In 2018, then UK Prime Minister Theresa May said, “Loneliness is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time,” and appointed the country’s first minister for loneliness. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called loneliness a “growing health epidemic,” stating that social isolation is “associated with a reduction in lifespan similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day.”
What do the following have in common? Rising rates of social anxiety and social withdrawal, alarming rates of suicide (up 51% among teenage girls in the U.S. in just a two-year period from 2019-2021, and up over 300% over a ten-year period), the increasing number of mass shootings, the epidemic of burnout in healthcare and other sectors, eating disorders. All too often, at the heart of each of these is a lack of social connection and the feeling of being loved, accepted, and understood. This is loneliness. Education is the most powerful tool we have for bringing about this change. Recent research in psychology and neuroscience shows that young children and even infants have a natural orientation towards kindness and helping over cruelty.
“Selling Industrial ‘Gallina Criolla’ Products in Guatemala” details these new corporate marketing tactics of competing with gallina criolla economies of indgenous and peasant peoples. The report begins by summarizing the latest science on the economic, ecological, social, nutritional, and taste differences between gallina criolla and industrial chicken. It shows that the gallinas criollas that emerge from campesina systems of production are different animals than the industrial chickens that emerge from industrial systems of production. The methods of rearing involved, the ecological and economic functions the birds perform, and the nutritional value and taste of the chicken meat from the two systems are not the same. At the same time, while gallina criolla production is one part of agroecological systems that tend towards diversity, industrial production of commercial chickens tends towards homogeneity.
Looking for some summer reading? Check out Anthropos, an e-publication created by Emory Anthropology students, featuring writing by our own undergraduates! https://anthropospublication.com/
The research found different and previously undetected ancestry in a man and a woman dating back 800 and 1,500 years, both from an archeological site in eastern Uruguay. This supports the theory of separate migrations from North America into different areas in South America. “We’ve now provided genetic evidence that this theory may be correct,” Lindo tells Phys.org.
Photo left to right: Back row: Dr. Debra Vidali, Emily Edwards, Clio Hancock, Phoebe Einzig-Roth, Shreya Sharma. Front row: Vijwala Yakkanti, Rosseirys De La Rosa, Sabrina Jin, Priscilla Lin. Not pictured: Michele Chen, Thisara Gunawardana, Cora Hirst, Bushra Rahman.
The Anthropology department is proud to recognize our 2021-2022 honors graduates! In another year of uncertainty and challenging research conditions, we had a new record number of students completing honors projects. This year, twelve Anthropology students successfully defended honors theses, the culmination of a year (or more!) of independent research and writing. All 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. Debra Vidali. These students were honored at our Anthropology Honors and Awards Ceremony on April 25th. Two students graduated in December, and ten are scheduled to graduate with honors at the Emory University Commencement Ceremony on Monday, May 9th.
Please see below for a full list of thesis. You can read more about this year’s honors students and their projects on our website. Please join us in congratulating these students on their hard work and accomplishment!
