Free for Penn Students: Colin Renfrew Lecture

Colin Renfrew to be awarded the 2009 SAFE Beacon Award
and
Lecture: Combating the Illicit Antiquities Trade: the 1970 Rule as a Turning Point (or How the Metropolitan Museum lags behind the Getty)

Date: January 10, 2009; Saturday

Time: Lecture and Reception: 6:30 – 9:00 pm

Location: Marriott Downtown Hotel

1201 Market Street; Philadelphia, PA

Grand Ballroom, Salon G

Cost: Free for Penn Students (contact rml@sas.upenn.edu for details)



Join SAFE for an evening of celebration honoring Professor Colin Renfrew, recipient of the 2009 SAFE Beacon Award, for his life-long service to archaeology and efforts to raise public awareness about the looting of the world's ancient heritage and the trade in illicit antiquities. The evening will commence with the Beacon Award Lecture, followed by the Beacon Award ceremony and a reception.

In his lecture, Professor Renfrew will contrast the responses of the Getty Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the success of the Italian and Greek governments in securing from them the return of looted antiquities. He will commend the Getty's new policy and ask why the Metropolitan Museum has not followed suit. He will underline the significance of the recent decision of the Association of Art Museum Directors to follow the 1970 Rule and ask how long the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum can maintain the policies that led them to acquire the notorious "Euphronios Vase." He will also describe the ethical, intellectual and strategic framework for countering the traffic in illicit antiquities.

The 2009 SAFE Beacon Awards Lecture and Reception is co-sponsored by the Penn Cultural Heritage Center.

Congratulations New * AUAB * Board

The Anthropology Undergraduate Advisory Board (AUAB) would like to congratulate the newly-elected board for Spring 2009! Elections were held during our Reading Days Brunch on December 9th, and we thank those of you who came out to chat, relax and munch on bagels and coffee cake with us!


So here is your NEW AUAB Board:

Benjamin Laitman, Chair
Lauren Kapsalakis, Vice Chair
Amber Weekes, Co Chair of Events/Publicist
Rachel Higgins, Co Chair of Events/Publicist
Katharine Seeger, Thesis Committee Chair
Brandi Waters, In Situ Journal Committee Chair

(Leadership Bios Coming Soon!)

Ok, not listed above? Well, you can still be a leader of the AUAB! We always invite students to get involved in planning workshops and events, participating in putting together the first edition of our undergraduate journal, In Situ, and guiding the future of the AUAB. Involvement in the AUAB is a great way to get to know the wonderful students, professors and staff of the Anthropology Department, and to prepare to run for elections next semester.

AUAB committee proposals are now being accepted. Interested in holding an Anthro - themed film series? Leading a fieldtrip to New York? Contact Benjamin Laitman (laitman at sas dot upenn dot edu) with your ideas.

Also, the AUAB is still looking for 2 underclassmen Members at Large to serve as liaisons between the AUAB and the underclassmen plebeians (just kidding! but seriously - be a liaison!). If you are interested in this position, please contact the new Chair (see above).

Finally, thank you to last year's AUAB for your involvement. We wish all you seniors the very best next semester and beyond!

Sincerely,
The AUAB

Fall Reading Days Brunch and AUAB Leadership Elections!

Calling All Anthro Majors and Minors,

The AUAB is announcing a STUDY BREAK happening Tuesday, December 9th at 11 am in Rodin College House Mezzanine. Please feel free to join us for a bagel brunch and good anthropological company! Bring yourself, a friend, some notes to review, your laptop...and kick back with us for a while.

Also, the AUAB is holding ELECTIONS for the Spring 2009 Leadership. Even if you are brand new to the major or minor, energetic anthro-loving students should definitely email Serena (serena1230 at gmail dot com) with:
a) your name
b) your year
c) your preferred position (Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Co-chair of Events, Thesis Workshop, Summer Opportunities, Film) AND a brief (100 words or less) statement of interest
d) your other extracurricular involvement in Spring 2009

THE DEADLINE for notifying Serena is 12 PM Monday December 8th

We hope that you will come by to hang out! Best of luck on finals to all!

