The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Marshall University offers a supportive environment for undergraduate and Masters level students who wish to pursue training in sociology and anthropology. Our accomplished faculty place a strong emphasis on teaching and mentoring while also striving to maintain an active research agenda. The curriculum is designed to provide our students with a wide range of options in pursuit of their academic and professional goals and interests, while also providing solid training in core foundations the two disciplines. Students learn both qualitative and quantitative research methods and are exposed to a variety of subfields and theoretical perspectives.Faculty core strengths include: social movements and social change, gender, race, inequality, stratification, cultural diversity, social interaction and group processes, migration, environmental justice, social institutions (religion, family, work and occupations, health care, politics and the economy), gerontology, qualitative and quantitative research methods, and advanced statistical analysis.
Faculty serve both programs through offering cross-listed and other courses that are accepted in partial fulfillment of degree requirements by the separate degree programs of Sociology and Anthropology within our combined department. While faculty members listed here primarily advise students within their respective disciplines, there are many situations where students are advised and mentored, both formally and informally, by faculty within both disciplinary areas. These include independent studies, capstone and honors projects, as well as as through graduate thesis committees.
Ph.D., Anthropology, Tulane University
B.A. in Anthropology (honors), Vanderbilt University
B.A. in Art history, Vanderbilt University
Rachel Witt holds a B.A. in anthropology (honors) and art history from Vanderbilt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from Tulane University. She is a biological anthropologist who specializes in bioarchaeology and biogeochemistry. Before joining the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Marshall University, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Tulane University. Witt’s ongoing research with the Programa Arqueologico Huanchaco in collaboration with Drs. Gabriel Prieto (University of Florida) and John Verano (Tulane University) investigates the role of ritual violence in empire-building and imperial expansion on the north coast of Peru during the reign of the Chimú and Inca Empires. She also participates with the Proyecto Arqueologico Huari Ancash Canchas Uckro in collaboration with Dr. Jason Nesbitt (Tulane University). Witt has received several honors including the National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, and grants from the Lambda Alpha National Collegiate Honors Society and the Rust Family Foundation.
Adjunct and Visiting Instructors
Retired Faculty
