Anthropology
Anthropology, being the study of humans, provides students with the perspective to confront an increasingly diverse population. Anthropology provides skills to face multi-cultural situations with understanding and without bias. Anthropology is a four field discipline: cultural, biological (physical), archaeology and linguistics. At Ventura College, the focus is on two of the four fields, Cultural Anthropology and Physical Anthropology. The cultural subfield offers insight into the world’s religions, traditions and ethnicities. The physical subfield (or biological) allows for an understanding of the biological similarities of Homo sapiens and the invalidity of biological racial differences between groups. The bio-cultural perspective of the discipline provides students with a holistic awareness of themselves and the world around them. The courses offered in the Anthropology department fulfill requirements for students working toward academic goals and personal growth. Anthropology courses in both Physical and Cultural Anthropology fulfill requirements in the Associate in Arts Degree and the Associate in Science Degree in the natural sciences and the social and behavioral sciences.