Sincerely,

the AUAB

Colloquia: The Genealogical Imagination

The Genealogical Imagination: Junk-DNA in the Study of (Jewish) Origins.
Monday, November 17, 2008
4:30
Museum 345

Nadia Abu El-Haj
Department of Anthropology
Barnard College/Colombia University

Prof. Abu El-Haj has held fellowships at Harvard University's Academy for International and Area Studies, the University of Pennsylvania Mellon Program, and the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. She is, in addition, a former Fulbright Fellow and a recipient of awards from the SSRC-McArthur Grant in International Peace and Security, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, and the National Endowment for the Humanities among others. Prior to her arrival at Barnard College and Columbia University she served on the faculty of the Anthropology Department at the University of Chicago.

In 2001 she published Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society (Chicago University Press), now in its second printing. In 2002 this book won the Middle East Studies Association's Albert Hourani Annual Book Award for the best book published on the Middle East that year (an honor it shared with Gershon Shafir and Yoav Peled's Being Israeli: the Dynamics of Multiple Citizenship).

Attention Senior Thesis Writers!

Dear Thesis Writers,

So, you are the oh-so-fortunate ones!

The AUAB is kicking off a series of meetings for seniors writing theses - academic workshops and a few social events - to take place throughout the remainder of the semester and continuing next semester. This is an opportunity for us to bring the challenges and delights of thesis research and writing into dialogue and to invite professors to hang out with us and share some advice and commiseration.

***

On Thursday, Oct 16 we will meet for the first time, Museum location TBA, at 4 PM.

If you have not done so already, please email Serena (serena1230 at gmail dot com) with your name and contact info. If you have a time conflict, please email Serena, as well.

For our first meeting, we will start out by introducing ourselves and our projects . We are all probably at slightly different spots in our projects. Depending on their availability, Dr. Petryna and Dr. Barg will be present to offer guidance and to begin talking about data management for notes and bibs, and research reading strategies. We will then figure out when we want to meet during the rest of the semester, what topics we would like addressed, and perhaps if we would like to break off into smaller groups for several sessions based on the relatedness of our topics or methodologies.

Interested in Teaching?

A great opportunity for undergrads interested in teaching!

The essentials:

Application deadline: OCTOBER 31, 2008

Who may apply: ONLY PENN Seniors and Juniors interested in teaching
mathematics, the sciences, social studies, or English in Philadelphia
secondary schools.

What is offered: $30,000 toward the Masters Degree in Education at Penn
GSE. Exceptional mentoring by SAS and GSE staff during the undergraduate
year(s), the masters year, and the first three years of teaching.
Assistance in placement in a West Philadelphia school for student
teaching and hiring, ideally in the same school.

This is an extraordinary opportunity for students who are interested in
teaching to compete for a prestigious fellowship in a relatively small,
if excellent, pool.

Details:
Penn is one of four institutions selected to offer the Leonore Annenberg
Teaching Fellowship launched by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation with
funding from the Annenberg Foundation and Carnegie Corporation. The
program is a partnership among the School of Arts and Sciences, the
Graduate School of Education, and the Barbara and Edward Netter Center
for Community Partnerships. It will prepare 25 Penn Arts and Sciences
undergraduates for leadership careers in urban classroom teaching at the
secondary level (grades 7-12). Eight current seniors, eight juniors, and
nine sophomores will receive these prestigious fellowships. Each fellow
will receive a $30,000 fellowship award for the MSEd degree and teacher
certification program (5th year of studies at Penn). All fellows will
be mentored by SAS and GSE faculty as they work in the local schools
during their undergraduate years, their MSEd year and during their first
three years as School District of Philadelphia classroom teachers. We
anticipate that four West Philadelphia school partners will host all 25
Fellows.

The goal is to elevate the caliber of the candidate pool and the
prestige in which teaching is held by the University community and
undergraduate student population. President Gutmann has added her
endorsement to provide added prestige to the program on campus, which is
being marketed nationally by WWNF as “a Rhodes Scholarship for teaching.”

