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Collection Development Guide: Anthropology: Academic Program & Centers

This guide provides collection development information to Communication Studies faculty and faculty representatives.

Department of Anthropology Programs


"Anthropology is the study of human cultural and biological variation and evolution. It is a holistic discipline taking into consideration all aspects of human existence. Anthropology is divided into four major sub-fields: cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, and linguistic anthropology. The anthropology program at Texas State offers coursework and training in each of these areas. Graduates enter a wide range of professions including foreign affairs, journalism, education, medicine and medical research, health professions, human resources, academia, criminal justice, museum science, international business, and contract archaeology.


Anthropology majors may choose from two degree plans. The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Anthropology is designed to prepare students for professional careers or graduate study. An understanding of the world’s cultural and biological diversity is especially valuable in today’s global economy. The Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Anthropology is specifically designed to expand the science training of students and prepare them for professional careers or graduate study. Students pursuing either degree have the opportunity to participate in departmental field schools, archaeological excavations, and/or an internship program to support their education and career goals." - pg 224, 2014-2016 Undergraduate Catalog, Texas State University

Department of Anthropology - 2014 - 2016 Undergraduate Catalog, Texas State University

Degree Programs in the Department of Anthropology


Research Centers and Projects

Centers

Projects

  • Prehistory Research Project - Gault
    • The Prehistory Research Project, based in the Pecos Building (108), has many ongoing opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students, volunteers, and interns including fieldwork, lab work and research projects. The project is part of the ongoing research of Dr. Michael B. Collins and is under the direction of Dr. D. Clark Wernecke. For information regarding current opportunities please visit the project offices (Pecos 108 open M-F 8:30-4) or email Dr. Wernecke at DW46@txstate.edu or Lab Manager Nancy Velchoff at n_l43@txstate.edu.
  • Ancient Southwest Texas
    • Ancient Southwest Texas (ASWT) is an ongoing long-term research program Dr. Stephen Black launched in 2009 with the broad aims of: (1) improving our understanding of the prehistoric human record of southwestern Texas and adjacent northern Mexico; (2) sharing what we learn with the scholarly community and the public; and (3) training the next generation of archaeologists.
    • Little Soto Field School
    • Archaeological Field School at Eagle Nest Canyon
  • African Modder River Paleontological & Archaeological Project
    • The Modder River Paleontological & Archaeological Project is a long-term research project investigating the geological, paleoenvironmental, paleontological and archaeological records in the Modder River Basin’s Quaternary deposits. This research, a collaboration between Dr. James Brink (National Museum) and Dr. Britt Bousman, focuses on the alluvial terraces at the site of Erfkroon and spring mound deposits at Baden-Baden. Seven field seasons uncovered a wealth of information on the Pleistocene occupants, and produced 2 MA theses and another in progress.
  • Cemetery Project - The Culture and History of Cemeteries in Central Texas. The Cemeteries Project is a long-term, ongoing research venture designed to document, preserve, and analyze Mexican American cemeteries and funerary practices in central and south Texas. This interdisciplinary and ethnohistorical project depends on many collaborators, especially the long-term residents and elders of the local Mexican American community. Other collaborators include students, faculty, local and state-level agencies and cultural centers, and the Hispanic History of Texas Project. Dr. Ana Juarez
  • Migrant Deaths in South Texas

Faculty Research

 

What is Anthropology?

Anthropology is the study of people, past and present, with a focus on understanding the human condition both culturally and biologically. This joint emphasis sets anthropology apart from other humanities and natural sciences. In a general sense, anthropology is concerned with determining what humans are, how they evolved, and how they differ from one another. The study of anthropology is often divided into four separate subdisciplines including archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and linguistic anthropology.

Archaeology

Archaeology is the study of earlier cultures and past human lifeways through the scientific recovery, analysis, and interpretation of the material remains of past societies. The science of archaeology is a multidisciplinary approach to the study of human behavior as evidenced by cultural remains. Texas State offers coursework in archaeology concentrated in the geographic areas of Mesoamerica, North America, South America, and the Old World during the Paleolithic period.

Biological Anthropology

Biological anthropology is the study of humans within the framework of evolution, with an emphasis on the interaction between biology and culture. Biological anthropology is subdivided into areas of specialty including human biological variation and adaptation, primatology, medical primatology, growth and development, functional morphology, osteology, forensic anthropology, and paleoanthropology. Texas State offers coursework in a number of these biological anthropology specializations.

Cultural Anthropology

Cultural anthropology deals primarily with all aspects of cultural variation in the present or recent past, including social, political, economic, and ideological facets of human cultures. Through a variety of theoretical approaches and research methods, anthropologists today study the cultures of people in any part of the world, including those of industrial and "post-industrial" societies. Texas State offers cultural anthropological coursework on a variety of cultural topics, including medical anthropology, gender studies, and economic anthropology.

Linguistic Anthropology

Linguistic anthropology examines how human speech and written text, made possible by the evolved human capacity for language, is a fundamental mechanism through which people create culture and social life. Studies in linguistic anthropology include language structure, the use of language in given societies and social contexts, and the historical relationships of languages to one another. Texas State offers several courses in these areas of study for students interested in linguistic anthropology.

From the Department of Anthropology "What is Anthropology?" webpage