The Discipline of Anthropology Anthropology is an unusually broad discipline that embraces biological, historical, and cross-cultural study. Anthropology courses at Kenyon reflect these three distinct but interrelated areas. Physical anthropology studies the complex connections between our biological and cultural existence, investigating how humans have evolved in the past and how we are continuing to evolve in the present. More advanced courses in physical anthropology focus on such topics as primate behavior, human skeletal anatomy, human paleontology, racial diversity, and how humans adapt to changing environmental conditions. Methods of investigation are also covered.
Field study provides students with first-hand experience in conducting archaeological research.
In cultural anthropology courses, students can study native North Americans and the peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, as well as such topics as religion, ethnomedicine, sexuality and gender, politics, and linguistics. A first course in anthropology should be any of the four one-semester introductory courses listed below. Each course combines lecture and discussion and has an enrollment of no more than thirty-five students. These courses offer two ways to begin the study of physical anthropology. Take either one first.