Learn How to Think Outside the Box
Discover Anthropology, a Biocultural Perspective on the Human Condition
The broad evolutionary perspective on humanity, provided by Anthropology, prepares you for more effective engagement with the contemporary world, in any career path you may follow. The Anthropology Department at Brockport offers a major or a minor in Anthropology, and a minor in Museum Studies.
Our program is looking to pursue learning anthropological skills and abilities that focus on the critical issues of the 21st century. We hope to engage students in attempting to answer some of the most pertinent questions that we are facing in our world today.
THE ENVIRONMENT AND CHANGE
What is “world” and “nature”? What are humans? What are the relations between humans and the world?
INEQUALITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND HUMAN RIGHTS
What is power? What is a society? Why does inequality exist?
HERITAGE AND IDENTITY
Who are we now? Who were we in the past? Who are we becoming?
Anthropology: Four Areas of Study
Anthropology has consistently focused on four major areas of study; which are,
ARCHAEOLOGY
Archaeologists excavate sites to recover the material culture or artifacts in order to understand the past and how it relates to present-day concerns.
BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Biological anthropologists study human biological evolution, variation in growth and development, and adaptation to past and present environments.
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Cultural anthropologists observe, listen to, and work with people in communities and organizations to understand how culture, power, and history are mobilized by different groups for different purposes.
LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Linguistic Anthropologists investigate the relationship between language and culture, and try to understanding the ways in which language shapes, and is shaped by, social life, from single interactions to global-level phenomena.
Program Mission
The Department of Anthropology teaches and conducts research on human cultural and biological variation in the past and present through a holistic integration of sciences and humanities. We provide comprehensive instruction, and transformative out-of-the-classroom experiences, through which we encourage students to explore and understand human diversity, using theoretical and applied frameworks. Our curriculum is designed to engage students to strive for excellence and personal growth by achieving our program learning goals, and contributing to their local communities and the world.
Land Acknowledgment Statement
The Department of Anthropology acknowledges with respect the Indigenous Peoples on whose lands SUNY Brockport now stands, the Onöndowa’ga (Seneca) Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. As an academic community, we are dedicated to recognizing and promoting Indigenous Peoples’ rights in our teaching and scholarship. We support the inclusion of Indigenous students, staff and faculty on our campus.
Anti-Racism Statement
As a department, we believe that black, brown, and indigenous lives matter and we support the Black Lives Matter movement. We believe that action must be taken by each one of us to deconstruct the racist, classist, misogynist, heterosexist, ableist tradition we are a part of. Silence is consent. And we will do better so we can be better.