Anthropology
The mission of the Department of Anthropology is to achieve excellence in undergraduate teaching, maintain active research, and engage in service activities within the university and public sector.
Anthropology is considered to be the most humanistic of the sciences and the most scientific of the humanities and our department mission and goals reflect this. We expand student education beyond the classroom through practical experience in the application of humanistic and social scientific knowledge. The Department strongly encourages innovative and collaborative research and teaching initiatives within the Department and beyond. We emphasize how anthropology can promote a greater understanding of human diversity in the University and public communities through immersive learning classes and field schools in the region as well as abroad, such as India and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Where does my One Ball State gift go?
During One Ball State Day, we hope to generate contributions to our general funds in order to support a broad range of support to our students. General funds will be allocated, for example, to provide funding to students to attend conferences, for Anthropology Club events, and to bring speakers to Ball State.
Anthropology students have attended regional and national conferences such as the Central States Anthropological Conference, the MAC Archaeology Conference, and the Society for Applied Anthropology. Anthropology Club organizes activities such as movie nights, World Anthropology Day, speakers, an ethnic cook-off, and other social and academic events that bring together students and faculty.
In 2020, the Department is bringing Juno (Rheana) Salazar Parreñas, an anthropologist, also from the Ohio State University, author of Decolonizing Extinction: The Work of Care in Orangutan Rehabilitation, and whose research speaks to feminist science studies, environmental humanities, critical development studies, and global political economy.
