
Featured Anthropology Minor: Shuqian Lyu
"I am interested in visual anthropology and ethnography, particularly in topics such as ethics, representation, and emerging fields like sensory ethnography."
Read moreThe 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.
Statement from the Anthropology Core Faculty
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.
"I am interested in visual anthropology and ethnography, particularly in topics such as ethics, representation, and emerging fields like sensory ethnography."
Read more"Studying topics in environmental anthropology has allowed me to investigate the cultural, political, and social dimensions of human interactions with the environment across temporal and spatial scales."
Read moreMatthew Velasco, assistant professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Anna Whittemore, doctoral candidate in anthropology, received awards from the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) at the SAA annual meeting on April 25.
Read moreThe new Anthropology Collaboratory gathers many of the university’s anthropology collections and laboratories together in one place in Olin Library.
Read more"To find oneself is, I believe, the greatest achievement anyone can make while in school."
Read more"Since I’m particularly interested in bioarchaeology and archaeological science, studying anthropology has allowed me to engage with questions of health, identity, and power from an interdisciplinary perspective."
Read more"I attribute anthropology’s interdisciplinary nature, combined with the unique course content taught by the department's knowledgeable faculty, to helping me develop my academic passion."
Read more"I found the Anthropology minor towards the second half of undergrad, and it has still greatly impacted me for the better."
Read moreAnthropology 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.