The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Since the acquisition of anthropologists Katherine Mackinnon and Lorenzo Covarrubias, SLU has seen the rebirth of the anthropology minor.

Although anthropology is technically part of the sociology department, it has demonstrated its uniqueness through a wide range of classes that offer hands-on learning. Classes such as Primate Social Behavior, in which students are required to monitor the behavior of primates in the Saint Louis Zoo, and Primate Behavior and Ecology, taught every other summer in the Ometepe Biological Field Station located in Nicaragua, where students focus on the social behavior and ecology of the mantled howler monkey, have added to the distinctness of the program.

Classes such as the ones previously mentioned have bolstered interest in the anthropology minor so much so that within the last year anthropology classes have seen enrollment tripled. Another reason why the anthropology minor has been thriving among students is because anthropology serves as a complementary field of study to a wide range of popular majors such as sociology, international studies and communication.

"Many of the classes overlap or are cross-listed with a lot of other classes pertaining to a rather large range of majors," said Katherine Mackinnon, Ph.D., a biological and physical anthropologist.

Biology major and anthropology minor Andrew Brinkotter said, "Anthropology is very much relevant to biology, which I really like because it gives me the opportunity to study another field, which is still related to my major."

Also the recent approval of Physical Anthropology (SCA 341) by the university as counting toward core requirements as a science for non-science majors has added to the versatility of the minor. Cultural Anthropology had also been previously approved as a class that would count toward the cultural diversity requirement.

Mackinnon also mentioned the possibility of starting some sort of class or project concerning the research she is doing in Suriname (a Dutch speaking country in South America).

"I'll be there to research the ecology of both primates and humans living near the Brownsberg park. Apparently they have been having some problems with illegal mining. The possibility of taking students with me is definitely there," Mackinnon said.

When asked about her feelings concerning the growth of the minor she said,"I'm very optimistic about its continual growth, and I'm also quite pleased by the caliber of students that have been attracted to the program."

Lorenzo Covarrubias, who is a cultural anthropologist and the other half of the Anthropology program, was unavailable for comment but he had professed his enthusiasm toward the minor in a previous interview, saying, "'If SLU was once fertile ground for this discipline, it can surely be it again.'"

When asked about his thoughts on the minor, junior Martin Kehoe, who is a nursing major with a possible anthropology minor said, "I think the program is unique, and that's why it's so interesting."

Fellow junior Tim Koch (also pursuing an anthropology minor) added, "I think it's really important to have programs as dynamic as this one at SLU."

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