Major's Handbook
Welcome!
The faculty and staff of the Department of Anthropology welcome you as a new major! We are pleased that you selected anthropology as your focus of study and hope that you will continue to find your anthropology classes interesting and thought-provoking. All of us in the department are here to help you as you progress through your studies. You will work closely with your advisor in the department, but the rest of us are available to help you as well. A list of major requirements is included in this handbook; if you have any questions about the major, please let us know. The Anthropology Department consists of five full-time faculty members and two support staff persons who keep everything running smoothly and efficiently. Areas of expertise within the department include biological anthropology, sociocultural anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics. Every year the department brings in visiting faculty members who offer new approaches, different subject matters, and expertise to our curriculum. We urge you to participate in the various departmental activities throughout the year, including meetings of the Colorado College Student Anthropology Society. We also offer a variety of brown-bag lectures, picnics and informal gatherings. Check your email or our Instagram (@coloradocollege_anthrolopology) for advance notice of these events. Once again, welcome to the department!
Anthropology Departmental MissionÂ
The Anthropology Department at Colorado College strives to provide students with an expansive outlook on human life through time and across space. We seek to fulfill the discipline’s promise as one of the cornerstone subjects of a contemporary liberal arts education.
Colorado College’s location and block plan format afford distinctive and unparalleled prospects for undergraduate anthropology students. We are able to expose students, anthropology majors and non-majors alike, to multiple opportunities for hands-on anthropological laboratory and fieldwork during the regular academic calendar year. Together with creative pedagogy and rigorous expectations for reading, writing, data gathering and critical qualitative and quantitative analysis, we aim to provide a second-tonone undergraduate educational experience in anthropology.
For a small department at a liberal arts college, ours is also unusual in representing all four subfields of American anthropology: 1) archaeology, which focuses on the material cultures and peoples of the past; 2) biological anthropology, which examines the evolution of human biology and behavior stressing the influence of culture on evolution; 3) linguistic anthropology, which addresses both the formal complexity of linguistic systems and the role that language plays in the regulating and negotiating of social life; and 4) socio-cultural anthropology, which stresses contemporary peoples, combining ethnography and crosscultural comparison to portray the variability of human value systems, practices and organization. In continuity with the original four-field American vision, our challenge is to demonstrate for students how each subfield contributes to the overall knowledge of human life and how dialogue across subfields allows anthropological perspectives to be unrivaled in their holism.
Important Dates
Students declaring a major in anthropology should do so by registration in the spring of the Sophomore year, Block 7, prior to pre-registration for fall. At the same time, majors should obtain an advisor who is a faculty member in the Anthropology Department. Stop by and talk to any of us about your interests!
- Proposal - second Friday of Block 7, 12:00 noon (Junior year)
- Complete draft of paper - first Friday of Block 6, 12:00 noon (Senior year)
- Final draft (signed by your advisor) - second Monday of Block 7, 12:00 noon (Senior year)
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Colorado College emphasizes the importance of off-campus study as part of an undergraduate education. The Anthropology Department in particular encourages our majors and minors to pursue such opportunities, given the role of immersive learning in our discipline’s construction of knowledge. Consult with your advisor and the department chair for advice about what kinds of courses and/or programs might both fit your interests and fulfill major or minor requirements. General credit for CC Approved Programs is usually straight-forward and includes language studies, culture area studies, and often field studies. The college makes the decision about what are acceptable (or not acceptable) academic credits for courses, programs, etc., while the department makes the decision about which credits satisfy major requirements. A list of courses and programs which have previously been approved for credit within the anthropology major can be found here; please note that you must still consult with the department if you wish to pursue these programs, this list means programs were approved in the past and will still need to be reconfirmed.
The Anthropology Department allows majors to earn up to two (2) credits, and minors one (1), from off campus study programs to count towards the degree. We accept a broad array of (C), or Cognate, courses for a single credit, assuming the coursework undertaken while off-campus includes at least one course with an anthropological/cultural/societal dimension to it. A second course towards the major requires the proposed be a course be focused on disciplinary anthropology’s thought and content (A).
- Courses taken off-campus that are taught at the 300-level or above will transfer back to the department only at the 200-level, to prevent off-campus study from replacing advanced study on campus.
- If your course is listed in the Course Approval Database students should submit course approval requests via Summit, which can be accessed at any time before or during your off-campus study. Please upload complete information about the course; you should also save syllabi and papers from your courses overseas, in case there are any additional questions when you get back to campus.
- In cases where the Anthropology Department is unable to determine before the off-campus study period whether a course qualifies, students can present additional supporting material (including syllabi, papers, exams, journals, textbooks, handouts, etc.) on return, in the form of a petition the Department.
- The Department will generally count 1 unit toward the major (for qualifying courses) even when the student is awarded only .75 general credit.
