Anthropology

Overview

Key facts

• The program also owns an extensive collection of ethnographic artifacts from all over the world (formerly of the Sunrise Museum in Charleston, WV).  We are part of the work of the Oral History of Appalachia Collection,  a vast oral history archive comprised of thousands of interviews conducted in Appalachia over the last 40 years.   No other anthropology program in West Virginia has such resources, available for research to both students and faculty, in and out of state.
• Though relatively easy to define, anthropology can be tough to describe. Its subject matter is both extraordinary (mortuary practices of the Toraja) and ordinary (anatomy of the human foot). Our focus can be sweeping (the development of language) and minute (use-wear patterns on a prehistoric obsidian tool). As an anthropologist, you may study ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, intravenous drug use in urban Appalachia or corporate culture in a U.S. car manufacturer.
• The Anthropology program at Marshall University seeks to ensure that each student develops a solid foundation in the basic principles, theories and techniques of analysis within the discipline. The curriculum ensures that students are introduced to all four disciplinary subfields: social-cultural anthropology, physical-biological anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics. Since students majoring in anthropology vary in their interests and career goals, the curriculum allows for flexibility in developing individual courses of study, including opportunities for involvement in faculty research through course offerings and independent study.