Social Science University Seminar

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Anthropology, the holistic study of humans and their societies and cultures, is the focus of this seminar course. Through discussion and analysis of a variety of anthropology texts, this seminar course aims to develop writing skills among first-year students while exposing them to some central problems and issues within anthropology. Adopting an approach that reflects the four-field character of anthropology, the seminar will encourage students to explore topics such as: (1) anthropology as a way of knowing; (2) anthropology as an encounter with, and effort to explain, human diversity; (3) anthropology as a discipline that uniquely contributes to our understanding of the symbolic dimensions of human behavior and communication; (4) anthropology as a discipline that uniquely contributes to our understanding of human strategies for subsistence and survival; and (5) anthropology as a discipline that uniquely contributes to our understanding of human biological and cultural origins. As a university core curriculum way of knowing in social science (WKSS), this university seminar investigates topics in depth through the lens of anthropology as a social science discipline.