Approval IRB approval is required for all research involving living human subjects. This means that if you intend to do interviews or other ethnographic investigation involving interpersonal contact, you must describe your research procedures and the measures you will take to ensure the safety and privacy of the people with whom you speak. Plan ahead to meet the IRB's deadline for approval before you begin your research. The application form and additional information can be obtained at the following link: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/irb/#top
If the project involves animal participation, your project must be approved or exempted by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).
Note that IRB/IACUC approval/exemption is required PRIOR to beginning your research with human/animal subjects.
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Senior Capstone
Revised April 2023
All majors should rely on the guidance provided in the Anthropology Capstone Workbook to develop their capstone projects.
The Senior Capstone in Anthropology provides student majors with the opportunity to conduct their own independent research project or compose a synthesis of important research within the field of anthropology. Projects will typically take the form of an academic paper; students with adequate preparation may also propose alternatives such as an ethnographic film, museum exhibit, or applied project (each accompanied by a shorter paper). The Capstone program allows students to apply and demonstrate their training at the culmination of their undergraduate study, and also offers a counterpoint to the atomization of one-block-at-at-time by asking students to ponder a question longer, and to rethink and revise their first efforts. Options for capstone directions are as varied as four-field anthropology and CC’s departmental orientation: we encourage hard work, intellectual rigor, creativity and discovery. Seniors must all follow the same departmental deadlines for proposals and drafts.
Projects involve significant work before and after AN315, and typically one (and up to two) independent research blocks (AN400 Independent Research in Anthropology or AN450 Capstone Research in Anthropology). A capstone advisor’s support is required for an additional AN400 block/s; there are no a priori GPA qualifications, but the professor will take previous performance into account in deciding whether to support.
Advising for your capstone is provided by an Anthropology faculty member. Your capstone advisor does not need to be your Academic Advisor. The ability of a faculty member to help you develop a strong capstone project and paper is the most important capstone advising criteria, as well as the availability of the faculty member. Your AN315 instructor will also provide directions and suggestions for your research during the course.
This required course is designed to help you complete a capstone project that deepens your anthropological skills and to help you explore and develop your career paths. Work on your capstone project begins in the Spring of your Junior year. The more progress you have made on your capstone prior to AN 315, the more helpful this course will be for you. See the expected Fall, Senior Year schedule in the Capstone Workbook. The capstone course will provide additional instruction on writing, argumentation, audience refinement, and the structure of your capstone paper as well as some time to complete the project. The course will also involve instruction from professionals at CC's Career Center to help you refine your resume, cover letters, and interview skills. You will examine different career paths and practice describing your skills and their applications to potential employers. Your grade for AN315 will include required activities/assignments during the block and the final grade you receive from your capstone advisor on your capstone project/thesis. Until the capstone is complete, you will receive a grade of In Progress (IP) for AN315.
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Departmental Awards
Distinction in Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology offers an award of Distinction in Anthropology to approximately 1/5th of the senior majors in recognition of academic excellence in anthropology. Students become eligible to be nominated for Distinction if they:
- are recommended by one or more Anthropology Department faculty member(s) based on factors such as integrity and engagement with the department and discipline, and
- receive a GPA of 3.8 or better in the major and
- receive a grade of A or A- on the Senior Capstone.
The awarding of Distinction in Anthropology is determined by vote of the faculty of the department. Recipients of departmental Distinction are listed in the Commencement program.
Courtney Cusick Memorial Award
H. Marie Wormington Award
The Department of Anthropology presents the H. Marie Wormington Award for the outstanding graduating senior major. The criteria include:
- an excellent academic record;
- commitment to the discipline of anthropology, especially in field research;
- involvement in the department’s program outside of coursework;
- participation in college activities on behalf of anthropology.
Students are encouraged to submit nominations with supporting letters to the academic administrative assistant by the last day of block 6. This award is presented at Honors Convocation during Block 8.
Other
The Colorado College Student Anthropological Society, SAS, was formed in the spring of 1995 to provide a forum outside the classroom where students could exchange and discuss ideas about the discipline of anthropology, and to provide student support for majors and minors. SAS governance varies according to the current cohort’s interest, but typically students elect or appoint officers to lead the group.
The SAS also provides interested students with opportunities to present and discuss their research, for example, a slide show of experiences on an archaeological dig in Honduras. Occasionally, professors are invited to attend the meetings, thus adding to the discussion at hand. Additionally, SAS brings guest speakers in anthropology to the department and college, as well as organizing other events of interest (including discussions of graduate school programs, anthropological careers panels, film series, thematic celebrations). SAS is chartered by and receives funding from the Colorado College Student Government Administration (CCSGA); SAS may additionally raise funds or seek departmental assistance when needed.
For further information about SAS, including meeting times, please contact the department paraprofessional, who serves as a liaison between SAS and the faculty or the department administrative assistant. Contact information for departmental staff can be found on the Faculty and Staff page.
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