Sociology and Anthropology Department

Henderson Learning Center
Room 218
(785) 231-1010 ext. 1608
www.washburn.edu/cas/anso/

The Faculty
The Major
The Minor
Course Offerings
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Source: 2005-2006 Catalog

MISSION: The Anthropology Department at Washburn University exists to introduce students to the academic discipline of anthropology. As such, we offer to a broad range of today's students a variety of timely, lively, and applicable general education and elective course work in which we stress the general education goals of an ability to intelligently read, effectively communicate, and assess distinctive human values.

In addition to our obligation to the overall university curriculum, we further make the effort to identify, comprehensively support, and nurture anthropology majors. We also offer a specialized curriculum to prepare our majors to pursue graduate studies in anthropology.

Our department transmits content and ways of thinking enabling our majors to compete favorably with other liberal arts majors for careers in an increasingly global economy. This involves not only an ability for analytical thinking, but also a strong emphasis on understanding human diversity. The perspective that we offer to our students is often characterized in popular culture as a life-enhancing "people" skill. We do our best to prepare students to be enlightened, thoughtful, and well-rounded 21st-century individuals.

Student Learning Outcomes
Anthropology majors at Washburn University, upon graduation, are expected to have:

• practiced "cultural relativism" -- the ability to understand cultures on their own terms;
• demonstrated critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills;
• acquired the ability to understand and apply the fundamental concepts of anthropology;
• acquired a firm foundation for later professional or graduate training;
• satisfied their need for a broad liberal arts education; and
• acquired skills and knowledge for successful careers that require an Anthropological background whole.