The Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University engages in the discipline as a humanistic science of cultural and biological diversity across time and space. Our strength is in our diversity of approaches to this fundamental inquiry. Our faculty specializes in socio-cultural anthropology, archaeology, medical anthropology, physical anthropology, and anthropological linguistics. We work towards an understanding of the human condition, past and present, in countries across the world and in our own backyards. Our undergraduate and graduate students are trained to be critical thinkers. We offer undergraduates research opportunities inside and outside the classroom, and our graduates find that their degrees have prepared them for a wide variety of experiences within and outside the discipline. I encourage you to explore this new website and see for yourself the many approaches to anthropological research practiced by our faculty and graduate students, and visit us often here or on Facebook to keep up on the achievements of our faculty, students, and alums.
News & Updates
- Spartan Spotlight: Claire SiegertLast week, we had the opportunity to visit Dr. Monir Moniruzzaman’s Medical Anthropology class during student presentations. Claire Siegert, a sophomore anthropology student, and her group presented on a case study discussing global health issues and programs. Discover her story and learn how this class broadened her perspectives. What interested you about obtaining a degree
- MSU student to aid in identifying missing military personnel through internshipAccording to Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), approximately 81,096 military personnel remain unaccounted for. Allison Thomson wants to change that. Thomson, senior anthropology undergraduate at Michigan State University (MSU), was selected for an internship with the DPAA in Omaha, Nebraska. Out of 135 applications, Thomson was one of six students selected. “I was incredibly excited
- MSU forensic anthropologists use AI to enhance and accelerate human identificationAn interdisciplinary team comprising of faculty and doctoral students from the Department of Anthropology and Computer Science and Engineering, have found a way to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help forensic anthropologists identify individuals faster and more efficiently. Members of the Michigan State University Forensic Anthropology Lab (MSUFAL), including Dr. Carolyn Isaac, Dr. Todd
- Michigan State University anthropologist explores Maya land governance in BelizeIn Dr. Laurie Medina’s new book, Governing Maya Communities and Lands in Belize: Indigenous Rights, Markets, and Sovereignties, she examines the decades-long struggle by Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya communities in Belize to win state recognition of their Indigenous right to lands on which they have depended for generations. During the 1990s, in response to a
- Michigan State University hosts Maya educator to discuss cultural and educational initiatives Preserving Maya culture matters greatly to Filberto Rash and Dr. Gabriel Wrobel. Rash, a Q’eqchi’ Maya and principal of the Tumul K’in Center of Learning in the Toledo District of Belize, spent a week on campus in January as a guest of Wrobel, a professor and associate chair of the Department of Anthropology. The two
- New study explores how Indigenous Knowledge shapes child developmentAssociate Professor Dr. Heather Howard of Michigan State University’s Department of Anthropology has always been interested in the politics of food. “I’ve long been interested in the socio-cultural dimensions of nourishment and how these connect to knowledge about illness and disease,” Howard said. Howard is part of Wiba Anung—a collaborative partnership between MSU and the