The Study of Us
Located in the Four Corners region, FLC’s Anthropology program is prime for studying the biocultural evolution, diversity, and incredible adaptability of humans, and how we have modified our environments and behaviors throughout history to thrive. Through field studies and internships, you’ll get your hands dirty as you learn how to apply anthropological methods for solving real-world problems.
A truly holistic field, anthropology is comprised of related and complementary subfields. These subfields, each with their own unique methodologies, inquire into the human experience across space and time. Understood together, the subfields provide a powerful lens for inquiry into how we, as a species, embrace our environment, manage conflict, solve problems, relate to each other and ourselves, and persist as a species.
"Obtaining a college education at Fort Lewis College empowers me to this day. It allows me to have a voice in the interpretation of Navajo people’s history and cultural resources."
Archaeology
Explore the relationship between humans and their material culture, throughout time and around the globe. Study the artifacts of contemporary as well as ancient humans. Situated in the richest archaeological area in the United States, you'll be studying at the heart of the action.
Biological Anthropology
Study humans through 7 million years of evolution, from prehistoric ancestors, to genetic relatives (primates), to today. Investigate our relationship to place through our bodies’ adaptations to it. Tell the story of our lineage through behavior and biology.
Sociocultural & Linguistic Anthropology
Live and work with people of specific communities to learn about and understand their ways of life, including social customs, language & linguistics, and kinship, in the contexts of power and privilege, public health, and environmental issues.
Study the vast diversity of human communicative behavior, including structural properties of language, cross-cultural variations and language use, the symbolic contexts of language, and how language is affected by such things as gender, class, age and identity.
Beyond a major in Anthropology, with your focus on one of the subfields, you may wish to add the Cultural Resource Management concentration, or one of these two related minors.
A concentration to add to your anthropology major
Assess a site for cultural significance before new development gets underway; consult with stakeholders in issues of conservation of cultural resources. Cultural Resource Management combines theories and methodologies from multiple subfields to respect our past as we move forward.
Any of the subfields may be applied to solve real world problems. Our department is particularly attuned to using the theories and methods of Anthropology to address issues we face today.
Explore fields of study with applications to legal contexts, such as anthropology, biology and psychology. Study the principles behind the decay of organisms, the analysis of bones, genetic fingerprinting and criminal profiling; learn how forensic specialists can assist law enforcement in solving crimes.
Your academic background, field school opportunities, internships, and mentorship from faculty will set you up to graduate poised for success in a career in anthropology.
The road ahead
Imagine yourself as a: