Humans, Environments, and Climate Department

The Department of Humans, Environments, and Climate at Hamline University studies humans and their relationships to planetary contexts from the distant past to the future we are making. From our evolutionary history and material culture, to the socio-cultural realities in which we live and share with other beings, the Department of Humans, Environments, and Climate examines humans and their multiple environments holistically and interdisciplinarily using a variety of methodologies while recognizing the wide range of ways of knowing and being in the world. Acknowledging the complex legacies and histories of the world we have made, we seek to study and understand the ways in which humans and others with whom we share the planet can survive and thrive into the future. The Department of Humans, Environments, and Climate offers students the choice of two closely allied majors that share significant coursework offered in the department.

Students may choose to major in Anthropology, with its focus on how we are human through a wide expression of engaging coursework from archaeology and material culture, to forensics and osteology, and including visual, sound, performance and digital ways of being human. Coursework in anthropology prepares students for future careers in a range of fields; recent graduates have found meaningful work as archaeologists, museum curators, medical examiners, educators, computer developers, public servants, etc. While many pursue graduate education, others begin their anthropology-related careers immediately after graduation. Students majoring in Anthropology may choose to complete a concentration in either Anthropocene Studies or Applied Methodologies and Heritage Studies.

The department also offers a major in Environmental and Climate Studies, which looks at humans, the environment, and the natural, social, economic and environmental systems that weave them together. Coursework in Environmental and Climate Studies stretches from within the department across the entire university—from biology to English—as students consider concentrations in climate literacy, environmental communication, and global climate issues. A major in Environmental and Climate Studies is ideal for students who are interested in sustainability, climate justice, environmental issues, and global solutions, and see themselves as eager to engage at local, regional, and even international levels.

Regardless of their path, students who complete a major in the Department of Humans, Environments, and Climate will find themselves part of an actively engaged cohort of classmates who seek to more deeply understand this world that humans have made and how to more meaningfully engage with it. Along the way, students will gain valuable skills in working with communities, completing public-facing research, learning to work across diverse communities and cultures, and engaging in knowledge-based advocacy.

Interdisciplinary Concentration

Students majoring in Environmental and Climate Studies may also choose to complete an interdisciplinary concentration in public policy. The public policy concentration educates students about public policy and helps them to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to create innovative, socially responsible solutions to the most critical issues facing society. The program forms an arc, beginning with an introduction to ethical public policy, building skills with methodology coursework, and culminating with a capstone experience in which students engage directly with a public policy issue in a semester-long applied project or internship. Students will acquire an extensive set of skills in policy evaluation and analysis, equipping them to become agents of change to improve the quality of life for people and their communities, at home and abroad. The public policy concentration is open to students majoring in criminology and criminal justice, economics, environmental and climate studies, legal studies, political science, or public health.

High-Impact Learning Opportunities

The department offers students many opportunities to study off campus in the community, in the region, in field schools, or abroad. Nonmajors are also welcome and encouraged to participate in these courses. High impact courses which mix coursework with off-campus work in the community include: ANTH 3030 Museum Anthropology, ANTH 3610 Visual Anthropology, ANTH 3300 Ethnographic Research Methods, and ANTH 3130 Excavating Hamline History.

Honors

The department expects all majors to engage in some form of critical independent study, typically in their junior or senior year. Upon recommendation of the faculty during the junior year, senior majors are eligible to work toward departmental honors by successful completion and defense of a comprehensive research/writing project in the form of a baccalaureate thesis.

Internships and Teaching Apprenticeships

Opportunities are available for majors to fulfill the LEAP requirement through coursework or an internship. Teaching apprenticeships for majors are offered in a number of courses including ANTH 1160 - Introduction to Anthropology, ANTH 3220 - Laboratory Techniques in Archaeology, ANTH 3440 - Human Osteology, ANTH 3500 - Forensic Anthropology, and ANTH 5260 - Anthropological Thought and Theory. The department also offers internships in Museum Collections Management and Osteological Collections Management through the Center for Anthropological Research.

