Anthropology
Our Department is a hub for engaged, decolonial and activist anthropology. We equip students with critical tools to understand power and global inequities, deconstruct colonial legacies and drive meaningful social change. Through community-centered research and transformative praxis, we prepare the next generation of anthropologists to confront power, amplify marginalized voices and reimagine a more just world.
Anthropology critically examines individual experiences in relation to broader social structures, exposing how issues often understood as personal struggles are, in fact, shaped by colonial legacies, systemic inequalities and intersecting power dynamics of gender, race, class and ethnicity. Anthropology goes beyond the study of different societies — it actively engages with the complexities of social life, challenges dominant narratives and amplifies marginalized voices. By centering diverse ways of knowing and being, it fosters a deeper understanding of society’s structures and contributes to meaningful social transformation. At Holy Cross, anthropology is understood as a critical intellectual space for inquiry in enhancing any democratic society. Our faculty are not only teachers, but also scholars engaged in research in Brazil, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, Palestine and beyond.
Program Highlights
The department encourages innovative student research on important social issues, both in the United States and abroad. Working collaboratively with faculty, students can apply for research opportunities during the regular academic year and in the summer. Students also have opportunities to present their original work at the annual Academic Conference and sometimes at the annual meeting of a professional organization such as the American Anthropological Association. These opportunities help to prepare interested students for advanced graduate study.
The department works closely with a variety of interdisciplinary programs on campus, and encourages students to do the same. These include Peace and Conflict Studies, Africana Studies, Latin American and Latinx Studies, Asian Studies, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies and Environmental Studies.
Majors and minors in anthropology are encouraged to spend a semester or year of study at one of Holy Cross' many partner institutions in Europe, Australia, Asia, Latin America or Africa. Almost a quarter of anthropology majors study abroad. Students who study abroad may transfer up to four courses, usually electives, toward the major.
Student scholarship is recognized by the Department in terms of students’ appointment to membership in Lambda Alpha, the national collegiate honors society for anthropology. Established in 1968, Lambda Alpha acknowledges superior academic excellence in the field of Anthropology, and provides annual scholarships, research grants and student paper prizes to student members.
Community-based learning is an important part of many courses in anthropology, connecting academic learning with civic engagement. Through projects or placements in community organizations, students bring academic theory to life while meeting community needs.
Areas of Study
Areas of study include:
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Racial hierarchies and colonialism
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Gender and sexuality
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Indigenous studies
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Political violence and inequality
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Migration, borders and diaspora
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Fashion and consumption
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Social movements and social change
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Global and local economic systems
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Decolonial feminism
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Medicine, health and illness
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Religion and other belief systems
Meet Your Department Chair
Requirements
Requirements (10 course minimum)
- The Anthropological Perspective (Anthropology 101)
- Ethnographic Field Methods (Anthropology 310)
- Anthropological Theory (Anthropology 320)
- One advanced anthropology course at the 300 or 400 level: e.g. a seminar, tutorial, or research practicum
- Six anthropology electives, two of the electives may be sociology courses.
Requirements (6 courses)
- The Anthropological Perspective (Anthropology 101)
- Ethnographic Field Methods (Anthropology 310) or Theory in Anthropology (Anthropology 320)
- Four additional anthropology courses, by student interest
- Informal Economies
- Anthropology of Debt
- Africa Infrastructures
- Gender & Sexualities
- Race, Racism and Anthropology
- Medical Anthropology
- Fashion & Consumption
- Economic Anthropology
- Diaspora, Identity and Belonging
- Coming of Age at the Border
- Arab Women's Worlds: Remapping Feminist Geographies
Students will have the opportunity to participate in community-based learning, conduct research, study abroad and more.
Explore Opportunities
Outcomes
Our graduates are global citizens who are knowledgeable about the world and empowered to apply that knowledge in real-life situations, in local and global communities. Students go on to use their anthropological skills in the realms of human rights, law, education, diplomacy, business, public health, journalism, medicine and many other fields.
I utilize my anthropology major every day, especially during policy discussions in my classes. Anthropology teaches you to be open-minded and see problems from all perspectives, a skill that is invaluable in a field creating and using laws that affect a diverse population.
Tanusha Yarlagadda '18, Law School Student at Notre Dame Law
