Faculty members in anthropology at The College of Wooster have ongoing research projects in North and Latin America, Africa, East Asia and the Mediterranean and focus areas that include medical anthropology, gender and sexuality, witchcraft and religion, linguistic anthropology, educational anthropology and evolutionary theory. Because all students at The College of Wooster complete a senior Independent Study project, undergraduates work directly with faculty mentors to complete original research of their choosing.
The Anthropology and Sociology programs at Wooster are closely affiliated. The programs emphasize the value of learning how to deal with contemporary social and cultural issues and how to develop problem-solving and research skills. Students have abundant opportunities to learn and conduct research outside the classroom, including a course taught once a year in a juvenile prison and semester programs abroad. Students can opt to be part of a 3-2 program with Case Western Reserve University, allowing them to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in social work in five years. Wooster graduates in anthropology often go on to graduate school or pursue careers in education, law, public administration, public health, business, and medicine.
Learn More about Sociology at Wooster
Professor of Anthropology and Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies, Program Chair of Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies (On leave Spring 2025)
Professor of Sociology and Anthropology; Department Chair of Urban Studies
Professor of Anthropology and Sociology; East Asian Studies
Juliana Wilson Thompson Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology
Professor of Archaeology, Sociology, and Anthropology; Program Chair for Archaeology
Administrative Coordinator - Africana Studies, Archaeology, East Asian Studies, Middle Eastern & North African Studies, Religious Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, South Asian Studies, Urban Studies, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology; Latin American Studies; Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
Elise Greenwald ’25, a biology major with an anthropology minor at The College of Wooster, completed an APEX fellowship at the Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation […]
Ava Caizzo ’26, an anthropology and art history major and music minor completing the museum and archival studies pathway, wanted to get real-world experience […]
When Athena Tharenos ’24 first arrived at The College of Wooster, she didn’t consider herself much of an academic, nor did she see a […]
Archaeology major Henry McMahon spent the summer before his senior year at The College of Wooster in Guatemala surveying an ancient plaza inside El […]
Anthropology explores the variety of human groups and cultures that have developed across the globe and throughout time. Anthropologists hope that by seeing ourselves in the mirror of alternative cultural and historical possibilities, we can come to a better understanding of our own assumptions, values and patterns of behavior.
Students who major in anthropology take 12 major-specific courses in addition to foundational courses in the liberal arts and electives. After taking Introduction to Anthropology, majors delve into courses including Ethnographic Research, People & Cultures, Physical Anthropology and Linguistic Anthropology. Archeology and sociology courses are popular related areas of study.
View CoursesTo earn a minor in Anthropology, students complete six courses, including:
In the senior year, each student works with a faculty mentor to conduct an intensive investigation of a subject of the student’s choosing, which results in the senior Independent Study thesis. Recent students have investigated folklore and oral traditions in rural Ohio, the place of dreams in the Sioux culture, and tuberculosis as a symptom of poverty in Ecuadorian society.
View the IS Handbook for Sociology and Anthropology
| Student | Year | I.S. Title | Major 1 | Major 2 | Advisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Please search to view results | |||||
When Athena Tharenos ’24 first arrived at The College of Wooster, she didn’t consider herself much of an academic, nor did she see a […]
Archaeology major Henry McMahon spent the summer before his senior year at The College of Wooster in Guatemala surveying an ancient plaza inside El […]
Troy Johnson ’24 grew up hearing stories from her grandparents about African American cemeteries and their importance beyond being burial sites, and her senior […]
Mia Mann ’24 came to The College of Wooster with an interest in multiple majors; anthropology, East Asian studies, and history all appealed to […]
Many anthropology majors from The College of Wooster go on to complete graduate study in anthropology, but many others pursue careers in education, international development, law, social work, public administration, business, English as a Second Language (ESL), counseling, medicine, or museum studies.
Established in 1989 in memory of Martin Stieglitz, a sociology major at The College of Wooster who died in an off-campus apartment fire in the spring semester of 1989, this fund supports an on-campus lecture by a prominent sociologist or anthropologist. Stieglitz Lecturers are selected by department faculty members and invited to speak at an event for students and members of the Wooster community.
Stieglitz Lecturers in past years have included:
2019: Patrick J. Carr, Billy Clubs and Terry Stops: Minority Youth Experiences of Police
2018: Matthew W. Hughey, White Bound: Nationalists, Antiracists, and the Shared Meanings of Race
2017: Lieth Mullings, Engaged Anthropology: Race, Racism, and Social Movements in the Americas
