Anthropology of Globalization Overview
The Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology: Globalization stands as an innovative option within the Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, offering students a unique exploration into the multifaceted dimensions of today’s interconnected global landscape. It presents an exciting opportunity for those eager to delve into the complexities of our globally integrated world.
This option delves into various aspects of our contemporary, interconnected world, encompassing economic transactions, the impact of new media, human migration patterns, and the dissemination of knowledge. What sets our program apart is our dual focus on present-day multicultural exchanges and an in-depth examination of the historical underpinnings of these processes across human evolution. Emphasizing the intersection of social practices and historical insights, our program seeks to enrich perceptions of modern global exchange.
Our curriculum amalgamates diverse approaches. Sociocultural anthropology investigates global trends from diverse geographic perspectives, scrutinizing prevalent structures of power and mobility using ethnographic data and historical analysis. Archaeology contextualizes contemporary phenomena by examining material evidence of human existence, deciphering long-term patterns in power dynamics, identity, and social interaction pivotal in understanding modern global practices. Biological anthropology traces the global movement of people, genes, and diseases, unraveling ancient migration paths and human diversity that influences various traits, including disease susceptibility.
The interdisciplinary blend of sociocultural, archaeological, and biological anthropology equips students with a distinctive toolkit to study multiculturalism, diversity, and global exchanges. It primes them to actively engage in an increasingly interconnected world. Students at UW bring diverse global experiences, and Seattle’s historical role as a pivotal point in Pacific and American coast exchanges enriches this narrative. The Anthropology of Globalization option contextualizes students’ individual encounters with globalization within broader global transformations.
Courses in archaeology, sociocultural anthropology, and biological anthropology illuminate cross-border exchanges of artifacts, knowledge, migration patterns, legal frameworks, and genetic influences. These explorations, anchored in historical and regional contexts, enrich students’ comprehension of emerging global circulation dynamics.
BA Anthropology of Globalization Requirements - 55 credits total
Note: not all courses are offered regularly. The Anthropology Curriculum Forecast tool provides tentative course offerings for ANTH, ARCHY and BIO A classses. Check the Time Schedule for all current course offerings.
Core Requirements (20 credits)
- 5 credits: BIO A 201 – Principles of Biological Anthropology
- 5 credits: Any 200-level ARCHY course
- 5 credits: Any 200-level ANTH course
- Statistics course chosen from:
- CS&SS / SOC / STAT 221 – Statistical Concepts and Methods for the Social Sciences (5 cr)
- STAT 220 – Statistical Reasoning (5 cr)
- STAT 311 – Elements of Statistical Methods (5 cr)
- Q SCI 381 – Introduction to Probability & Statistics (5 cr)
- BIOST 310 – Biostatistics for the Health Sciences (4 cr)
- EDPSY 490 - Introduction to Educational Measurement and Analytics (5) NSc, RSN
- PSYCH 315 – Understanding Statistics in Psychology (5 cr)
- QMETH 201 – Introduction to Statistical Methods (4 cr)
- Occasionally other basic statistics courses may be accepted. Contact Advising for approved courses.
Upper Division Electives (20 credits)
Any 300–400 level ANTH, BIO A, and/or ARCHY courses. Certain AIS courses may apply (AIS 317, 330, 335, 340, or 443).
Additional Electives (15 credits)
Any 200-level or above ANTH, BIO A, and/or ARCHY courses. Certain AIS courses may apply (AIS 202, 203, 209, 210, 311, 330, 335, 340, 425, 443, or 480).
Anthropology of Globalization Option Requirements
20 credits from the department-approved list
- ANTH 202: Principles of Sociocultural Anthropology (5) SSc
- ANTH 304: Anthropology of Beauty (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 305: Anthropology of the Body (5) SSc
- ANTH 309: ANTH 309 Indigenous Epistemologies and Oceanic Canoes (5) A&H/SSc, DIV
- ANTH 311: The Cultural Politics of Diet and Nutrition (5) SSc
- ANTH 313: Peoples of Africa (5) SSc
- ANTH 314: Ethnography, Transnationalism, and Community in Island Southeast Asia/Asian America (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 316: Modern South Asia (5) SSc
- ANTH 321: Comparative Religion (3/5) SSc
- ANTH 322: Comparative Study of Death (5) SSc
- ANTH 324: Current Issues in Medical Anthropology and Global Health (2, max. 4) SSc
- ANTH 328: Gender and Sexuality in China (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 341: Political Violence and the Post-Colonial State in South Asia (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 345: Women and International Economic Development (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 352: Buddhism and Society: The Theravada Buddhist Tradition in South and Southeast Asia (5) SSc
- ANTH 357: Cultures of Central Eurasia (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 360: Anthropology of Popular Culture (5) SSc
- ANTH 361: Anthropology of Food (5) SSc
- ANTH 368: Mythical Figures and Cultural Formations (3) SSc
- ANTH 371: Anthropology of Development (5) SSc
- ANTH 375: Comparative Systems of Healing (5) SSc
- ANTH 404: South America (5) SSc
- ANTH 407: Global Futures in East Asia (5) SSc
- ANTH 412: South Asian Social Structure (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 413: Anthropology of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (5) SSc
- ANTH 423: Traffic Across Cultural Boundaries (5) SSc
- ANTH 424: Affect and Culture in the Anthropocene (5) SSc
- ANTH 425: Anthropology of the Post-Soviet States (5) SScNTH 426 Anthropology of Ukraine: Social Change and Decolonization (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 426: Anthropology of Ukraine: Social Change and Decolonization (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 430: The Anthropology of Music (3) A&H/SSc
- ANTH 435: Economic Anthropology (5) SSc
- ANTH 437: Political Anthropology and Social Change (5) SSc
- ANTH 442: Global Asia (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 443: Anthropology of Modern Japan (5) SSc
- ANTH 444: Politics of Representation in Modern China (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 448: Modern Korean Society (5) SSc
- ANTH 449: Social Transformation of Modern East Asia (5) SSc
- ANTH 461: Historical Ecology (5) SSc/NSc
- ANTH 462: Italian Food Culture (5) SSc
- ANTH 463: Critiques of Contemporary Capitalism (5) SSc
- ANTH 468: Anthropology of Care (5) SSc
- ANTH 471: Colonialism and Culture (5) SSc, DIV
- ANTH 473: Anthropology of Science and Technology (5) NSc/SSc
- ANTH 476: Culture, Medicine, and the Body (5) SSc
How the Anthropology of Globalization option courses appears in DARS
Anthropology of Globalization options courses appear in a separate option block in DARS. Many of these courses also apply toward Upper Division and Additional Elective requirements. This overlap is intentional and allows students to complete the option within the 55-credit BA total with careful planning.
Additional Requirements for the Major
- At least 25 credits in the major must be completed with a minimum grade of 2.5 in each course
- At least 15 credits of upper-division (300–400 level) ANTH, ARCHY, or BIO A coursework must be completed in residence at UW
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses applied to the major
- Note: a limited number of Independent Study credits may be applied to the major - up to 12 credits of ANTH 499, ARCHY 499, and/or BIO A 499; up to 18 credits for departmental Honors courses