Majoring in Anthropology
Introduction
I am super excited to say that, just this past weekend, I got to talk Anthro with a real-life undergraduate Anthropology student! This all started when I was given the wonderful opportunity to speak with an undergraduate student at a reputable university about general college life. But, little did I know, this student would be on the premed track, have the major I am interested in pursuing, and have a “Z” name (like me)! Z—the nickname for which this student will now be known—and I quickly became friends and met again. This time, though, we would be discussing their exhilarating experiences in the field of Anthropology!
Body
First, I asked Z what classes I would need to take as an Anthropology major. I learned that, often, most schools will have classes under four of the most common types of Anthropology: Archaeological, Linguistic, Cultural, and Biological. After hearing this, I guessed my favorites would likely be Biological (sometimes seen as “Medical”) and Cultural Anthropology. Still, I appreciated that most schools provide a well-rounded education in the field! Significantly cooler than this, though, would be Z’s descriptions of the excellent classes they got to take in these subjects. In Linguistic, Z learned why people have the accents they do; in Cultural, Z learned how to conduct an “Ethnographic study,” in Archaeology, Z decided to wait until senior year to learn (it was not their favorite). However, with this being said, Z took more classes in the Biological Anthropology field than any other! With evident excitement, Z described how compelling their courses had been when they informed me of why human populations differ regarding the illnesses they are more likely to encounter and where humans evolved to become modern homo sapiens.
Next, I questioned Z about how you conduct research in the field of Anthropology while still relating your learning to the modern-day medical field. I was amazed to find that they were already engrossed in two research opportunities that answered my question in different ways. The first, which they had begun in Freshman year, had the silliest name ever: poopomics. In this project, Z, alongside a team of Ph.D., graduate, and undergraduate students, studied the gut microbiomes of different animals in hopes of answering whether health disparities within certain groups affect the gut, leading to internal health problems. Additionally, this summer, they have picked up an incredible internship with the NIH to study how specific underdeveloped/overdeveloped genes cause an increased risk of cancer at their campus in Washington, D.C.
Conclusion
Even though this post may seem like a long and winding description of academics to some, I feel so lucky to have been allowed to acquire all of this knowledge. Despite knowing that I intend to major in Anthropology for some time now, there are few opportunities to learn about what doing so might be like because of how undersubscribed it is. Therefore, this experience has only solidified my decision to pursue such a field because of all the varying ways I can uniquely contribute to the medical field with my knowledge of human societies and cultures. I cannot wait to do so!
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