Tracing the human career from the emergence of the species to the contemporary global moment
Department of Anthropology
The Department of Anthropology faculty conduct ethnographic and archaeological as well as biological research that brings hard-won fieldwork to the development of cutting edge social and cultural theories. Our students and faculty work around the globe: from Ithaca, India and Indonesia to the Caribbean and Central America; from Japan, Africa and Nepal to China and the Caucasus; and from the circumpolar North to the Global South.
This year has been declared a year of “free expression” at Cornell. In this spirit, the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at Cornell University stands behind all faculty, staff, and students who speak up about ongoing violence and oppression—whether in Palestine/Israel, China, Nagorno-Karabakh, the United States, or elsewhere—including those whose words do not echo those of the university administration. As scholars, we have a responsibility to bring critical analysis and historical context to bear on matters of pressing public concern. As teachers, we wish to express our support for students and fellow educators who have both loved ones and research commitments in Palestine/Israel. We also support members of our community who face reprisal for voicing their positions on the conflict.
Fellows will spend the year developing a community-engaged course, project or publication, while also joining a network of scholars committed to advancing the university’s public engagement mission.
More than 75 people, including university leaders, donors and members of the College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Council, celebrated the start of the $110 million McGraw Hall renovation project Sept. 19 with a “groundbreaking” ceremony.
Cornell researchers have received a $150,000 NEH Digital Humanities Advanced Grant to create a 3D virtual modeling project based on the Casa della Regina Carolina, a large Pompeian house.
Scholar Daniel Bass comments on this week's presidential election in Sri Lanka, the first since a 2022 economic meltdown that forced the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Cornell, the only institution offering regular multilevel instruction in all six of the major Southeast Asian languages – Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Filipino (Tagalog), Thai and Vietnamese – will host a conference on the teaching of these languages on Sept. 19-21.
The American Anthropological Association announced an annual award established in memory of A. Thomas Kirsch, a Professor of Anthropology and Asian Studies at Cornell
Anthropology provides the global perspective and critical thinking skills that will open doors to a wide range of career paths. The major will also prepare you for graduate study in anthropology.
The Anthropology Collections include approximately 20,000 items representing human activity around the world from the Lower Paleolithic to the present. Archaeological and ethnographic materials are about equally represented.
Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York State, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters. This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' leadership.