ANTHROPOLOGY SCHOLARLY AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
We encourage graduate students to become involved in the many scholarly and social activities that make up the life of the Department.
Research Collaboration:
Graduate students often collaborate with faculty on research projects, working as research assistants and associates, and developing thesis topics from joint projects. In recent years, faculty and students have collaborated on projects studying BC fisheries, archaeological sites on the Northwest Coast, Mexico and the Arctic, oral history of the Yukon, indigenous justice, the colonial history of Papua New Guinea, women's history in South America, and Alzheimer's disease among many other topics. Students are strongly encouraged to publish the results of their research in scholarly journals.
Department Seminars:
Both the Department Special Events Committee and the Graduate Student Association schedule regular seminars on topics of interests. Speakers include graduate students and faculty reporting on their own research, visitors passing through Vancouver to and from field research, spokespeople from First Nations communities, and invited scholars. Past speakers include Claude Levi-Strauss, Anthony Giddens, Edmund Leach, Elliott Leyton, Roger Keesing, Joan Ryan, and Alison Wylie.
Archaeological and Ethnographic Field Schools:
Held most summers, these courses provide intense practical training in fieldwork methods to entering and advanced graduate students who live and work in collaboration with Canadian First Nations.
The Anthropology and Sociology Graduate Student Symposium:
This annual event is organized entirely by graduate students in the Department. Lasting two days, both graduate and undergraduate students deliver papers and multi-media presentations of their research. UBC students also regularly present papers at meetings of the Canadian Anthropology Society and the Northwest Anthropology Society, among others. Several UBC students have won prizes from these organizations for outstanding papers in recent years.
Pizza Lunches and Other Social Events:
Both the Department and the Museum host events at which graduate students may meet and mingle with each other and faculty. The most popular has been the (free!) pizza lunches held in the Department.
The Graduate Student Association (GSA):
The GSA represents the interests of Anthropology and Sociology students in Department affairs by providing representatives to key committees, encouraging academic activities, and sponsoring social events. The Association possesses a commodious graduate lounge, which it uses for meetings, presentations, retreats, and parties.
Anthropology graduate students are also members of the University's Graduate Student Association and the Graduate Student Society. The latter society operates the Thea Koerner House Graduate Student Centre, an attractive former residence which houses meeting and dining facilities, a bar, a recreation room, and a small library.
In Addition...
The University operates an aquatic centre, gyms, tennis courts, and a wide variety of food and retail services. Many of these are located in or around the Student Union Building near the centre of the campus.