Anthropology

Division: Social Sciences

Anthropology is the study of human and non-human primate biology and culture from the prehistoric to the present. Students will enhance their critical thinking and communication skills while becoming more informed about how people and systems (socially and ecologically) are connected. Students will recognize common features of the human experience around the world and throughout history. We study the uniqueness of the human animal from a culturally relative perspective.

The most common career opportunities with a baccalaureate degree include: advertising and marketing, museum curation and historic preservation, human resources, public relations, public health, international affairs, computer/technology development, product design, consulting, foreign service, local, state and federal government agencies, urban planning, environmental studies, social services, business and non-profit organizations.

Transfer requirements in Anthropology are available in the Counseling Department. In all cases, students should consult with a counselor for specific transfer requirements.

Contact Information

Anthropology Faculty Contact 

Marla Prochnow, Ed.D. | marlap@cos.edu

Social Sciences Division Chair

Marla Prochnow | (559) 730-3723 | marlap@cos.edu 
Kern: 730D | Visalia Campus

Dean of Business, Social Science, and Consumer Family Studies

Jesse Wilcoxson, Ed.D. | (559) 737-6281 | jessew@cos.edu 
Kern: 716 | Visalia Campus

For a complete list of courses and descriptions visit: COURSES


ANTH 010 Cultural Anthropology 3 unit(s)
Hours: 3 Lecture/Discussion
This course explores how anthropologists study and compare human culture. Cultural anthropologists seek to understand the broad arc of human experience focusing on a set of central issues: how people around the world make their living (subsistence patterns); how they organize themselves socially, politically and economically; how they communicate; how they relate to each other through family and kinship ties; what they believe about the world (belief systems); how they express themselves creatively (expressive culture); how they make distinctions among themselves such as through applying gender, racial and ethnic identity labels; how they have shaped and been shaped by social inequalities such as colonialism; and how they navigate culture change and processes of globalization that affect us all. Ethnographic case studies highlight these similarities and differences, and introduce students to how anthropologists do their work, employ professional anthropological research ethics and apply their perspectives and skills to understand humans around the globe. (C-ID ANTH120)
ANTH 011 Biological Anthropology 3 unit(s)
Hours: 3 Lecture/Discussion
Want to learn about your origins, primates, and forensic anthropology in one class? Students will encounter the concepts, methods of inquiry, and scientific explanations of the evolution of humans and non-human primates. Course topics include: genetics, evolutionary theory, human variation and adaptation, comparative anatomy and behavior of non-human primates, as well as fossil ancestry. The philosophy of science and the scientific method are the foundations of this course.
Advisory on Recommended Preparation: ENGL 251 or ENGL 261 or equivalent college course with a minimum grade of C or eligibility for ENGL 001 as determined by COS Placement Procedures. (C-ID ANTH110)
ANTH 012 Archaeology 3 unit(s)
Hours: 3 Lecture/Discussion
Can you dig it? Students will explore the study of concepts, theories, and scientific method in archaeology, as well as a review of data and models that contribute to our knowledge of the human past. The course includes the history and interdisciplinary nature of archaeological research; dating techniques and methods of survey, excavation, and analysis; cultural resource management; and selected cultural sequences.
Advisory on Recommended Preparation: ENGL 251 or ENGL 261 or equivalent college course with a minimum grade of C or eligibility for ENGL 001 as determined by COS Placement Procedures. (C-ID ANTH150).
ANTH 013 Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion 3 unit(s)
Hours: 3 Lecture/Discussion
Equivalent Course: ANTH 113
This course explores the cross-cultural context of religion and the relationships of individuals and societies to the supernatural. We examine religious practices around the world and throughout history using concepts from the discipline of anthropology.

Anthropology

Prochnow, Marla, Ed.D.
B.A., California State University, Fullerton
M.A., California State University, Fullerton
Ed.D., California State University, Fresno