Anthropology

at Anoka-Ramsey Community College

What Is Anthropology?

Anthropology has been compared to a great region, marked out indeed as within the sphere of influence of science, but unsettled and for the most part unsubdued. Like all such hinterland sciences, it is a happy hunting-ground for adventurers. — Herbert George (H.G.) Wells, Mankind in the Making (1903), 52.

 

Anthropology is the study of humanity, through time and space. Anthropology is a holistic discipline - we look at the whole of the human condition including culture, human biology and evolution, music, art, and the cultural remains of peoples past.  Our research focuses on fascinating questions such as why/how do people change over time, what is the story of human migrations, why/how do people from distant parts of the world and different cultures seem so different and yet the same, how has the human species evolved, who are our closest relatives, and how do individuals work within their culture and their environment.  

There are four sub-disciplines in the field of anthropology—cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistics and archaeology. As a science, each of these sub-disciplines uses the skill set of any scientist which includes observing natural/cultural phenomena, employing research methodologies, creating and testing hypotheses, applying theories, and developing vast datasets.

Cultural anthropologists often specialize in particular populations or geographic regions. A cultural anthropologist may work with modern Maya in Mexico or with Canadian film makers.  No culture is too great or small to be excluded!

Biological anthropologists observe biological behavior, research human evolution and human adaptations to particular environments.  A biological anthropologist may work with modern human populations on the physiological process of mating or the excavation and interpretation of early hominid fossils. 

Archaeologists work to uncover and preserve the cultural remains of peoples, including Native Americans or even the vestiges of the Western frontier. A Midwestern archaeologist in the United States may work with sites from prehistoric groups or work with existing groups to better document their history.

Linguistic anthropologists work with language in many forms – from how and when languages began to how frequently they change. A linguistic anthropology may work with Native American groups to help them recover their traditional language or help people understand “How to Speak Minnesotan”!

Why take an Anthropology course?

Like Stephen Colbert, anthropologists “don’t see race”; instead we see ethnicities!  The human race is comprised of numerous smaller groups – cultures or ethnicities.  As members of an increasingly global society, an awareness of other cultures is an incredibly important component of our education; we don’t exist in a vacuum.  The main tenant of cultural anthropology is cultural relativism; this tenant states that each and every culture is a valid, rational way for its members to interact within their environment. The flipside of culture relativism, ethnocentrism, is the practice of judging other cultures by the standards of your own.  Anthropology shows us that this is not a valid argument – i.e. what works for a group in one place does not have to work, or even make sense, to another group.  Yet we must also keep in mind that as humans we all have inalienable rights – how do we know what is “right” and what is “wrong”? Anthropology gives us the tools to make these distinctions.

Where can I transfer my Anthropology courses?

All 4 courses offered here at Anoka-Ramsey Community College satisfy the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum Goal Area 5: History and Behavioral Science. Principles of Archaeology and Introduction to Cultural Anthropology also satisfy Goal Area 8: Global Perspective, whereas Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Environmental Anthropology also satisfy Goal Area 10 – People and the Environment. There are active Departments of Anthropology at the MnSCU 4-year institutions at Mankato, St. Cloud and Moorhead and at the University of Minnesota as well. 

What can a course in Anthropology do for me?

Although an Anthropology course cannot guarantee you a position, it can be a helpful asset. Traditionally many anthropologists have worked in higher education,  but an anthropological background can be a game-changer in many other fields!  Using the tools of anthropology, students have found careers in laboratories, museums, international business, nonprofits, government agencies and in many other social science venues.  Don’t underestimate what a little knowledge of humanity can do for you!

Interested in Anthropology? You're not alone......

People who majored in Anthropology can be found everywhere!  They show up as characters in books - FBI Agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast, Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee – as authors of books - Michael Crichton, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Ursula K. LeGuin (her father was Alfred Kroeber, one of the pioneers of American anthropology), Joan D. Vinge, Douglas J. Preston, Aaron Elkins, Elizabeth Peters – as people who entertain us -Tracy Chapman,  George Lucas, Gabriel Byrne, Glenn Close, Hugh Laurie, Ashley Judd, conservative talk show host Michael Savage – as mothers -  President Barack Obama's mother, Ann Dunham Soetoro – on the royal side - Prince Charles of England – on television - Dora, the Explorer's mother is an archaeologist, Charlotte in "Lost", Temperance Brennan from “Bones” written by real-life biological anthropology Kathy Reichs and in the movies - Indiana Jones,  Nicholas Gage in the “National Treasure” movies, Rick and Evie O'Connell from “The Mummy” trilogy, among many others.