The many channels of human experience converge at a pool called anthropology. Learn the patterns and practice of people across time and space, and you’ll connect with something beyond yourself. The anthropologist is a pattern seeker, a storyteller, and an insightful critic.

Why study Anthropology at Sewanee?

At Sewanee, we take an anthropological approach to learning. This layered academic philosophy encourages you to adopt varying viewpoints, and the anthropology curriculum is no exception. Studying anthropology gives you a glimpse into archeological, linguistic, historical, and contemporary socio-cultural settings. Commonly subdivided, this discipline allows you to choose the aspects of culture you connect with most.

At Sewanee, the department focuses on archeological and cultural methodologies. Because the study of anthropology requires a sort of cultural immersion, you are encouraged to study away. This will provide you with invaluable experience and expertise in cross-cultural interaction and research. Field study and other community engagement projects are also key elements in Sewanee’s program in anthropology. You’ll come away with practical analytical skills and the ability to see human diversity as a source of strength and inspiration.

FIRST DESTINATIONS: anthropology MAJORS

Sewanee graduates secure positions in a variety of fields. Some you would expect, others, are a bit of a surprise. Sewanee prepares you for your profession and your passion. Below is a sampling of recent graduates' first job.

  • Archeological Crew Chief, Statistical Research, Inc., Tuscon, AZ.
  • Teacher, Episcopal School of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Stock Broker, TD Ameritrade, St. Louis, MO.
GRADUATE SCHOOL AND PRE-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS: anthropology MAJORS

Sewanee graduates enjoy extraordinary acceptance rates to top graduate and preprofessional programs–about 95 percent to law school and over 85 percent to medical school. Below is a sampling of where Sewanee grads continue their education.

  • Master's in Food and Agriculture Law and Policy, Vermont Law School.
  • Master's in Nursing, Emory University. 

A Sampling of Courses

Introductory Physical Anthropology and Archaeology
Anthropology

An introduction to the processes of human and cultural evolution. Physical anthropology will focus on hominid evolution, genetic processes, primatology, and physiological characteristics of modern human populations. Archaeology will trace cultural evolution from foraging societies to the great civilizations of ancient times. Both course segments will include a review of pertinent methods and theories.

ANTH 106
Ecological Anthropology
Anthropology

This course will examine human-environmental relationships from the anthropological perspective. Consideration of theoretical approaches and practical applications will be supplemented by archaeological, ethnographical, and ethnohistorical case studies. We will consider various ecosystems and landscapes as palimpsests that reveal cultural footprints to the archaeologist and human choices to the ethnographer. We will explore how an understanding of both can greatly inform ecological studies and further new thinking about environmental policy.

ANTH 298
Place, Ritual, and Belief
Anthropology

An upper-division seminar designed to enhance students' research skills and engage students in thoughtful examination of the relationship between religious beliefs and practices, and natural environments. While including the major religious traditions, the course will focus on indigenous, historic and prehistoric traditions within band, tribe, chiefdom and state societies. The course will focus on religious syncretism due to historical conquest or latter 20th century globalization as it impacts human-historical con-environmental relationships.

ANTH 312
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Anthropology

Programs of Study

Requirements for the Major in Anthropology

Requirements for the Minor in Anthropology

Requirements for the Minor on Archaeology | Website

Meet some professors

Merle "Mae" Wallace
mwallace@sewanee.edu

Mae Wallace earned a B.A at Temple University, an M.A. at the University of Illinois, Springfield, and the Ph.D. at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She teaches courses in education and anthropology, specializing in cultural, psychological and community issues in education. Wallace’s work is focused on schools as they reflect and support communities. She has studied youth culture, minority access to higher education, educational reform and local curricula in Thailand.

Professor of Anthropology and Director of Teaching Education
Richard Allan O'Connor
roconnor@sewanee.edu

Richard O’Connor graduated from William & Mary and earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell. His research began with fieldwork in Bangkok, expanded to Southeast Asia, and for the last decade has focused on anorexia in the U.S. and Canada. As a teacher he enjoys connecting anthropology to students’ everyday experiences.

Biehl Professor of International Studies, Chair of Anthropology
Donna F. Murdock
dmurdock@sewanee.edu

Donna F. Murdock received her Ph.D. in Anthropology and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from Emory University in 2003. Her first book, “When Women Have Wings: Feminism and Development in MedellÍn, Colombia” (2008 University of Michigan Press) is based on 16 months of field research and argues that transnational funding and professionalization of grassroots feminist movements strained cross-class relations between women in MedellÍn. Her current book project explores how regional identities constituted through media utilize gendered and racialized themes in the American southwest.

Professor of International and Global Studies, Anthropology and Women’s and Gender Studies
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Contact

Richard Allan O’Connor
Biehl Professor of International Studies, Chair of Anthropology

roconnor@sewanee.edu

Archaeology Field School
Get your hands dirty

The Field School in Archaeology focuses on the human history of the Southern Cumberland Plateau. The Plateau is internationally recognized for its biodiversity, containing some of the most biologically rich, temperate forests in the world. In the field, you’ll learn excavation, artifact recovery, cataloguing and much more.

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Civic Engagement
Where purpose meets service

Collaborate and learn with your campus and community. Learn while doing, explore careers, and invest in the people around you. The Office of Civic Engagement facilitates partnerships between campus and community members to develop the relationships, knowledge, and skills that improve our common life across the South Cumberland Plateau.

Get Involved
Sewanee Slavery Project
Slavery, Race, & Reconciliation

The Sewanee Project on Slavery is made up of a task force of various faculty and students on campus who are interested in issues regarding equity and race relations. The task force is focused on identifying Confederate monuments and memorials on campus and making recommendations as to how the University can best handle these tributes to the past.

Join Us