Spring is in the air!

A return to in-person instruction brings new challenges and opportunities. The Department of Anthropology thanks faculty, staff, students, and support services for their patience and flexibility through Winter Quarter's uncertain start. We recognize a more limited offering of courses as unexpected circumstances have forced us to make last minute changes to the class schedule. We apologize for the inconveniences created by this unavoidable situation.

We welcome Professor Casey Walsh back from sabbatical to serve as Department Chair and thank Associate Professor Sarah McClure for her Herculean effort as Acting Chair at the helm of Fall and Winter quarters with all of their changes.Thank you! 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Department is currently extremely short-staffed, with both Undergraduate and Graduate Program Coordinators having taken new positions elsewhere on campus and the Business Officer out on a Leave of Absence. We ask for your patience as we navigate this challenging time. Staff continue to work hybrid schedules in home and campus offices. Always check with the staff member if you need a person-to-person meeting and verify when they will be in their campus office.

Be well.

 

A Call for Reform

We recognize and condemn the persistent racism in the United States, perpetrated against Black Americans and other people of color. The deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and too many others highlight how policing in the United States is rooted in anti-blackness and white supremacy. This is not only tragic; it is deeply unjust. We are profoundly saddened by their deaths and we know that these events are just the most recent of a very long and deeply painful history of racialized state violence and institutionalized white supremacy. We stand in solidarity with our Black faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students. We recognize the legacies of colonialism, settler colonialism, racism, and white supremacy in the history and development of our discipline, and are committed to fight against systems of oppression and to provide a forum for difficult and important conversations while centering the voices and perspectives of those who have been excluded and marginalized. We understand that a person’s social and political identities might combine to create unique kinds of discrimination and injustice and will work tirelessly to advance social justice and demand action against power relations that result in oppression. The Department of Anthropology commits to the collective effort to build a just and inclusive society in our classrooms, laboratories, field sites, and communities. 

To see our Action Plan, click here.

Anthropology is the study of the human experience.

What will you discover?

News

A History of Violence

Researchers find evidence of chronic internecine warfare in Peru’s Nasca highlands during the Late Intermittent Period

Parachute Failure

Global group of scholars calls for more equitable collaboration with local researchers in cross-cultural social science.

A Drop in Temperature

Drs. Gurven and Kraft examine the decline in average body temperature among healthy adults over the past two decades