Postgraduate Opportunities

Anthropology serves as an excellent basis for any career where one encounters people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Integrative understanding and cultural sensitivity are useful tools for lawyers, teachers, health professionals, planners, public servants, non-profit professionals, and business people. Many majors go on to graduate or professional training in anthropology or related fields. There are other opportunities as well in the growing field of applied anthropology.

Applied anthropology is a rapidly growing area of employment. Anthropologists bring their knowledge and skills to government and non-government organizations, museums, corporations, tribal and ethnic associations, advocacy groups, and educational institutions of various kinds. Many of our recent graduates work in cultural resource management, public health, forensics, food and agricultural systems, marketing and business culture.

Facilities/Resources

The Department of Humans, Environments, and Climate operates two research/teaching labs: the Archaeology Lab (DSC 19) and the Human Osteology Lab (DSC 207). In addition to equipment and research space, these labs offer students access to collections in North American archaeology, zooarchaeology, human osteology, human evolution casts, and African and Chineseethnographic materials. Monthly meetings of the Maya Society of Minnesota during the academic year bring nationally- and internationally-recognized speakers to Hamline’s campus. Students have opportunities to interact directly with them and often become active in this organization. Donors to the Department of Humans, Environments, and Climate have created a research fund to support student and faculty activities. Anthropology majors can apply for these funds in order to attend conferences, travel, and pay for research expenses. The Hamline University Anthropological Society is an active, student-led organization that meets bi-weekly to advance community and interest in anthropology. In addition to field trips, film screenings, and an annual social sciences and humanities research night, the society also regularly funds student travel to national conferences.

The Department of Humans, Environments, and Climate is affiliated with the Hamline University Center for Anthropological Services (HUCAS). The Center manages an Osteology Repository for the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council. Department faculty and Center staff also work closely with the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Office of State Archaeologist, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and US Fish & Wildlife Service on archaeological and bioanthropological projects around the state. Anthropology majors are able to work on grant- and contract-funded research and applied anthropology projects with these organizations. We also offer paid internships in Museum and Osteological Collections Management available to Hamline students. HUCAS’s mission is to bring our anthropological resources to assist communities, governmental agencies, and other organizations in addressing the challenges of the 21st century. The Center’s work includes archaeology, heritage preservation, forensic anthropology, osteology, burial recovery and repatriation, and place-making and place-keeping activities.

Faculty and Staff

K. Valentine Cadieux, assistant professor. AB 1998, Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges; MA 2001, PhD 2006 University of Toronto. Community food systems, urban agroecology, residential landscape experience and management.

David J. Davies, professor. BA 1991, Hamline University; MA 1997, PhD 2002 University of Washington. History and anthropology, social memory, nostalgia, travel and representation; P.R. China.

Brian W. Hoffman, associate professor, chair; Center for Anthropological Services, director. BA 1983 Augsburg College; MA 1994, PhD 2002 University of Wisconsin. Community archaeology, garbology, NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) and repatriation, lithic analysis, North America.

Sofía Pacheco-Fores, assistant professor. BA 2012, Columbia University; MA 2015, PhD 2020, Arizona State University. Bioarchaeology, human osteology, dental anthropology, isotope biogeochemistry, paleopathology, migration, violence, Mesoamerica.

Marcia H. Regan, Principal Investigator, Center for Anthropological Services. BA Hamline University 1984; MA 1988, PhD 2002 Arizona State University. Biological anthropology, human osteology, paleopathology, dental anthropology, human evolution, Southwest US.

Matt Sumera, visiting lecturer. BS 1998, University of Wisconsin-Madison; MA 2008, PhD 2013 University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sound studies, ethnomusicology, war and violence, aesthetics, affect theory, popular culture, media studies.

David Tennessen, Principal Investigator, Center for Anthropological Services. BS 1989, University of Wisconsin-Madison, MA 2000, PhD 2009, University of Minnesota. Environmental anthropology, dendrochronology, Quaternary paleoecology, historic archaeology, GIS, North America.

Affiliate Faculty

Paul Bogard, English

Patty Born, Natural Science and Environmental Education

Interdisciplinary Concentration

Public Policy Concentration

Programs

Major

Minor

Environmental and Climate Studies Minor