The related disciplines of anthropology and sociology seek to understand the nature of human societies; the communities, organizations, and institutions that comprise these; the systems of cultural meanings that form and inform them; and the interplay between individuals' lives and the societies in which they live. In today's world, moreover, such understanding increasingly requires recognition and study of the interactions among societies and especially the political, economic, and cultural dimensions of power-often embodied in structures of class, gender, ethnicity, and race-that operate not only locally and nationally but at the global level as well. As social sciences, anthropology and sociology base their quest for understanding in the development and application of theoretical explanations and the pursuit of systematic empirical evidence through which these explanations may be formulated, tested, and revised.

Members of the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at Kalamazoo College are committed to promoting, through individual courses and especially our majors program, the rich understanding described above. Although some of us are anthropologists by training and others sociologists, we consider these disciplines to be highly complementary, and thus we all not only draw on the best from both disciplines but strive to integrate them into a common curriculum. Our goal is to provide courses and a majors program from which students derive the multiple perspectives, patterns of evidence, and methodological skills that will engender a broad yet nuanced awareness of U.S. society, of other societies, and of the interconnections among these. This awareness, gained through reading, discussion, and active engagement with the world-both in the local community and through international programs and projects-is remarkably consistent with and thus directly serves the overall mission of the college: "to better understand, live successfully within, and provided enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world."

Students graduating with a major in Anthropology and Sociology will be prepared both as researchers and as agents of social change. They also will find this major relevant for graduate study not only in anthropology and sociology but in such related fields as human services, journalism, law, urban affairs, and international development, as well as for careers in, among other areas, government, business, and education.