Curriculum & Requirements

For new majors in Anthropology, these are the requirements you must follow.

CONCENTRATIONS

Given anthropology's unique foci, our anthropology courses are intended to systematically open for you perspectives on the nature of humankind. To achieve this object, as a Department we organize our courses into three Concentrations:

(a) Ecology and Evolution, which examines the evolution of the human and related species, and human adaptations to the environment in all their variability;
(b) History, Meaning, and Materiality which studies the generation and interpretation of meanings over time, in relation to both practices and things (e.g., narratives and performances; bodies and objects; histories and memory; human rights and forms of knowledge; translation and imaginaries); and
(c) Social Formations and Processes, which studies collectivities, social change, and relations between groups marked by various kinds of inequalities (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, class, nationality).

As an undergraduate, you may also be interested in courses within the Archaeology and Medical Anthropology Programs, which are formally part of our graduate program.

OUR MAJOR AND ITS REQUIREMENTS

We require ANTH 297, and 24 other credit hours in anthropology courses, normally 8 other 3-hour courses, for the major. ANTH 297, Directions in Anthropology, is our core course for majors which seeks to provide an integrative perspective on the theories and history of anthropology, and on the significance of being an anthropology major. We expect you normally to take ANTH 297 in your junior year.
Beyond ANTH 297, for the 24 credit hours of anthropology courses required for the major:

• you need to choose at least one course from each of the three Concentrations (see list below); and
• you can have no more than three anthropology courses numbered below 200, and
• no more than 9 hours of field-oriented coursework (Anthropology 393, 395, 451 or 453) can be counted toward the major requirement. (You can take more than 9 credit hours of field-oriented courses, but the amount of credit-hours beyond 9 won't count toward the major.)
  Of the nine courses for the major, you must complete six, with a minimum grade in each of "C" or higher.

We also encourage you to enroll in field-oriented coursework, such as Anthropology 393 (Internship in Anthropology), 395 (Fieldwork Projects), 451 (Field School in Archaeology), or 453 (Field School in South American Archaeology) or in courses as part of Study Abroad (see Study Abroad).

For help in formulating your program of study as a major, your best resource is your individual faculty advisor in the Anthropology Department.

MEETING COLLEGE REQUIREMENTS

As an Anthropology major you must meet all Perspectives, electives, and other requirements in the College of Arts & Sciences. To ensure this, at least once each semester you should consult with your other adviser -- the advisor for Anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences office in Steele Building. This person is currently Bill Bisese at 843-3343, on the third floor of Steele Bldg.

COURSES BY CONCENTRATION

The following are our courses listed by Concentration for purposes of your Concentration distribution requirement. (As always, bear in mind that the list of these courses in the current Undergraduate Bulletin is definitive.)

*note:  course numbers in parenthesis are from the old curriculum numbering system.

• Ecology and Evolution Concentration: ANTH 143 (new), 220 (110), 231 (131), 239 (new), 252 (152), 262 (062), 315 (115), 317 (117), 318 (new), 319 (119), 350 (150), 359 (159), 411 (111), 412 (112), 413 (111A), 414 (114), 415 (111B), 416 (116), 417 (111C), 418 (new), 437 (new), 451 (151), 453 (153), 456 (156), 458 (158), 459 (139), 460 (160)
  

• History, Meaning, and Materiality Concentration: ANTH (128), 230 (130), 254 (154), 323 (123), 325 (125), 334 (134), 342 (090), 400 (179), 429 (142), 429 (129), 435 (135), 438 (138), 441 (141), 470 (170), 473 (173), 484 (184), 485 (146), 525 (121), 537 (137), 541 (171), 542 (192), 545 (145), 567 (167), 574 (174), 585 (185), 586 (196), 660 (166), 688 (188), 705 (205)

• Social Formations and Processes Concentration:  ANTH (133), (162), 230 (130), 231 (131), 248 (148), 254 (154), 319 (119), 320 (120), 322 (122), 350 (150), 359 (159), 377 (177), 429 (129), 440 (140), 441 (141), 447 (147), 449 (149), 455 (155), 456 (156), 458 (158), 465 (165), 468 (168), 470 (170), 537 (137), 545 (145), 567 (167), 578 (178), 585 (185), 660 (166), 682 (182), 686 (186)
  

DOUBLE MAJORS

You may double major in anthropology and some other field. If you decide to enroll in anthropology as a second major, you should inform the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH, INTERNSHIPS, AND FIELD SCHOOLS

As a major, if you wish to explore an area of anthropology outside the conventional classroom setting, or desire advanced or specialized work beyond current course offerings, you should consider taking Anthropology 393, 395, 451, or 453.

