Back from the brink
Anthropology revitalized, growing

November 13, 2009

It was only a few years ago that anthropology studies, in what was then called the Department of Religious Studies and Anthropology, were close to extinction. But today, anthropologists at the U of S are breathing new life into their department and bringing it back from the brink.

Jim Waldram, professor and project co-ordinator of anthropology, thinks the decision to combine religious studies and anthropology back in 2002 compromised the department’s ability to deliver quality courses to students. With only two faculty members and one term appointment, “the department had been whittled down to nothing.

“When anthropology transferred to religious studies, there were conditions regarding research and collaborations,” says Waldram. “And then, Council made the determination a few years later to terminate the program if things didn’t improve, saying it (the program) lacked viability and none of the requisite expectations associated with the current program’s limited approval were being met.”

In January 2005, University Council’s Academic Programs Committee insisted anthropology revive their undergraduate program. They were given a deadline of May 2008 to meet the following expectations: show how the program could be made sustainable and viable, reduce teaching loads of faculty so research activity levels could increase, and increase the involvement of anthropologists in St. Thomas More College and elsewhere on campus.

To find a solution, Waldram was asked by Jo-Ann Dillon, dean of arts and science, to chair the task force charged with finding ways to meet Council’s conditions. After consultations, it was decided the conditions could not be met as long as anthropology and religious studies were still in the same department, he says, and that combining their efforts with archaeology would make more sense.

In July 2008, the new Department of Anthropology and Archaeology began offering courses in their re-designed undergraduate program.

Waldram describes it as a four-field approach focused on the areas of cultural anthropology, archaeology, biological anthropology and linguistics.

“This (the new department) helped us put together a viable program and appease Council. And it helped us recruit two new faculty members.”

Assistant Professors Clint Westman and Sadeq Rahimi both arrived at the university this fall as new faculty members. Waldram and Associate Professor Pamela Downe make up the rest of the team.

The department is also engaging the other anthropologists on campus, including the medical anthropologists in the College of Medicine, to introduce new courses and even look at new degree programs. “There are lots of anthropologists all over the place and we plan to collaborate with them, including the new grad schools, to offer graduate level programs.”

After teetering only a few years ago, the future looks good. A Master of Anthropology program was approved by Council in the spring, and Waldram thinks the number of majors in the undergraduate program could double from 30 to 60 in the next few years.

“We’ve pulled it back from the brink, and this is what makes it compelling.”