News and Events

Highlighted here are newsworthy items, colloquia, lectures and events that are of special relevance and interest to anthropology.

Please see the menu to the side for regular department seminars open to the public, the department newsletter, posters on display, and other events links. All events have been posted to the Anthropology Calendar. To access and download the public calendar please click here

Graduate Student Film Festival

Revolution and Social Change

The graduate students in the anthropology department have organized a film festival to explore the topic "Revolution and Social Change" from each sub-disciplinary perspective. We invite you to join us to watch and discuss the following movies, all of which will include a panel discussion composed of graduate students and faculty members. Each film screening and discussion will be followed by an informal reception.

April 27th: "Stargate" - Archaeology selection
Simpson Center/ Communications 120 (3:30-6)

May 11th: "Flock of Dodos" - Biocultural Anthropology selection
Burke Museum, Burke Room (3:30-6)

May 18th: "As Long As the River Runs" - Sociocultural Anthropology selection
Burke Museum, Burke Room (3:30-6)

This event series is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations required. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. For more information contact Catherine Zeigler.

Click here to view the flyer for this event.

Sponsorship provided through the Anthropology Graduate Student Activity Fund, Graduate and Professional Student Senate and the Burke Museum of Natural History.

Serving the Community

Sponsored by the Diversity Committee

Our second (and last for this academic year) department community service event is scheduled for Saturday June 2, 2012, 10:00am-3pm at Clean Greens Farm.

Clean Greens Farm is a small nonprofit organization, owned and operated by residents of Seattle's Central District, which provides produce at neighborhood farm stands and a CSA program for low cost.

Our volunteer time will be spent planting (I'm not sure what we will be planting). This is work that will be done in the fields, and we should be prepared to get muddy and wet and work hard (This will likely be easy work for archaeologists!). Family members are welcome, including children. I do not think there is an age limit for children. There is a port-a-potty in the fields, and also a regular bathroom in a house but the house is not particularly close to the fields. You should bring snacks and/or lunch for yourself.

If you would like to join your fellow Anthropologists in this community giving endeavor, please mark your calendar now, and please let me know if you are interested in participating

The farm is located in Duvall: 20121 West Snoqualmie River Road NE, Duvall, WA 98019. We will reserve one or more vans for this event. Please let us know as soon as you can if you will need a ride from the UW to Duvall. We can also organize car pools. You are welcome to drive on your own as well.

Please join us! This is a great opportunity for us to spend some time together while giving to our community.

Sincerely,
The Anthropology Diversity Committee
(Ann Anagnost, Ben Fitzhugh, Kathy O'Connor, Hilary Bethancourt, Anna Cohen, Coleen Carrigan, Catherine Zeigler)

Dissertation Defenses - Spring 2012

Katherine Wander, a PhD student in Biocultural Anthropology, will be defending her dissertation "Immunocompetence and the Hygiene Hypothesis" on Tuesday, May 8th at 2:30pm in Denny Hall, 401. Advisor: Shell-Duncan

Amanda Taylor, a PhD student in Archaeology, will be defending her disseration "Creating and Transcending Territorial Boundaries in Late Holocene Pacific Coast Communities" on Thursday, May 24th at 9:30am in the Burke Room, Burke Museum. Advisor: Stein

Robertson Allen, a PhD student in Sociocultural Anthropology, will be defending his dissertation "War Games at Work: Networks of Power and Production in the U.S. Army Video Game Project" on Friday, May 25th at 10:00am in Denny Hall, 401. Advisor: Kahn

Rebeca Rivera, a PhD student in Environmental Anthropology, will be defending her disseration "Living Our Values, Living Our Hopes: Building Sustainability within Seattle Urban Intentional Communities" on Wednesday, June 6th at 12:00noon in Denny Hall, 401. Advisors: Lowe and Hunn

Mia Siscawati, a PhD student in Sociocultural Anthropology, will be defending her disseration "Social Movements and Scientific Forestry: Examining the Community Forestry Movement in Indonesia" on June 7th at 12noon in Denny Hall, 401. Advisor: Lowe

Benjamin Trumble, a PhD student in Biocultural Anthropology, will be defending his dissertation "Testosterone, energetics, and male life-history" on Wednesday, June 6th at 2:00pm in Denny Hall, 401. Advisors: O'Connor and Smith

