In-Progress Assessments Document
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
B.A. DEGREE
Mission Statement
Anthropology holds a central place within the modern university
curriculum since, as a cross-cultural and comparative academic discipline,
it teaches the appreciation of cultures other than one's own as well as how
to value one's self and the community of which one is a part.
The anthropology program is directed at achieving its goals through a
curriculum that reflects the traditional four fields of anthropology (sociocultural, biological, linguistics and archaeology) as well as a departmental
focus on applied anthropology.
The program includes not only courses on different cultures around the
world but also a variety of practical field and laboratory courses.
Program Goals
1. To promote the understanding and appreciation of cultural and
linguistic diversity in the modern world by exposing the student to a broad,
representative and cross-cultural range of the world's cultures.
2. To foster the student's understanding and appreciation of an
evolutionary, bio-cultural perspective on the history of the human
experience.
3. To encourage the student's understanding of the historic
development of anthropological theory and practice.
4. To provide opportunities for the practice of anthropological
methodology within such activities as anthropological interview and
participant observation, archaeological field work, and museum curation
and exhibit design.
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In-Progress Assessments Document
5. To facilitate the academic skills of critical thinking and argumentation,
articulate oral and written expression, and library research.
6. To graduate majors that not only possess the values, knowledge, and
skills listed above, but are committed to a career of life-long learning.
UNRESOLVED GOALS (whether to include and/or how to assess)
• To teach students how to recognize and combat ethnocentrism.
• To formally embrace Applied Anthropology as an integral part of the
undergraduate curriculum.
• To encourage familiarity with other cultures through study abroad or an
internationally focused internship.
Student Learning Outcomes
A. The Anthropology graduate should be able to demonstrate
understanding and appreciation of issues of human biological, cultural and
linguistic diversity across space and through time. (Goals 1 and 2)
B. The Anthropology graduate should demonstrate understanding of the
growth of anthropological thought and the unique methods used in
anthropological fieldwork. (Goals 3 and 4)
C. The Anthropology graduate should demonstrate both articulate
communication (written and oral) skills as well as the academic skills of
critical thinking, argumentation, and library research. (Goals 5 and
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In-Progress Assessments Document
UNRESOLVED OUTCOMES (if the goals dealing with the following issues are included,
learning outcomes will need to be developed)
• Ethnocentrism
• Applied anthropology
• Study abroad
Performance Indicators
A. The Anthropology graduate will demonstrate in-depth knowledge of
human biological (1), cultural (2) and linguistic (3) diversity by means of:
1. Reading at least two monograph-length ethnographies and
viewing at least two ethno-graphic films of at least two nonWestern cultures. The student will demonstrate knowledge of
other works through essays written either as term papers, critical
book reviews, exam essays, museum exhibits, or classroom
presentation or a diversified combination of these methods.
Meeting the above requirements could be accomplished in ANTH
1300, 3400, 3710, 3730, 3760 and the 3500 series of courses.
B. The Anthropology graduate will demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the
schools of anthropological thought and methods of anthropological fieldwork
by successfully completing requirement #1 and either #2 or #3 below:
1. Writing a term paper which explores the history and
implementation of key anthropological concepts (within a forum
such as ANTH 4910).
2. Writing a term paper based on original ethnographic field research
(within a forum such as ANTH 4310).
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In-Progress Assessments Document
3. Writing a term paper based on original archaeological field
research (within a forum such as ANTH 4250).
C. The Anthropology graduate will demonstrate ability to analyze and
effectively communicate understanding of anthropological concepts
by means of:
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In-Progress Assessments Document
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY -ASSESSMENT YEAR 2001-2002
OUTCOMES ANALYSIS
OUTCOME CODING
DEPT
DESCRIPTION
ANTH
Demonstrate advanced critical thinking and argumentation
skills as related to anthropology.
Demonstrate advanced oral expression skills as related to
anthropology.
Demonstrate advanced written expression skills as related
to anthropology.
Know how to recognize ethnocentrism.
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
ANTH
Appreciate the value of an evolutionary, transtemporal
perspective on the human condition.
Understand the fundamental mechanisms of the evolutionary
process.
Understand the major events of human evolutionary
development.
Understand the major events of prehistoric cultural
development.
Understand the unique and synthetic nature of
anthropology's bio-cultural perspective.
Take action against ethnocentrism.
Gain familiarity with one or more foreign cultures and
languages via study abroad.
Engage in the practice of anthropological methodology by
participating in one or more anthropological practica.
Primary
Code
Secondary
Code
Knowledge
Skill
AGE-CT
S
AGE-O
S
AGE-O
S
Disposition
DESCRIPTION OF CODE
Advanced General Education - Critical Thinking
Advanced General Education - Oral Communication
AK
SJD
Area Knowledge & Social Justice/Diverstiy
K
AK
D
DK
K
DK
K
DK
K
DK
K
Area Knowledge
Discipline Knowledge
ECR
D
FE
S
FE
S
MIQl
S
Ethics/Civic Responsibility
Field Experience
ANTH
Demonstrate advanced research skills as related to
anthropology.
Demonstrate intellectual inquisitiveness.
ANTH
Demonstrate a disposition toward life-long learning.
ANTH
Understand cultural and linguistic diversity.
SJD
ANTH
Value cultural and linguistic diversity.
SJD
ANTH
OUTCOME
Methods of Inquiry - Qualitiative
SDL
D
SDL
D
K
D
5
Self-Directed Learner
Social Justice/Diversity