UA LITTLE ROCK ANTHROPOLOGY DEPARTMENT: MORE THAN BONES S t o r y : S k yl e r B ro o k s
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as well as can help with the preservation of such material. It can also include lab work where you sort and identify samples of material. Cultural anthropology generally centers around investigating different modern cultures and societies. These are the people who write ethnographies, which are systematic studies of civilizations- AKA, bringing you different narratives on the experiences and
early 2000’s. A lot has changed since then, but the program has held strong against time. In fact, it continues to expand in opportunities offered! The Anthropology department offers a variety of classes, covering cultural, biological, and archaeological anthropology. It boasts several classes that help students learn practical skills for the field, as well as unique and interesting
Paige Blair working at the Arkansas State Crime Lab and Anthropology Club President Tosha Aleck to work at the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion under the Mayor of Little Rock.
perspectives of different places. These people often go into fields bridging the gap between different people, emphasizing connection and respect of people. Last is linguistics, which are people who study language in relation to different cultures and societies. They investigate how language is influenced by and how it influences society. UALR has offered a B.A. in Anthropology since the
experiences. It also encourages students to attend field school to get hands-on experience on an anthropological or archaeological project, and it even has a specific scholarship fund just to help pay for that. A consistently offered class is the Anthropology internship, which has allowed students to work within their interested fields. A few examples include
archaeological work- including lab work as well as field work on a site here at UALR! The site, located near the Campus Garden, allows for students to get real experience in an easily accessible manner. The department plans to extend this project throughout classes in the upcoming semesters, and hopefully develop it into a community project. Starting in Fall 2024, they plan to
This semester, the Anthropology department is offering “Archaeological I n v e s t i g a t i o n ” . This four credit class offers students practical experience on
Skyler Brooks
When a lot of people hear anthropology, they light up with their best guess“You study dinosaurs!” While dinosaurs are cool, anthropology has a different focus. It studies humanity and civilization throughout time, in several different ways. The field is a lot more diverse and intertwined with everyday life than you might think. Some of the things it encompasses are: Making sure buildings aren’t built on any archaeological sites (this is required by law!) Gathering the material you see in museums and/or deciding on how to display them I n v e s t i g a t i n g different civilizations to bring you interesting narratives and perspectives Working within businesses in roles such as Human Resources Specialist, Diversity Manager or in Public Relations Identifying skeletal remains Working in research facilities (studying primates or humans) In social work or non-profit organizations, as well as law & politics And so much more. There are four main categories within anthropology: biological, archaeological, cultural and linguistics. Biological anthropologists are concerned with biological aspects of humans, their ancestors and primates, a lot of the time from an evolutionary perspective. A lot of people involved with biological anthropology also go into forensic or research fields. Archaeological anthropologists work to survey land, seeking out cultural materials or (as an anthropology course deems it) Buried Cities & Ancient Lives. They report their findings and can help with the creation of Historic Sites,
THE FORUM, October 2023
