Graduate Program
The Department of Anthropology offers a broad range of graduate studies
in theoretical and methodological areas of anthropology in the subfields
of archaeology, cultural anthropology, and physical anthropology. Subfield
studies can be combined or complemented with work in other disciplines.
The purpose of our program is to provide students with the critical skills
necessary for successful professional careers as anthropologists. From
the first year, students combine required course offerings with research
and coursework tailored to their needs. The Department of Anthropology
is housed on the North Campus of the University at Buffalo. Our facilities
provide extensive laboratory, office, classroom, and museum space in support
of the graduate program.
Director of Graduate Studies: Prof. Deborah Reed-Danahay der5@buffalo.edu
Graduate Program Secretary: Margaret Kasprzyk mmk22@buffalo.edu
Archaeology
The
archaeology program offers research opportunities oriented toward a broad
range of issues in a variety of field and laboratory settings. Theoretical
pursuits of the faculty include demographic growth and decline, the meaning
of art and iconographic images, the organization of technology and production
systems, cultural constructions of the past, and the origins and evolution
of complex societies. Faculty research experience encompasses North and
Middle America, Northern and Eastern Europe, and the Pacific. Currently,
students are incorporated into field research programs in New York, the
North American Southeast, central Mexico, Guatemala, England, Denmark,
Finland, Eastern Europe and Mongolia. In addition, a variety of laboratory
resources are available, including a GIS laboratory, an archaeometry laboratory,
a Cultural Resource Management division, and a Research Museum housing
extensive collections from Western New York and central Mexico. Methodological
strengths of the faculty include archaeometry, spatial analysis, dermatoglyphics,
and technological and stylistic analyses of artifacts. Strong connections
are maintained with the Departments of Geology, Geography, and Classics,
as well as with the Buffalo Museum of Science and the New York State Archaological
Association.
Archaeology Faculty
Professor: Sarunas Milisauskas, Ezra B. Zubrow
Associate Professors: Warren Barbour, Peter F. Biehl, Tina L. Thurston
Adjunct Professor and Director, Archaeological Survey: Douglas J. Perrelli
Cultural Anthropology
The cultural anthropology program offers comprehensive training in a variety of contemporary theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Faculty research interests cluster around 1) semantics, semiotics, and interpretive theory, as well as issues of representation, including narrative ethnography and visual anthropology; 2) studies of the nation-state, including topics of education, social justice, war and ethnic conflict, religion, government, law, health care, and immigration; and 3) medical anthropology, including applied medical anthropology, ethnomedicine, and ethnopsychiatry. Members of our faculty have research experience in the Americas (North, Central, and South), Europe, West Africa, and southeast Asia. The cultural anthropology program encourages graduate students to use summers to gain research experience at an early stage in their training, and has been very successful in helping graduate students locate such opportunities. Faculty members have formal ties and research connections with the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Geographical Medicine, and local hospitals), the Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities, the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, the Humanities Institute, and the Center for Cognitive Science.
Cultural Anthropology Faculty
Professors: David Banks, Deborah E. Reed-Danahay, Barbara Tedlock
Associate Professors: Ana Mariella Bacigalupo, Ann P. McElroy, Donald Pollock,
Phillips Stevens, Jr.
Assistant Professors: Vasiliki Neofotistos; Tilman Lanz (Visiting Ass’t Prof)
Physical Anthropology
Physical anthropology provides
a solid grounding in evolutionary theory. Within the broad field of primatology,
faculty interests focus on primate social behavior, descriptive and functional
anatomy of nonhuman primates, and population genetics. Other faculty interests
focus on adaptive human biology, including factors affecting growth and
health, and work capacity in contemporary populations. Methodologically,
strengths include anthropometry, ethological methods, osteological analysis,
comparative primate anatomy, and methods of population genetics. Current
research is being conducted in China and Chautauqua County, New York (human
biology, medical anthropology); Sulawesi, Indonesia (evolutionary ecology);
and Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico (primate behavior). Other sources available
include an extensive nonhuman primate skeletal collection and a serology
laboratory. In addition, the department is the repository for a nineteenth-century
cemetery skeletal collection.
Physical Anthropology Faculty
Professors: Carol M. Berman, Joyce E. Sirianni
Associate Professor: Christine R. Duggleby