Brandeis University
THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
Department Office: Brown 228
Main Number: x62210
E-mail: lcarpent@brandeis.edu
Web address: http://www.brandeis.edu/departments/anthro
Department Chair:
Sarah Lamb, x62211
Brown 226, lamb@brandeis.edu
Undergraduate
Advising Head:
Charles Golden, x62217
Brown 206, janetmc@brandeis.edu
Undergraduate Departmental
Representatives:
Aviva Cormier ‘09, acormier@brandeis.edu
Donielle Lavintman ’09, dcl189@brandeis.edu
Jacob Lazar ’09, jlazar@brandeis.edu
DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPARTMENT AND FIELD
Anthropology is the study of people, or more properly, of humankind. This exploration of what it
means to be human ranges from the study of culture and social relations, to human biology and
evolution, to languages, to music, art and architecture, and to vestiges of human habitation in the
past. It considers such fascinating questions as why and how people from distant parts of the
world and dissimilar cultures are different and the same, how the human species has evolved
over millions of years, and the ways people make sense of and order their lives.
The Department of Anthropology at Brandeis offers a wide range of courses covering the
discipline’s four subfields: sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, biological or
physical anthropology, and archaeology. The major is structured to provide an introduction to the
concepts, methodologies, and theoretical issues of anthropology, while permitting each student
sufficient latitude to pursue his or her own special interests.
Areas of faculty specialization include economic anthropology and development, gender studies,
sociolinguistics, symbolic and semiotic studies, religion, prehistoric and historic archaeology,
cognitive and psychological anthropology, medical anthropology, art and aesthetics, urban
anthropology, the social dimensions of cyberspace, comparative methods, evolution of complex
societies, and theory and method in sociocultural anthropology. The geographic areas of the
world focused on by faculty include Mesoamerica, Africa, South Asia, United States, Native
North America and Oceania.
DEGREES OFFERED/GENERAL MAJOR REQUIREMENTS
The Anthropology Department offers both a major and a minor.
Majors may, if they so choose, sign up for one of two specialized tracks—the Linguistic
Anthropology Track and the Archaeology Track. A student need not select a specialized track,
however. In either case, the student will select his or her program of study in accordance with his
or her own particular interests and in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Requirements for the Undergraduate Major
A. Required of all: A minimum of nine semester courses in anthropology, to include: ANTH 1a,
ANTH 5a, and ANTH 83a (or ANTH 1a, 83a, and 186a, and LING 100a, for students on the
Linguistic Anthropology Track).
B. One of the nine courses required for the major must focus on the ethnographic or
archaeological study of a particular area or region of the world (examples of these courses are:
ANTH 112a, 118b, 131b, 133a, 134a, 135a, 135b, 147b, 149a, 168a, 178b). An area course taken
as part of a study abroad program or at another institution may fulfill this requirement, with the
permission of the Undergraduate Advising Head.
C. A student may petition to have a course taken in another department replace one anthropology
course requirement, provided that course is clearly related to the student's program. An approved
internship in anthropology, completed for credit, may be counted as fulfilling one course
requirement for the major in place of a course taken in another department.
D. A minimum of five of the nine courses required for the major must be taken from Brandeis
anthropology faculty.
E. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward fulfilling the requirements for the
major in anthropology.
Honors candidates: Admission to the honors program in anthropology requires a GPA of 3.5 or
higher in courses counting toward the major, and completion of ANTH 1a and ANTH 5a by the
end of the junior year. Students submit a thesis proposal to the departmental faculty for formal
approval and, if accepted to the program, enroll in ANTH 99a and ANTH 99b. One semester
course credit for this year-long, two-semester course may be counted toward the nine courses for
the major.
Tracks
Anthropology majors who do not select the linguistic or archaeology track will be in the general
anthropology program and can select a range of courses that fit their interests.
Linguistic Anthropology Track
The following alternative track is recommended to anthropology majors with a special interest in
linguistics. The purpose of this program is to introduce major issues and ideas in the study of
language, the study of sociocultural systems, and the study of relations between language,
society, and culture. Students interested in linguistic anthropology should arrange their programs
in consultation with Ms. McIntosh. Requirements for the major for students who choose this
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track are as follows:
A. ANTH 1a and ANTH 83a.
B. ANTH 186b and LING 100a.
C. A minimum of one other linguistics course from the LING listing (selection to be approved
by the student’s faculty advisor in anthropology).
D. A minimum of four other anthropology courses chosen from those listed in the departmental
offerings.
E. Candidates for a degree with honors must enroll in ANTH 99a and 99b during their senior
year.
Archaeology Track
The archaeological track is designed to provide a coherent curriculum for anthropology students
desiring to focus on archaeology. The purpose of this program is to introduce ideas, theories and
methods pertaining to the archaeological study of the human past. The curriculum is particularly
recommended to those students considering the study of archaeology on the graduate level. Such
students are encouraged to seek the advice of Mr. Urcid or Mr. Golden in designing their
undergraduate programs.
A. Basic course requirements for the archaeological track are the same as those described under
Requirements for the Undergraduate Major (above), and include ANTH 1a, ANTH 5a, and
ANTH 83a.
B. Of the remaining courses required for the anthropology major, it is recommended (but not
necessary) that students following the archaeology track include as many as possible of the
following: ANTH 60a, ANTH 60b, ANTH 110a, ANTH 116a, ANTH 123a, ANTH 136a,
ANTH 141b, ANTH 147b, ANTH 149a, ANTH 153a, ANTH 168a, ANTH 187a, and ANTH
188b in their program.
C. Candidates for a degree with honors must enroll in ANTH 99a and ANTH 99b during their
senior year.
