Patricia A. Gilman, Chair
Don G. Wyckoff, Graduate Liaison
521 Dale Hall Tower
Norman, OK 73019-2005
Phone: (405) 325-3261
FAX: (405) 325-7386
Internet: http://www.ou.edu/anthropology/
E-mail: anthro@ou.edu
Professors: M. Foster, Harris, Minnis, Wyckoff; Associate Professors: Gilman, Rankin-Hill, Sturm, Swan, Vehik; Assistant Professors: Anderson, Beck, Brulotte, Cahn, Fields, Hirschfeld, Klein, Linn, Livingood, O’Neill, Palmer, Rambo, Warren; Instructors Feeling, C. Foster, Mauldin, McCarty, Sealy.
Information on both undergraduate and graduate programs is included. Please refer to the Graduate College section of this catalog for general information on graduate programs.
Anthropology is the holistic study of human beings, including the biological and cultural aspects of people in all times and all places. The four parts of anthropology are biological anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and sociocultural anthropology. The Department of Anthropology focuses on the archaeology and biological anthropology, linguistics, and sociocultural anthropology of Native America, but we also have strengths in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. We are the only anthropology department in the state system of higher education.
An undergraduate degree in anthropology at the University of Oklahoma requires at least two courses in each of the four subfields, as well as course requirements in research methods, resulting in a well-rounded understanding of people in this country and around the world, both past and present. The department sponsors fieldwork opportunities and is active in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and the Honors College, so that undergraduates who so desire can obtain actual experience in anthropology. We maintain close ties with the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, and we encourage international study to augment these opportunities.
A major in anthropology provides a broad understanding of human beings and a central part of a liberal arts education. It also is the basis for obtaining certain kinds of jobs in archaeology, museums, or the human resources sector, as well as for graduate study in anthropology or other social science fields.
The undergraduate major requires a minimum of 36 hours of coursework in anthropology. There are specific courses that all majors must take (ANTH 1113, 2113, 2243, 2303, 2503, 4113), and students also must choose one course from each of the following categories:
Students may also take elective anthropology courses, Native American languages, fieldwork or internships, Honors Reading and Research, and independent study.
MINORS
Students who are majoring in other subjects may complete a minor in anthropology. An anthropology minor consists of 15 hours of coursework including ANTH1113, General Anthropology. At least nine hours must be in upper-division courses.
The Department of Anthropology offers both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in anthropology, and an M.A. in linguistic anthropology. The department’s geographical area of emphasis is on the Americas.
Because of its location in a state with 38 federally recognized tribes, important archaeological sites and museum collections, and many nationally prominent anthropological research facilities, graduate study at the University of Oklahoma offers unique educational opportunities. The department has a concentration of specialists in Native America. The department recognizes the historical relationship of anthropology to other areas of the world and to other peoples, and we also have faculty with such research interests. Paralleling our focus on Native America are those of faculty in the departments, colleges, and programs of art history, English, geography, health sciences, history, linguistics, and Native American studies. Faculty in the department have helped Oklahoma tribes design and implement studies that include health care, native language education, ethnomedicine, federal recognition, geneology, historical anthropology, politics, sociolinguistics, oral history, tribal histories and archives, and tribal cultural studies programs. We offer language courses in Cherokee, Cheyenne, Choctaw, Creek/Seminole, and Kiowa, with native speakers as instructors. The department and the affiliated Oklahoma Archeological Survey support several on-going archaeological research projects in Oklahoma and Kansas, the North American Southwest and Southeast, and northern Mexico. The projects include the earliest settlers in the New World, Paleoindian, Archaic, formative village agriculturalists, hierarchical societies, and historic peoples.
UNIQUE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
ADMISSION
Students interested in the graduate program in anthropology can obtain information on the department by sending an e-mail to the Graduate Liaison or from the department’s Web page. Applications materials should be received by January 31st in order to be considered for financial support. Applications received after January 31st but before April 15th will be considered for admission to the graduate program but not for financial support. In addition to Graduate College requirements, the Department of Anthropology requires a short (1-2 page) statement of goals, results of the Graduate Record Examination, and two letters of recommendation. Students applying to the Ph.D. program who have written an M.A. thesis may be requested to send a copy to the Graduate Liaison.
Students with a 3.00 or greater (on a 4.00 scale) grade point average in their last 60 hours of undergraduate work can be considered for full admission to the program. Special financial incentives may be available for students with excellent potential.
PREREQUISITES FOR FULL GRADUATE STANDING
Students interested in admission to the graduate program in anthropology should demonstrate a serious interest in anthropology. Degree holders with a major or minor in anthropology are most likely to be best prepared for graduate study. Those with a degree in another discipline should discuss any background preparation for graduate study in anthropology in their statement of purpose.
MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE
The master’s program provides a broad, generalized knowledge of anthropology, along with specialization in one of the four fields. A master’s student will take a core course in each of the four fields and will concentrate the elective coursework in any one of those fields.
In addition to writing a thesis, an M.A. student will enroll in four core courses (5223, 5363, 6633, and 6713) and must earn a grade of B or higher in each course. Additionally each student will complete 14 credit hours of electives selected in consultation with their adviser and committee. Additional detailed information may be obtained from the Graduate Liaison.
MASTER OF APPLIED LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY DEGREE
The Master of Applied Linguistic Anthropology degree is devoted to the preservation of the world’s endangered languages, with the hope that careful documentation — coupled with community-based educational programs — will one day reverse the devastating effects of language loss throughout much of the world today. It is imperative that we train a new generation of scholars to continue the documentation of endangered languages throughout the world. Yet, because the future of a language ultimately rests with its speakers, it is equally important that we prepare our students to promote community-based educational programs aimed at revitalizing native languages at the community level.
In addition to writing a thesis, a student in this degree program will enroll in two core courses (ANTH 5223, 5363) and must earn a grade of B or higher in each course. As well, students will take 15 hours of graduate linguistic anthropology courses (5013, 5623, 5633, 5613, 6590) and five hours of guided electives selected in consultation with their advisors and committees. Detailed information may be obtained from the Graduate Liaison.
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE
In the Ph.D. program the student is required to have a broad knowledge of the four fields of anthropology, supported by at least a core course in each, and to have both theoretical and methodological background in their chosen field.
The Ph.D. requires 90 credit hours, 30 of which are earned toward completion of a dissertation. Up to 30 credit hours from an M.A. program may be applied to the remaining 60 hours. The Ph.D. student’s advisory committee will determine which courses, including core courses, may be used toward the 90 hours and will define the plan of study. Each doctoral student will complete a General Examination and dissertation defense.
Detailed information is available from the Graduate Liaison.