Anthropology 393 is the Internship in Anthropology.

Anthropology 396 provides you with the opportunity to engage in independent study, and Anthropology 395 the opportunity to engage in field research, under the mentoring of a specific faculty member. You can obtain variable credit for these courses, although 3 hours are usually expected. In general, you should only take ANTH 395 or 396 if you have had at least some prior coursework in anthropology or a related social science.

Anthropology 395 and 396 both require the prior permission of the faculty member under whom you wish to conduct research, obtained before the semester in which you plan to enroll in either of them. Both are controlled enrollment courses for which you can't register through CAROLINE, but only through the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Our advice: first see you own faculty advisor and, after talking with him or her, the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Anthropology 451 and 453 are 6-hour field school courses in which you will gain hands-on experience in research and study in the field under the direction of a faculty member. As an Anthropology Major, you are limited to having no more than nine credit hours of field-oriented coursework (Anthropology 395, 396, 451 or 453) count toward meeting your major requirement, although you are not restricted from enrolling in more than nine credit hours of these courses combined. Our advice: if in doubt, see your advisor!

A NOTE ABOUT LINGUISTICS

The Department of Anthropology does not offer courses in linguistic anthropology. However, there are three courses offered in the Linguistics Department relevant to anthropology which are crosslisted in our Department: ANTH 302, Language and Power (Crowhurst), ANTH 541, Sociolinguistics (Roberge), and ANTH 542, Pidgins and Creoles (Roberge). If you are interested, we encourage you to take one or more of these courses as elective courses for credit toward the Major in Anthropology.

Minor in General Anthropology

If you have heavy demands in a major other than Anthropology, but wish to pursue your interest in anthropology, then the Minor in General Anthropology may be a viable option for you. The Minor in General Anthropology consists of five 3-hour courses taken in the Department. A maximum of two of your courses may be numbered below 200; at least one course must come from each of the three Concentrations. No more than one of your courses can be used to fulfil the General College Perspectives requirements. You have to obtain a grade of "C" or higher in at least four of the five courses, and you must take at least three of your courses for the Minor at UNC-Chapel Hill or in a program officially sponsored by the University. We recommend that if you decide to do a Minor in General Anthropology that you contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Minor in Medical Anthropology

This option is especially appropriate if you are planning for a career in medicine or the health professions. The minor consists of five three-hour courses taken from the following:

        147      Comparative Healing Systems

        151      Food and Culture

        315      Human Genetics

        318      Human Growth and Development

        319      Global Health

        323      Magic, Ritual, and Belief

        414      Human Osteology

        438      Concepts of Nature:  Cross-Cultural Perspectives

        441      Gender, Health and Illness

        470      Medicine and Anthropology

        473      Body and the Subject

        585      Anthropology of Science

        660      Kinship, Reproduction, Reproductive Technology, and the New Genetics

No more than one course can be used to fulfil the General College Perspectives requirements. You must have a grade of "C" or higher in at least four of the five courses, and you must take at least three courses at UNC-Chapel Hill or in a program officially sponsored by the University. We recommend that if you are planning on a Minor in Medical Anthropology that you contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Minor in Archaeology

(for additional information about the archaeology minor please contact Prof. Margaret Scarry, at scarry@email.unc.edu in Anthropology or Prof. Donald Haggis at dchaggis@email.unc.edu in Classics)

The minor in Archaeology draws on a number of disciplines and departments—principally Anthropology, Classics, and Art—in the study of the ancient world, the reconstruction of past lifeways, and the interpretation of ancient social, political, and economic systems. The curriculum is designed to expose students to methods of recovering, documenting, and interpreting material culture, while providing exposure to diverse approaches and theoretical frameworks current in analyses of ancient societies and culture traits. Historical, environmental, and comparative components encourage the examination of attributes of culture systems through time and space. The geographic scope of the program includes North America, Latin America, Europe, Greece, Italy, Anatolia, the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Near East.

