Program Overview

Anthropology Program

The Anthropology program at Vanderbilt University is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary field of study that explores the complexities of human culture, behavior, and biology. The program provides students with a broad understanding of human thought and action, cultural diversity, social power, and cultural dynamics through time.

Program Description

Anthropology is the study of humanity in the widest sense, from our beginnings as a species to the present. The discipline is divided into four sub-fields: cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. Each sub-field examines humans from different but related perspectives, providing a holistic understanding of human experience.

Courses

Anthropology courses are taught as first-year or undergraduate-major seminars, introductory survey and topics courses, laboratory and fieldwork courses, and specialized lecture and discussion courses. Recent courses include:

• Food Politics in America
• Forensic Anthropology
• Sacred Sites Across the Ancient World
• Plants in Human History
• Evolutionary Biology of Women
• Climate Change and Culture
• Human Landscapes
• Artificial Intelligence and Material Culture

Honors Program

A two-semester Honors program leads to the undergraduate Honors thesis in anthropology and a B.A. with Honors or High Honors in anthropology. Recent Honors theses include:

• Greta Cullipher: Un Mundo Salpicado: An Analysis of Social and Environmental Determinants of Pastoralist Settlement Distribution in the Andean Highlands
• Anna Song: What is Good Tea?: Quality Determining Mechanisms of Tea in China
• Lesleigh Taylor: Black Femme Belonging at the Geographies of the Southern University
• Sagnik Yarlagadda: Investigating the Effect of a Health Career Speaker Program on Disadvantaged Youth at Under-Resourced Schools
• Lily Baker: Human-Animal Interactions in the Wari Hinterlands: Zooarchaeological Analysis of Camelid Burials from Auquimarca (CE), Huancayo, Peru
• John Hyunjin Lee: Traditional Medicine as a Means of Resistance Against Pan-Arabism and Structural Violence
• Olivia Core: The Soul of Afro-Puerto Rican Identity: How Bomba Reflects and Creates Black Solidarity
• Amy Rieth: The Application of Machine Learning Methods to Archaeological Practice: Using Classification Algorithms to Better Understand Soil Samples Collected at Maya Sites

Special Opportunities

The program offers students a wide range of immersive learning experiences and special opportunities, including:

• On-campus archaeological excavations
• Field trips
• Placement in archaeological and anthropological projects in the U.S. and abroad
• Hands-on research projects using real data
• Funding from Immersion Vanderbilt to engage in research in various countries
• Study abroad programs during the junior year

After Vanderbilt

The broad, interdisciplinary nature of anthropology prepares students for a wide range of careers. An anthropology degree confers diverse skillsets, from qualitative research methods and analytical writing to quantitative-oriented research skills in biological, spatial, and molecular sciences. Past graduates have pursued careers in medicine, law, community development, business, and anthropology.

Faculty

The faculty are highly active researchers and renowned in their fields, with particular expertise in the anthropology of the Americas. They provide students with a rich and supportive learning environment, guiding them through their academic and professional development.