Anthropology is the study of humans and what they do. Cultural Anthropology is interdisciplinary in nature and draws upon methods of the sciences, social sciences, and humanities to understand and explain human ideas and behaviors. The CSUSM anthropology program distinguishes itself by engaging students in long-term collaborative research projects with community collaborators that enhance student learning experiences and benefit the interests of local communities. Anthropology at CSUSM draws upon areas of specialization, such as medical anthropology, cultural ecology, Latin American Studies, women’s studies, art, ethnic studies, and border studies, that reflect the strengths of CSUSM scholars. Students of anthropology are prepared for careers that require multicultural and culture-sensitive perspectives such as social services, health and medical services, education, and civil services, and provides a balanced foundation in anthropological concepts for students wishing to attend graduate school.

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Minor in Anthropology:

Completion of twenty-one units of credit, eighteen of which must be at the upper-division level. twelve units must be completed at CSUSM, three of which must be at the 400 level. Each course counted toward the minor must be completed with a grade of C or better. To view a list of requirements and preparation for the minor, link here to the main CSUSM online catalogue.

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Major in Anthropology, Coming Fall 2007:

The anthropology major at CSUSM engages students directly with local communities in collaborative efforts toward community-based research, documentation of cultural concepts and practices, community histories, and economic and political realities. The CSUSM anthropology program seeks to gain a reputation for community-based research that prioritizes the goals and interests of communities during the planning, research, and outcome phases of the long-term collaborative research projects.

The Collaborative Anthropology curriculum builds from existing contacts with local communities to develop long-term collaborative research projects that enhance student learning experiences and benefit the interests of both local communities and the university. Field work in which students of the major engage in collaborative research projects with local communities, as well as the interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum, distinguish the anthropology major at CSUSM.

The anthropology major at CSUSM addresses North County’s unique social, political, and cultural position by involving students in research projects dealing with such issues as immigration/migration, agricultural labor, health, medicine, and cultural survival. Using previously established contacts and building on long-term links with surrounding communities, the anthropology major works collaboratively with significant populations and agencies of North County and the region, such as farmworkers, local Native American Bands and Tribes, Mexican migrants/immigrants, local health service providers, indigenous Mexicans and Oaxaqueños, and, in the future, Southeast Asian or African communities in California.

The long-term sustainable goal of the collaborative anthropology curriculum is the recruitment of students from the communities engaged in collaborative research projects, including migrant/immigrant, farmworker, and Native American communities, who are underrepresented at the university, because the research is based in their own communities and addresses issues relevant to them, such as agriculture, immigration, and cultural survival. Examples of on-going collaborative research projects in anthropology at CSUSM include the Indian Rock Collaboration with the San Luis Rey Band of Luiseño Indians and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, the California Agricultural Workers Health Survey with local farmworkers, the Indigenous Medicine Collaboration with the Frente Indígena de Organizaciones Binacionales, and the Mixtec Medicine Collaboration with the Coalition of Indigenous Oaxacan Communities.

Cooperative links with CSUSM feeder institutions, such as Palomar, Mesa, Mira Costa, San Jacinto, Grossmount, Southwestern, and San Diego City colleges are continually being established to complement the lower division offerings of these colleges and provide an avenue for completion of a major in anthropology.

The anthropology major at CSUSM focuses primarily on the delivery of upper division curriculum in the areas of cultural anthropology, medical anthropology, visual anthropology, collaborative anthropology, and applied archaeology.

The anthropology major integrates and complements existing majors and curriculum at CSUSM, such as the newly proposed Border and Regional Studies major, Visual and Performing Arts, the upcoming Environmental Sciences/Studies major(s), Linguistics, Women’s Studies, Film Studies, Ethnic Studies, Native Studies, Biology, Nursing, Human Development and Health and Human Services. Students of the anthropology major will take classes in these areas that count toward the major.

Graduates who desire to continue post-graduate study in anthropology will benefit from CSUSM’s established and cooperative links with anthropology post-graduate programs of regional institutions, such as UC Riverside (focus on transnational migration, US-Mexico relations, indigenous Mexico, Southern California Native Americans), UC San Diego (focus on cultural anthropology), UC Irvine (focus on Medical Anthropology), UC Davis (focus on agricultural labor), UC Santa Barbara (focus on agricultural labor and Mexican immigration), USC (focus on Oaxacalifornia), and San Diego State University (focus on Southern California archaeology).