Deciphering Globalization: Making and Knowing the World Through Things

The experience of living in a world constantly shaped by strangers, foreign customs, and unfamiliar objects dates back to the beginning of human history. This interconnectedness and interdependence among different value systems and cultures—what we now call globalization—has long served as both an inspiration and a challenge to individuals, communities and political entities.

Friday Archaeology Presents: Dr. Monica Smith

Cities have become the predominant global mode of life, but their development over the past six thousand years has encompassed amazingly rapid social, economic, and even biological adjustments. Dr. Smith's current fieldwork is focused on the Indian subcontinent, where excavations and survey have revealed the complexities of newly-emergent urban environments. She describes herself as an ancient economic historian who utilizes archaeological data to analyze the collective effects of routine activities through the study of food, ordinary goods, and architecture.

Dr. Yitzchak Jaffe - "The Archaeology of Fragility and Antifragility in Past Social-Environmental Dynamics"

"The Archaeology of Fragility and Antifragility in Past Social-Environmental Dynamics"

The Environmental Archaeology of Water: Reconstructing Early Human Occupation of Coastal Landscapes

Please join us as we kick off our Fall 2025 Colloquium Series with a talk led by Dr. Ilaria Patania, Assistant Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at WashU. 

Anti-Haitianism, Statelessness, and Religious Practice in The Bahamas

This talk explores how Haitian Protestant hymnody, liturgical dance, and prayer constitute embodied practices through which stateless Bahamian-born people of Haitian descent negotiate anti-Haitianism, remake selfhood, and cultivate a hybrid Christian habitus in The Bahamas.

Learn more about Dr. Louis Here

Friday Archaeology Presents: Megan Belcher - The Unique Story of Plant Domestication in Eastern North America: Insights from Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri)

Join Friday Archaeology as Ph.D. Candidate Megan Belcher from the Department of Anthropology, WashU leads a talk titled "The Unique Story of Plant Domestication in Eastern North America: Insights from Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri)"

All are welcome! Food and drinks provided during event. 

Autogestion in Motion: University Insurgents, Anarchist Ethics, and Mexico City Punk

Join us as we welcome Dr. Liv Stone, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Illinois State University to campus!

The Fire of Life: Energy, Ecology, and Evolution in Humans and Other Animals

Join us as we welcome Dr. Herman Pontzer,  Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Global Health, Duke University Global Health Institute to campus! Dr. Pontzer is an American evolutionary anthropologist and author best known for his work on human metabolism, energetics, and evolution. 

Zine Workshop

Zines are small circulation, DIY publications with a rich history of uses for creative expression, community organizing, and knowledge dissemination. We'll briefly cover the history and uses of zines in and outside of academia and walk participants through a tutorial of how to make a classic 8-page zine. We'll open things up for casual discussion about how we conduct humanistic and social science research and for whom as we craft zines together.

Imaginative Fieldnotes: A Strictly No-Writing-Allowed Workshop

Curious to explore anticolonial methods for community-engaged research? Seeking new forms of inspiration that challenge academic norms? Wanting to connect with other faculty and students in a creative atmosphere off campus? The Department of Anthropology's Experiential Ethnography Studio (EES) is thrilled to welcome Dr.

Beyond Dimorphism: Body Size Variation Among Adult Orangutans Is Not Dichotomous by Sex

Dr. Alexandra Kralick is the Wittig Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Feminist Biology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She received her PhD in Anthropology in 2023 from the University of Pennsylvania and held a postdoctoral research fellowship at Harvard University in feminist science studies. Bringing these trainings together, she interweaves feminist epistemologies and evolutionary biology to examine within-sex variation in our closest living relatives, the great apes.

Click here to read her paper. 

Support Our Community: Thanksgiving Through Service Donation Drive

With the ongoing impacts of the May tornado, the recent government shutdown, and the impending end to SNAP benefits, local food banks are experiencing a critical shortage of supplies. From October 31st through November 17th, we will be collecting non-perishable food and hygiene items (please, no glass containers or ramen noodles) to donate to Operation Food Search, which serves families across the St. Louis region.

