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.

Within the department, students may choose to major in either Anthropology or Environmental and Climate Studies. Anthropology focuses 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 Environmental and Climate Studies major explores the natural, social, economic, and educational systems that weave society and environments together. Coursework in Environmental and Climate Studies stretches from within the department across the entire university—from biology to education to English—as students may choose to focus on 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. An Environmental and Climate Studies major equips students with skills,, to engage with issues, develop solutions, and find successful careers in government agencies, policy and legal advocacy, nonprofit agencies, corporate sustainability and social responsibility, the arts, education, communication and outreach, and the rapidly growing “green jobs” sector which includes everything from wildlife and natural resources to technology, energy and industry to infrastructure and urban design.

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 and steward this world that humans have shaped so dramatically. 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, ECST/ANTH 1500 Environments, Justice, and Wellbeing, ANTH 3610 Visual Anthropology, ECST 3850 Sustainability Strategies, ANTH 3300 Ethnographic Research Methods, ECST 3950 Environmental Education Practicum, 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. Environment and Climate studies students will have opportunities for Internships with local environmental organizations in fields as diverse as water quality and advocacy, natural resources, outdoor education, museum education, public policy, and climate action.

Postgraduate Opportunities

Anthropology and Environmental and Climate Studies serve as excellent bases for any career where one encounters people from a variety of cultural and geographic backgrounds. Integrative understanding of cultural sensitivity, and environmental and climate literacy 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 related fields. There are other opportunities as well in the growing fields of applied anthropology and environmental, climate, and social systems. Corporate career opportunities span from positions in sustains unity, Environmental and Social governance, nonprofit and educational leadership, advocacy and social/environmental justice, and the natural sciences.

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.

Just about every job intersects with the environment and climate. In fact, the World Economic Forum notes that job-seekers with climate and environmental skills are nearly a third more likely to be hired –for any job– as compared to the workforce average. With an Environmental and Climate Studies major, students will gain knowledge of natural, economic, and social systems and the many ways they influence -and are influenced by- environment and climate. Students will develop a unique, in-demand skill set that includes environmental and science communication, outreach and advocacy, and systems thinking.

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), and is affiliated with the Teacher Field School (in nature-based education) and the Food and Society Workshop (in urban agriculture and community food systems). In addition to equipment and research space, these labs and working groups offer students access to collections in North American archaeology, zooarchaeology, human osteology, human evolution casts, African and Chinese ethnographic materials, and interactions with regional networks of teachers and environmental and food security advocates. 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 both research and advocacy funds to support student and faculty activities. Majors can apply for these funds in order to attend conferences, travel, and pay for research expenses, or to build climate justice projects. 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. Many students are also involved with the Hamline Environmental Education Project.

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 - Anthropology

K. Valentine Cadieux, associate professor. AB 1998, Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges; MA 2001, PhD 2006 University of Toronto. Community food systems, urban agroecology, residential landscape care, and land relationships and stewardship.

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; director, Center for Anthropological Services. 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.

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.

Faculty and Staff - Environmental and Climate Studies

Paul Bogard, associate professor, English & Communication Studies; co-director, Environmental and Climate Studies. BA 1989, Carleton College; MA 2003, University of New Mexico; PhD 2007, University of Nevada, Reno.

Patty Born, associate professor; co-director, Environmental and Climate Studies; director, Master of Arts in Natural Science and Environmental Education. BA 2001, Metropolitan State University; MA 2005, EdD 2019, Hamline University. Human-animal relationships, ecofeminism, teacher education, nature-based learning, climate literacy and resilience.

Affiliate Faculty

Affiliated Interdisciplinary Program

Public Policy Concentration

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