Majors learn to interpret, situate, and evaluate an argument; design and carry out research on human behavior, social groups, and societies; formulate, articulate, and support a position; write cogently, persuasively, and with sensitivity to ethical issues; and develop a historical and comparative gaze in tackling contemporary problems.

Sociology and anthropology courses are characteristically interactive, combining lecture and discussion. Many majors enhance their understanding of other cultures and societies by studying abroad, for example in Australia, China, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and South Africa. Many also take courses in interdisciplinary campus programs such as Asian Studies, Black Studies, European Studies, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Conflict Studies, and Women?s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Still others participate in off-campus internships, including programs in New York, Philadelphia, and London.

Ethnographic Methods is the required writing intensive qualitative methods course for the Anthropology major. This course introduces students to the fundamentals of anthropological research; participant observation, formal and informal interviewing, the preparation of field notes, coding of data, and empirical analysis. Students employ these methods as they conduct their own original ethnographic projects.?