Overview

About Anthropology

Anthropology is global in its perspective, comparatively studying humankind in all places and throughout time. You'll develop an understanding of culture and how it unites human social, political, biological, and historical experiences. Applied research emphasizes issues of human diversity, ethnocentrism, and inequality.

An anthropology degree will help in work at non-profit organizations, businesses, and governmental agencies. It's also an excellent degree for pre-law and pre-med students. You might also pursue a research career in socio-cultural anthropology, archaeology, or biological anthropology.

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“At Wagner, I focused my anthropology studies on bio-archaeology. I traveled to Peru with Dr. Gagnon in the summer of 2011.” - Jennifer Ida ’12
“In our senior learning community we were applying experiential learning while also participating in anthropology ourselves.” - Alex Mallilo ’11
“We're looking at the history and culture of food from an historical and anthropological perspective.” - Drs. Smith and Gagnon

CLASSES OF NOTE

The Raw and the Cooked

Everybody eats, but how do we choose what to eat? Using a biocultural perspective we will examine the ways in which foods have shaped our evolution, our history and environment, and our current world.

Land of the Inca

We focus on the culture of the Peruvian Andes and trace its evolution from prehistoric to modern times. Themes explored include the development of Andean culture, a cultural description of the Incas and their empire, and the survival and persistence of this culture.

Culture, Health and the Body

An introduction to the comparative study of health and illness through time and cross-culturally, including the roles of disease in human evolution and history, sociocultural factors in contemporary world health problems, and ethnicity and health care.

Beyond the Classroom

Internships

  • The United Nations
  • Ellis Island
  • Cayo Santiago Primate Research Center
  • The Philadelphia Zoo
  • Archaeological Institute of America

Research

  • "Healthy Food Access in New York City: Low-Income Families Living In Food Deserts and the Role of Alternative Food Networks"
  • "Animals, Culture, and Disease: Understanding the Risk of Primate-Human Herpes B Transmission in Puerto Rico"
  • “Social Relations and Class Inequalities: A Study of Inca Architectural Remains of the Central Coast and Southern Highlands of Perú”

Rose Tobiassen ’12

“It was such a learning experience [in Peru's Moche River Valley] to take a box of skull fragments and piece them together like a puzzle.”

Zach Stanley ’15

“I'm already part of a research team preparing for a trip to Vanuatu in the South Pacific Islands next summer.”