Michele Chen: Acquisition of Reproductive Health Knowledge: How girls in Georgia learn about their reproductive bodies Advisor: John Lindo
Rosseirys De La Rosa: Understanding the Evolutionary History of Ancient Indigenous Individuals in Uruguay Advisor: John Lindo
Emily Edwards: People, plants, and prescriptions: Effects of herbal supplements on pharmaceutical drug metabolism Advisor: Cassandra Quave
Phoebe Einzig-Roth: Acute PTSD and Depression Symptoms in African American Women Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer Advisors: Jennifer Stevens, Mel Konner
Thisara Gunawardana: Analysis of the COVID-19 Response in Sri Lanka Advisor: Mel Konner
Clio Hancock: Close Quarters: An Investigation of Neighborhood Effects and SARS-CoV-2 in Chicago Advisor: Craig Hadley
Cora Hirst: Evidence of Selection on Circadian Regulation of the Immune System in Ancient Iberia Advisor: John Lindo
Sabrina Jin: New Perspectives on Race and Racism Among Brazilians of Asian Descent Advisors: Jessica Ham, Craig Hadley
Priscilla Lin: Realities of First-Generation, Low-Income Scholars at Predominantly White Institutions: The Emory Experience Advisor: Justin Hosbey
Bushra Rahman: Frustration responses of single mothers to prolonged infant crying Advisor: Jim Rilling
Shreya Sharma: A Political Economy Approach to Understanding Abortion in Nepal Advisor: Craig Hadley
Vijwala Yakkanti: Associations Between Emotion Regulation and Heart Rate Variability in Trauma-Exposed Black Women Advisor: Negar Fani, Mel Konner
Chikako Ozawa-de Silva, Elena Lesley, Bruce Knauft, Bradd Shore
Marjorie Shostak Award for Excellence and Humanity in Ethnography:
1st prize: Elena Lesley for her dissertation “Testimony as Transformation: Resilience, Regeneration, and Moral Action through Spiritually-Adapted Narrative Therapy in Cambodia”, advised by Bruce Knauft.
Runner up: Tatenda Mangurenje for her dissertation “Fractured Belonging: Black Police Officers and the New Civil Rights Movement”, advised by Peter Brown.
George Armelagos Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student: Megan Beney Kilgore and Scott Schnur
The Anthropology Department is pleased to announce our 2022 student award winners! In addition to granting a record number of departmental awards, we were thrilled to be able to honor seven rising seniors with our first ever Trevor E. Stokol Scholarship, for research which they will be conducting during their senior year. Undergraduate awards were conferred at a ceremony on Monday, April 25. We are so proud of our many impressive students!
Marjorie Shostak Award for Excellence and Humanity in Ethnography:
Priscilla Lin for her honors thesis “Realities of First-Generation, Low-Income Scholars at Predominately White Institutions: The Emory Experience”, advised by Justin Hosbey.
Lauren Oates for her Capstone project “Places of Permanent Precarity: An Examination of Palimpsest Landscapes in Dekalb County’s Constitution Lakes Park”, advised by Kristin Phillips.
Trevor E. Stokol Scholarship for Undergraduate Research
Hunter Akridge
Pamela Beniwal
Sophia Bereaud
Nicole Felix-Tovar
Danielle Mangabat
Alvaro Perez Daisson
Christopher Zeuthen
Hunter Akridge, Pamela Beniwal, Sophia Bereaud, Nicole Felix-Tovar, Alvaro Perez Daisson, Christopher Zeuthen. Not pictured: Danielle Mangabat.
Happy #AnthroDay! The Anthropology Department and Emory Anthropology Student Society (EASS) celebrated by hosting an information table and button-making station, where students made their own anthropology-themed buttons. Students also had the opportunity to share some things they love about anthropology. Here are some of the responses:
the diverse subfields
it asks us to think about and account for human values!
So much! People, the brain, evolution, and more.
It’s my life!
Great classes
I love learning about other cultures and people around the world.
My class went to the Carlos Museum to see Marie Watts!
You can check out more about Anthropology Day at americananthro.org and by following #AnthroDay!
Dr. Sirak received her PhD in 2018 for her dissertation on “A Genomic Analysis of Two Early Christian Cemetery Communities from Sudanese Nubia”, she is now a staff scientist at Harvard University. Her research bridges the fields of Ancient DNA and archaeology and helps shed light on social structures as well as the genomes of ancient populations.
James Rilling, Professor in the Anthropology Department at Emory University, used functional magnetic resonance imaging to scan grandmothers brains while they looked at images of their children, their grandchildren as well as unrelated adults and children.
“When grandmothers viewed photographs of their grandchildren, they particularly activated brain regions that have previously been associated with emotional empathy, suggesting that grandmothers may be predisposed to share the emotional states of their grandchildren,” Rilling tells USA Today. When looking at picture of their adult children, areas of their brain associated with cognitive empathy where activated.
EMORY ANTHROPOLOGY 