Anthropology

Academic Department Introduction

Anthropology explores the diversity and commonalities of the human condition across the world, throughout time. Anthropologists work in faraway places and at home, examining the contemporary moment as well as the distant past. The field is inherently multicultural and multidisciplinary. It covers history, archeology, biology, and social and cultural studies. Our students gain a profound understanding of human nature and the role of culture in everyday lives, including their own. Our faculty carries out research in Nepal, the Balkans, Bolivia, Sudan, Iceland, Central Asia, and Wellesley, Mass.

Learning goals

Learn the basic features of human prehistory, as represented through material and fossil remains.
Practice methods used in anthropological field research, including the excavation of archaeological sites and the construction of ethnographies.

Programs of Study

Anthropology major and minor

Students will gain an understanding of how human cultures vary in their social institutions and practices across time and space.

Major requirements

Minor requirements

Our Faculty

Susan Ellison

Associate Professor of Anthropology

Anastasia Karakasidou

Professor of Anthropology

Elizabeth Minor

Lecturer in Anthropology

Adam Van Arsdale

Professor of Anthropology

Holly Walters

Lecturer in Anthropology

Susan Ellison

Associate Professor of Anthropology
Anastasia Karakasidou

Professor of Anthropology
Elizabeth Minor

Lecturer in Anthropology
Adam Van Arsdale

Professor of Anthropology
Holly Walters

Lecturer in Anthropology

Course Highlights

Introduction to Archaeology

ANTH103

A survey of the development of archaeology. The methods and techniques of archaeology are presented through an analysis of excavations and prehistoric remains. Materials studied range from the Bronze Age and classical civilizations of the Old World and the Aztec and Inca empires of the New World to the historical archaeology of New England. Students are introduced to techniques for reconstructing the past from material remains. The course includes a field trip to a neighboring archaeological site.

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The Anthropology of Food

ANTH110

This course will provide an overview of the theoretical ways in which the topic of food can be addressed from an anthropological perspective. We will examine the role food plays in shaping identity, gender construction, and the co-evolution of human food practices and society. The seminar will ask students to engage with food and foodways in their own surroundings and think about the way food is a source of nutrition, a focus of individual life, and a mechanism of labor. This course will draw upon readings from the various sub-fields of Anthropology (socio-cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, biological anthropology) and thus also serve as an introduction to the discipline.
The Politics of Nature

ANTH265

In this course we will consider the historical, social, and political life of nature in its many guises and from an anthropological perspective. What is the relationship between resource control and the consolidation of power? How have social movements and development agencies mobilized ideas of participatory conservation to achieve their goals, and how have these same concepts been used to exclude or to reproduce inequality? We will explore themes such as the relationship between race, nature, and security; intellectual property and bioprospecting; and the lived effects of the many “green,” “sustainable,” and “eco-tourism” projects now attracting foreign travelers around the world. Additionally, the course will introduce students unfamiliar with socio-cultural anthropology to ethnographic research methods, ethical dilemmas, and the craft of ethnographic writing. (ANTH 265 and ES 265 are cross-listed courses.)

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Research highlights

In collaboration with Wellesley colleagues, Professor Adam Van Arsdale is constructing a virtual reality (VR) evolutionary anatomy lab, which enables students to access, explore, and interact with human skeletal anatomy and the human fossil record in ways that are not possible in the “real” world.
Professor Susan Ellison’s research links debates about democracy, foreign aid, justice, and trust to lived experiences of violence and financial insecurity. Ellison’s book, Domesticating Democracy: The Politics of Conflict Resolution in Bolivia (Duke University Press, 2018), received the Bryce Wood Book Award from the Latin American Studies Association and the Association of Political and Legal Anthropology book prize in critical anthropology.

Beyond Wellesley

Careers of anthropology graduates include health care, K–12 education, and higher education. Recent employers include Massachusetts General Hospital, Americorps, and Oak Spring Garden Foundation.