Other goals are to improve teaching through disciplinary and pedagogical
partnerships among SAS, GSE and the partner schools, and long-term
improvement in the partner schools arising from an aggregation of
Fellows and other program supports. Please see the attached brochure
that describes the program. The website is:
http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/players/LATF/Timeline_.html

Undergraduates apply for Leonore Annenberg Teaching Fellowships during
the fall of their junior or senior year. Students will be selected to
participate on a competitive basis based upon their academic records,
interest in teaching secondary school content areas of mathematics, the
sciences, social studies and English, records of service and
extracurricular accomplishment, and commitment to urban teaching.

Fellows will make at least a three-year commitment to teaching in
Philadelphia schools. Participants will be formally involved in the
program for at least six years including approximately two years as
undergraduates, the MSEd/student-teaching year, and the first three
years of teaching after they are hired by the School District of
Philadelphia. Ideally, the Fellows will work at the same school
throughout the program, pending open teaching positions in the target
school upon completion of the MSEd/student-teaching year.

Fulfilling a Prophecy: Penn Museum Opening, Sept 13

http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/exhibits/FAP/index.shtml

Fulfilling a Prophecy: The Past and Present of the Lenape in Pennsylvania
September 13, 2008

Conventional histories of Pennsylvania declare that all but a few elderly Lenape people left the state by the opening of the 19th century. Many Lenape were indeed driven westward, and ultimately created communities in Oklahoma, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and in other parts of the United States and Canada. Yet, some Lenape people remained here in secret. Children of the little known Lenape-European marriages of the 1700s stayed on the Lenape homelands (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, northern Delaware and southern New York) and continued to practice their traditions covertly. Hiding their heritage, they avoided discovery by both the government and their neighbors for more than two hundred years. Now, the descendants of these people have come forward to tell their story.

Fulfilling a Prophecy, organized by Penn Museum and the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania, features never before displayed objects from the private collections of Lenape people in Pennsylvania, in addition to historic and contemporary photographs, and archaeological objects from the collections of Penn Museum. Ancient masks, dolls, jewelry, and other traditional arts are featured, as well as a number of once-secret family heirlooms, rich with hidden Lenape symbolism, dating from the early 1800s.

Hats off to Abby Seldin, an undergraduate student at Penn and curator of the exhibit.

Opening Day Event Schedule:

1:00pm-1:15pm Opening Ceremony/Blessing outside the new exhibition

1:30pm-2:15pm Dance and Drum performers Mosaic Courtyard or Rainey Auditorium

2:00pm-2:30pm Storytelling: Dan Youngeagle Reese tells stories, and performs on the flute Nevil Classroom

2:15pm-3:00pm Curators’ lecture: “Flying with the Fourth Crow: A Reflection on Curating Fulfilling a Prophecy” Rainey Auditorium

3:30pm-4:00pm Red Hawk Singers performance Mosaic Courtyard or Rainey Auditorium

Welcome Back Event!

*Curious* about Anthropology at Penn?
About opportunities for research?
About the best courses for majors and minors?

Come chat with current majors and Anthropology faculty!

Majors, Minors and Prospective Majors and Minors Welcome!

Where: Anthropology Museum Room 345
When: Friday September 12 at 3 pm
Why: good people, fantastic snackage

See you there!

AUAB asks, "How's your summer?"

Dearest Reader,

We like you. We salute you. You are reading our blog. During the summer. Even more time on your hands? Why don't you write for us, too?

It's time to tell us about your summers, wonderful anthropo's. Head on over to our Research Blog, In Situ, and tell us what you've been up to! http://penn-undergrad-anthro-research.blogspot.com, or find the link on the sidebar entitled Also on the Web.

Sincerely,

the AUAB, Guatemala Chapter (or Serena. In Guatemala. Obsessed with Lago Atitlán (see above).)

