Anthropology Program Goals

Anthropology Program Goals

Anthropology Program Goals

Anthropology studies human biological and cultural diversity through
time and space.  It encompasses all of humanity as well as our closest
primate relatives, from the earliest prehistoric human ancestors to
the varied societies inhabiting the world today. The Anthropology
Program at MSU Denver is committed to enhancing student knowledge and
appreciation of human beings as both a biological and a cultural
species.  Emphasizing a holistic approach, the program offers courses
in each of the four traditional subfields of anthropology (cultural
anthropology, physical anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic
anthropology) and provides students with proven conceptual and
methodological tools for observing and studying human collectivities,
both ancient and modern.  Faculty and students apply anthropological
concepts and perspectives to pressing social issues and problems
through laboratory and field courses, internships, and community
outreach programs, such as the Family Literacy Prog
ram, the Ute Mountain Program, and the College Assistance Migrant
Program. Overall, the program aims to foster appreciation of human
difference, past and present, as well as attune students to the
relationship between daily individual realties and larger social
institutions at the local, national, and global levels. Given this
foundation, the overarching goal of MSU Denver's Anthropology Program is to
prepare students for future life experiences, whether personal,
professional, or educational, in increasingly diverse and
multicultural social environments, thereby enabling them to
participate more fully in the emerging global economy of the 21st
century.

To achieve this goal, the Anthropology Program has established the
following pedagogic objectives:

1. Students are expected to learn a breadth of anthropological
knowledge enabling them to recognize and restate the major components
of the four traditional areas of anthropology: cultural anthropology,
physical anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology, and
to relate the interrelations between these subfields;

2. Students are expected to apply anthropological perspectives,
approaches, and knowledge in ways that enhance understanding of the
diversity and complexity of the human species;

3. Students are expected to develop facility with both
qualitative and quantitative methods of analyzing anthropological
data; students are expected to become conversant in the code of
professional ethics associated with the conduct of anthropological
field research;

4. Students are expected to acquire problem solving and critical
thinking skills;

5. Students are expected to improve their communicative skills
through written work and oral presentation;

6. Students are expected to develop intellectual and practical
skills necessary to prepare them for careers in anthropology, public
or private business and industry, public service, etc.

To meet these programmatic objectives, the Anthropology Program
provides the following:

1. Introductory courses in all four sub-fields;

2. Variable topics courses that explore thematic areas relevant
to each of the sub-fields;

3. Upper division courses that emphasize the depth of each of the
sub-fields and provide students with opportunities to improve writing
and oral presentation skills;

4. Laboratory and field methods courses which emphasize pragmatic
skills in anthropology;

5. Courses geared toward majors and non-majors alike that satisfy
college-wide General Studies and/or Multicultural credit requirements,
while encouraging a comparative and holistic approach to the human
species;

6. Conscientious advising and personal attention given to each
and every anthropology student.