Academic Program
The Department of Anthropology at Colby College offers major and minor programs of study. In both cases, students pursue a varied and flexible curriculum (see current offerings). Learning goals emphasize critical research, analysis, and communication skills. We also strongly encourage students to enrich their studies by taking advantage of opportunities for
Anthropology students often wonder what they can do with their major or minor after Colby. The fact is that anthropology is an excellent preparation for any professional field. Students leave the program fully prepared for graduate school or for professional employment in a wide range of public and private sector fields. For some ideas about what you can do with an Anthropology degree see Careers and Anthropology.
Learning in Anthropology
Anthropology studies human diversity across time and space. Drawing from ethnographic studies and cultural theories that provide insight into a wide range of human experiences, anthropology classes can examine topics that may be unfamiliar, difficult to understand, or produce feelings of confusion and discomfort. We will not ask you to agree with everything you encounter in the classroom. Our field teaches students how to apply anthropological concepts in order to engage critically with vital issues, from race, class and gender systems to economic issues, law and policy-making, and to develop critical awareness of one’s cultural positioning and identity in the world. To foster these important skills, the educational mission of anthropology prioritizes critical thinking, lively discussion, empirically-grounded analysis, diverging viewpoints, respectful debate, and intellectual curiosity.
Mission Statement
Anthropology pursues empirically-grounded, critical analysis in order to understand cultural systems, illuminate social worlds, and lovingly question how these shape and are shaped by lived experience. As such, anthropology is a critique for the purpose of building knowledge, enacting kindness, pursuing mutuality, stretching our imaginations, and creating a better future.
As scholars and teachers of anthropology, we are dedicated to exploring the scope of human diversity, examining the processes that shape contemporary human societies, and reflecting self-critically on taken-for-granted assumptions. We expose the foundations of structural inequality, and we document and analyze the dangers posed by inflammatory rhetoric in mobilizing violence. We stand with, and in some cases as, people of color, Muslims, Jews, immigrants, asylum-seekers, refugees, members of the LGBTQI communities and with women and girls across the spectrum and with all those in favor of equality and social justice. We are committed to bringing all our resources to analyze the current moment and its historicity, as well as working in solidarity with our colleagues and students who confront inequities in everyday life. Striving toward anti-racist and decolonizing pedagogies in the classroom and in our daily practice, we seek to promote an inclusive and just community.
| Courses |
| Majors, Minors, and Requirements |
| Interdisciplinary Connections |
| Internships and Careers |
| Honors Program |