How did humans come to be as they are today? What makes us different from other animals? What role does culture play in shaping who we are? What happens when peoples with different cultures interact?
These are among the sorts of questions that anthropologists attempt to answer.
Anthropology is a vast and fascinating field of inquiry. Anthropologists study virtually all aspects of human life: everything from human biology to the creation and use of language to the nature of culture and its role in adapting to the social and physical environment.
Anthropologists are interested in all peoples, whether they lived in the past or they live in the present; whether they live in traditional, small-scale communities or they live in modern, global-scale societies. We are interested not only in examining single groups of people but also in comparing the thoughts, behaviours, material products and social organization of different groups. The broad scope of the discipline's subject matter means that anthropologists can be found working everywhere from modern industrial cities, to tribal villages, to prehistoric habitation sites.
If you are interested in learning about the history of human development or about the variety of ways different human groups think and act in the world, then you will want to explore the wide range of courses we have to offer in the Anthropology Department at Douglas College.
For more information, contact the Anthropology department.