Sociology / Anthropology
Bachelor of Arts Major and Minor
Humans do not lead a solitary life. As social beings, how we relate to one another shapes everything from our personal biases to our ability to survive as a species. Explore how societies form and function, why traditions and cultures come and go, and how to affect positive change in a rapidly changing world. As the world grows increasingly connected, Sociology and Anthropology are more relevant than ever.
By making the strange familiar and the familiar strange, our program promotes empathy, curiosity, and understanding. You’ll learn to listen and to view the world through different lenses that transform the way you understand society and your place in it.
Why study Sociology and Anthropology at Warren Wilson?
- Hands-On: Our small class sizes and personal connection to faculty allow students to actually practice hands-on cultural anthropology, archaeology, and sociology.
- Expert Faculty: Our engaged, enthusiastic faculty are experts in their fields and make classes both challenging and fun.
- Study Away: The international expertise in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa combined with a local focus, and a regularly offered faculty-led immersive study away course in Indonesia provides unique study away experiences.
- Career Preparation: Skills in understanding and analyzing culture and society are relevant for any career. By developing nuanced and critical takes on the social, political, and ideological, you will be ready for any path you choose.
Every student will complete community-engaged coursework, an internship, and original research as part of their major
A Sample of Our Partnerships
- 12 Baskets
- Asheville Poverty Initiative
- Shiloh Community Association
- Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
- Center for Conscious Living and Dying
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Artspace Charter School
- Bounty and Soul
Concentrations
You can complete a broad path of study with the general Sociology/Anthropology major, or you can opt to focus your coursework with one of these concentrations:
Archaeology
Study the earliest history of civilizations from around the world, as well as archaeological field and laboratory research methods, which you’ll practice at a nearby archaeological dig site.
Material Culture and ArchaeologyGender and Women’s Studies
Explore how different societies think about gender, feminism, and women’s issues, as well as gender inequalities that persist in both developing and industrialized nations.
Gender, Women, and Sexuality StudiesCultural Anthropology
Learning about other cultures helps you better know your own. Study the traditions, religions, and social systems of Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, North America, and other societies around the globe.
Sociology
Analyze the different types of social systems, including topics like the role of the family, culture, the environment, gender, and inequality.
See how Sociology and Anthropology students put our education into action
Internship
Maitreya Suchocki had an internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), where she researched and reported on the different frames and understandings held by human stakeholders regarding the effects of climate change in Florida.
Study Abroad
In the study away Fields, Markets, & Kitchens: Gender & Food in Singapore and Indonesia, students visited Singapore and the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, exploring the different ways that gender is expressed, along with the different food cultures.
Work
You can work on any crew as a student but many Sociology and Anthropology majors choose to be on crews such as:
- Social Science Division Assistant
- Archaeology
- Wilson Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (WIDE)
Community Engaged Course
Study dance by examining it as a form of embodied cultural knowledge and a way of expressing cultural identities and histories. In Dance, Culture, and Identity, you will study several dance forms from around the world and explore how dance can reveal, reinforce, and/or resist ideologies. You’ll work with community partners — including Artspace charter school, Museum of the Cherokee, and Deerfield retirement community — to examine their dance cultures and histories, and create collaborative performances.
Research
Sam Pike used photovoice research to explore how members of the Warren Wilson College community experienced and understood Hurricane Helene by collecting stories and photographs from the storm/flood to create an interactive map. The study combined participatory GIS methods and narrative analysis to investigate the interplay of personal experiences and broader social narratives about disasters.
Popular Courses
Medical Anthropology
Examine the relationships between culture, illness/disease, and healing practices. In order to understand the interactions of illness, health, and the body, you must take into account the social and cultural environment in which they are experienced. While examining Western biomedical models of health, you’ll focus on the many alternative models that exist throughout the world.
Environmental Sociology
With a focus on the development of environment and culture, environmental justice, materialism, global environmental issues and environmental activism, you’ll study the relationship between natural and social environments alongside community partners.
Language and Culture
What is the role of language in the social life of individuals and communities? You’ll learn to analyze language with considerations to culture, ethnography, sociolinguistics, race, gender, sexuality, and technology.
Siti Kusujiarti, Ph.D.
