Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of human experience, past and present, from perspectives that are biological, linguistic, archaeological, and sociocultural.

At Marlboro, students were exposed to the broader field of sociocultural anthropology by learning the major theoretical debates of the discipline and understanding ethnography both as a method and genre of writing. Anthropologists conduct their studies all over the world and address questions that range from the human impacts of globalization to political conflict.

Three key skills that come into play in anthropology are critical analysis, field research and writing. Anthropology students read theoretical and ethnographic works to gain a sense of the history and fundamental ideas of the discipline and to familiarize themselves with different sets of debates relevant to their focus of study. They engaged in social science research as a means to critically engage with humankind’s most vexing problems and learn to contextualize abstract social phenomena through their scholarly presentations. The skills learned in anthropology taught students to think critically and respond to contemporary issues, and to analyze their own cultures through comparative study.