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Anthropology at Emory


Why does anthropology matter?

Anthropologists study the full spectrum of what it means to be human. As an academic field of inquiry, anthropology is unique in its scope, addressing the broad range and diversity of human experience understood in its archaeological, biological, and cultural contexts. As such, it encompasses different conceptual, methodological, and epistemological frameworks that link the discipline to work in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.  

At Emory, our department is deeply committed to pursuing diversity in our scholarship, faculty, and student communities. We seek to create an environment that encourages students to address intellectual questions with curiosity and passion, drawing on knowledge from peoples and cultures across time and space. The breadth of anthropology’s vision of what it means to be human, and the commitment to holistically, empirically, and ethically grounded approaches to understanding human experience are at the core of our mission in the university. 

Our department is built around three subdisciplines of anthropology -- archaeology, biological anthropology, and sociocultural anthropology. These are not conceptualized as semi-autonomous units, but they serve as the basis for generating intellectual synergies that cut across the three subdisciplines. Our research concentrations are an expression of these synergies, bringing together faculty research interests from the subdisciplines and catalyzing exciting collaborations within the department -- and beyond. 

Current faculty research concentrations:

  • Race, inequality, and social justice
  • Evolution, environment, and cognition
  • Health, development, and sustainability
  • Technologies, ethics, and worldmaking

The diversity of our anthropological perspectives is understood as an important source of creative energy in the department and an expression of our holistic approach toward understanding what constitutes the human. Underpinned by a shared interest in critical, collaborative and public anthropology, our research consistently yields novel approaches to broad questions about the conditions and possibilities of being human.

Our mission:

The mission of the Department of Anthropology is to foster a diverse, inclusive research and learning environment.  Our curriculum enables students to deepen their understanding of what it means to be human through an appreciation of its archaeological, biological, and sociocultural complexity.  We pursue innovative approaches to pressing contemporary issues and historical legacies of race, gender, and social inequality.  In doing so, we are committed to “thinking outside the box”, to exploring and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge.

Contact Us

Department of Anthropology

Emory University
1557 Dickey Drive
Atlanta, GA 30322
Corey Anderson
Senior Academic Department Administrator
207A Anthropology
Morgan Wilson
Administrative Assistant
207 Anthropology
Heather Carpenter
Senior Undergraduate Academic Degree Program Coordinator
207 Anthropology
Brian Banks
Senior Accountant
218E Anthropology

Getting Here

The Department is housed in the Anthropology Building, located on Emory's main campus up the hill from the Woodruff Physical Education Track and across Asbury Circle from Cox Hall. Peavine Visitor Parking Lot provides the nearest visitor parking.