Research Interests
- Gender and Development
- Southeast Asian topics, especially Indonesia
- Rural and Environmental Sociology
“Warren Wilson students are poised to learn and to expand their horizons.”
Christey Carwile, Ph.D.
Research Interests
- Water Religions in West Africa and the Diaspora,
- Gender, Power and the Politics of Reproduction (Nigeria)
- African Aesthetics in Popular Dance
“I love that Warren Wilson allows me to be my own quirky self both in and outside of the classroom. If I cannot be honest and true to who I am while teaching and learning, then what’s the point? The kinds of connections I am able to make with students here are invaluable; I am always learning from them, always being challenged and always growing along with them.”
Ben Feinberg, Ph.D.
Research Interests
- The Politics of Representation and Identity
- Indigenous Cultures of Mexico
- Anthropology of Tourism
“At Warren Wilson, we have the time we need to know our students as real, complete, complicated human beings, not just a butt in a seat and a name on a paper.”
Scotti M. Norman, Ph.D
Research Interests
- Indigenous Responses to European Colonialism
- Gender Studies
- GIS and Landscape
“The students at Warren Wilson have a keen interest in equality and empathy, and it is a pleasure to explore together how archaeology of past societies can create a more just contemporary society.”
Susan Ortiz, Ph.D.
Research Interests
- Social Stratification and Inequality
- Intersectionality
- Privilege and Power
“Warren Wilson is the place where both academics and intellectual virtues matter. We are all on a journey together to build a more trusting, empathetic, patient, caring, and connected community, state, nation, and world.”
“The content of the Antro/Soc degree is fundamental to work at Peace Corps. Perspective taking, cross cultural understanding, and critical thinking are what allow me to successfully lead teams, manage partner relations, and mentor Volunteers in their countries of service. Ben’s Socratic pedagogical approach, and his way of challenging students preconceived beliefs, is one that had a lasting impact on my own approach to teaching.”
Kevin Giddens
(he/him)
Director of Programming and Training for Peace Corps Palau
Major, Minor, Concentration, Crews
- Sociology/Anthropology Major
- Crew: Electrical
“The foundation that I built at Warren Wilson has been a critical part of my educational journey and my professional success as a landscape architect, a profession which requires me to develop creative solutions to complex problems on a daily basis. […] The skills I developed at Warren Wilson formed the basis for my understanding of the fundamental tenets of design thinking. In graduate school, I was able to hit the ground running and continue to deeply explore concepts that I had begun investigating in my undergraduate studies.”
Martha Eberle
(she/her)
Senior Landscape Architect, Southeast Bioregion Biohabitats, Inc.
Major, Minor, Concentration, Crews
- Anthropology/Sociology Major
- Crew: Landscaping
“My sociology major gave me a background into the diversity of ways human life is approached, which taught me a humility that has helped me teach a wide range of people. I’m able to use and to get behind some contemporary buzzwords, which empowers me to pose big questions for our community to wrestle with. Like, what difference can we make about racism if we don’t stop at fixing our own hearts.”
Cat Clyburn
(they/them)
United Methodist Senior Pastor at Jonesboro UMC
Major, Minor, Concentration, Crews
- Sociology/Anthropology Major
- Math Minor
- Crews: Rentals and Renovations crew, Heavy Duty, Landscaping, Spiritual Life
“There are many people who raise their eyebrows when I tell them that I went from graduating with a Sociology/Anthropology degree to working for a Math department. But whether it is the study of postmodern feminism or partial differential equations, the intricacies of higher education are universal. I exercise my sociological background every day.”
Jemma Natanson
(she/her)
Graduate Coordinator for the Department of Mathematics at the University of Maryland College Park
Major, Minor, Concentration, Crews
- Sociology/Anthropology Major
- Global Studies Minor
- Creative Writing Minor
- Crews: Center for Integrated Advising and Careers, Sociology/Anthropology Assistant
Where Our Sociology/Anthropology Graduates Go
This program gives you experience in research, observation, analysis, and communication that applies to many different types of jobs. Our alumni have gone on to graduate schools and companies such as:
- The New School for Social Research
- University of Wisconsin
- Duke Divinity School
- Washington University
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
- Center for American Progress
- University of Vermont Medical Center
- German American Chamber of Commerce
