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The College of Arts & Sciences
Cornell’s Department of Anthropology is one of the most respected programs in the world with a long tradition of innovation and a legacy of leadership in the discipline. The work of its faculty traces the human career from the emergence of the species to the contemporary global moment.
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.
Located in 150 McGraw Hall, part of the original University Museum, the Collections are primarily a teaching and research tool and are not open to the public but can be visited by appointment by individuals and groups. Classes of up to 20 students can easily arrange sessions in the Collections to work with particular materials; many items can be signed out by faculty for use in their classes when a full visit to the Collections is not warranted. Click here for more information on the Anthropology Collections.
The Cornell Department of Anthropology, as a separate entity, was formed in 1962. However, anthropology has been practiced at Cornell nearly from the founding of the university.
The department history page details our rich past, including the first century, the Cornell totem pole and the cross-cultural methodology project.
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.
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The American Anthropological Association announced an annual award established in memory of A. Thomas Kirsch, a Professor of Anthropology and Asian Studies at Cornell
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"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."
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Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.
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Alexis Boyce, program manager for the Asian American Studies Program, has been honored with the Employee Assembly's Award for Staff Inclusion and Integrity.
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More students can afford to stay on campus to work in faculty labs during the summer thanks to generous alumni.
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Recognizing the importance of extended, in-country research, Amit Bhatia ’01 created a fund to help close gaps in funding for travel and other expenses.
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Coming from the University of Toronto, where he is the director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Loewen begins his five-year appointment as the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Aug. 1.
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