Information for First Year Students

Anthropology is the holistic study of humankind using both scientific and humanistic approaches. In fact, every aspect of human beings, from their DNA to their beliefs and values, from their material remains to their language use, raises anthropological questions.  Taking an anthropology course will expand your understanding of our own species in interesting and important ways.

Incoming first-year students can take a variety of courses in anthropology during their first year. Our 100-level courses introduce students to the different subfields of the discipline, such as archaeology or cultural anthropology, while our 200-level courses take an anthropological perspective on specific topics, such as raising children or dealing with death.  None of our 100-level or 200-level courses have any prerequisites, and all are appropriate for first-year students, subject to the availability of seats. All satisfy the Social Science distribution requirement, and some also satisfy the Diversity requirement.  Any of these courses is a good starting point for a student considering a major or minor in Anthropology.

If you have any questions about our courses, major, or minor, please email the department chair, Professor Mindy Pitre, at mpitre@stlawu.edu