Anthropology Department Undergraduate Program Description
- Link to the Current ISU Undergraduate Catalog
- Jump to Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
- Jump to Minor in American Indian Studies
- Jump to Minor in Anthropology
- Jump to Minor in Latino Studies
- Jump to Minor in Linguistics
Mission
The mission of the Department of Anthropology is to research and teach about humankind the world over from the distant past to the present. Anthropology consists of subfields that specialize in the human past, human biology and evolution, language, society, and culture, and provides cross-cultural, environmental, international, and global perspectives on past and present human behavior. At Idaho State University, an important part of the anthropology mission is to apply anthropological concepts to the resolution of important social, cultural, and environmental problems of our times. The Department of Anthropology offers courses leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Master of Arts or Master of Science degrees in Anthropology. For a full description of the M.A. and M.S. degrees, refer to the Graduate Catalog. The Anthropology major provides training in all four subdisciplines in the field, including archaeology, biological anthropology, anthropological linguistics, and sociocultural anthropology. The department also offers minors in Anthropology, American Indian Studies, Latino Studies, and Linguistics, and opportunities for specialization in archaeological science; ecological, medical, and applied anthropology; language preservation; biocomplexity; informatics; and oral history.
Undergraduate Learning Objectives And Outcomes
Program Objectives – Students who have completed an undergraduate major in Anthropology at Idaho State University should be able to:
- Understand basic methods, concepts, alternative theories and approaches, and modes of explanation appropriate to each of the subfields of the discipline.
- Read and understand anthropological theory at the level of Bachelor of Arts.
- Understand the use of quantitative and qualitative analysis in anthropological research.
- Understand a comparative approach to the human condition, both cross-culturally and chronologically.
- Demonstrate technical writing skills at the level of Bachelor of Arts.
Learning Outcomes – Students in the Senior Seminar will demonstrate the following competencies based on the above objectives:
- Apply knowledge of anthropological methods, approaches, and modes of explanation to contemporary social issues.
- Use theory to formulate a testable explanation for a given cultural behavior.
- Select and perform quantitative and qualitative analytical techniques at a basic level.
- Carry out a research project using cross-cultural or diachronic (or combination of the two) comparative methods.
- Write a competent senior research project.
Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
Beyond the general university requirements, a student seeking a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in anthropology must complete at least 47 credits in the following curriculum, earning at least a C grade in all lower and upper division core courses.
Required Lower Division Courses:
ANTH/ENGL/LANG 1107 The Nature of Language 3 cr
ANTH 2203 Introduction to Archaeology 3 cr
ANTH 2205 Introduction to Archaeology Lab 1 cr
ANTH 2230 Introduction to Biological Anthropology 3 cr
ANTH 2250 Introduction to Sociocultural
Anthropology 3 cr
ANTH 2237 Peoples and Cultures of the Old World 3 cr
OR
ANTH 2238 Peoples and Cultures of the New World 3 cr
OR
ANTH 2239 Latino Peoples and Cultures 3 cr
TOTAL: 16 cr
Required Upper Division Courses:
ANTH 4401 History and Theory of
Sociocultural Anthropology 3 cr
ANTH 4403 Method and Theory in Archaeology 3 cr
ANTH 4430 Human Evolution 3 cr
ANTH 4450 Socio-linguistics 3 cr
OR
ANTH 4455 Linguistic Analysis I 3 cr
OR
ANTH 4458 Historical Linguistics 3 cr
ANTH 4492 Senior Seminar 3 cr
ANTH 4495 Department Colloquium 1 cr
TOTAL: 16 cr
