Undergraduate Studies in Anthropology
Our Major option culminates in Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, while a host of comprehensive but flexible Minors (in Anthropology, Archaeology, and Culture & Health) allow for specialization for not only our future Anthropologists and Archaeologists, but as a strong complement to virtually any degree offered at ETSU. In addition to our Major and Minor offerings, we have diverse and engaging courses to fulfill your general education and elective requirements. Whether you're looking to build a future in the medical field, public policy, or Diversity-Equity-and-Inclusion, want to supplement your education with the critical soft-skills study in the social sciences provides, or just have a passion for cultures--both ancient and contemporary--we've got the right track for you.
A Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology is...
...ideal for students passionate about ancient and contemporary cultures--particularly those of the Southeastern U.S. and Latin America--those interested in culturally sensitive disciplines such as Journalism, Medicine, and Museum Curation who want to beef up their post-grad resumes with a double major, and professionals with vocational degrees and certifications looking to advance their careers into leadership or public-facing positions. For more information on what YOU can do with a B.A. in Anthropology, check out this article from the American Anthropological Association.
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Major Course Requirements
A Major in Anthropology requires the completion of 34 credit hours, an overall GPA of at least 2.0 in the major, a grade of "C" or above in each required course in the major, a Major Field Test, and a minor of their choosing.
(Total: 19 credit hours)ANTH 1240 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 cr.) ANTH 1260 Introduction to Archaeology (3 cr.) ANTH 1280 Introduction to Physical Anthropology (3 cr.) ANTH 4830 Anthropological Theory (4 cr.) SOAA 3350 Social Statistics (3 cr.) ANTH 4627 Ethnographic Methods (3 cr.) -
Guided Elective Requirements
Choose one (1) crouse from each of the four (4) focus areas.- ARCHAEOLOGY (3 cr.)
- BIOLOGY and CULTURE (3 cr.)
- CULTURE STUDIES (3 cr.)
- HEALTH and CULTURE (3 cr.)
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General Elective Requirements
Choose one (1) elective from the General or Guided Electives.
(Total: 3 credit hours)
Minors in Anthropological Studies are...
...ideal for students who can't commit to a major, but would still benefit from the knowledge, skills, and qualifications the study of anthropology engenders. These students come from every major and discipline, with career goals from Television & Film Production to Geotechnical Engineering. The thing they all share? An understanding of the benefits a wholistic educational foundation provides.
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Anthropology Minor
A minor in Anthropology requires the completion of 18 credit hours, an overall GPA of at least a 2.0 in the minor, and a grade of a C or above in each required course in the minor.
ELECTIVES (9 credit hours)CORE REQUIREMENTS (9 credit hours) ANTH 1240 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 cr.) ANTH 1260 Introduction to Archaeology (3 cr.) ANTH 1280 Introduction to Physical Anthropology (3 cr.)
Three (3) ANTH courses at the upper (3000 to 4999) level. For more information, view our ANTH Minor Sheet.
(Total: 18 credit hours) -
Archaeology Minor
A minor in Archaeology requires the completion of 21 credit hours, an overall GPA of at least a 2.0 in the minor, and a grade of a C or above in each required course in the minor.
ELECTIVES (12 credit hours)CORE REQUIREMENTS (9 credit hours) ANTH 1260 Introduction to Archaeology (3 cr.) ANTH 4027 Cultural Resource Management (3 cr.) ANTH 4407 Archaeological Field School (3-6 cr.)
Four (4) courses from the Archaeology Guided Electives course list. For more information, view our ARHE Minor Sheet.
(Total: 21 credit hours) -
Culture & Health Minor
A minor in Culture and Health requires the completion of 21 credit hours, an overall GPA of at least a 2.0 in the minor, and a grade of a C or above in each required course in the minor.
ELECTIVES (9 credit hours)Three (3) courses from the Culture & Health Minor Guided Electives course list. For more information, visit our Culture & Health webpage and view our CUHT Minor Sheet.CORE REQUIREMENTS (12 credit hours) ANTH 1240/SOCI 1020 Intro. to Cultural Anthropology/Intro. to Sociology (3 cr. each) ANTH 3070 Medical Anthropology (3 cr.) ANTH 4250 Medical Belief and Cultural Competence (3 cr.) SOCI 3060 Medical Sociology (3 cr.)
(Total: 21 credit hours)
The Culture & Health Minor is undergoing revisions, please use this information only as a reference for previous structure and standards.
