Assistant/Associate Professor – Biological Anthropology

The Department of Anthropology at Emory University (Atlanta, GA) invites applications for three tenure track positions to begin Fall 2020. For this cluster hire, we seek scholars at the assistant or associate level who are engaged in cutting-edge research in any area of biological anthropology. To complement existing departmental strengths, we are particularly interested in scholars engaged in field and/or lab-based research in the areas of behavioral/human ecology, genetics, human biology, paleoanthropology, prehistoric archaeology, primatology, and scientifically-based medical anthropology. Candidates should be willing and able to regularly teach a large introductory course in biological anthropology or human biology along with courses in their area of expertise and be willing to mentor undergraduate and graduate students. Candidates must have a doctoral degree, excellent research record, and a demonstrated commitment to teaching.

Applications should include cover letter, curriculum vita, research statement, teaching statement, a statement about teaching and mentorship of students of diverse backgrounds, and complete contact information for three references. The Department of Anthropology, Emory College and Emory University embrace diversity and seek candidates who will participate in a climate that attracts students of all ethnicities, races, nationalities, genders, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Applications will be accepted through November 1, 2019. To apply for this position, please visit https://apply.interfolio.com/66080 and submit your materials free of charge through Interfolio. Please direct questions regarding the search to Committee Chair Dr. Craig Hadley at chadley@emory.edu. Questions regarding applications may be directed to Lora McDonald at lora.mcdonald@emory.edu.

Emory University is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

Dr. Justin Pargeter and colleagues present a multidisciplinary study of Late Acheulean handaxe-making skill acquisition in the latest edition of the Journal of Human Evolution

Dr. Justin Pargeter and colleagues, including Dr. Dietrich Stout, present a multidisciplinary study of Late Acheulean handaxe-making skill acquisition in the latest edition of the Journal of Human Evolution. Their results identify cognitive targets of tool-making skill acquisition, learning costs, and highlight the importance of social support, motivation, persistence, and self-control in knapping skill acquisition.

Abbe McCarter (C19) receives Bradley Currey Jr. Seminar Award

Anthropology and human biology graduate Abbe McCarter received the Bradley Currey Jr. Seminar Award for her project “Food Insecurity on the Cattaraugus Reservation.” This was part of her honors thesis titled “Windows into the Lived Experiences and Health Consequences of Food Insecurity on the Cattaraugus Reservation: Implications for Indigenous Peoples’ Food Sovereignty”. She graduated in May with highest honors.

“I am beyond grateful for the Rose Library and their consideration for the Bradley Currey Jr. Seminar Award. This award allowed me to travel to the Seneca Nation of Indians’ Cattaraugus Reservation and conduct first hand qualitative and quantitative research. The experience as a whole provided me with significant lessons in conducting anthropological research as I examined the lived experiences and health consequences of food insecurity and sovereignty for Indigenous Peoples. I am certain that this award, the mentorship of Dr. Vidali and the rest of Emory’s Anthropology department, and the completion of my honors thesis, contributed to me achieving my current position – as the 2019/20 Melvin Ember intern with HRAF at Yale University working with some of the most important minds and data in cross-cultural research. Having the opportunity to travel to the Cattaraugus Reservation was absolutely critical, and allowed me to foster relationships with interlocutors in the field and embark upon a course of study which will continue to grow for years to come thanks to the Bradley Currey Jr. Seminar Award!”

She is one of eleven Emory students who recently received undergraduate research awards for their library research. Read more in the Emory News Center.

Alumni Spotlight – Suma Ikeuchi (19PhD)

Suma Ikeuchi (16PhD), Assistant Professor of Liberal Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has several publications and travel plans coming up this summer. Her first book, Jesus Loves Japan: Return Migration and Global Pentecostalism in a Brazilian Diaspora, has just been published by Stanford University Press (June 2019). With the Engaged Anthropology Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation, she is traveling to Japan and Brazil this summer to share the research results with the migrants who participated in the study and to deliver lectures at a number of universities in both countries including Nanzan University and the University of São Paulo. Her most recent article, “From Slaves to Agents: Pentecostal Ethic and Precarious Labor among Brazilian Migrants in Toyota, Japan” has also been published by The Journal of the American Academy of Religion (JAAR), the premier academic journal in religious studies. She is also expanding her scholarship to an exciting new direction by exploring the crossroads of Anthropology and Art. A panel discussion with several prominent Japanese anthropologists titled “Writing, Creating, and Teaching at the Intersection of Art and Anthropology” will take place this summer at Kyoto City University of Arts.

Katya Bobrek (19C) received NSF funding

Anthropology major Katya Bobrek was one of six recent Emory graduates to receive NSF funding and the only one to be awarded the prestigious grand right after receiving her undergraduate degree. She graduated in May with high honors in Anthropology and Human Biology. The title of her honors thesis was “Genomic Analysis and Natural Selection Scan of Mexican Mayan and Indigenous Populations” and her advisor was Dr. John Lindo.

“I’m so thankful for the opportunity given to me by NSF. What excites me the most about my research is its interdisciplinary nature. I would never have found this niche if not for the education I received at the Emory Anthropology department. There I discovered my love of anthropology, health, and scientific research. It’s because of Emory Anthropology that I found what I am most passionate about.” Katya Bobrek

Paul Dallaghan is interviewed on CNN for International Day of Yoga

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Paul Dallaghan is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology. His research project entitled “Breath, stress, and health: a biocultural study of hatha yoga” involves a controlled multicultural subject intervention, registered with clinicaltrials.gov, to assess the effects of engaged practice with breath focus on markers of stress, aging, and mental wellbeing. Paul will teach The Anthropology of Yoga this fall semester at Emory.

