The University of West Alabama is offering a minor in anthropology for the first time this fall.

UWA offered its first anthropology course in 2009, and student interest in the subject has grown enough to support the creation of a new anthropology minor.

“Each time that I’ve taught the introduction to anthropology course, several students have approached me toward the end of the semester to ask about other available anthropology courses. Once we added more courses to the catalog, it just made sense to develop a minor to meet the demand,” explained Dr. Ashley Dumas, UWA assistant professor of anthropology.

In 2009, the Harvard Business Review recommended that U.S. corporations should be hiring more anthropologists, not engineers, to meet the needs of expanding global markets.

“In other words, understanding the principles of business or marketing is necessary, but success often depends on being able to adapt your business strategy to constantly and rapidly changing markets, understanding the needs of people from other cultures, and effectively communicating with people of diverse perspectives,” Dumas explained.

Major corporations like Intel, Citicorp, AT&T, Microsoft, and General Mills have hired anthropologists.

For more information about UWA’s minor in anthropology, contact Dr. Ashley Dumas at adumas@uwa.edu or (205) 652-3830.