The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Butler University
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Butler University
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Butler University
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fundamental moral questions which life poses<br />
for us. We seek to give students practice in<br />
thinking for themselves <strong>and</strong> good company in<br />
which to do so. Our small class size <strong>and</strong> student<br />
to faculty ratio guarantee one-on-one attention,<br />
mentoring <strong>and</strong> guidance to all majors<br />
<strong>and</strong> minors. We know our students well. <strong>The</strong><br />
anthropology <strong>and</strong> history programs at <strong>Butler</strong><br />
do not seek to train students for any particular<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ession but seek instead to equip our<br />
students with the skills to become who they<br />
wish to be. Because students come to our programs<br />
with widely varying interests <strong>and</strong> goals,<br />
we <strong>of</strong>fer them no uniform regimen <strong>of</strong> study or<br />
<strong>of</strong> practical experience. Each student, grounded<br />
in several fundamental courses <strong>of</strong> method <strong>and</strong><br />
theory, builds a suitable course <strong>of</strong> study geared<br />
to their specific interests. <strong>The</strong> department <strong>of</strong>fers<br />
more advanced students various opportunities<br />
for student research <strong>of</strong>ten culminating in<br />
honors theses. We seek to deepen book learning<br />
with various kinds <strong>of</strong> h<strong>and</strong>s-on experience, <strong>and</strong><br />
our courses, when appropriate, regularly incorporate<br />
experiential components. Anthropology<br />
students helped Exodus International settle<br />
Burmese refugees in Indianapolis <strong>and</strong> turn<br />
what they shared into ethnographies for class.<br />
Students in a course on working class history<br />
shadowed the <strong>Butler</strong> grounds crew, cleaners<br />
<strong>and</strong> cafeteria workers. <strong>The</strong> department also<br />
<strong>of</strong>fers practical experience to test the waters for<br />
later life. During the past few years students in<br />
the department have undertaken internships in<br />
circumstances as varied as the Indiana State<br />
House, the Indiana State Archives, the US<br />
Attorney General’s Office, the Center for American<br />
Progress, archeological fieldsites in Kenya, the<br />
Legal Aid Society <strong>of</strong> Indianapolis, the Kinsey<br />
Institute, a Tibetan refugee camp in India,<br />
Father <strong>and</strong> Families Inc. <strong>of</strong> Indianapolis, the<br />
Monroe County Historical Society, a women’s<br />
domestic violence organization in Buenos Aires,<br />
Earth House in Indianapolis, <strong>and</strong> humanitarian<br />
organizations in Palestine. <strong>The</strong> graduates <strong>of</strong> our<br />
programs quickly scatter in all directions. Many<br />
first give their energies to help other people<br />
through programs like Teach For America <strong>and</strong><br />
the Peace Corps. Many seek graduate study,<br />
law school, <strong>and</strong> medical school; others enter<br />
government, the military, or civil service, <strong>and</strong><br />
still other various forms <strong>of</strong> business. We also<br />
number amongst our graduates a fireman, a<br />
missionary, a carpenter, <strong>and</strong> research chemists,<br />
each <strong>of</strong> whom is happy to explain how studying<br />
history<br />
<strong>Butler</strong> <strong>University</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> anthropology helped get them where they<br />
wished to go. Indianapolis <strong>of</strong>fers much that<br />
we use in teaching <strong>and</strong> learning: Indiana’s seat<br />
<strong>of</strong> government <strong>and</strong> hard hit neighborhoods, a<br />
Rembr<strong>and</strong>t self-portrait, Chinese scroll paintings<br />
<strong>and</strong> immigrant communities fresh <strong>of</strong>f the<br />
boat, museums <strong>and</strong> archives, sports teams <strong>and</strong><br />
political rallies, music, theater, homeless people,<br />
domestic violence shelters, ethnic <strong>and</strong> religious<br />
communities <strong>of</strong> every description. Our courses<br />
draw on them all.<br />
Anthropology Program Student<br />
Learning Objectives<br />
<strong>The</strong> anthropology program seeks to teach<br />
students to think for themselves independently<br />
<strong>and</strong> critically; appreciate human <strong>and</strong> cultural<br />
differences <strong>and</strong> master the basic tools necessary<br />
for underst<strong>and</strong>ing those differences; employ the<br />
ethnographic method; appreciate academic <strong>and</strong><br />
civil discourse; ready themselves for responsible<br />
citizenship; more specifically we seek to teach<br />
students the characteristic methods <strong>of</strong> anthropology<br />
<strong>and</strong> the basic range <strong>of</strong> anthropological<br />
theories, to analyze evidence <strong>and</strong> develop<br />
arguments, conduct anthropological research<br />
alone <strong>and</strong> with other people, incorporate the<br />
views <strong>of</strong> other people into their projects, look<br />
at problems from a variety <strong>of</strong> perspectives, share<br />
their ideas <strong>and</strong> research in proper form.<br />
History Program Student Learning<br />
Objectives<br />
<strong>The</strong> history program seeks to teach students<br />
to think for themselves independently <strong>and</strong><br />
critically; master the history <strong>of</strong> one part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
world; apply the past to underst<strong>and</strong> the present;<br />
appreciate those who are different from themselves;<br />
appreciate academic <strong>and</strong> civil discourse;<br />
ready themselves for responsible citizenship;<br />
more specifically we seek to teach students the<br />
characteristic methods <strong>of</strong> history <strong>and</strong> the basic<br />
range <strong>of</strong> historical theories, to analyze evidence<br />
<strong>and</strong> develop arguments, conduct historical<br />
research, incorporate the views <strong>of</strong> other people<br />
into their projects, look at problems from a<br />
variety <strong>of</strong> perspectives, share their ideas <strong>and</strong><br />
research in proper form.<br />
Degrees<br />
• Major in Anthropology<br />
• Minor in Anthropology<br />
• Minor in Geography<br />
• Major in History