Department of Anthropology

Start the new year with lectures, performances, exhibitions and more.

In honor of American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, deepen your learning in American Indian studies, make connections on campus, and celebrate the work of the University of Washington Seattle's College of Arts & Sciences faculty, staff, students and alumni.

In one of the first studies to explore how COVID-19 specifically affects older infants, researchers from the University of Washington and at institutions at four other locations in the Western and Southern U.S. found that the number of infected people in a household was the factor most closely linked with the infant’s likelihood of being infected.

Ukraine's national language is Ukrainian, but many citizens grew up speaking Russian. Does that matter? Professor Laada Bilaniuk studies language and Ukrainian identity.

A few years ago, a tree poacher named Justin Wilke was charged with starting a forest fire while trying to steal a tree. The new documentary "The Maple Cutter" takes a deeper look. The UW's Lynn Thomas, professor of history, and Daniel Hoffman, professor of anthropology and of international studies, are interviewed.

Laada Bilaniuk, professor of anthropology, explains her reaction to watching Ukraine under attack.

A new graduate fellowship in memory of anthropology professor Sam Dubal reflects his commitment to building an anti-racist society. 

University of Washington Provost Mark A. Richards today announced Dianne Harris will become dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, beginning Sept. 1.

Mesopotamians turned a community tomb on the Euphrates into a battle monument. Stephanie Selover, adjunct assistant professor of anthropology at the UW, is quoted.

The 2021 Husky 100, a group of 100 students making the most of their time at the UW, have been announced.

"As social scientists and public health practitioners familiar with Nepal’s health care delivery and emergency response systems, we recognize that ultimately, the capacity to care for people suffering from COVID-19 in Nepal is severely limited, with roughly 1,500 intensive care beds and just over 800 ventilators in the country. The mountainous terrain throughout much of the country, along with a lack of infrastructure, political marginalization and poverty compound the impacts of infectious disease," write David Citrin, affiliate assistant professor of global health and of anthropology at the UW; Katharine Rankin of the University of Toronto; Galen Murton of James Madison University; and Sienna Craig of Dartmouth College.

Since 1994, alumni and friends in the Multicultural Alumni Partnership have worked together to promote diversity at the UW and address issues of equity and diversity on our campuses and in our community. This year’s promising scholars range from early undergraduates who are still zeroing in on a major to those pursuing graduate and professional degrees.

This week is Nuclear Remembrance Week, a virtual forum to commemorate the 67th anniversary of “Bravo” being tested in the Marshall Islands. Members of Spokane's Marshallese community share their stories. Holly Barker, a teaching professor of anthropology at the UW, is quoted.

Take a look back at the last year of the UW's research of and adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It feels like the pandemic is changing everything, but as vaccine rollout progresses and we squint at what appears to be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, the question to ask now is whether any real changes we’ve had to adopt during a year of pandemic life will stick around in the years to come. The UW’s Steve Goodreau, professor of anthropology, and Fabio Ghironi, professor of economics, are quoted.