You can watch the Interview on Facebook and Twitter.

Kristen Kaufman (19C) is recognized as student employee of the year

Kristen graduated in May with highest honors in Anthropology and also minored in Sustainability. She has worked with the Office of Sustainability Initiative on the zero waste policies.

“I have learned so much about how to make change happen thanks to the sustainability initiatives at Emory. Through collaborating with administrators, faculty, staff, and student peers in the process of working towards a sustainable Emory, I have met inspiring people across the University and forged connections that contribute not only to my sense of place but also to my professional development.

Through working as a student employee with the Office, I have also been able to understand the links between my education in the classroom and real-world translation and application. I think people are so fundamental to understanding sustainability and sustainable outcomes, so studying anthropology has been as necessary supplement to my sustainability work and a fundamental influence in my thinking. Both working with OSI and studying anthropology were invaluable for my skills development, my understanding of people and the world around me, and the evolution of my sustainable vision for the future.”

Congratulations Kristen!

The best thing to give Dad on Father’s Day… according to science.

Just in time for fathers day Jim Rilling’s (Emory Anthropology) fatherhood research is in without coat.jpg the spot light of both Emory News and GPB. The Emory News article Five surprising facts about fathers highlights some of the overlooked challenges that fathers face based on a research project done in collaboration with Craig Hadley (Emory Anthropology). Dr. Rilling previously collaborated in research that was published in 2017 by Dr. Jennifer Mascaro (Emory School of Medicine). She investigated the difference in behavior when fathers interact with daughters or sons, such as a focus on social vocabulary for girls and achievement for boys.

In the GPB interview with Virginia Prescott Rilling gets the chance to talk about the work and findings in detail, the interview is available online.

Now what should you give dad? According to Rilling, subjects found quite some enjoyment in sharing their fatherhood experience.

Anthropology Celebrates Record Number of Honors Graduates

Honors 2019 — Left to right: Sierra Stubbs, Abbe McCarter, Sarah Elmongy, Aditi Majoe, Dr. Kristin Phillips, Anna Glass, Karina Collins, Kristen Kaufman, Lila Bilsky. Not pictured: Katya Bobrek, Neharika Penmetcha.

The Anthropology department is proud to recognize a record number of honors graduates for 2019! This year, ten Anthropology students successfully defended honors theses, the culmination of a year (or more!) of independent research and writing. Their projects were completed under the supervision of faculty advisors and committee members from within and outside of Anthropology, with support from faculty honors coordinator Dr. Kristin Phillips. Topics ranged from art forgery to opioid use disorder to genomic analysis, representing the wide variety of applications for anthropological study. These students were honored at the Anthropology Honors and Awards Luncheon on April 26^th, and graduated with honors at ceremonies on May 12 and 13.

Please see below for a full list of theses, and join us in congratulating these students on their hard work and accomplishment!

Lila Bilsky – Parental Perceptions and Preferences of Asthma Medication Delivery Devices in a Pediatric Emergency Room
Advised by Carol Worthman and Peter Brown

Katya Bobrek – Genomic Analysis and Natural Selection Scan of Mexican Mayan and Indigenous Populations
Advised by John Lindo

Karina Collins – Community Stigma and Opioid Use Disorder in Southern West Virginia
Advised by Karen Hegtvedt (Sociology)

Sarah Elmongy – Western Perceptions of Arab Women & Their Lived Identities as Women
Advised by Craig Hadley

Anna Glass – The Price of Forgery: An Anthropological Perspective on the Value of Fine Art
Advised by Bobby Paul

Kristen Kaufman – Sustainability, Being, and Reconciliation: Decolonizing Nature and the Australian Imaginary
Advised by Alice Reznickova (Ripon College, WI) and Kristin Phillips

Aditi Majoe – Behavior, Learning, and Lithics: Understanding the Process of Learning and Handaxe Production through Behavior
Advised by Dietrich Stout

Abbe McCarter – Windows into the Lived Experiences and Health Consequences of Food Insecurity on the Cattaraugus Reservation: Implications for Indigenous Peoples’ Food Sovereignty
Advised by Debra Vidali

Neharika Penmetcha – Zooarchaeological Faunal Identifiability: Using GIS Technology to Facilitate Analysis of Gracile Long Bone Specimens
Advised by Jess Thompson (Yale) and John Lindo

Sierra Stubbs – Do Food and Drinks Have Gender?: Cultural Conceptions of Food Types among Emory Undergraduates
Advised by Peter Brown

A list of all previously completed Anthropology honors theses is available on our website.

Anthropology Major Farah Al Chammas receives prestigious 2019 Bobby Jones Scholarship

Al_Chammas_Farah (1) Anthropology and Human Biology Major Farah Al Chammas is one of four outstanding Emory seniors who will be attending the University of St. Andrews in Scotland on the Bobby Jones Scholarship.

“Emory has changed my life in every possible way and the Bobby Jones Scholarship is ensuring that that continues beyond my time at Emory. [At the University of St. Andrews] I will be pursuing a Masters in International Development Practice, which is an interdisciplinary degree that allows me to enjoy the taste of Emory’s liberal arts nature that I so loved and capitalized on as an undergraduate. It is an honor to be a representative for this institution that has opened my world so I can grow and give back to Emory itself and beyond.”

Congratulation Farah!

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