College of Arts & Sciences

Welcome from the Chair, Kathryn A. Kozaitis

Thank you for your interest in the Department of Anthropology at Georgia State University.  Anthropology is the study of humanity across time and space.  The discipline encompasses anthropological archaeology, biological anthropology, sociocultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology.  These sub-disciplines inform applied anthropology, the use of anthropological knowledge, skills, and strategies in understanding and solving human problems.  Unique among other disciplines in its focus on ALL matters human, anthropology may be viewed as “the most humanistic of the sciences and the most scientific of the humanities.”  To Alfred Kroeber's definition we would add, “and the most critical of the professions.”  

Anthropology at GSU is more than 50 years old; however, this department is new in its structure and its culture.  Effective January 2006 the former Department of Anthropology and Geography was transformed into two new departments:  a department of anthropology and a department of geosciences.  With a young and strong faculty, a competitive and diverse group of students, excellent staff, and a supportive administration, the Department of Anthropology is thriving and growing.
Currently, we have ten full-time faculty members, and in 2010 we anticipate conducting a search for a Lecturer in anthropology.  The term of service to date by our faculty is ten years or less; four new faculty members have joined the department the last two years.  Our defining features include an international reputation for cutting-edge scholarship, global and local research agendas, excellence in teaching and learning, and conscientious public engagement.  With nearly 200 undergraduate majors and 27 active graduate students, Anthropology at GSU is poised for continued success in quality, enrollment figures, and graduation rates.

The Department offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Masters of Arts (MA) in Anthropology.  We espouse a four-field anthropology whereby students learn the fundamentals of each subfield and the intersections with one another, the holistic and comparative perspective to human differences and similarities, and the contributions by anthropology to contemporary public concerns.  Research by our faculty and students spans archaeological, biological, sociocultural, and applied anthropology.  Field schools that combine research, education, and action include locations in Brazil, El Salvador, and Greece.

Graduates of our programs pursue doctoral degrees in top universities, including the University of Michigan, the University of Florida, the University of South Carolina, Emory University, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Arizona.  Proximity to agencies in the private and public sectors, including the State Capital, CARE, the Carter Center, the Southern Center for International Study, the Center for Disease Control, and various community organizations designed to meet the needs of immigrants and refugees, afford students opportunities to conduct internships that often lead to gainful employment in these and other human service organizations.

Please allows us the privilege to share with you in greater detail the features and qualities of our Department.  You are welcome to explore our links, as well as contact us by e-mail, telephone, or a personal visit.  We appreciate your attention.