The minor helps prepare students for graduate study in anthropological archaeology, classical archaeology, cultural resource management, and historical preservation. It also provides any student with a strong intellectual interest in archaeology with a structured introduction to this field.

Courses that satisfy requirements of the minor are classified into four main categories. The core courses offer the basic concepts in the discipline as well as a survey of archaeological theories and methods, including hands-on experience (i.e., through the "field schools," usually taught during the summer). The comparative courses offer diverse approaches to understanding long-term human biological, cultural, and social change in ancient times. The area-studies courses explore cultural patterns within geographic regions or chronological periods. The topical courses are thematic, representing specialized scientific studies, theoretical concerns, or methodological problems.

The minor consists of five courses: two core courses (no more than one of which can be a field school), one comparative course, one area-studies course, and one topical course. The courses used to satisfy these requirements must come from at least two departments. At least one of the courses used to fulfill the minor's requirements must be numbered 90 or above.

Core Courses (choose two, no more than one of which is a field school)
ANTH 220 (110) Principles of Archaeology
CLAR 411 (111) Archaeological Field Methods
ANTH 451 (151) Field School in Archaeology (North America)
ANTH 453 (153) Field School in South American Archaeology
CLAR 650 (153) Field School in Classical Archaeology

Comparative Courses (choose one)
CLAR 120 (20) Ancient Cities: Old World
ANTH 145 (45) Introduction to World Prehistory
ANTH 148 (48) Human Origins
ANTH 145 (100) World Prehistory
ANTH 412 (112) Paleoanthropology
ANTH 456 (156) Archaeology of Small-Scale Societies
ANTH 468 (168) State Formation

Area-Studies Courses (choose one)
ANTH 231 (131) Archaeology of South America
ANTH 350 (150) Archaeology of North America
ANTH 359 (159) European Prehistory
CLAR 243 (41) Minoans and Mycenaeans: The Archaeology of Bronze Age Greece
CLAR 241 (47) Archaeology of Ancient Near East
CLAR 242 (48) Archaeology of Egypt
CLAR 488 (188) The Archaeology of the Near East in the Iron Age
CLAR 489 (189) The Archaeology of Anatolia in the Bronze and Iron Ages
CLAR 781 (198) Aegean Civilization
CLAR 75 (006) Pompeii
CLAR 244 (49) Greek Archaeology
CLAR 245 (50) Archaeology of Italy
CLAR 375 (75) The Archaeology of Cult: The Material Culture of Greek Religion
CLAR 262 (77) Art of Classical Greece
CLAR 263 (78) Roman Art
CLAR 448 (149A) Constantinople: The City and Its Art
CLAR 449 (149B) In Constantinople
CLAR 561 (182) Mosaics: The Art of Mossaic in Greece, Rome, And Byzantium
CLAR 464 (190) Greek Architecture [ART 464 (190)]
CLAR 465 (191) Architecture of Etruria and Rome [ART 465 (191)]
CLAR 475 (192) Rome and the Western Provinces
CLAR 460 (193) Greek Painting [ART 460 (193)]
CLAR 461 (194) Archaic Greek Sculpture [ART 461 (194)]
CLAR 462 (195) Classical Greek Sculpture [ART 462 (195)]
CLAR 463 (196) Hellenistic Greek Sculpture [ART 463 (196)]
RELI 110 (28) Archaeology of Palestine in the New Testament Period

Topical Courses (choose one)
CLAR 75 (006J) Archaeology of Death
RELI 512 (111) Ancient Synagogues [CLAR 512 (110)]
ANTH 143 (43) Human Evolution and Adaptation
ANTH 452 (52) Past in the Present
ANTH 421 (102) Archaeological Geology [GEOL 421 (102)]
ANTH 411 (111) Laboratory Methods of Archaeology
ANTH 413 (111A) Laboratory Methods in Archaeobotany
ANTH 415 (111B) Zooarchaeology
ANTH 417 (111C) Laboratory Methods: Lithic Seminar
ANTH 414 (114) Human Osteology
ANTH 416 (116) Bioarchaeology
ANTH 252 (152) Prehistoric Foodways
ANTH 455 (155) Ethnohistory
ANTH 456 (156) Archaeology of Small-Scale Societies
ANTH 458 (158) Archaeology of Sex and Gender
ANTH 460 (160) Historical Ecology