Anthropologists investigate cultural variation, with particular attention to race, gender, ethnicity, political and social change, and human evolution.
Anthropology is the study of what it means to be human. The Bates Department of Anthropology specializes in sociocultural anthropology, with forays into archaeology and linguistics. We focus on analyses of social challenges and opportunities and train students in systems-level thinking, attuning our students to how meaning and power are created and contested in everyday life. Our anthropology program emphasizes the importance of global study while preparing students to critically examine their own cultures.
Tobie Akerley Gordon
Pettengill Hall
Phone: 207-786-8295
takerley@bates.edu
Our students leave Bates with a strong understanding of and ability to engage in ethnographic work. Graduates are creative and effective oral, visual, and written communicators and skilled observers of social life who are able to connect theory and practice in their lives and careers after Bates.
of 2020-2024 social sciences graduates are employed and/or attending graduate school
————————————————– ANTH s32: Archaeological Field Experience, Alaska: Temyiq Tuyuryaq, a Collaborative Indigenous Archaeology. This field experience introduces students to both contemporary and ancient Alaska native lifeways in southwest and south central Alaska. The primary focus will be Temyiq Tuyuryaq, the old village of Togiak where we will practice community engaged archaeology and ethnography in collaboration with Togiak tribal elders, community members, and local students. We will also visit Anchorage and communities and ancient sites along the Kenai Peninsula, including a stay in Homer for subsistence studies. The course includes camping and significant time living “off the grid.” Instructor: Kristen Barnett, Department of Anthropology Maximum Enrollment: 12 students with instructor permission and application interview. Open to all students. Approximate Dates off Campus: April 27 – May 19.
Day in the Life of Ladd Library on March 12, 2025. (Theophil Syslo | Bates College)
Our students choose to study anthropology because they are curious about humans and human behavior and seek answers to today’s most pressing social issues. Many engage in faculty-student research, while others may design their own learning trajectory to make the most of their anthropology education. With opportunities to study abroad and enroll in community-engaged courses, our anthropology program fosters students’ abilities to function effectively in new settings and to appreciate the value of cultural diversity.
Our faculty includes professors with Ph.D.s from Rice University, Tulane University, Princeton University, and Cornell University. We have studied a wide range of intersectional topics within anthropology, including indigeneity, fashion, language, history, the environment, and much more.
In the Student Center for Belonging and Community, first-generation Bates students mentor their younger peers, providing guidance on everything from academics to internships to social life.
Bates is embarking on a $45 million project to update two key athletic facilities and construct a new fitness and well-being center. A gift of $10 million from Jon W. Brayshaw ’90, P’25 and Jocelyn Stoddard Brayshaw ’88, P’25 has brought the college a vital step closer to construction. The new facility will be named the Stoddard Fitness and Well-Being Center.
February on campus saw sports successes, several large snowfalls, and our annual Winter Carnival — a week of events celebrating the joys of the chilly season.