AUAB Reading Days Brunch

We think you are hungry. We think we can help:

AUAB Brunch

Thursday May 1

11 am - 12:30 pm

Rodin College House Mezzanine



Stop by for good eats and a good time on your way to finals-land....

AUAB Thesis Workshop: not scary; we promise

Anthro Majors and Minors:

Are you ready for the most exciting ride of your senior year?

Come to the Anthropology Undergraduate Advisory Board's THESIS WORKSHOP
Thursday April 17
4:30 pm in MUS 419

Join the AUAB and Anthropology faculty for REFRESHMENTS and the sheer thrill of thinking about your THESIS project!

*Hear from faculty about planning and advising
*Meet the Undergraduate Chair
*Talk to seniors who have written a thesis

Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors are encouraged to attend! Seniors are invited to share their wisdom on thesis planning and writing.

We look forward to seeing you!

The Anthropology Undergraduate Advisory Board

Spotlight: Rachel Higgins

Rachel Higgins is a junior in the College from North Carolina and, as an Anthropology major, she is concentrating in cultural anthropology. Rachel is also pursuing a minor in Art History. In addition to being Co-chair of events for the AUAB, she is working for Dr. Greg Urban as a research assistant. She is co-chair of Penn Dance (preceded in this position by the AUAB's very own Julia Cuccaro), and is also involved in the Chi Omega Sorority and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Spotlight: Chris Meznaric

Christopher Meznaric is a senior in the College, majoring in anthropology with a cultural/linguistic concentration. He is a first generation American, born to Croatian parents. His anthropological interests include race studies in the modern world and the anthropology of corporations. In addition to the position of Secretary of the Anthropology UAB, his interests and goals include filmmaking, the entertainment business, and music. He also plays a mean game of canasta.

Workshop: Summer Opportunities! 2/29, 1:30 pm, Mus 419

How can you make the most of your summer? How can you put your Anthropology skills to task in a meaningful way? What do Anthropologists do? How can you find research, internships, field school contacts and funding?

The Anthropology Undergraduate Advisory Board is happy to announce its first Spring Workshop:

Summer Opportunities in Anthropology
Friday, Feb 29
1:30 PM
Museum, Room 419
Enjoy refreshments, talk with Faculty, meet a grant and research representative from CURF, speak to students who have attended field schools and have done Anthropology research in past summers, and browse our packet of opportunities for Summer 2008.

We hope that you will join us for this fun and informative event!

Sincerely,

the Anthropology Undergraduate Advisory Board

Colloquia: Joseph Bonaparte's Point Breeze Estate

“HE WILL BE A BOURGEOIS AMERICAN AND SPEND HIS FORTUNE IN MAKING GARDENS”: A Preliminary Examination of Joseph Bonaparte's Point Breeze Estate, Bordertown, New Jersey


Richard Veit, PhD
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Monmouth University

Recent archaeological excavations in Bordentown, New Jersey, have begun to unearth the remains of Joseph Bonaparte’s palatial estate, Point Breeze. Joseph, the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte and former King of Spain and Naples, fled to the United States in 1815. He lived in New Jersey from 1816 until 1839. His home was a center for French refugees in America. His library and art collections were the largest in country. At Point Breeze, he entertained many of the leading intellectuals, politicians, artists, and military figures of the day. The excavations have revealed the remains of an exceptionally large structure believed to be the first mansion and a rich artifact assemblage.

Richard Veit is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University and Director of the University’s MA program in Liberal Arts. He received his Ph.D. in Historical Archaeology/Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. His research has focused on the historical archaeology of New Jersey, particularly ethnic lives in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Spotlight: Shauna Goldman

Shauna Goldman is a senior in the College, majoring in Anthropology with a concentration in Human Biology. From El Paso, Texas, Shauna is co-publicist of the AUAB and is additionally active in Chi Omega and Big Brothers Big Sisters at Penn. With a particular interest in understanding the health disparities immigrants face in the US, Shauna works with the Urban Nutrition Initiative. She plans to attend medical school after graduation.

