Weber State University   

Anthropology

Mission Statement

11-10-00

The overall mission of the Anthropology Major Program is to provide students with holistic, comparative knowledge about human biological and cultural differences and similarities world-wide and through time derived from anthropological research and theories. The program strives to produce students with anthropological experience in research, analysis, and interpretation and a strong sense of anthropology’s relevance to the world today. Students are taught to question and examine the significance of beliefs, attitudes and prejudices toward human differences and similarities and to be informed of the anthropological position of relativism and valuing cultural and biological variation. The program prepares students for a broad range of both public and private sector employment in anthropology-related fields or to enter professional or graduate schools appropriate to their interests.

The Anthropology Program is located in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. It provides undergraduate education in anthropology for students wishing to complete degrees that include the Anthropology Major, Anthropology Minor, Archaeological Technician Certificate or Applied Associate of Science Degree, or BIS emphases. The program also serves students seeking general education, diversity credits, or who wish to take anthropology courses for interest, and provides appropriate anthropological services, resources, and activities to the region that the university serves.

Unique features of the program include a holistic, four-field approach to anthropology with its fields of archaeology, linguistics, ethnology and biological anthropology. The major offers a two-track program option: either General Anthropology or Archaeology.

The anthropological philosophical perspective views humans and their behavior within the context of long-term interactions and adaptations among biological, cultural, and environmental factors.

Student Learning Outcomes / Curriculum Grid / Assessment Plan / Results of Assessment / Contact Person