C. Michelle Kleisath, a PhD student in Sociocultural Anthropology, will be defending her dissertation "Tibet beyond Black and White: Racial Formations and Transnational Collusions" on Friday, June 8th at 2pm in Communications, 226. Advisor: Harrell

Spring 2012 Dissertation Colloquia

Stephanie Maher, Sociocultural Anthropology Graduate Student
May 21, 2012 at 3:30pm in Thomson Hall, 317
"Barça ou Barzakh: The Social “Elsewhere” of Failed Clandestine Migration Out of West Africa"
Advisor: Hoffman

Bonnie Tilland,Sociocultural Anthropology Graduate Student
May 23, 2012 at 11:00am in Denny Hall, 401
"Dramatic Restructuring: The Staging of Family Values and National Identity in South Korea"
Advisor: Anagnost

To request disability accommodations, contact the Disability Services Office Coordinator at least ten days in advance of the event: 543-6450 (voice); dso@u.washington.edu

Speakeasy Fridays - Spring 2012

Sponsored by the Diversity Committee

June 1, 2012- "Epistemology of the Colonized: An Anthropology of Relational Accountability"

Grounded in embodiment and anti-colonial theory, this ethno-epistemic workshop will guide community members by creating a space to cultivate their bodily sensory ways of knowing, engaging participants in an anti-oppressive anthropology, and deepening one’s ethnographic perception and dimensions of knowledge. Guided by doctoral student of sociocultural and medical anthropology, Claudia Serrato.

1:30-3:00
Denny Hall, 401

Pedagogy Workshop

"How to Write a Syllabus"

April 30th, 2012 3:30-4:20, Denny 213.

List of presenters:
Janelle Taylor, Miriam Kahn, Molly Odell, Jack Johnson, Natasha Slobodina, and Lisbeth Louderback

Speakeasy Fridays - Spring 2012

Sponsored by the Diversity Committee

March 30- Hard Work and Meritocracy: Untangling the Contradictions in Diversity Efforts

This 50-minute workshop will raise topics that challenge us to think through both group and individual experiences that influence public discourse on diversity and underrepresented group members’ persistence in nontraditional fields . Our goals are 1) to unpack key concepts such as meritocracy and hard work to understand how diversity challenges us at individual, interpersonal and structural levels; and 2) to discuss as a group the contradictions involved in challenging structural factors related to access in higher education while encouraging individual persistence.

3:30-5:00
Denny Hall, 401

Mary Gates Research and Leadership Scholarships
2011-2012

Congratulations to UW Anthropology Undergraduates who received Mary Gates Research and Leadership Scholarships in Autumn 2011 and Winter 2012!

Research Scholars Winter 2012:
Amy Budwill, Kenmore, "The Impact of Perceived Susceptibility: Vaccination Decisions and the Human Papillomavirus"
Major: Anthropology: Medical Anth & Global Health
Advisor: Donna Leonetti, Anthropology

Misty Montejano, Visalia, CA, "The Effects of Foot Proportion on Energetics in Homo sapiens"
Major: Earth & Space Sciences (Biology)
Advisor: Patricia Kramer, Anthropology

Leadership Scholar Autumn 2011:
Claire Powers, Olympia, "Improving Early Literacy in Children From Low Socioeconomic Communities
Major: Anthropology
Advisor: Benjamin Danielson, Seattle Children's Hospital

Research Scholars Autumn 2011:
Mariah Bell-Stuart, Chehalis, "The Effects of Music on Cortisol Levels"
Major: Anthropology
Advisor: Kathleen O'Connor, Anthropology

Faustine Dufka, San Francisco, CA, "Photography's role in the process of mourning neonatal, perinatal, and infant death"
Major: Anthropology: Medical Anth & Global Hlth
Advisor: Danny Hoffman, Anthropology

Alex Nelson, Spokane, "Hyperlipidemia Induced Microvascular Endothelial Cell Dysfunction: A Novel Cardiovascular Pathway"
Major: Anthropology: Medical Anth & Global Hlth, Biology (General)
Advisor: Morayma Reyes, Pathology

Ryan Shambroich, Woodinville, "The Lived Experience of Ethiopian Adoption from the Perspective of Euro-American Adoptive Parents"
Major: Anthropology: Medical Anth & Global Hlth, Individualized Studies
Advisor: Rachel Chapman, Anthropology

Pedagogy Workshop

"Teaching Philosophy"

April 2nd, 11-12:30, Denny 401.