Isaac Ogloblin Ramirez - Beyond the Legend: site formation processes at Antikythera shipwreck

As one of the first shipwrecks ever excavated and the source of extraordinary artifacts like the Antikythera Mechanism, the Antikythera site holds a unique place in the history of underwater archaeology. In this talk we will examine how natural and anthropogenic processes have shaped the Antikythera shipwreck site (1st century BCE, Greece). By combining archival research with new excavations and micro-geoarchaeological and geochemical analysis, we will reveal evidence of multiple contemporaneous shipwrecks with similar cargoes.

Refusing Sustainability - Race, Health, and Environmentalism

A conversation with  Dr. Elana Resnick, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California - Santa Barbara, about her new book Refusing Sustainability, the connection between racialized labor and waste in Eastern Europe, and the future of environmentalism and health. 

Event generously sponsored by the Transatlantic Forum, the Department of Anthropology, the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Equity CRE2, and the Department of History. 

The Transatlantic Forum Presents: Roundtable on the Book "A Matter of Detail": Anthropology, Philosophy, and Aesthetics

Join the Transatlantic Forum for a roundtable discussion on the book A Matter of Detail: Anthropology, Philosophy, and Aesthetics featuring Dr. Perig Pitrou (EHESS, Paris), Dr. Sandra Laugier (Paris | Panthéon-Sorbonne), and Dr. Andrew Brandel (University of Chicago). 

The Transatlantic Forum Presents: Dr. Perig Pitrou

Join the Transatlantic Forum as they welcome Dr. Perig Pitrou to campus! Dr. Pitrou will be giving a talk on his work The Anthropology of Life. His project of “Anthropology of Life” involves an epistemological endeavour which articulates the different approaches used to tackle the topic of life (Ecologies of Life, Science and Technology Studies, Anthropology of Biopolitics and Forms of Life). 

A Difficult Language: Aymara Media, Linguistic Labor, and Urban Indigeneity in Bolivia

Join us as we welcome Karl Swinehart. Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Anthropology, UCLA) to campus! 

World Anthropology Day

World Anthropology Day is an initiative by the American Anthropological Association and observed each year on the third Thursday in February. This day is meant to emphasize the value of anthropology in understanding human cultures, societies, and biological diversity. It promotes public awareness and showcases the relevance of anthropology in understanding past and present human behavior. 

Everyone is welcome to attend this event and we encourage you to join us! We will have interactive exhibits, prizes, food, and games. 

Helina Woldekiros - "Predicting Agricultural Futures: What Ancient Food Webs Reveal About Resilience and Vulnerability in Highland Ethiopia"

Join us as our own Helina Woldekiros, Ph.D., (Associate Professor of Archaeology,  Department of Anthropology, WashU) gives a fascinating talk as part of our Spring 2026 Colloquium Series! 

Distinguished Visiting Scholar: Dr. David Tumusiime - "Protected Areas and People in Uganda: Moving Towards Win-Win?"

Join us as we welcome David Tumusiime, Ph.D. (Professor and Director, Makerere University) to campus to deliver a Distinguished Visiting Scholar address titled "Protected Areas and People in Uganda: Moving Towards Win-Win?"

Medicine & Society Keynote Address: Dr. Tanya Luhrmann

Join us as we welcome Tanya Luhrmann, Ph.D. (Albert Ray Lang Professor in Anthropology, Anthropology Department, Stanford University) to campus to deliver the Medicine & Society keynote address titled "Voices". 

Xinyi Liu and E.A. Quinn Present at the A&S Research Innovation Showcase

From quantum technologies to augmented reality -- see how bold ideas are making a real-world impact. The Research Innovation Showcase is an opportunity to hear from innovative A&S faculty who are driving innovation on campus - and far beyond. Our own Xinyi Liu will present on The Grant Challenge of Globalization. Another Anthropology faculty member, E.A.

