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.

Anthropology is the systematic study of humans, their practices, and the myriad ways they experience these practices. Anthropologists study humanity in its diverse cultural, social, physical, and linguistic forms. As an academic discipline, anthropology bridges the humanities and social sciences in addressing fundamental questions having to do not only with how the human world works and how people negotiate their social and cultural realities but also with what it?means?to be human.?

Anthropology draws from pre-historical, historical, and contemporary cases and is distinct in addressing all levels of sociopolitical organization and subsistence strategies ranging from foraging bands and horticultural tribes to modern industrialized states and the globalized realities of the world today. Anthropology is, by its nature, interdisciplinary and international in both theory and practice.

Our program offers students from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to thoroughly and creatively explore the world and peoples around them. Anthropology classes stress the exchange of ideas and build strength in critical thinking, communication, and intellectual exploration. An anthropological perspective will become increasingly important in the 21st century.?

There is today a growing demand for sensitivity to the values, beliefs, and cultural structures of other groups that might be different from one?s own. In all parts of society, people progressively need the ability to live, work, and appreciate diversity while simultaneously becoming more aware of the relations that connect various groups and the commonalities they share.