List of presenters:
Julie Stein: "What is a Statement of Teaching Philosophy, and Why do you Need One?"
Michael Perez: "Exemplifying your philosophy of teaching"
Dave Giles:" Interdisciplinary pedagogy, collaborative teaching, student-centered curricula, and service-learning"
Geoff Kushnick: “The Virtues of Including (or Not) Teaching Philosophy Buzzwords and Clichés”
Henry Lyle: "How to Write a Convincing Teaching Statement when you Lack Teacing Experience"
Ben Marwick: "Evidence-based approach to constructing a personal teaching philosophy"

Dissertation Defenses - Winter 2012

Yu Huang, a PhD student in Sociocultural Anthropology, will be defending her dissertation "Vibrant Risks: Scientific Aquaculture and Political Ecologies in China" on Tuesday, Febuary 28th at 11:30am in Denny Hall, 401.

Elda Miriam Aldasaro Maya, a PhD student in Environmental Anthropology, will be defending her dissertation "The Pjiekakjoo (Tlahuica)Environmental Knowledge contextualized" on Thursday, March 1st at 9am in Kane Hall, 023D.

Hsun-Hui Tseng, a PhD student in Sociocultural Anthropology, will be defending her dissertation "Stratified Bodies and Geopolitics of Desire: Gender, Class and Race in the Transnational Marriage Market in Taiwan" on Tuesday, March 6th at 10am in Denny Hall, 401.

Winter 2012 Dissertation Colloquia

Michele Statz, Sociocultural Anthropology Graduate Student
February 2 at 1pm in Thomson 403
"Limited Relief: Rights and Culture in the Legal Contact Zones of Unaccompanied Fujianese Child Migration"

Rochelle Fonoti, Sociocultural Anthropology PHC
February 21 at 3pm in Denny 401
"Mapping Fa'asamoa: The Life Histories of Samoan Students at South Seattle Community College"

Erik Gjesfjeld, Archaeology PHC
March 9 at 3:30pm in Denny 401
"Reconstructing Social Networks in Uncertain Environments using Archaeological Pottery"

To request disability accommodations, contact the Disability Services Office Coordinator at least ten days in advance of the event: 543-6450 (voice); dso@u.washington.edu

Alaska Anthropological Association Meetings

"Northern People and Landscapes in Times of Change"

39th Annual Meeting
Alaska Anthropological Association
February 29 – March 3, 2012
Hotel Deca, University District
Seattle, WA

Sensitivity to change has always been a hallmark of Northern communities. The anthropological/ archaeological/historical record gives witness to tremendous endurance, creativity, and resilience in the face of climate, ecological, and social change. This record also provides insights into the limits of resilience, wrenching conflicts and profound tragedies from broad to very local and personal scales. For the 2012 annual meeting, we encourage symposia and individual presentations focusing on the ever more pressing need to understand the human dimensions of changing landscapes. Welcoming the eclectic mix of presentations that makes every aaa annual meeting fresh and engaging, we look especially for contributions that seek to draw lessons for the future from research into the peoples and cultures of past and present.

Sponsored by the University of Washington Department of Anthropology
and the Burke Museum of Natural and Cultural History with the Burke Archaeology Department

Registration and submission can be made from the association website click here

Online Registration Begins December 15, 2011!

Contact Ben Fitzhugh if you have any questions about this meeting.

Speakeasy Fridays - Winter 2012

Sponsored by the Diversity Committee

January 27- Diversity and Inclusion in Teaching

The 50-minute workshop will cover topics such as microaggressions, privilege, and unexamined bias. Our goals are 1) to raise awareness of language and text in our teaching that may (unintentionally) alienate students and colleagues; and 2) provide tools and resources to help us make our classrooms and syllabi sensitive to diversity issues and reflect inclusivity.

Dissertation Defenses - Autumn 2011

Barbara Grub, a PhD student in Environmental Anthropology, will be defending her dissertation on Wednesday December 14th, at 3pm in Denny Hall, M-32, entitled: Culture, Ecology and Livestock Development in Two Nuosu Yi Villages in Liangshan, China

Autumn 2011 Dissertation Colloquia

Raul Garcia, Sociocultural Anthropology PhC
November 22 at 11am in Denny 401
"From the Fields to the Corners: Day Workers in the Pacific Northwest"

Lisbeth Louderback, Archaeology PhC
December 9 at 3:30 in Denny 401
"The Ecology of Diet Breadth, Grinding Stones, and Small Seeds in the Basin-Plateau Region, USA"