Anthropology Course Descriptions:
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ANTH 1240-4957
COURSE TITLE & CREDITS DESCRIPTION ANTH 1240 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
(3 credits)A comprehensive examination of the human experience. Major topics include the relationship between biology and culture; cultural diversity; and the cultural evolution of communication, kinship, religion, art, political organization, and foodways. ANTH 1260 Introduction to Archaeology
(3 credits)Examination of archaeological field techniques, laboratory methods, and requisite federal and state laws. The archaeology of world prehistory is surveyed from the beginnings of the human lineage and the rise of anatomically modern humans through the development of fully agricultural societies. ANTH 1280 Introduction to Physical Anthropology
(3 credits)An examination of the evolution of humankind focusing on genetic, paleontological, and primatological evidence. Human biological variation is also considered with respect to the dynamics of evolution and the interaction between biology and culture. ANTH 2020 Culture, Health, and medical Humanities
(3 credits)Explores interdisciplinary and cross-cultural themes of health, illness, and medicine through perspectives in history, literature, media, philosophy, and anthropology.
GENERAL ElectiveANTH 2050 Sex, Gender, and Ritual Across Cultures
(3 credits)Focuses on cross-cultural understandings of sex and gender through ritual, including rites of passage, religious ideology, and healing. The course considers issues from a historical, contemporary, and cross-cultural approach.
GENERAL ElectiveANTH 2060 Aztec, Maya, and Mesoamerica
(3 credits)Surveys history and cultures of the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica, including life prior to and after colonial contact. Covers Mesoamerican ethnographies focusing on the Aztec, the Mixtec, and the Maya region.
CULTURE STUDIES ElectiveANTH 2070 Race, Science, and Human Variation
(3 credits)Examines the origins and history of the race concept and the nature of human variation. Focuses on how science has influenced our understanding of broader social issues related to social constructs of race and biology, such as human intelligence, criminality, and health.
BIOLOGY and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 3070 Medical Anthropology
(3 credits)
An introduction to the cross-cultural, holistic, and evolutionary study of illness and health. Major topical areas include ethnomedical belief systems, the interaction of biology and culture, and culture as an adaptive mechanism. Oral intensive.
HEALTH and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 3080 Nutritional Anthropology
(3 credits)
This course examines the biological and social forces that shape human food use and the nutritional status of individuals from an evolutionary and cross-cultural perspective.
HEALTH and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 3200 Anthropology of the Body
(3 credits)
Examines human bodies as products of culture and biology, exploring the relationship between the body and belief systems across time and space. The course includes topics such as body modification, death ritual, bodily commodification and biotechnology, and medical ethics.
GENERAL ElectiveANTH 3250 Environmental Anthropology
(3 credits)Study of the political economy and cultural ecology of global development policies and their social and material impacts for peoples of the world. Special focus will be given to indigenous populations whose lifeways and worldviews are most compromised. Oral intensive.
HEALTH and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 3260 Visual Anthropology
(3 credits)
An exploration of the impact that technological advances in capturing images on film has made in the field of anthropology. Ethnographic films and associated literature will be investigated.
GENERAL ElectiveANTH 3400 Paleoanthropology
(3 credits)An intensive study of the evolutionary history of humankind from early hominids to anatomically modern humans.
BIOLOGY and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 3450 Forensic Anthropology
(3 credits)An introduction to the field and laboratory methods, legal and scientific standards, and contexts in which forensic anthropologists work.
BIOLOGY and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 3500 Traditional and Indigenous Medicine
(3 credits)Studies traditional and indigenous healing systems with focus on the creation and integration of pluralistic worldviews. Focuses on traditions in southern Appalachian, African-American healing, Native American cosmologies and Hispanic and Latino/a communities. Examines magico-religions beliefs and folk materia medica, including plants, animals and minerals. Considers broader forms of western complementary and integrative medicine that draws from Ayurveda, traditional Chinese medicine and curanderismo.
HEALTH and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 3700 Indigenous Cultures of Latin America
(3 credits)Introduces indigenous peoples in Latin America. Topics include identity, colonial legacies and impact, and migration and transborder communities.
CULTURE STUDIES ElectiveANTH 3800 Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion
(3 credits)Conducts an anthropological study of religion and culture. Topics include myth and symbolism, ritual, healing and the afterlife.
CULTURE STUDIES ElectiveANTH 3903 Prehistory of Southern Appalachia
(3 credits)Presents an archaeological survey of 12,000 years of Native American prehistory in Southern Appalachia with particular focus on highland regions. Students gain exposure to prehistoric archaeology, current research, and analytical methods. Important aspects of material culture and infrastructure are highlighted.
