Anthropology

At the coffee shop, we are asked to pay more, sometimes a lot more, for “quality.” But how do we determine the quality of a sensory experience? Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Anthropology Ted Fischer’s research examines the quest for quality among always-changing tastes. He discusses it in this Q&A—just in time for International Coffee Day on Oct. 1. Read More

Vanderbilt archaeologist and historical anthropologist Steve Wernke and postdoctoral fellow Giles Morrow are exploring the remains of a 16th-century church high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, all while giving Vanderbilt students a front-row seat to the research using virtual reality, artificial intelligence and geospatial technologies. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt University Medical Center faculty are working together to produce a series of children’s science books aimed at fourth grade–level readers. Read More

Jason De León, creator of the "Hostile Terrain 94" exhibit and founder of the Undocumented Migration Project, will give a free lecture on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 6 p.m. in Sarratt Cinema. A public reception will precede his talk beginning at 5:15 p.m. in Sarratt Gallery. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies will host a participatory art installation that aims to raise community awareness about the human side of undocumented migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Read More

A Vanderbilt co-authored study of Brazilian responses to COVID-19 offers insight on the merits of social medicine while challenging widely held assumptions about traditional public health models. Read More

A team of Vanderbilt and Georgia State University researchers has developed publicly available resources for teaching personal geography and critical spatial inquiry. They recently launched a public website offering teaching frameworks and curricular tools for educators. Read More

Advances in big data technology and digital analytics are transforming the field of archaeology. One such study led by Vanderbilt anthropology professor Steven Wernke has brought a fresh perspective to the forced resettlement of more than a million Indigenous Andeans by Spanish colonizers in the 1570s. Read More

Isotope analysis of ancient Peruvian teeth gives anthropologists a clearer image of how cooperating societies function. Read More

A virtual self-screening tool developed by Vanderbilt global health experts will help individuals assess their risk of COVID-19 and provide anonymized data to public health researchers and officials studying the spread of the disease. Read More

A pair of international, collaborative online platforms developed by Steven Werkne and colleagues are helping archaeologists get a big-picture view of the Inka Empire and the Spanish invasion of the Andean region of South America. Read More

Sometimes the best way to understand the impact of an epidemic is to see it with your own eyes. Vanderbilt geospatial researchers have stepped up to apply their mapping skills to the COVID-19 crisis. Read More

A $600,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation  will fund a three-year project with the World Health Organization, led by anthropology professor Ted Fischer, to develop a new model for health care that incorporates the consideration of cultural attitudes and practices that affect health in the United States. Read More

John W. Janusek, an Andean anthropologist whose interests ranged from the development of complex societies in South America to the history of beer and brewing, died Oct. 22. Read More

Inspired by an ancient people’s use of food to resist defeat, anthropologist Keitlyn Alcantara now uses food to resist cultural loss among Latin American middle schoolers in Nashville. Read More

Read about recent faculty and student awards, appointments and achievements. Read More

Maya Krause, a Ph.D. student specializing in bioarchaeology, will spend her summer high in the mountains of Peru searching for ancient human remains after earning National Geographic’s Early Career Grant. Read More

Gianna Mosser has been named director of Vanderbilt University Press, where she will work with key partners to develop a new strategic vision for the university's publishing arm. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Center for Latin American Studies and the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries will host a public lunchtime lecture featuring Jason De León, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan and a MacArthur Fellowship recipient, on Friday, Feb. 8. De León's talk is titled “Soldiers and Kings: Violence, Masculinity and Photoethnographic Practice in the Context of Human Smuggling Across Mexico.” Read More

Anthropology professor Tom Dillehay and co-investigators will undertake anthropological, historical, engineering and geological studies to uncover the many forces shaping the development of the southern Andes. Read More