Anthropology Students and Interdisciplinary Opportunity: How Are the Newest Generation of Anthropologists Crafting Their Research Across Disciplines to Thrive in Post-Graduate Life?
Speakers: Sean Furmage, Steven Lichty, and Noel Lopez; Moderator - Beth Moretsky
Date: Tuesday, 1 Mar 2016
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Sumner School
Detail: The world of practicing anthropology and its career market continues to shift with the demands of a social science knowledge set. But is a grad degree in anthropology enough to stand out among potential employers? A panel of grad students and recent graduates discuss how they have approached their studies and job opportunities through an adaptable interdisciplinary lens. They will consider the trajectory of the discipline of anthropology today in the applied world and how a new generation of anthropologists seek to find their footing. This conversation is inspired by our panelists' interactions with medical, political, and cultural interdisciplinary studies as they have intersected with anthropology through their independent paths of study. Join in the conversation Tuesday as we challenge the notion of anthropology as an interdisciplinary field, especially for recent graduates entering the job world.
Panelists bios:
Sean Furmage is a PhD Candidate at American University. Focusing on Samburu County, Kenya, his dissertation explores violence and political reform. Sean has a BA in anthropology from SOAS, University of London. Aside from the diss, Sean spreads himself rather thinly across interdisciplinary boundaries including documentary and other media projects, multispecies interaction, philosophical musings around the Anthropocene, social justice education, inclusive pedagogy, and different scholarly and not-so-scholarly creative projects—all tied together by an ethnographic sensibility. Sean’s question is how to combine his seemingly disparate, unrelated, and ever-growing interests into something that makes sense to others.
Steven Lichty is a PhD candidate in comparative politics at the University of Florida. His dissertation explores the internal dynamics of religious institutions in Kenya and how they help or hinder the democratization process. He also has experience with monitoring and evaluation, capacity building, program management, and teaching. Despite being in political science, he considers himself more a political anthropologist.
Noel Lopez is a social scientist completing his PhD in Cultural Studies at George Mason University. A former Baltimore City public school teacher, Noel is now a Cultural Anthropologist with the National Park Service (NPS), National Capital Regional Office. His current ethnographic research project with NPS is on issues of subsistence/supplemental fishing in the waterways of Washington, DC. His dissertation topic is on the formation of a political coalition between Appalachians, Puerto Ricans and the Black Panthers in 1960s Chicago.
Moderator - Beth Moretsky is an MA student in Anthropology, Medical Concentration at George Washington University. She focuses on chronic disease, specifically breast cancer, from both an anthropological and public health perspective. She received her BA from Macalester College in 2013, where she majored in Anthropology and Religious Studies.
Meeting: Charles Sumner School, corner of 17th St and M St NW, Washington, DC
How to get there: The Sumner School is located at
1201 17th St NW (corner of 17th St and M St NW). The entrance to the meeting area is on 17th St under the black metal stairway. Directions from Metro Red Line: From Farragut North station, take either L St exit, walk one block east to 17th St, turn left and walk 2 blocks north.
Enter through the double doors under the black metal staircase. Check with security for the meeting room.
Pre-meeting 5:30 - 7pm: Dukes Grocery (Please RSVP so that we can guarantee you a seat)
Address: 1513 17th St NW, Washington, DC.
Menu: https://www.facebook.com/DukesGrocery/
Website: http://dukesgrocery.com
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