Experiential Ethnography Studio Open Studio Hours

Experiential Ethnography Studio Open Studio Hours

Experiential Ethnography Studio Open Studio Hours

Experiential Ethnography Studio Open Studio Hours

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminar

Gomez talk is "The effects of thermal stress on reproductive success and fitness"

Dr. Imazumi talk "Genomic divergence and evolution of weediness traits during feralization in weedy rice" 

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Seminar

Talk title: "Opportunities and challenges for monitoring biodiversity in the Anthropocene with foundation models" 

Performing Community: A Roundtable on the Transformational Potential of Theatre

The Department of Anthropology's Experiential Ethnography Studio (EES) and the Performing Arts Department are delighted to welcome Dean

Friday Archaeology Presents: Jack Berner, Ph.D. Candidate in Archaeology

At the turn of the 2^nd millennium BCE, in Eurasia's central grasslands, nomadic pastoralist communities began to settle into large, fortified towns. 300 years after their formation, most of these settlements were abandoned. This presentation will showcase new archaeological data on these fortified sites and their hinterlands, focusing on the role of bronze metallurgy in their initial formation and eventual abandonment.

Transduction Workshop: From Graphics to Poetry

Sports & Society Initiative: Conversation with Tracie Canada

Dr. Canada will discuss her new book: Tackling the Everyday: Race and Nation in Big-Time College Football. Excerpts from the book will be distributed in advance (e-mail ncohan@wustl.edu to be included), and select copies will be available for purchase.

Tracie Canada is the Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology and director of the HEARTS (Health, Ethnography, and Race through Sports) Lab at Duke University. She is a Black feminist anthropologist and ethnographer whose research uses sport to theorize race, kinship and care, gender, and the performing body. Her book, Tackling the Everyday: Race and Nation in Big-Time College Football (University of California Press, 2025), is an ethnography about the lived experiences of Black college football players.

Dr. Canada's visit is co-sponsored by the Department of African & African American Studies.
 

The Serengeti Rules: The Regulation and Restoration of Biodiversity

Event Overview

Biologist, author, and film producer Sean B. Carroll will discuss the discovery of "The Serengeti Rules," the ecological rules that regulate the numbers and kinds of animals and plants in any given place, and how they are being applied to restore some of the greatest wildernesses on the planet.

Agenda

• 4:00 PM - Lecture and Q&A*
• 5:00 PM - Reception

*For those unable to attend the lecture in-person, a virtual attendance option will be made available. To gain access to the live stream, please fill out the RSVP form.

Registration Required: RSVP

About Sean Carroll

Sean B. Carroll, AB ’79, is an internationally recognized biologist, award-winning author, Emmy-and Peabody-winning film producer, and education leader.

Sean’s pioneering scientific research has centered on the genes that control animal body patterns. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Sean is the author of six books for general audiences including Remarkable Creatures, a finalist for the National Book Award for non-fiction. He led the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education from 2010-2023 and was the founder of Tangled Bank Studios, where he served as executive producer of over 50 feature or educational films, including the Emmy-winning The Serengeti Rules based on Sean’s book of the same title.  

Sean is currently Distinguished University Professor and Balo-Simon Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland, an investigator of the HHMI, and a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

This lecture was made possible by the William C. Ferguson Fund.

The Transatlantic Forum Presents: Roundtable on "Ethnographies of Creativity: An Exploration of the Intersections Between Anthropology and Visual Arts"

Join the Transatlantic Forum for a roundtable discussion on how Anthropology and Visual Arts intersect featuring scholars Raphaël Julliard (EHESS), Edward Lowe (Soka University), and Damien Roy (Durham University).

The Transatlantic Forum Presents: Workshop - "Realist Vision: Drawing as Ethnographic Method"

The workshop begins with a presentation exploring the aesthetic and ideological influences of late-19th century French realists and impressionists on American realist and impressionist painters. Following this, two hands-on sessions will help participants practice basic observational drawing skills. 

No prerequisite or equipment needed! Click here to RSVP. 

Friday Archaeology Presents: Giulia Gallo - "Are Neanderthals Burning Megafauna? Burnt Proboscidea Teeth at Le Moustier”

Join Friday Archaeology as they welcome Dr. Giulia Gallo, Paleolithic Zooarchaeologist and Paleoanthropologist, Postdoctoral Researcher at College de France, Paris to campus to give an intriguing talk titled Are Neanderthals Burning Megafauna? Burnt Proboscidea Teeth at Le Moustier

Christina Carney - Disreputable Women: Black Sex Economies and the Making of San Diego