Welcome to the Department of Anthropology

In Memoriam

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our friend and colleague, Elizabeth Brumfiel, who died on Sunday, January 1st at the age of 66.  Liz was one of the world’s leading scholars of Aztec archaeology, whose work explored the dynamics of social and economic inequality in human societies.  She was a pioneer in feminist anthropology, exploring issues of gender and class in the archaeological record.

Liz has been respected and beloved in our Department and throughout our field. We will miss her deeply.

(Click here to read the full text.)

 

NEWS:

Professor Jim Brown's Cahokia Research in the Spotlight

Chair of Anthropology contributes to Discovery Channel project on paleolithic living

NU Anthropologists make national headlines with study on hormonal effects of fatherhood on men:

• New York Times article
• Washington Post article

• Northwestern Newscenter article

 

Anthropology Course Schedule - Spring 2012

Anthropology Yearly Course Planner 2011-12

The world is changing and shrinking. People from differing cultures, races, classes, and backgrounds meet and interact more often and more intensely than ever before. Anthropology, the study of humankind in broad perspective, is devoted to the proposition that the differences among us are understandable and enriching. It takes effort and discipline, however, to obtain such understanding and to appreciate human differences and similarities. Anthropology is devoted to discovering and explaining how humanity has developed differences and similarities whenever and wherever these have occurred.

Founded by Melville J. Herskovits in 1938, Northwestern’s Department of Anthropology is committed to fostering the historic diversity of the discipline by building an intellectual dialogue between humanistic and scientific perspectives. In particular the Department’s undergraduate and graduate programs emphasize the integration of the major anthropological subfields: archaeology, bioanthropology, cultural anthropology and linguistic anthropology. Undergraduate and graduate students are taught to harness these strengths in basic research as well as in the application of anthropology both inside and outside of academia.

 

Events and News Graduate Engagement Opportunities Community Practicum (GEO) Graduate Engagement Stories: GEO Student Makes a Difference for Foster Children Matilda Stubbs, a 3rd year Anthropology student, spent a significant part of Winter Quarter 2011 working at the Rice Child + Family Center in Evanston, simultaneously contributing to the wellbeing of its residents, and earning course credit through the Graduate Engagement Opportunities Program (GEO), a practicum and seminar series. Keep reading One Book One Northwestern One Book One Northwestern brings individuals together through the sharing of a common book, and provides people an opportunity to read and discuss influential pieces of literary work.  For more information on this year’s program, please visit the 2011-12 web site at www.onebooknu.com.

Department Administration Chair William R. Leonard Business Administrator Dana Fuller Coordinator of Administration Susan Higgins Director of Graduate Studies Robert Launay Graduate Program Assistant Tracy Tohtz Director of Undergraduate Studies Helen B. Schwartzman Undergraduate Program Assistant Cynthia Beth