IN ADDITION: Upper Division Anthropology
Elective Courses 9 cr
ENGL 3307 Professional and Technical Writing 3 cr
MATH 1153 Introduction to Statistics 3 cr
TOTAL: 15 cr
Minors in the Department of Anthropology include the following:
American Indian Studies
Anthropology
Latino Studies
Linguistics
Minor in American Indian Studies
Required Courses
ANTH 2238 People and Cultures of the New World 3 cr
ANTH/HIST 2258 Native American History 3 cr
ANTH/ENGL 4453 American Indian Literature 3 cr
TOTAL: 9 cr
Plus FOUR of the following courses:
ANTH 1101 Elementary Shoshoni I 4 cr
ANTH 1102 Elementary Shoshoni II 4 cr
ANTH 2206 Indigenous Traditional Parenting 3 cr
ANTH 3301 Introduction to Shoshoni Folklore 3 cr
ANTH 4406 American Indian Health Issues 3 cr
ANTH 4421 Federal Indian Relations 3 cr
ANTH 4452 American Indian Verbal Arts 3 cr
ANTH 4454 Survey of American Indian Languages 3 cr
ANTH 4472 Native American Arts 3 cr
ANTH 4474 Topics in Indian Education 3 cr
ANTH/POLS 4478 Federal Indian Law 3 cr
ANTH/POLS 4479 Tribal Governments 3 cr
ANTH 4489 Topics in American Indian Studies 3 cr
Minimum Total: 21 cr
Minor in Anthropology
Required Courses
ANTH/ENGL/LANG 1107 The Nature of Language 3 cr
ANTH 2203 Introduction to Archaeology 3 cr
ANTH 2205 Introduction to Archaeology Lab 1 cr
ANTH 2230 Introduction to Biological
Anthropology 3 cr
ANTH 2250 Introduction to
Sociocultural Anthropology 3 cr
IN ADDITION: Upper Division Anthropology Courses 9 cr
TOTAL: 22 cr
Minor in Latino Studies
Required Courses
ANTH 2250 Introduction to
Sociocultural Anthropology 3 cr
ANTH 2239 Contemporary Latinos in the U.S. 3 cr
OR
ANTH 2239 Peoples of Mexico Through Film 3 cr
OR
ANTH 2239 Culture South of the Border 3 cr
HIST 2251 Latin America 3 cr
One year intermediate Spanish:
SPAN 2201, 2202 Intermediate Spanish 8 cr
OR
SPAN 3301, 3302 Spanish Conversation and Composition 8 cr
OR
Other with permission of Latino Studies Director 6 cr
Plus 6 credits from the following for a total of at least 21 credits
(3 credits must be 400 level or above):
ANTH 1108 Spanish for Health Care Providers 1 cr
ANTH 2239 Contemporary Latinos in the U.S. 3 cr
ANTH 2239 Peoples of Mexico Through Film 3 cr
ANTH 2239 Culture South of the Border 3 cr
ANTH 2239 Ancient Meso America 3 cr
ANTH 2239 Other approved classes
ANTH 4487 Ethnographic Fieldschool* 3-6 cr
ANTH 4489 Latin American Indigenous
Resource Management 3 cr
HIST 4460 The Global Hispanic Monarchy 3 cr
HIST 4450 Golden Age Castile 3 cr
SPAN 3342 Survey of Latin American Literature
and Civilization 3 cr
SPAN 4462 Early Twentieth Century
Spanish American Literature 3 cr
*When offered in Mexico, Guatemala and other Latin American countries
Minor in Linguistics
Required Courses
ANTH/LANG/ENGL 1107
Nature of Language 3 cr
ENGL 2281 Introduction to Language Studies 3 cr
ANTH/LANG 4455 Phonetics 3 cr
OR
ENGL 4485 Linguistic Analysis 3 cr
OR
PHIL 4410 Philosophy of Language 3 cr
One year of a foreign language* 8 cr
Plus 9 credits from the following, for a total of 26 credits:
ANTH/ENGL 3367 Language in the United States 3 cr
ANTH 4450 Socio-linguistics 3 cr
ANTH 4452 Survey of American Indian Languages 3 cr
ANTH/LANG 4455 Phonetics 3 cr
ANTH/LANG 4456 Phonology and Morphology 3 cr
ANTH 4458 Historical Linguistics 3 cr
ANTH 4459 Linguistic Field Methods 3 cr
ANTH/LANG 4457 Survey of Indo-European Languages 3 cr
ANTH/ENGL/LANG 4484
Topics in Linguistics 3 cr
ENGL 2280 Grammar and Usage 3 cr
ENGL 4481 Advanced Grammar 3 cr
ENGL 4483 Varieties of American English 3 cr
ENGL 4485 Linguistic Analysis 3 cr
ENGL 4486 Old English 3 cr
ENGL 4487 History of the English Language 3 cr
LANG 4488 Comparative Philology 3 cr
PHIL 2301 Introduction to Logic 3 cr
PHIL 4410 Philosophy of Language 3 cr
*in addition to the 8 credit hours of foreign language required under General Education Goal 10B.
Department of Anthropology • College of Arts and Letters • Idaho State University
921 S. 8th Avenue, Stop 8005, Pocatello, ID 83209-8005
Tel: (208) 282-2629 • Fax: (208) 282-4944 • Email: clovrebe@isu.edu