ATHENS, Ohio -- Seeking to conduct research while living among Ecuadorian natives? Hoping to learn the secrets behind Ohio's ancient burial mounds? Wondering where the latest research on witchcraft is going?
High school students interested in the study of the human condition can now answer these and more questions by majoring in anthropology through Ohio University's Honors Tutorial College.
The new four-year program will allow students to explore the discipline through in-depth tutorials and language and collateral studies. Individuals with an anthropology background are able to work for colleges and universities, museums and a variety of local, state and federal agencies, among other careers.
"The first year is grounded in many issues fundamental to anthropology - human evolution, political issues in archaeology and cultural theory," says assistant professor for anthropology Steve Rubenstein. "The second year, however, offers us the chance to spend a year exploring the most cutting-edge issues and reading some really great books."
Rubenstein and his colleagues are no strangers to cutting-edge research. In fact, their studies have given anthropology faculty the opportunity to explore some quite diverse topics and visit many unique destinations.
Rubenstein, for example, studied the Shuar, an Amazonian Indian group, in their native Ecuador. Rubenstein, who continues to analyze the Shuar, has written a life history of a native shaman, "Alejandro Tsakimp': A Shuar Healer in the Margins of History."
His colleague, Gene Ammarell, continues to carry out ethnographic research in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Ammarell has been collecting the life histories of numerous senior navigators in this seafaring community. He hopes to soon turn his research into a book and accompanying film focusing on the transition and transformation of knowledge and practice across generations.
Elliot Abrams has studied archaeology and ancient architecture of the Ohio Valley, while Diane Ciekawy has published Dialogues of Witchcraft: Anthropological and Philosophical Exchanges, which explores modern approaches to the study of witchcraft in both anthropology and philosophy.
Continuing with the prevailing theme of diverse research, other anthropology faculty members study gender in prehistory, primitive behavior, kinship and aging. Rubenstein believes this diversity will directly benefit incoming Honors Tutorial College scholars.
Ann Fidler, dean of the Honors Tutorial College, echoes his belief. "Anthropologists are producing some of the most interesting and influential work in the social sciences," she says. "Scholarship in a wide variety of disciplines has been transformed by their insights. I am delighted that future HTC students will have the opportunity to delve deeply into this diverse and fascinating field. The anthropology faculty at Ohio University is first-rate and the program of study they have constructed is one that few undergraduate institutions can match."
While not required, it is strongly recommended that the program's students study abroad. This experience may prove a vital component of a student's experience in anthropology and the Honors Tutorial College, Rubenstein said. Given the anthropology faculty's travels, HTC students will, no doubt, undertake many off-the-beaten-path projects.
Though the tutorial program is so new, Rubenstein reports that several incoming first-year students have already expressed interest in the anthropology major.
"To know that there are students - high school students - interested in anthropology and in the Honors Tutorial College is very gratifying," he said. "Ann Fidler and her colleagues at the HTC have done a very good job and it has been great working with them."
