ABOUT
Mission Statement
Our mission is to generate and disseminate anthropological knowledge through scientific and humanistic research, scholarship, education, and public service.
We advance in our undergraduate and graduate students, and the public at large, an understanding of what it means to be human, an appreciation for human differences and similarities, and a commitment to human equality.
Archaeology teaches us about cultural evolution as manifested in the Paleolithic —adaptive and symbolic behavior among humans in small-scale, technologically simple societies, states, empires, and nations. Public archaeologists enlighten us about cultural representations in museums and other public spheres as depicted in Cultural Resource Management (CRM), curation, and legal and ethical practices, including conservation, looting, stewardship, colonial regimes, and identity politics.
Biological Anthropology relies on fossil and genetic evidence of human biological evolution and the human capacity for culture, including language and other systems of communication. In primatology and evolutionary biology we find models of social life among our non-human ancestors, while studies of the relationship between human biology and culture shed light on human growth and development, variation, and adaptation among humans in varied environments.
Sociocultural anthropology provides explanations for cultural differences and similarities in contemporary populations, including language, economic organization, religion, political governance, values, and art. Attention by cultural anthropologists to systems of stratification, including race, class, and gender enhances our understanding of culture as power, while examinations of human agency and its role in global-local changes reveal the power of culture as the attribute that distinguishes humans from all other animals. Theories and methods of sociocultural anthropology are particularly critical, ethical, and valuable in the investigation and solution of human problems.
This department’s mission to educate, liberate, and empower our students to become responsible citizens of their world embodies this fund of knowledge, as it does our commitment to make anthropology accessible and useful to as many people as possible.
Anthropology Associations
Our department is active and involved in the world of anthropology. Below is a list of some national anthropology associations with which our department and faculty are affiliated.
American Anthropological Association: "Founded in 1902, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) is the world's largest organization of individuals interested in anthropology. This new, national organization was formed "to promote the science of anthropology, to stimulate and coordinate the efforts of American anthropologists, to foster local and other societies devoted to anthropology, to serve as a bond among American anthropologists and anthropological organizations present and prospective, and to publish and encourage the publication of matter pertaining to anthropology" (AAA Articles of Incorporation)."
Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology: "COPAA is nationwide consortium of university departments and programs that provide education in practicing and applied anthropology. Their mission is to collectively advance the education and training of students, faculty, and practitioners in applied anthropology."
Society for Applied Anthropology: "The Society has for its object the promotion of interdisciplinary scientific investigation of the principles controlling the relations of human beings to one another, and the encouragement of the wide application of these principles to practical problems."
American Ethnological Society: "The American Ethnological Society is the oldest professional anthropological organization in the United States. Founded in 1842 to encourage research in the emerging field of ethnology, its stated goal was to foster "inquiries generally connected with the human race." Today the AES, is a section of the American Anthropological Association (AAA)."
Society for Cultural Anthropology: "The Society for Cultural Anthropology (SCA), a section of the American Anthropological Association, was founded in 1983. The SCA promotes scholarship and scholarly communication about cultural studies and culture theory broadly conceived. SCA also aims to connect cultural anthropology with scholars in such other disciplines as history, literature, philosophy, and science studies."
Society for Medical Anthropology: "The Organization of Medical Anthropology was formed in 1967 by a group of persons interested in social sciences and medicine. This web site serves the needs of medical anthropology graduate students, practicing anthropologists, scholars, and scholar activists who address issues of local, national and international health importance."
Society for American Archaeology: "The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is an international organization dedicated to the research, interpretation, and protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas. With more than 7,000 members, the society represents professional, student, and avocational archaeologists working in a variety of settings including government agencies, colleges and universities, museums, and the private sector."
Society for Economic Anthropology: "The SEA is a group of anthropologists, economists, geographers, and scholars from other disciplines who are interested in the connections between economics and social life. The SEA welcomes new members from all disciplines and all four fields of anthropology."
Society for Urban, National, and Transnational/Global Anthropology: "SUNTA, a section of the American Anthropological Association, concerns itself with theories, problems, processes, and institutions of urban, national and transnational life.
American Association of Physical Anthropologists: "Physical anthropology is a biological science that deals with the adaptations, variability, and evolution of human beings and their living and fossil relatives. Because it studies human biology in the context of human culture and behavior, physical anthropology is also a social science."
