Anthropology studies humankind from a comparative perspective that emphasizes the diversity of human behavior and the importance of culture in explaining that diversity. While the discipline encompasses the biological nature of our species and the material aspects of human adaptation, it takes as fundamental the idea that we respond to nature and natural forces in large part through culture. Anthropology, then, is the study of human beings as cultural animals. Sociocultural anthropology, the focus of the MIT program, draws its data from the direct study of contemporary peoples living in a wide variety of circumstances, from peasant villagers and tropical forest hunters and gatherers to urban populations in modern societies, professionals in technological organizations, as well as from the history and prehistory of these peoples.
Anthropology at MIT offers students a broad exposure to scholarship on human cultures, providing perspectives relevant to other fields in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and engineering. It also provides more intensive introduction to areas of faculty specializations: social and political organization, science and technology, environmentalism, agriculture and food production, religion and symbolism, photography and film, ethics, law and human rights, gender studies, nationalism and ethnic identity, and the particular cultures of medicine and scientific research.
Excluding Independent Study, Thesis, and Special Subjects, the anthropology curriculum is divided into seven topic clusters that provide depth on related topics:
For additional information, see http://web.mit.edu/anthropology/course_desc/index.html.
Students taking a concentration in anthropology should enroll in either 21A.00 Introduction to Anthropology: Comparing Human Cultures or 21A.01 How Culture Works, and two other subjects. Anthropology subjects qualify for several interdisciplinary concentrations, including those in Women's and Gender Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies, and Science, Technology, and Society.
The undergraduate program leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Anthropology (Course 21A) provides a thorough grounding in cultural anthropology.
Majors learn about the concept of culture and the processes by which humans make meaningful transactions, the nature of ethnographic fieldwork, and the connections between anthropology and the other social sciences. Majors study the theories explaining human behavior as well as the range of methods anthropologists use to analyze empirical data. Students can focus on geographical areas, such as Latin America or modern western society, and on issues like neocolonialism, ethnic conflict, human rights, environmental movements, globalization, or expressive, medical, or scientific cultures.
The anthropology student comes to understand that the hallmark of the discipline is the comparative study of human societies. Emphasis is on understanding diversity and the importance of the concept of culture in explaining that diversity, as well as on learning about the universals of behavior that may underlie diversity.
The Minor in Anthropology consists of six subjects arranged into three tiers as shown below. Students create individual programs with the help of the minor advisor to ensure that they gain a coherent introduction to the methods, approaches, and some of the results of the discipline.
| Tier I | One subject: | |
| 21A.00 | Introduction to Anthropology: Comparing Human Cultures | |
| or | ||
| 21A.01 | How Culture Works |
|
| Tier II | Four subjects with a unifying theme (not to include 21A.00 or 21A.01). See the list of suggested themes above; students may also suggest alternative unifying themes. |
|
| Tier III | One subject: | |
| 21A.852 | Seminar in Anthropological Theory | |
| or | ||
| 21A.802 | |
Seminar in Ethnography and Fieldwork |
Joint degree programs are offered in anthropology in combination with a field in engineering or science (21E, 21S). See the joint degree programs listed under Humanities.
Either 21A.00 or 21A.01 is strongly recommended as a preliminary subject for all anthropology degree programs.
The Anthropology Program, the History faculty, and the Program in Science, Technology, and Society collaborate in the graduate program History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology and Society (HASTS) leading to a PhD; see the description under the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, http://web.mit.edu/catalog/degre.human.scien.html.
Subjects in anthropology are described in the online MIT Subject Listing & Schedule, http://student.mit.edu/catalog/m21Aa.html. Further information on subjects and programs may be obtained from the Anthropology Office, Room E53-335, 617-253-3065.
Susan S. Silbey, PhD
Professor of Sociology and Anthropology
Professor of Behavioral and Policy Sciences, Sloan School of Management
Leon and Anne Goldberg Professor of Humanities
Section Head
Michael M. J. Fischer, PhD
Professor of Anthropology and Science and Technology Studies
Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Humanities
Stefan G. Helmreich, PhD
Elting E. Morison Professor of Anthropology, and Science and Technology Studies
Jean Elizabeth Jackson, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Manduhai Buyandelger, PhD
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Erica C. James, PhD
Class of 1947 Career Development Associate Professor of Anthropology
Heather A. Paxson, PhD
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Christine J. Walley, PhD
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Graham M. Jones, PhD
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
(On leave, fall)
Beth A. Hennessey, PhD
Kieran Downes, PhD
Michele I. Friedner, PhD
William Bushell, PhD
Yehuda C. Goodman, PhD
Heather MacIndoe, PhD
James Howe, PhD
Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus
Arthur Steinberg, PhD
Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus