Anthropology

www.waikato.ac.nz/anthropology/

Anthropology at Waikato is the subject for students who are interested in people in all their wonderful diversity.

Anthropology means, very broadly, ‘the study of humanity’. Anthropologists undertake the detailed study of many individual societies and use information about each society to compare and analyse human universals like kinship, marriage, death and most of the things that humans do. At Waikato we teach sociocultural anthropology, which looks at a whole range of societies from tribal groups to Western society and the ways in which people organise and understand themselves. The Pacific area is central to much of our teaching and research.

Degrees

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bachelor of Social Sciences

Anthropology can also be taken as a second major or supporting subject within most degrees.

School subjects required

There are no specific subjects you need to study at secondary school to study anthropology at Waikato.

Other subjects that may interest you

Geography, History, Human Development, Māori and Pacific Development, Psychology, Sociology.

Career Opportunities

• Ethnographer
• International Development Worker  
• Museum Curator  
• Research or Policy Analyst  
• Overseas Aid Worker
• Travel and Tourism Operator  
• Lecturer  
• Teacher  

Potential Employers

• Government Departments
• Health Boards
• Non-governmental Organisations
• Research Consultancies
• Tourism Industry

Papers

Anthropology

ANTH101 Exploring Cultures: Introduction to Anthropology
An introduction to sociocultural anthropology: the comparative study of human societies and cultures, from tribal and peasant to industrial and global. An examination of social, political and economic organisation, beliefs, values and ideologies.

ANTH102 New Zealand and the Pacific
Social and cultural change in Aotearoa/New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, with special emphasis on national identities, regional relations and global forces.

200 Level and Beyond
200 and 300 level papers address issues of race and ethnicity, health and the body, visual anthropology, magic/ritual/religion, ethnography of industrial life, culture and power, and anthropological linguistics.