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Department of Anthropology
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
United States
The department is among the major centers for training and research in public anthropology, supplemented by the contributions of an array of anthropologists across campus. The discipline of anthropology is distinctly broad and uses a variety of approaches from the humanities, and social, biological, and evolutionary sciences to study all aspects of human existence, past and present. The AU Department of Anthropology is distinct in our commitment to civic engagement, social justice, and public scholarship in all aspects of our teaching and scholarship. We strive to equip students to address complex human issues in diverse contexts through the practical application of anthropological knowledge alongside rigorous theoretical study.
Our faculty work at the intersection of law, policy, and ethics, addressing issues such as human effects on the environment and how communities past and present approached sustainability and development, or designing community-focused strategies for combating health inequities.
The Anthropology Department offers a minor, BA, BA/MA, MA in Public Anthropology, and PhD. We also offer certificate programs in public anthropology, global health, health inequities, and social science and policy.
Featured Courses
Race & Racism
ANTH-210: Students in this class will explore the shifting definitions and uses of race and racism throughout modern history. We will also critically analyze the relationship between race and other vectors of power and difference, especially gender, class, and nation. Finally, they will become familiar with the various anti-racist projects and discourses, especially those that emerge from communities of grassroots struggle.
Public Anthropology
ANTH-442: This course will explore how anthropology – and related social science disciplines - can engage in what is broadly understood as “the public” and as such be an effective tool for social change that challenges forms of oppression and inequality. Ultimately, the seminar asks every member to pursue and shape their own personal vision for anthropology and publicly engaged scholarship more broadly.
Buried History of the US
ANTH-235: Buried History of the US immerses students in some of the mysteries, marvels, and daily experiences of people of diverse backgrounds across the American past. Students will come to understand the American societies through the very personal means of examination of artifacts and other items of daily life excavated from the soils upon which people lived out their lives. Today’s social issues and struggles will regularly reflected in the histories that are explored.
Topics in Environmental Anthropology
ANTH-654: This graduate seminar presents rotating topics in anthropology and the environment. One topic examines the practices of environmental conservation from an anthropological perspective, bringing together social theory, ethnographic case studies, and interviews with conservation practitioners to examine the ways that environmental conservation remakes place, space, and bodies. We ask: How are environmental conservation organizations implicated in socionatural disasters? What do changing conservation paradigms indicate about who has agency and responsibility for environmental stewardship? How do anthropological insights shape conservation practices? Other topics include Intersections of Food and Environment and Anthropology of the Oceans.
News
War Making as World Making: Kenya, the United States, and the War on Terror
November 19, 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Letts Hall Formal Lounge 100
A book talk with author Dr. Samar Al-Bulushi of University of California, Irvine, in conversation with Dr. Mariam Durrani and Dr. Zoltán Glück
Events Labs, Research, and Publications
Bulletins
Thurka Sangaramoorthy wrote on anti-Black xenophobia and weighed in on America’s long-standing racism against Haiti and its people in The Conversation.
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PhD candidate Francesca Emanuele wrote an article published in Foreign Policy about the discrepancies between the leadership of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the majority of its member countries regarding the military operations of Israel in Gaza.
- Zoltán Glück's article on abolishing the Kenyan Police was featured on The Conversation's "essential reads" for understanding the political crisis in Kenya in June 2024.
- Thurka Sangaramoorthy spoke with the Post and Courier about the dangerous working and living conditions of migrant workers.
- PhD candidate Francesa Emanuele published an article on Peru’s president in Jacobin.
- Public Anthropology MA students Elise Ferrer and Madison Shomaker and recent alum Nada Baghat published a four-part series titled "We Are Not Alternative: A Communal Take on Theorization and Canon in Anthropology Theory Courses" in American Anthropologist:
More Bulletins
Thurka Sangaramoorthy spoke with Associated Press about the growing Haitian community in the Eastern Shore.
Daniel Sayers spoke with PBS about his research into Maroon communities.
Orisanmi Burton received a favorable review in The Progressive Magazine on his new book, Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt (University of California Press, 2023)
Manissa Maharawal spoke with NPR about the history of tech companies interfering with intracity transportation.
See PhD candidate Heba Ghannam in the Middle East Institute's 2022 Arab Barometer Report: Attitudes and Trends toward Gender.
David Vine published a commentary on “build back better” in The Progressive Magazine.
Prof. Thurka Sangaramoorthy published "Underpaid and Overlooked, Migrant Labor Provides Backbone of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Local Economy" in The Conversation.
Hear prof. Dan Sayers in the Ideas podcast: The Marrow Nature: A Case for the Wetlands.
PhD candidate Maya S. Kearney is the recipient of the 2022 AAA Dissertation Fellowship for Historically Underrepresented Persons in Anthropology
Spotlight
Justin SiskMA, Public Anthropology
More about Justin
"American University has furthered my academic training as a scholar of anthropology and religion,” says Public Anthropology MA candidate Justin Sisk. “It allowed me to work closely with religious communities and to showcase those findings in an academic fashion.”
Justin focuses his master’s research on Norse Paganism — a religion that emphasizes community building through the worship of the Norse pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, ritual, and a close tie to nature.
During his studies at AU, Justin completed an internship with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where he explored the economic, cultural, environmental, and social implications that surround ginseng digging in Appalachian communities. The experience gave him an opportunity to hone his skills as an interview transcriber and immerse himself in the rigorous Smithsonian research process.
Justin plans to pursue a PhD and ultimately teach at a university, research institute, or museum and continue his work on religious beliefs, ritualistic behavior, identity, and counter-cultural narratives. “AU is helping me accomplish this goal by providing me with a wonderful learning environment that will not only help me receive my master's degree, but also help further my knowledge-building as a scholar,” he says.