Purdue anthropology department celebrating 10th anniversary

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Department of Anthropology is preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary with a two-day symposium and a keynote by Nina Jablonski, the Evan Pugh University Professor of Anthropology at Penn State.

The department will host a series of events Oct. 12-13 (Friday-Saturday) geared to inspire conversation about the future of anthropology and the department at Purdue, while also celebrating its founding in 2008. Jablonski will open the symposium by delivering a keynote titled, “Exploring and Educating about the Evolution of Human Physical Diversity,” from 3-5 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Wilmeth Active Learning Center (WALC), Room 1055. Jablonski is the author of “Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color and Skin: A Natural History” (University of California Press, 2012) and presenter of the popular TED Talk, “Skin Color is an Illusion.”

Following the keynote will be a panel discussion including Mangala Subramaniam, director of the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence and professor of sociology, and Michele Buzon, Purdue University faculty scholar and professor of anthropology. A reception will follow from 5-7 p.m. at the Purdue Memorial Union Anniversary Drawing Room.

An alumni panel will convene at 9 a.m. Oct. 13 at Purdue Memorial Union to discuss using anthropology to address the needs of local communities in the U.S. and internationally. A research poster session will follow from 10:30-11:30 a.m. The final event will begin at 11:30 a.m., with participants discussing the future of Purdue anthropology before breaking for lunch at 12:30 p.m.

For more information, visit https://www.cla.purdue.edu/anthropology/anniversary/10thanniversary.html.

Media contact: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu  

Source: Kati Pratt, pratt46@purdue.edu