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

• ANTH 297
• One course from the Evolution and Ecology concentration chosen from the following list:  ANTH 050, 053, 054, 058, 060, 121, 143, 145, 148, 151, 220, 232, 238, 239, 252, 262, 312, 315, 317, 318, 319, 359, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 437, 439, 450, 451, 453, 456, 458, 459, 460, 468, 539, 639
• One course from the History, Meaning and Materiality Concentration chosen from the following list: ANTH 055, 059, 062, 077, 120, 123, 130, 142, 146, 147, 155, 202, 205, 230, 254, 259, 278, 280, 323, 325, 330, 331, 334, 340, 375, 428, 428H, 429, 435, 436, 438, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 452, 458, 469, 470, 472, 473, 477, 484, 525, 537, 545, 559, 574, 585, 586, 625, 660, 660H, 688, 697
• One course from the Social Formations and Processes Concentration chosen from the following list: ANTH 051, 052, 054, 056, 057, 058, 061, 062, 103, 120, 121, 130, 144, 145, 147, 151, 191, 194, 226, 230, 231, 232, 248, 254, 259, 278, 280, 319, 320, 344, 359, 377, 380, 422, 429, 436, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 447, 449, 450, 455, 456, 462, 465, 466, 467, 468, 470, 472, 492, 502, 537, 545, 559, 567, 578, 585, 625, 626, 660, 660H, 682, 686, 688
• Five additional three-hour courses (15 hours) in Anthropology

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

ANTH 297 Directions in Anthropology serves as the majors' core course; it offers an integrative perspective on the theories and history of anthropology and explores what it means to be an anthropologist.  Majors should take ANTH 297 in their junior year.  If they cannot do so, they should consult with the director of undergraduate studies.

The department recommends that majors enroll in some field-oriented course work such as 393 Internship in Anthropology, 395 Special Projects, 451 Field School in Archaeology, 453 Field School in South American Archaeology, or in study abroad course work.

Anthropology majors must meet all Foundations, Approaches, an Connections requirements; electives; and other requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences.  To ensure this, anthropology majors consult with their advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences office in Steele Building at least once each semester; ideally, they also consult with the director of undergraduate studies.  Students planning a major in anthropology should inform the department's director of undergraduate studies.

Student's interested in choosing anthropology as a major or minor should visit the department's Web site at anthropology.unc.edu and click on the link for the undergraduate program.

Please note that the concentraton lists are subject to constant revision, with the director of undergraduate studies designating the appropriate concentrations for special topic courses (ANTH 089, 190, 199, 290, 299, 390, 399, 499, 599, and 699) and courses being offered for the first time.

MINORING IN GENERAL ANTHROPOLOGY

The minor in general anthropology consists of five three-hour courses taken in the department and is a viable option for students who have heavily demanding major requirements.  A maximum of two courses may be numbered below 200; at least one course must come from each of the three concentrations-Evolution and Ecology; History, Memory, and Materiality; and Social Formations and Processes (see lists under departmental requirements for the major).  Students must have a grade of C or better in at least four of the five courses, and at least three courses must be taken at UNC-Chapel Hill or in a program officially sponsored by the University.  Students planning on a minor in anthropology should inform the department's director of undergraduate studies.

MINORING IN MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

This option is especially appropriate for those planning for careers in medicine and health professions.  The minor consists of five three-hour courses taken from the following list of courses: ANTH 147, 151, 315, 318, 319, 323, 414, 438, 441, 442, 443, 444, 470, 473, 585, and 660.  Students must have a grade of C or better in at least four of the five courses, and at least three courses must be taken at UNC-Chapel Hill or in a program officially sponsored by the University.  Students planning on a minor in medical anthropology should inform the director of undergraduate studies in the department.

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 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  Principles of Archaeology
CLAR 411  Archaeological Field Methods
ANTH 451  Field School in Archaeology (North America)
ANTH 453  Field School in South American Archaeology
CLAR 650  Field School in Classical Archaeology

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

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

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