Spotlight: Julia Cuccaro

Julia Cuccaro is a Cultural Anthropology major with minors in Italian Studies and English. She is the Vice-Chair of the AUAB and is interested in the use of arts in healing, the stigma of alternative therapies in western cultures, semiotics, performance anthropology, and ritual practices. She is also a member of the Penn Dance Company and enjoys reading, music, and traveling.

AUAB Positions

Anthropology Undergraduate Advisory Board

Positions:

Chair: Must be a declared anthropology major and a rising senior the fall semester following election. The chair will coordinate events, assign tasks and run meetings, reserve rooms and work closely with the undergraduate chair and anthro faculty. Ideally, this should be a highly organized person who is very familiar with the working of the Anthropology Department and the University as a whole.

Vice-Chair of Communications: The Vice-Chair of Communications will be responsible for updating the UAB web-site, maintaining the anthro research and activities blogs, and working with the Anthro Department on the Department website. This person will handle the UAB listserve and send messages to the majors via email. The Vice-Chair of Communications will ideally be familiar with web-design and upkeep and have time to update the website periodically.

Secretary- The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes at meetings and at events to relay to fellow UAB members or to Anthropology undergraduates. The Secretary is crucial for the smooth running of the AUAB.

Publicist- The Publicist is responsible for publicizing AUAB or Anthropology-related events. The Publicist has the duty of making posters that will interest and engage the Anthropology community at Penn.

Co-Chairs of Events: The Events Co-Chairs are the backbone of the UAB. They contact professors and speakers, set-up and breakdown events, organize refreshments and advertise for all the events.

Financial Liason: Obviously, the Treasurer handles the financial empire of the UAB, balancing the books and procuring funds from the Department. The Treasurer makes sure UAB members are not skimming slush fund arbitrage profits from the UAB treasury.

Members at Large: As the AUAB is regaining momentum and building the Board to be successful in future years, Members at Large will be appointed by the Board to assist in the planning and running of AUAB events. This position is especially designed for rising upperclassmen who intend to be future leaders of the AUAB.

Spotlight: Serena Stein

Serena Stein, a senior in the College, majors in Anthropology and Comparative Literature and Theory. She is current chair of the AUAB, and encourages all majors, minors and prospective students to track her down to chat and get involved; she looks forward to meeting you! With interests in medical and cultural anthropology, Serena spent sophomore summer in a Toba indigenous community in northern Argentina and last summer in the highlands of Guatemala on Lake Atitlán. She is also a member of the Philomathean Society and a PennQuest leader.

Spotlight: Joanna Shujman

Joanna Shujman, in the Class of 2009, is the AUAB Secretary/Publicity Chair. Majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Cinema Studies, Joanna has particular interest in Cultural Anthropology and Media Studies. Her other hobbies include drawing, photography, and skiing. On campus, Jo is also involved with the Chi Omega sorority, Wharton MBA Career Management, and 85 Broads.

Spotlight: Rich Slavin

Richard Slavin is a senior in the College, majoring in Cultural Anthropology and International Relations. From Northeast Philadelphia, Rich is Events Co-Chair of the AUAB. His interests include globalization's effect on culture, the cultures of multinational corporations, the use of archaeology in nationalistic pursuits, and repatriation of cultural objects. Rich also enjoys baseball, cinema, and studying world affairs.

Welcome to the AnthroBlog!

Dear Fellow Student,

Welcome to the Penn Anthropology Undergraduate Advisory Board AnthroBlog!

Here you will find:

Announcements for upcoming AUAB events!
Descriptions and locations of Department Colloquia!
Important reminders for Anthropology Majors and Minors!
and Posts and Links to articles related to Anthropology!

You may request to be added as an author of this blog at any time.

We hope that you will help us develop this blog as a tool for sharing ideas and unifying our undergraduate anthropology community.

Please also check out our new Undergraduate Anthropology Research Blog, In Statu Nascenti. Share new, continuing and completed research projects, fieldwork, and photos!

Sincerely,

the AUAB