Research

Ongoing research projects in the Department engage a range of critical themes including: medicine and culture; politics, inequality and sovereignty; economy, finance, corporations and law; materiality and aesthetics; gender, personhood and identity; ethics and humanitarianism; humans and animals; colonialism and post-coloniality.

Select Current Research Projects:

Jewish Communities on New York’s Lower East Side (Boyarin)
Humanitarian Encounters (Hodzic)
Excavations at the Seneca Iroquois White Springs site near Geneva, New York (Jordan)
The Archaeology and Geography of Ancient Transcaucasian Societies (Smith)

Featured Faculty Research

Anthropological research is engaged with local communities. It is committed to empirical observation. And it is shaped by advanced theoretical understandings of practice and process, tradition and transformation. These are a few highlights of our current work:

Student Research Opportunities

The Department of Anthropology has many partners on campus and around the world that enable our students and faculty members to explore collaborative research opportunities. Students can work with faculty but are also encouraged to develop their own skills at imagining, designing and executing individual research projects.

The Freedman Fund for Undergraduate Research, funded by an endowment established by Randy ‘75 and Howard ‘74, MBA ‘75 Freedman, supports undergraduate students in undertaking anthropological research.

The Engaged Learning in Anthropology Scholarships, which were established by an anonymous donor, support students who seek training in anthropological techniques or who would like to participate in anthropologically-oriented engaged learning opportunities.

The Department of Anthropology is grateful for generous donors who make these awards possible as they provide students with opportunities for transformative research and experiences. Anthropological research experience is an unparalleled way to gain experience working independently in the global community.

Visit the engaged anthropology page for more information on student opportunities.

Dalton Price '20 conducted research for his honors thesis with support from the Freedman Fund for Undergraduate Research. Watch Dalton's presentation: "Global Health's Anti-Politics: A Comparative Ethnography of the World Health Organization and Partners in Health"

To apply, review the application directions and submit the application below:

Freedman Fund for Undergraduate Research Application Directions

Freedman Fund Application

Engaged Learning in Anthropology Scholarship Application Directions

Engaged Learning Application

Email Margaret Rolfe at mr37@cornell.edu if you have any questions.