BA MAJOR & MINOR

What You’ll Study

Together, we’ll contemplate humanity’s biggest questions from the perspective of different societies around the world, by studying their origins, traditions, daily lives, and behaviors.

Concentrations

You can complete a broad path of study with the general Sociology/Anthropology major, or 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.

Cultural Anthropology

Learning about other cultures helps you better know your own. Study the traditions, religions, and social systems of Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and other societies around the globe.

Gender 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.

Sociology

Analyze the different types of social systems, including topics like the role of the family, culture, the environment, gender, and inequality.

Senior Thesis

During your senior year, you’ll design and complete a research project on a topic of your choice with the help of a faculty advisor. Then you’ll present your findings at our campus conference, giving you a complete view of what it’s like to conduct original academic research.

Past Thesis Topics

Creating Identity in a Digital Age: The Facebook Addiction
Zooarchaeology: The Language of Faunal Remains
The Effects of War and Separation on Southern Sudanese Culture
Structural Oppression and Crime in the Lives of Female Inmates
Gender Construction and Feminist Action Within DIY Punk Communities

Where You’ll Go From Here

Unlike a technical or vocational-linked degree, this program gives you social science experience in research, observation, analysis, and communication that is flexible enough to apply to many different types of jobs. Here are some general directions you might go in, and examples of jobs you might find in each:

Business

Consumer research analyst
Human resources representative
Corporate recruiter
User experience analyst

Government and Community

City planner
Environmental program manager
Museum/gallery curator
Equity and diversity advisor
Natural resource manager
Historic preservationist
Human rights advocate
Community development organizer
Government accountability officer
Policy analyst

Law and Criminal Justice

Criminal investigator
Juvenile probation officer
Forensic anthropologist

Social Services

Public health consultant
Family planner
Rehabilitation counselor
International aid worker

Each summer, students interested in archaeology enroll in field school at the former site of a prosperous Native American town and “lost” Spanish fort in nearby Morganton, North Carolina. They get hands-on experience in archaeological field work and help uncover a piece of history.

Explore Classes in This Program

In this course, you will use archaeology to explore the diversity of human food systems and the various roles food and drink have historically played around the world. You’ll consider the various approaches that archaeologists use to study food and eating from a global anthropological perspective.

This seminar explores the ways different paradigms have tried to understand power; social and cultural change; gender and other types of identity; globalization; and other big issues of the human experience.

Examine the how social development efforts and the introduction of global economic and political systems affect the lives of women in developing countries. You’ll learn how inequality affects gender relations and environmental conditions in various regions of the world.

Still curious? See the Curriculum

Warren Wilson students are poised to learn and to expand their horizons.

Siti Kusujiarti, Ph.D.

Meet Siti Kusujiarti See all Social Sciences Faculty

As one of Indonesia’s “Traveling World Class Professors,” Warren Wilson College professor Siti Kusujiarti is building a collaborative research partnership with Jenderal Soedirman University faculty members. — Siti Kusujiarti, Ph.D.

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.

Christey Carwile, Ph.D.

Meet Christey Carwile See all Social Sciences Faculty

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.

Ben Feinberg, Ph.D.

Meet Ben Feinberg See all Social Sciences Faculty

Work, service, learning… I fell in love with the college, the farm, and the triad. Working with students who share the college vision with such passion and dedication is a daily inspiration.

David G. Moore, Ph.D.

Meet David G. Moore See all Social Sciences Faculty

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.

Dr. Susan Ortiz

Meet Susan Ortiz See all Social Sciences Faculty