To request disability accommodations, contact the Disability Services Office Coordinator at least ten days in advance of the event: 543-6450 (voice); dso@u.washington.edu

In the News

Graduate Student, David Giles and his dissertation research are profiled in the November 4, 2011 issue of the Seattle Time

To read the article in the Seattle Times click here.
To read the article in the Seattle PI click here

Natural and Cultural History of the Kuril Archipelago

Kuril Biocomplexity Project Synthesis Conference and Workshop

Interested parties are invited to attend a conference/workshop on the Natural and Cultural History of the Kuril Archipelago in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Scientific results will be presented on the integrated history of Volcanism, Tectonics (Earthquakes, Tsunamis), Oceanography, Climate, Ecology, and Human Settlement based on a half decade of international and interdisciplinary research coordinated by the University of Washington (CSDE, QRC, Anthropology, ESS) in collaboration with academic and scientific institutions of Russia and Japan.

Please see the attached flyer for program information.

Depth of Field - Anthropology Through the Lens

Open House Reception

Location: Odegaard Library, Room 220
Date: October 28, 2011
From: 5:00-7:00pm

Click here for further details

Depth of Field - Anthropology Through the Lens

A student photo exhibit sponsored by the UW Anthropology Diversity Committee

Depth of Field : (1) the range of object distances within a photograph that are imaged with acceptable sharpness; (2) the relative experience of fieldwork.

TTL : [Through the Lens] (1) metering system that measures light or exposure through the taking lens of a camera; (2) manner of observation: perspective.


How do we see? How do we observe the world around us? Anyone who has picked up a camera knows that looking through a lens necessarily changes the way we appreciate the scene before it. What do we foreground, and what do we let fall into the distance? This exhibit showcases the visual work of UW Anthropology students and images from their field research from all over the world. Comprised mostly of images taken by graduate students, we hope this collection will open your eyes not only to the variety of human cultures but also to the many ways we can study them. We invite you to take a moment, and see the world through someone else’s lens.

SEPTEMBER 28, 2011—DECEMBER 18, 2011
Odegaard Library, 1st Floor, West Photo Cases (behind circulation)

Click here for further details

In the News

Professor Devon Peña is interviewed in Cascadia Weekly"Last Ditch Effort: Building a productive commons of land, water and food."

To read the article in Cascadia Weekly click here.

In the News

Professor Donald K. Grayson has been elected to the the National Academy of Sciences. To read the article in UW Today click here.

Anthropology Graduation Ceremony, 2011

We are overjoyed to annouce the class of 2011, and congratulate them all to a successful future.

The Anthropology Department Graduation Ceremony was held on Sunday, June 12th, 2011. To see photos from the event, please become a fan of UW Anthropology on facebook:

Click here to become a fan and see photos from the 2011 graduation ceremony

UW Anthropology Annual Outreach Event

"A Taste of Spring"

The UW Department of Anthropology & the UW Farm invite you to a reception and dinner featuring guest speaker Molly Wizenberg, UW Anthropology alumna and author.

Click here for further details - Tickets are required

Thursday May 26, 2011
Center for Urban Horticulture
6:00 - 9:00pm

In the News

Ben Fitzhugh's work in the Kuril Biocomplexity Project is discussed in the article "Foggy, volcanic Kuril Islands illuminate limits of where humans can live (with slideshow), appearing in UW Today. To read the article, click here.

In the News

Continued coverage of the Maury Island dig, a collaborative effort of King County, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle. King County archaeologist and former graduate student Tom Minichillo discusses the project.

Click here to read about it in the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber.

In the News

Former graduate student and current King County archaeologist Tom Minichillo, and current graduate student Jacob Deppen, where both quoted in the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber. They discuss their recent work on a collaborative project with the Puyallup Tribe, King County, and the Burke Museum.

Click here to read about it in the Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber.

In the News

Congratulations to Profs. Stevan Harrell and Ben Marwick - and Grad Students Amy Jordan and Lauren Rhodes for receiving ACLS grants and fellowships.

Click here to read about it in UWeek.

In the News

A&S Perspectives covers the work of the UW Farm where Ann Anagnost and Devon Peña have been devoting some of their time.

Click here to read the article.

In the News

Professor Emeritus James Nason is talked about in the A&S Perspectives article "Tribal Museum Program Launches with UW Involvement."

Click here to read the article.