Anthropology
Understand the breadth of humanity by exploring how we live, build, and believe.
Why anthropology matters:
Anthropology helps us understand the full range of human experience — from ancient societies to globalized cities, from ritual to resistance. As cultures shift and intersect, the ability to listen, observe, and interpret across differences has never been more valuable.
How anthropology is taught at Muhlenberg:
Anthropology students study culture, archaeology, evolution, and language through hands-on, immersive experiences. Fieldwork, lab work, and community-engaged research are central to the curriculum, with opportunities to dig into real artifacts, conduct ethnographic studies, or travel abroad through faculty-led programs. It’s a deeply human, deeply practical education.
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Anthropology majors at Muhlenberg gain a comprehensive understanding of human diversity, evolution, and society through a mix of cultural, biological, and archaeological study. You'll explore how people across the globe live, think, govern, create, and connect — both in the present and throughout history.
Courses span topics like language and kinship, health and healing, politics and religion, and material culture, asking big questions about how human communities are formed and sustained. Cultural anthropology emphasizes immersive fieldwork, encouraging students to engage deeply with local and global communities. Archaeological coursework adds historical depth by analyzing architecture, artifacts, and human remains to reconstruct the past.
Students interested in deeper research may apply to anthropology’s honors program, which includes advanced independent study under faculty mentorship.
Africana studies at Muhlenberg is rooted in both scholarship and action. Students deepen their learning through campus and community events that amplify Black voices, explore current social justice movements, and invite dialogue across differences.
From lectures and performances to student-led teach-ins and advocacy efforts, the program fosters active engagement with contemporary issues and encourages students to see themselves as participants in meaningful change. Many courses also incorporate community-based learning, collaborative projects, or creative expression, connecting theory to lived experience.
This immersive, interdisciplinary approach helps students grow as empathetic leaders, ethical thinkers, and engaged citizens who are prepared to make an impact in any field they choose to pursue.
Powerful Outcomes
A Muhlenberg education sets you up for success. The liberal arts will hone your ability to think critically, communicate, and problem-solve, skills that are in high demand across all employment sectors.
Sociology and Anthropology News
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