Anthropology is devoted to the study of human beings in all of their social and cultural complexity. Anthropologists seek to describe the inner workings of human social groups and to understand how and why societies change over time.
Located on the eastern edge of the continent, the Department of Anthropology at Memorial has strong intellectual roots in both Europe and North America. While the department has historically placed a strong regional focus on the North Atlantic Rim, particularly: Eastern Canada; the United States; Iceland; The Shetland Islands; Norway; England, Ireland, and Spain, our faculty members also have expertise in other areas, including Central and South America, the South Pacific, and Eastern Europe.
Memorial's anthropologists seek to foster an approach that is at once critical and engaged. While the research interests of the faculty are diverse, we share a strong interest in problems of power and social inequality, which we view as being critical to understanding the contemporary world. Faculty research projects have addressed a wide range of important topics, including: the Northern Ireland Peace Process, the political transformation that has taken place in Spain after the fall of the Franco’s fascist regime, the politics of authenticity in Newfoundland’s fishing and tourism industries, historical memory of the Viet Nam war, issues of development in Latin America, and social and political struggles over access to ocean spaces and resources.
The Department offers programs at the BA, MA and PhD levels.
News
Nehraz Mahmud is a recipient of the 2012 Trudeau Foundation Scholarship. Details of the annoucement can be found at http://www.trudeaufoundation.ca/welcome.
Aaron Lemkow will be awarded the title "Fellow of the School of Graduate Studies" in May 2012.
Angelina Leggo was awarded the School of Graduate Studies F.A. Aldrich Fellowship for 2011/2012.
Elizabeth Whitten is the recipient of the SSHRC J. Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's Scholarship.
Rachel Hogan is the recipient of the SSHRC J. Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master's Scholarship.
Joshua Lalor is the recipient of The Professor Peter Hart Memorial Scholarship for the 2011/2012 scholarship year.
Andrea Procter co-edited the book, "Settlement, Subsistence, and Change among the Labrador Inuit: The Nunatsiavummiut experience" with David Natcher and Larry Felt. It will be published by the University of Manitoba Press in Spring 2012.
Sébastien Després is the recipient of the 2010-2011 Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence for the Faculty of Arts.
Samantha Breslin was awarded the ISER Annual Student Essay Prize in November 2011 for a paper entitled "Putting down roots: Playing Irish and Newfoundland music in St. John's".
Reade Davis presented a paper titled: "The Political Ecology of an Altered State: Ecosystem Complexity, Neoliberalism, and the Social Construction of Ocean Space in Newfoundland, Canada" as part of the panel "The Conceptual Work of Ecology" at the 2011 American Anthropological Association Meetings, Montreal, QC, November 16-20, 2011.
Consuelo Griggio is the recipient of a Doctoral Award from 2011 SSHRC competition.
Alanna Felt received an ISER MA Fellowship and an ISER Research grant for her project entitled, "Negotiating Velomobilities: The Politics of Policy Development in the Case of the St. John's Cycling Plan."
