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Department of Anthropology
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20016
United States
The department is among the major centers for training and research in public anthropology, supplemented by the contributions of an array of anthropologists across campus. The discipline of anthropology is distinctly broad and uses a variety of approaches from the humanities, and social, biological, and evolutionary sciences to study all aspects of human existence, past and present. The AU Department of Anthropology is distinct in our commitment to civic engagement, social justice, and public scholarship in all aspects of our teaching and scholarship. We strive to equip students to address complex human issues in diverse contexts through the practical application of anthropological knowledge alongside rigorous theoretical study.
Our faculty work at the intersection of law, policy, and ethics, addressing issues such as human effects on the environment and how communities past and present approached sustainability and development, or designing community-focused strategies for combating health inequities.
The Anthropology Department offers a minor, BA, BA/MA, MA in Public Anthropology, and PhD. We also offer certificate programs in public anthropology, global health, health inequities, and social science and policy.
Featured Courses
Race & Racism
ANTH-210: Students in this class will explore the shifting definitions and uses of race and racism throughout modern history. We will also critically analyze the relationship between race and other vectors of power and difference, especially gender, class, and nation. Finally, they will become familiar with the various anti-racist projects and discourses, especially those that emerge from communities of grassroots struggle.
Public Anthropology
ANTH-442: This course will explore how anthropology – and related social science disciplines - can engage in what is broadly understood as “the public” and as such be an effective tool for social change that challenges forms of oppression and inequality. Ultimately, the seminar asks every member to pursue and shape their own personal vision for anthropology and publicly engaged scholarship more broadly.
Buried History of the US
ANTH-235: Buried History of the US immerses students in some of the mysteries, marvels, and daily experiences of people of diverse backgrounds across the American past. Students will come to understand the American societies through the very personal means of examination of artifacts and other items of daily life excavated from the soils upon which people lived out their lives. Today’s social issues and struggles will regularly reflected in the histories that are explored.
Topics in Environmental Anthropology
ANTH-654: This graduate seminar presents rotating topics in anthropology and the environment. One topic examines the practices of environmental conservation from an anthropological perspective, bringing together social theory, ethnographic case studies, and interviews with conservation practitioners to examine the ways that environmental conservation remakes place, space, and bodies. We ask: How are environmental conservation organizations implicated in socionatural disasters? What do changing conservation paradigms indicate about who has agency and responsibility for environmental stewardship? How do anthropological insights shape conservation practices? Other topics include Intersections of Food and Environment and Anthropology of the Oceans.
News and Events
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Alanna Warner-Smith published "" in Historical Archaeology. The article reconsiders normative categories of analysis in bioarchaeology using the lens of "slow science."
- PhD candidate Francesca Emanuele wrote an about thediscrepancies between the leadership of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the majority of its member countries regarding the military operations of Israel in Gaza.
- Zoltán Glück's article on abolishing the Kenyan Police was featured on The Conversation's in June 2024.
- Zoltán Glück published a major article in anthropology’s flagship journal, American Anthropologist, titled “.” Glück also edited a special issue of the journal titled “."
- Thurka Sangaramoorthy spoke with the about the dangerous working and living conditions of migrant workers.
- Francesa Emanuele published an article on Peru’s president in.
- Public Anthropology MA students Elise Ferrer and Madison Shomaker and recent alum Nada Baghat published a four-part series titled "We Are Not Alternative: A Communal Take on Theorization and Canon in Anthropology Theory Courses" in American Anthropologist:
More News
Thurka Sangaramoorthy spoke with about the growing Haitian community in the Eastern Shore.
Daniel Sayers spoke with PBS about his research into Maroon communities.
Orisanmi Burton received a in The Progressive Magazine on his new book, Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt (University of California Press, 2023)
Thurka Sangaramoorthyreceived supplemental funding of $49,941 from University of Maryland (for a new total of $88,079) for “Research Employing Environmental Systems and Occupational Health Policy Analyses to Interrupt the Impact of Structural Racism on Agricultural Workers and Their Respiratory Health (RESPIRAR).” She also spoke with and about her new bookLandscapes of Care.
Manissa Maharawalspoke withabout the history of tech companies interfering with intracity transportation.
See PhD candidate Heba Ghannam the Middle East Institute's .
David Vinepublished a commentary on “build back better” in.
Prof. Thurka Sangaramoorthy Published.
Hear prof. Dan Sayers in the Ideas podcast:.
PhD candidate Maya S. Kearney is the recipient of the
Spotlight
Justin SiskMA, Public Anthropology
More about Justin
"American University has furthered my academic training as a scholar of anthropology and religion,” says Public Anthropology MA candidate Justin Sisk. “It allowed me to work closely with religious communities and to showcase those findings in an academic fashion.”
Justin focuses his master’s research on Norse Paganism — a religion that emphasizes community building through the worship of the Norse pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, ritual, and a close tie to nature.
During his studies at AU, Justin completed an internship with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where he explored the economic, cultural, environmental, and social implications that surround ginseng digging in Appalachian communities. The experience gave him an opportunity to hone his skills as an interview transcriber and immerse himself in the rigorous Smithsonian research process.
Justin plans to pursue a PhD and ultimately teach at a university, research institute, or museum and continue his work on religious beliefs, ritualistic behavior, identity, and counter-cultural narratives. “AU is helping me accomplish this goal by providing me with a wonderful learning environment that will not only help me receive my master's degree, but also help further my knowledge-building as a scholar,” he says.