informed understanding of the salient aspects of culture and social practice, both theoretically and through the study of particular dimensions of culture, for example gender, sexuality, health, and media. Develop an understanding of anthropological theory, method, and analytical tools. They will develop the critical and comparative tools of the discipline through acquisition of methodological, theoretical and analytic skills. Acquire conceptual tools for understanding contemporary cultures in the context of globalization. They will develop disciplinary tools for responsibly researching and describing other cultures, as well as for critically conceptualizing the relationship between globalization and culture. Apply research and analytical tools. They will choose and effectively apply appropriate research and analytical skills to individual research questions and case studies in order to become effective producers and critical evaluators of anthropological knowledge. Degree Requirements for BA in Anthropology The major in anthropology has two distinct areas of concentration: anthropological archaeology and social-cultural anthropology. Social-cultural anthropology. This track engages with contemporary issues, populations and social dynamics that affect human life and culture broadly around the world. Social-cultural anthropology inquires across a vast range of human concerns from religion to social movements, from gender to medicine, from science studies to media, and from nature to law. Students are trained in ethnographic research methods and qualitative data collection and they learn the theoretical principles that have shaped the discipline as well as contemporary, innovative approaches that question how human sociality is constituted in the 21st century. The social-cultural anthropology program at Rice has always championed interdisciplinary, theoretical and experimental modes of anthropological inquiry and students are encouraged to add their creative intellectual insights to their research pursuits and goals. Students inquiring about the major with a focus on social-cultural anthropology should see Dr. Beverly Mitchell ( 5th Floor, Sewall Hall). Professor Susan McIntosh is the undergraduate transfer credit advisor. All students seeking transfer credit in anthropology for courses taken elsewhere should see Professor McIntosh for approval. Students majoring in Anthropology must complete a total of 30 semester hours of approved courses (10 classes), at least 24 of which should be anthropology courses and at least 18 hours of which should be taken at the 300-level or above. Students may petition the undergraduate advisor to apply up to 6 semester hours of relevant work completed outside anthropology toward satisfaction of the major.