Requirements for the Undergraduate Minor:
Five semester courses are required, including the following:
A. ANTH 1a and ANTH 5a.
B. Three courses in anthropology, to be chosen in consultation with the student's advisor in the
department.
C. A minimum of three of the five courses required for the minor must be taken from Brandeis
anthropology faculty.
D. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward fulfilling the requirements for the
minor in anthropology.
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Combined B.A./M.A. Program
The four-year BA/MA degree program in anthropology is designed to enable exceptional
undergraduates to earn two degrees simultaneously during their period of study at Brandeis
University. The program provides a strong academic grounding for students who aspire to a
professional career in anthropology. Applications are normally considered after six semesters of
undergraduate study. The program is reserved for students who have already demonstrated the
capacity to undertake sustained and independent graduate-level academic work. Students must
submit a two to three page proposal, discussing their planned thesis project, in which they
demonstrate a high level of theoretical sophistication and serious engagement in relevant
anthropological literatures. It is expected that a student accepted into this program will have
already developed a close working relationship with one or more department faculty members
who will serve as his or her mentor/advisor during this intensive year of graduate study.
Eligibility for the program is normally limited to anthropology majors who have maintained a
minimum 3.5 GPA overall and a 3.67 (A-) GPA in anthropology courses for their first six
semesters of undergraduate study. Students admitted to the program must fulfill all the
requirements for a major in anthropology with honors, as well as the special requirements of the
Department of Anthropology for the combined BA/MA. Specifically, they must complete:
A. A minimum of three years residence on campus, one of which is at the graduate level.
B. A total of 38 courses (vs. the 32 required for the bachelor's degree).
C. Six anthropology courses at the graduate level (100+ numbered courses), including ANTH
201a, beyond the nine (ten in honors) required for the major in anthropology, with a minimum
grade of B- in each.
D. A master's research paper/senior thesis awarded honors or higher, evaluated by the student's
advisor, one additional anthropology faculty member, and a faculty member outside the
department.
All candidates for the combined BA/MA must complete all the requirements for the program by
the end of their eighth semester (for entering freshmen). If the requirements for the MA portion
are not complete at that time, the student is only eligible for the BA degree.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GRADUATE STUDY
Most students interested in careers as a professional anthropologist pursue graduate study in the
field. Many universities (including Brandeis) offer M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in anthropology.
Brandeis anthropology students have traditionally done very well in gaining admission to
prestigious graduate programs.
Graduate students generally select one anthropological subfield in which to specialize:
sociocultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, physical anthropology, archaeology, or
medical anthropology.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
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Most of America’s professional anthropologists have traditionally worked in higher educational
institutions, teaching and researching, but today there are many other career options for trained
anthropologists. A Ph.D. is required for most academic jobs. Academic anthropologists find
careers in anthropology departments, social science departments, and a variety of other
departments or programs, such as medicine, epidemiology, public health, ethnic, community or
area studies, linguistics, and cognitive psychology.
Outside of academia, many anthropologists with bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degrees work
for contract archaeology firms at archaeological sites, in physical anthropology laboratories,
and in museums in a wide range of areas. Similarly, there are many opportunities as social
science researchers available to anthropologists at every level of training. The nonacademic
employment of anthropologists is greatly expanding as the demand for research on humans and
their behavior increases. Since 1985, over half of all new PhDs in anthropology have taken
nonacademic positions in research institutes, nonprofit associations, government agencies, world
organizations, and private corporations. For career information, see the American
Anthropological Association web site: www.aaanet.org/careers.
For instance, non-governmental organizations, such as international health organizations and
development banks, employ anthropologists to help design and implement a wide variety of
programs, worldwide and nationwide. Corporate anthropologists working in market research
might conduct targeted focus groups to examine consumer preference patterns not readily
apparent through statistical or survey methods. Forensic anthropologists, in careers glamorized
by Hollywood and popular novels, not only work with police departments to help identify
mysterious or unknown remains but work in university and museum settings.
The knowledge about human beings and the critical thinking and analytical skills learned as an
anthropologist serve a student well no matter what career or life path he or she ultimately decides
to embark upon. Many Brandeis anthropology students go on to law school, medical school,
environmental studies programs, rabbinical school, elementary and high school teaching, and the
Peace Corps, and often write back to tell us that they are using anthropological knowledge and
ways of thinking, even if their jobs are not officially titled “anthropologist.”
CO-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES
The Anthropology Department has available for students a number of special resources,
including the Anthropology Colloquium Series; a working groups in Economic Anthropology;
the Material Culture Study Center, the Archaeology Laboratory; and the Center for Materials
Research in Archaeology and Ethnology (CMRAE).
The department sponsors credit-bearing internships (ANTH 92a and b) for junior and senior
majors and minors. Internships combine off-campus work that provides a significant
anthropological learning experience and academic study supervised by a departmental faculty
sponsor. The department is also enthusiastic about helping students integrate studying abroad
into their curricula. Students are often able to gain up to four course credits in anthropology
while studying abroad and taking courses in anthropology, archaeology, and independent
fieldwork.
The anthropology faculty and students hold an annual picnic at a local venue each fall, in
addition to other social events throughout the year.
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DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS OR HONORS
If you are curious about Senior Honors in Anthropology and Senior Thesis information, please
see the documents Senior Honors in Anthropology: Guidelines & Regulations and Senior Honors
Thesis: Notes and Tips.
Each spring, the department also offers The Betty and Harry S. Shapiro Endowed Award in
Anthropology to an outstanding senior. In some years, a senior is awarded the Brandeis
University Departmental Award Engaged Anthropology Award.
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