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Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the anthropology major, a student will have demonstrated a command of the methods and processes of contemporary anthropology, the ability to complete a sustained research project, and the ability to present their work in writing and in discussion. Majors will be able to:

1. Demonstrate command of the work and methods of contemporary anthropology:
   • Recognize, analyze and compare key theoretical frameworks that have shaped the intellectual genealogy of Anthropology as a discipline (eg., the Boasians, Durkheimian structural-functionalism, structuralism, interpretive or symbolic anthropology, the postcolonial turn, etc.).
   • Apply such frameworks in analyzing specific ethnographic or historical phenomena
   • Analyze a descriptive ethnographic excerpt from classical and contemporary anthropological texts
   • Formulate a proposal for pursuing further anthropological analysis of the material, including accessing, collecting and analyzing additional data
2. Execute and defend a significant independent research project in anthropology:
   • Formulate a significant research topic
   • Develop and pursue a methodology appropriate to a research topic
   • Situate the argument within anthropological and social theoretical literature
   • Articulate an original anthropological argument and mobilize ethnographic or historical data (whether gathered through first-hand fieldwork, through archival or other primary documents, or culled from secondary sources) to support it.
   • Independently investigate the topic with the support of an advisor
   • Respond appropriately to feedback
3. Communicate work done
   • Write a clear and coherent document that is substantially longer than a traditional term paper or project and formatted in a style appropriate to the approach
   • Communicate both to experts in the field and non-experts
   • Orally present, discuss and defend work done

The primary assessment tool for learning in the major at ¹û½´ÊÓƵ and the level of student achievement in the major area is the senior thesis; the junior qualifying examination, which assesses a student's readiness for thesis, provides a preliminary assessment tool. For more information on the thesis and the Junior Qualifying Exam, see Junior Qual and Resources for Seniors.