FAAP Level III accreditation (undergraduate programs) evaluated by PAASCU
FAAP Level II accreditation (graduate programs) evaluated by PAASCU
Overview
Scholar-priests including Fr. Rudolf Rahmann (last rector and first president of USC) established the Department of Anthropology in 1952 and the graduate anthropology program in 1959. These early years were marked by archaeological excavations and ethnographic research in various regions in the Philippines; findings from fieldwork composed the initial collections of the USC Museum. In 1961, Fr. Wilhelm Flieger (who later founded the Office of Population Studies) created the Department of Sociology and both anthropology and sociology undergraduate programs received government recognition in 1966, the same year the Department of History was established through the leadership of medieval historian Fr. Theodore van Zijl and chair Fr. Pieter Jan Raats. Under Fr. Ernest Brandewie, the Department of Sociology and Anthropology merged in 1967 expanding ethnographic and demographic researches as well as archaeological expeditions that built up an impressive collection of artifacts displayed at the USC Museum.
Turbulent years during Martial Law prompted the turnover of the departments’ leadership to lay Filipinos, which also shifted the research focus to social activism. Historical research also transitioned from classical to Philippine colonial and post-colonial studies. In 1975, emphasis on local and regional historical research prompted the establishment of the Cebuano Studies Center, with Resil Mojares as its founding director. Scholars Harold Olofson, Michael Cullinane, and John Allen Peterson provided additional impetus to the two departments, and in 2002, a partnership with New Mexico State University initiated by Wenda Ruth Trevathan resulted in three faculty members obtaining their Ph. D.s. while another partnership with Larenstein University established the Geographic Information System project for Social Sciences. Archaeological digs resumed also in 2004 under the leadership of Jose Eleazar R. Bersales, as researches focused on cultural heritage and local history. The Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History under the leadership of Fr Aleksander Gaut (now Vice President for Academic Affairs) was formed after the merger of the two departments in 2011. Preparing for the educational transition, faculty members who were actively engaged in research and community extension established the USC Center for Social Research and Education (CSRE).
For more information, contact: The Chair, Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and History University of San Carlos Room PE45, Philip van Engelen Building Talamban Campus, Nasipit, Cebu City 6000 Philippines Trunkline +63-32-230-0100 local 139 Email lgocasiones@usc.edu.phdashsec@usc.edu.ph
Programs offered
Master of Arts in Anthropology (M.A. Anthro.) Graduate Certificate in Cebuano Heritage Studies and Conservation Management Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Community Development Bachelor of Arts major in Anthropology (A.B. Anthro.)
Research highlights
Recent researches are centered around the University’s agenda of food and water security, health, heritage conservation, waste management, and renewable energy. Specifically, the Department received several Commission on Higher Education Philippine Higher Education Research Network (CHED PHERNet) grants to investigate local food knowledge and practices in Cebu, as well as CHED Center of Excellence grants for studies concerning traditional healers, Overseas Filipino Workers’ remittances practices, farming-related issues including upland terrace farming, land-grabbing, gender impacts, and water scarcity. A reputation survey is also funded by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI), while medicinal plants surveys were also funded by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD).