ARCHAEOLOGY ElectiveANTH 4007 Archaeology of the Southeastern United States
(3 credits)
Intensive survey of the prehistory of the Southeastern United States. Course covers the span of time from the peopling of the New World, some 13,000+ years ago, up through European contact. Writing intensive.
ARCHAEOLOGY ElectiveANTH 4027 Cultural Resource Management
(3 credits)Encompasses a detailed study of requisite federal and state laws that govern the conduct of archaeology in the United States. Assessment of archaeological site significance in the context of cultural resource management (CRM) is highlighted. Topics include artifact categories, proposal writing, site survey form submission, database management, and budget preparation.
ARCHAEOLOGY ElectiveANTH 4037 Old World Archaeology
(3 credits)Prerequisite: ANTH 1260
An intensive survey of the prehistory of Africa, Asia, and Europe from the Palaeolithic Era (including human origins and early hunter gatherer adaptations) through the Iron Age (including the transition to domestication and agriculture as well as the rise of complex societies).
ARCHAEOLOGY ElectiveANTH 4047 Paleolithic Archaeology
(3 credits)Presents an intensive survey of the Paleolithic, or “Old Stone Age” from the earliest archaeological record of stone tools and cut bones some 2.5 million years ago up through the spectacular cave painters of Europe, the Magdalenians, and the first Americans, the Paleoindians.
ARCHAEOLOGY ElectiveANTH 4070 Practicing Anthropology
(3 credits)Prerequisite: ANTH 1240
This course focuses on the practice of anthropology in real-world settings, including medicine, education, international and community development and business. The course focuses on tools and skills for practicing anthropology as well as establishing a career as an applied anthropologist.
GENERAL ElectiveANTH 4240 Primatology
(3 credits)Prerequisite: ANTH 1240, 1260, and 1280
A survey of the study of nonhuman primates, especially the apes. Topics include the evolution of primates, morphology, ecology, social organization, sexual behavior, tool use, play, communication, and protoculture.
BIOLOGY and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 4250 Medical Belief and Cultural Competence
(3 credits)Focuses on medical pluralism and cultural competence in health care delivery among diverse ethnic and special populations. Examines biomedical navigation of cultural and medical belief systems among Asian Americans, Hispanic and Latino/as, Native American and Alaskan natives, African Americans, and Euro-Americans. Considers role of cultural competence in non-ethnic special populations managing poverty and homelessness, addiction, special needs, neurodiversity and disability, gender variance, farmworker, immigrant and refugee status.
HEALTH and CULTURE ElectiveANTH 4357 Popular and Consumer Culture
(3 credits)An anthropological exploration of varied realms of popular culture and consumption. Historical, contemporary and cross-cultural approach that focuses on western and non-western worlds.
CULTURE STUDIES ElectiveANTH 4407 Archaeological Field School
(3-6 credits)Fieldwork intensive course designed to introduce students to archaeological excavation methods. Students will learn to map, recover, catalog, and process archaeological artifacts. The significance and context of archaeological investigations will be addressed.
ARCHAEOLOGY ElectiveANTH 4410 International Field Experience
(2-6 credits)Provides an international field experience to apply skills and techniques learned in their ETSU coursework. Students may participate in a diversity of projects, including archaeological excavations and ethnographic fieldwork.
GENERAL ElectiveANTH 4627 Ethnographic Methods
(3 credits)Introduces information gathering techniques employed by anthropologists, folklorists and qualitative sociologists, including interviewing, fieldwork, photography, and data analysis. Practical applications and cultural situations are also stressed. ANTH 4630 Indigenous Peoples of North America
(3 credits)Introduces historical and current issues affecting indigenous peoples, including American Indians and Alaska natives. Topics may include sovereignty and self-determination, federal recognition, poverty and politics, popular representations and identity.
CULTURE STUDIES ElectiveANTH 4830 Anthropological Theory
(3 credits)Prerequisite: ANTH 1240, 1260, and 1280
An examination of the historical development of anthropological theory from the late nineteenth century to the present. Oral Intensive.ANTH 4900 Independent Study in Anthropology
(1-3 credits)Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Offers students an opportunity for focused study relevant to their interests and a sponsoring professors research and specialties.
GENERAL ElectiveANTH 4957 Special Topic in Anthropology
(1-6 credits)Offering section specific topical courses. Contents vary section-by-section; please see section notes for more information prior to registering.
GENERAL Elective
If you'd like more information on the general requirements for a B.A. degree, see our General Education Sheet.
For more information on undergraduate course offerings at ETSU, please visit the Undergraduate Course Catalog.