波士顿大学

Anthropology is the study of human biological and cultural diversity, seen over time in human evolution, and seen around the globe in the range of cultures and societies as they have themselves changed over time. Our cultural anthropology faculty are at the forefront of research in the study of modern religion, politics, and society; youth culture, food, gender and sexuality; public anthropology, human rights and democracy, and psychological anthropology and morality. Our biological faculty are at the cutting edge of paleoanthropological research on primates and other mammals, evolutionary biology, human and primate reproduction and development, primate sensory evolution, and primate ecology and behavior.

For undergraduates we offer two tracks of study which offer them occupations and opportunities in a number of fields:

Our cultural anthropology coursework prepares students for careers in law, business, international relations, development, and related fields.
Our biological anthropology coursework prepares students for careers in medicine, health sciences, and development work.

Both courses of study also prepare students for the strongest graduate programs in the field. We also offer a joint major in Anthropology & Religion, as well as minors in Anthropology and Medical Anthropology.

The opportunity to pursue an honors program in anthropology is available to academically qualified students. Study abroad is strongly encouraged.

Learning Outcomes

Students will develop an appreciation for the diversity of human cultures and the principles and methods that anthropologists employ for studying them.
Students will master the fundamental cultural themes in at least one society other than their own, and the relationship of those themes to the dynamics of social organization.
Students will recognize and be able to describe human linguistic diversity as well as the shared properties of all languages that are associated with the unique capacities of our species.
Students will understand the biological principles and historical contingencies that explain and govern the deep history of humanity as revealed by the findings of paleontology and archaeology.
Students will grasp the fundamental laws and processes of heredity and evolution, and their implications for individuals and populations.
Students with a concentration in social and cultural anthropology will additionally be able to articulate and act on a more focused understanding of one or more topical areas, which may include the cross-cultural study of law, politics, economic systems, psychology, or medical systems. They will demonstrate an ability to relate theory to empirically grounded research that will help to equip them for an era of globalization in which they will need to understand and interact with societies and cultures beyond their own.
Students with a concentration in biological anthropology will additionally be expected to demonstrate a basic theoretical and practical understanding of some aspect of the evolutionary biology, functioning, and pathologies of the human body and of the biological factors that underlie, impact, and constrain nutrition, reproduction, and behavior in humans and other primates.