The University of Pennsylvania- Anthropology Department

The recent silencing of a graduate student speaker during the plenary session of the Society for Historic Archaeology conference by a University of Pennsylvania anthropology professor does not represent the values of Penn Anthropology. Together with the School of Arts and Sciences, we condemn this behavior. Statement from Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania It was with great outrage and dismay that I learned of the use of a ...Nazi salute and expression by a University of Pennsylvania anthropology professor and Penn Museum curator in addressing a graduate student during a virtual conference last week of the Society for Historical Archaeology. On behalf of Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, I strongly condemn this abhorrent conduct. Such behavior has no place in our academic discourse, which aims to celebrate the open exchange of ideas in an environment that promotes civility, respect, and inclusion. Nazi symbols are antithetical to our values as an institution. The fact that this behavior comes during a period of deep social division in our nation, when too many others are invoking such symbols in their expressions of hate, makes this incident even more painful for our community. I reaffirm the School’s commitment to being a welcoming home for all. See more

We are delighted to announce a new member of our faculty: Dr. Lynn Meskell! Dr. Meskell is one of the foremost theorists of archaeology, with wide-ranging research experience across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Over the last decade, Lynn has conducted an institutional ethnography of UNESCO World Heritage, tracing the politics of governance and sovereignty and the subsequent implications for multilateral diplomacy, international conservation, and heritage rights. Employi...ng archival and ethnographic research, her award-winning book A Future in Ruins: UNESCO, World Heritage, and the Dream of Peace (2018, OUP New York), reveals UNESCO’s early forays into a one-world archaeology and its later commitments to global heritage. We are absolutely thrilled that she has decided to join the Penn Anthropology family. Please join us in giving Dr. Lynn Meskell a warm welcome! https://penntoday.upenn.edu//lynn-meskell-appointed-penn-i

We're proud of our University Scholars: Anthropology majors Marissa Mojena, Adriana Purcell, Josephine Schmollinger, and Anthropology minor Eva Spier. Wishing them the best for the fall semester! https://www.curf.upenn.edu/profile/mojena-marissa https://www.curf.upenn.edu/profile/purcell-adriana https://www.curf.upenn.edu/profile/schmollinger-josephine

"Over the past 200 years, societies across the Americas have been shaped around the idea that police and prisons are equivalent to safety and security. Though movements for the abolition of police and prisons are not new, demands to divest from these forms of punishment have taken on an unprecedented scale in recent weeks. Movements like 8 Can’t Wait in the U.S. known for its focus on proposing steps toward police reform, have now moved further. Abolitionists are urging such ...movements and the broader public to imagine a world without police or prisons: one in which systems of care and accountability replace punishment and violence. But what would this world look like?" We are so proud of our senior Emily Zizlis for publishing this well-researched and thoughtful piece on police reform in Brazil and the United States. Well done! https://www.rioonwatch.org/?p=60374

Just when you thought it was impossible for Nuna to get cuter, Dr. Morgan Hoke and Dr. Doug Smit photographed her with kittens! They recently became fosters and have been posting the sweetest photos of the kitties’ shenanigans on the Instagram account @westphillykittens. There is plenty of adorable kitten content there if you are wanting some more. If you are needing a kitten, they will become available for adoption through Project M.E.O.W (Make Every One Wanted). #PennPets

Tune in today for a Living Room Lecture featuring Dr.Megan C. Kassabaum and Dr.Morgan Hoke!

Check out this daily dig by Dr. Megan C. Kassabaum!