Anthropology involves the study of people, their origins, their biological variations and characteristics, their languages and cultural patterns, their social structures and institutions, and their adaptation to their environment. The department offers a major, a minor, an optional major program and a master’s program with two options. The major is designed to contribute to a student’s liberal education and to prepare the student for graduate work, teaching or other professional pursuits. The minor is designed to complement a wide variety of other majors by exposing students to key issues in multiculturalism, human diversity and anthropological methodology. Anthropological methodology in turn complements methodologies in a wide range of fields: business, health, education and allied fields in the social sciences. The optional major program is for students with highly focused interests and provides for maximum flexibility in the use of instructional resources.

Social Science Subject Matter Program for the Single Subject Credential

Anthropology majors interested in teaching social studies at the middle school or high school level may combine their major program with the Single Subject Social Science Subject Matter Program to meet requirements for entering a Single Subject Credential Program. View Social Science Subject Matter Program for Secondary School Teachers (.pdf) for more information. The Anthropology undergraduate advisor also can provide assistance in coordinating the completion of both the major and the subject matter program simultaneously.

Note: See section on “Exceptions and Restrictions” below for important information.

1. Foundations (12 units)

ANTH 151 Physical Anthropology (3)
ANTH 152 Culture and Human Behavior (3)
ANTH 153 Introduction to Archaeology (3)
ANTH 303 Anthropological Thought (3)

2. Peoples and Places (3 units)

Choose one of the following:

ANTH 306 Native Peoples of North America (3)
ANTH 307 Native Peoples of California and the Southwest (3)
ANTH 338 Peoples of Africa (3)
ANTH 345 Diversity in the United States (3)
ANTH 351 Peoples of Middle America (3)
ANTH 352 Peoples of South America (3)
ANTH 353 The Maya: Ancient and Modern (3)
ANTH 356 Peoples and Cultures of the Mediterranean (3)

3. Method and Theory (3 units)

Choose one of the following:

ANTH 473 Theory and Method in Archaeology (3)
ANTH 475 Ethnographic Research Methods (3)

4. Seminar (3 units)

Choose one of the following:

ANTH 490A-E Seminar in Anthropology (3)
ANTH 516 Seminar on Ethnography as Narrative (3)
ANTH 521 California Archaeology (3)
ANTH 560 Social Evolution (3)

5. Breadth Electives (12 units)

In consultation with the undergraduate advisor for the Anthropology department, choose one course from each of the following subdisciplines:

Cultural Anthropology

ANTH 310 Language in Culture: Anthropological Linguistics (3)
ANTH 326 Introduction to Folklore (3)
ANTH 404 Comparative Social Organization (3)
ANTH 405 Cognitive Anthropology (3)
ANTH 424 Supernatural in the Modern World (3)
ANTH 430 Ecological Anthropology (3)
ANTH 450 Historical Anthropology (3)
ANTH 451 Economic Anthropology (3)
ANTH 462 Anthropology of the Arts (3)

Biological Anthropology

ANTH 311 Human Variation (3)
ANTH 341 Bones: An Introduction to the Study of Human Remains (3)
ANTH 421 Primatology: Morphology, Behavior and Social Organization (3)
ANTH 423 Human Behavior: Evolutionary Perspectives (3)
ANTH 445/L Human Osteology and Lab (3/1)
ANTH 453 Human Paleontology (3)

Archaeology

ANTH 426 Old World Archaeology (3)
ANTH 427 Archaeology of North America (3)
ANTH 428 Archaeology of Mesoamerica (3)
ANTH 429 Archaeology of South America (3)
ANTH 460 The Archeological Study of Women in the Ancient World (3)

Applied Anthropology

ANTH 302 Introduction to Applied Anthropology (3)
ANTH 346 Urban Anthropology (3) 
ANTH 425 Culture, Health and Healing (3)
ANTH 432 Environmental Justice and Health (3)
ANTH 465 Museum Anthropology: Principles and Practices (3)
ANTH 468 Cultural Heritage (3)
ANTH 486 Interrogating Globalization: the Ethnography of Global Problems (3)

6. Additional Electives (12 units)

In consultation with the undergraduate advisor for the Anthropology department, choose four additional 3-unit upper division courses in Anthropology (12 units). See “Exceptions and Restrictions” below for important information about selection of electives.

7. General Education (48 units)

Undergraduate students must complete 48 units of General Education as described in this Catalog.
See “Exceptions and Restrictions” below for additional information.

Exceptions and Restrictions

1. ANTH 360 does not count as credit for the Anthropology major.
2. No more than one of the four additional elective courses may be from the following General Education courses: ANTH 212, ANTH 222, ANTH 305, ANTH 308, ANTH 315.
3. Students can double count one of the following courses as an Anthropology additional elective and as a Social Science GE course: ANTH 212, ANTH 302, ANTH 305, ANTH 319, ANTH 341.
4. ANTH 341 cannot count as both a biological anthropology breath requirement and a GE Social Science course.
5. ANTH 302 cannot count as both an applied anthropology breath requirement and a GE Social Science course.
6. Any one section of ANTH 494AA-ZZ will count as one elective course.

Optional Program

Students may, on their own initiative and before the completion of 90 units, devise an Anthropology major program that reflects specialized or interdisciplinary interests. Requirements of the optional program are:

1. A written outline of proposed courses and statement of objectives.
2. At least 42 semester units, of which 36 or more are upper division (exception: ANTH 222 will be permitted to count for 3 of these 36 units).
3. More total units in anthropology than in any other field.
4. The evaluation and approval of the proposed program by a departmental committee of at least two anthropology faculty members.
5. Approval by the department chair. Student may present his or her proposed program directly to the evaluating committee for consideration or consult with one or more faculty advisors before submitting a list of courses. Upon acceptance of the program by the department, a program of study will be prepared and maintained in the student’s file.

Total Units in the Major: 45

General Education Units: 48

Additional Units: 27

Total Units Required for the B.A. Degree: 120

If you would like more information about this program, please contact cathy.l.costin@csun.edu.