• Featured Graduate Student, Kehli Henry

    Kehli Henry, PhD candidate, developed an interest in anthropology early on, deciding to pursue it as her major at Central Michigan University. The nuance of anthropological theory, as well as the attention to cultural factors gave her an appreciation for the complexity within the field. Her previous work with an American Indian tribe allowed her to see the utility of anthropological theory in the issues she dealt with. MSU provided the perfect fit for her graduate studies because of the faculty, and the focus on both medical anthropology and applied work. Since her undergraduate work, Kehli has been deeply concerned…

    Continue Reading

  • Undergraduate Research Symposium and Showcase

    The Department of Anthropology held its First Annual Anthropology Research Symposium and Showcase for Undergraduate Students on Thursday, December 7th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. The idea for this symposium blossomed out of conversations between Dr. Fredy Rodriquez and the department chair, Dr. Jodie O’Gorman, about the need to create an open house for our undergraduate students to show off their hard work and excite other students about research. The two quickly agreed that a research symposium and showcase would be the most beneficial for students as a supportive audience of peers, friends, parents and faculty would provide an opportunity…

    Continue Reading

  • Alumnae Dr. Mary Ann Ladia to visit March 28 and 29

    Mary Ann J. Ladia, PhD currently serves as University Researcher III of the Institute of Clinical Epidemiology at the National Institutes of Health and Faculty of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology of the College of Medicine at the University of the Philippines Manila. Dr. Ladia received her PhD from the Department of Anthropology in 2008 under the guidance of Drs. Judy Pugh and Linda Hunt, as adviser and committee member, respectively. On March 28th, she will be speaking to Dr. Heather Howard’s Anthropology 370 course, Culture, Health, and Illness. Dr. Ladia will be presenting her paper entitled “Clinical ramifications of…

    Continue Reading

  • Congratulations Dr. Fayana Richards!

    The Department of Anthropology would like to congratulate our newest PhD. Dr. Fayana Richards! We are very excited to see Fayana come to the completion of her graduate career here at MSU after the successful defense of her dissertation on November 21 and we wish her and her family all the best as she moves forward with her professional career. Fayana’s research recognizes the role of older African American women in providing care for their own grandchildren, nieces, nephews and even non-kin, crediting historical and structural factors that have shaped observed forms of African American kinship and caregiving patterns. Her dissertation…

    Continue Reading

  • MSU alumna discusses volunteer tourism

    Dr. Andrea Freidus recently published a piece in The Conversation, an online not-for-profit media outlet. Her piece entitled “Volunteer tourism: what’s wrong with it and how can it be changed,” came out on November 8th. Here is a small excerpt from her piece: “Volunteer tourism, or voluntourism, is an emerging trend of travel linked to “doing good”. Yet these efforts to help people and the environment have come under heavy criticism – I believe for good reason. Voluntourists’ ability to change systems, alleviate poverty or provide support for vulnerable children is limited. They simply don’t have the skills. And they can inadvertently perpetuate patronising…

    Continue Reading