Welcome to the Department of Anthropology's events page! Events are open to all members of the University of South Carolina community and the public. Topics range from scholarly research to industry advice (e.g., careers, publishing, research). In particular, the Colloquia Series hosts local scholars and invited guests who cover engaging research from around the world. They are an excellent opportunity to learn about groundbreaking anthropological research, to meet and interact with scholars, and get inspired by what others are doing.
Join us for a book talk with Dr. Magdalena Stawkowski (Anthropology, USC) on Atomic Collective: Radioactive Life in Kazakhstan. Drawing on long-term ethnographic research, Stawkowski explores everyday life and resilience in communities living with the legacy of Cold War nuclear testing.
Thursday, February 12 | 4:30–5:30 p.m. | Gambrell 429
Speaker: Aris Clemons, PhD, University of Tennessee Knoxville
When/Where: Tuesday, Dec. 2 · 3 p.m. · Gambrell 429
How do Black U.S. Spanish varieties emerge across different cultural, geographic, and linguistic contexts? This talk introduces liberatory linguistics, a framework that challenges colonial foundations of linguistic study while centering race, power, and community. Using examples from music, media, and community practice, Clemons examines how Blackness and Latinidad are negotiated through linguistic choices, sonic cues, and visual semiotics.
Speaker: Ashley McDermott, University of Michigan
When/Where: Thursday, Dec. 4 · 3 p.m. · Gambrell 431
How do YouTube algorithms shape kids’ language use in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan? This talk explores how children’s everyday Russian and Kyrgyz practices emerge from home and school interactions plus algorithmically recommended online content, revealing new dynamics of language shift in a global, digital age.
Speaker: Ashanté Reese, PhD, The University of Texas at Austin
When/Where: Monday, Feb. 9 · 3 p.m. · Gambrell 429
Explore how sugar production, prisons, and agriculture intersect in Southeast Texas. Drawing on archival, archaeological, and media sources, Dr. Reese examines how public–private partnerships built “the city that sugar built” and shaped carceral violence impacting Black lives.
Volunteers are invited to participate in a working archaeology lab. Participants will be taught how to wash and sort artifacts recovered from the USC Horseshoe excavation.
Participants must be age 12 or older. Anyone under 18 must have a parent or guardian present. Space is limited. Please RSVP to archaeology@mailbox.sc.edu.
Hamilton, Room 134 | 4:30 – 6:30