Areas of Research Concentration

All graduate students are asked to focus in one of the department's three areas of concentration. These areas of inquiry are designed around the strengths and interests of our faculty and often intersect across the traditional subfields defined in Anthropology. Students are therefore encouraged to draw upon the expertise of the entire faculty in their work within one of these three conceptual fields.

The department does not view these areas of concentration as isolated categories, but rather in terms of their systemic interrelationships. In keeping with the synthetic and holistic nature of anthropological inquiry, the ways in which these areas overlap and relate to each other is as interesting and functionally important as is their particular character. Therefore, students will be encouraged to explore the interrelationships between their areas and the others.

Students seeking to pursue interests outside these areas may do so with departmental permission and the cooperation of a faculty advisor. Students thus seeking to depart from the areas of concentration must make clear their intent prior to their acceptance of admission.