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Study Sheds Light on Pre-Columbian Life in Understudied Area of SW Amazon
A new study co-authored by University of Central Florida researchers shows that pre-Columbian people of a culturally diverse but not well-documented area of the Amazon in South America significantly altered their landscape thousands of years earlier than previously thought. The findings, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show evidence […]
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Anthropology Sets the Path for Med School
Undergraduate anthropology student Shelby Lucia works with John Starbuck, Ph.D., to combine her passions of medicine and anthropology. Her research in his lab focuses on the facial morphology of the brain and skull, particularly in children with Down syndrome. Lucia catalogs CT and MRI image scans provided by Florida Hospital by noting important regions such […]
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Anthropology Ph.D. Program to Launch in 2018
by Zenaida Kotala UCF will begin offering a Ph.D. program in integrative anthropological sciences next fall, but it won’t be your traditional anthropology degree. Students who enter the program will benefit from a methods-focused program that encourages them to integrate advanced methodological expertise with anthropology’s strengths in diversity to address enduring problems not just in […]
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Using Vocal Cords to Unlock Human Origins
UCF undergraduate student Austin Stanley is majoring in anthropology and tackling the question of human origins at the same time. More specifically, he’s studying the vocal capabilities of homo heidelbergensis, a more direct human ancestor than Neanderthals, to get a broader sense on when spoken language of humans began. This can be determined through looking […]
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Anthropology Student Focuses on Sustainability
What if you could spend the summer reading books by the beach in San Diego? That’s what Sarah Davenport did. But that’s not all. Davenport is majoring in anthropology and her research conducted as an undergrad is already getting attention. She focuses on sustainability – but not just the environment kind. Working with an environmental […]
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UCF Alumna Founds Cultural Competency Company
Tegan Sabatier, ’08 is chief executive officer of her own cultural competency consulting business, a University of Central Florida alumna and the Department of Anthropology’s 2017 Outstanding AlumKnight. Sabatier was honored with the award on March 2, 2017 at the College of Sciences’ annual Outstanding AlumKnight ceremony. The Department of Anthropology nominated the alumna to represent […]
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Anthropology Student Seeks Degree to Thank Mom, Dig Up Latin American Roots
Story by Rachel Williams, UCF Today Kimberly Batres was too young to remember, but her mother often went hungry. As a single mother living in Guatemala with daughters 7 and 3 years old, Alison Batres earned just enough money working in a family-owned bakery to pay rent and feed her children. Fed up and in […]
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Anthropology Student Aims to Make a Difference
Story by Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, UCF Today Elizabeth “Beth” Chance served eight years in the U.S. Army, among many assignments handling classified mail in Iraq. When she came home, she became a classroom teacher. But she’d always dreamed of becoming an archeologist. “I had watched a PBS special on the discovery of ‘Lucy,’” said the […]
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GIS to Offer Certificate
Beginning this fall, UCF will offer a new Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This new GIS certificate will provide students with the interdisciplinary background in the geography and the technical skills in the application of GIS through a 4 course, 12 credit hour load. The certificate will not only enhance students’ ability to understand, […]
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COS Online Degree Programs are On Top
Several departments within the UCF College of Sciences have been named as some of the best online degree programs, charting top lists on four different websites. For online graduate programs, GraduatePrograms.com ranks the top graduate programs across 35 subjects. UCF’s Sociology Graduate Program takes the #2 ranking for top online graduate sociology programs and UCF’s Psychology Graduate Program is […]
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UCF Featured in Adventures in Florida Archaeology
Anthropology alumna and director of the Florida Historical Society Archaeological Institute (FHSAI), Patrisha L. Meyers, recently featured stories written by UCF Anthropology faculty, John J. Schultz, Ph.D., and current graduate student in the UCF Anthropology M.A. program, Kevin Gidusko, in FHSAI’s most recent magazine. According to Meyers who is also the Director of the Brevard […]
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UCF Anthropology Blends High Tech, World Experience
Story by Aileen Perilla, UCF Today A small group of UCF students is heading to Turkey this month to put what they learned in the classroom to work at an anthropology dig in an area once ruled by King Midas. Anthropology assistant professor Scott Branting, Ph.D., and his team of students will be working 10 […]
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How ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Reflects America’s Soul
It’s almost impossible to avoid all the hype about the upcoming Marvel Comics-inspired film – Captain America: Civil War. Hollywood is banking on the legions of loyal – some might say crazy – fans who dress up as their favorite character, attend conventions, flock to YouTube with speculation about comic-inspired movie storylines and buy lots […]
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UCF Anthropology Takes Over Annual Conference
In April, the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) held its 81st annual conference in Orlando and the UCF Anthropology Department had the opportunity to be involved. Many UCF Anthropology faculty, students and alumni attended, volunteered and participated in the conference. The annual conference provides a forum for dissemination of knowledge and discussion to which the UCF Anthropology […]
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Anthropology Student Studies Homelessness
Anthropology graduate student, Rebecca Young, ’14, currently has an article under review in the peer reviewed journal, Human Organization, about homelessness in Orlando and Oviedo. Rebecca has done research on this topic for four years and has presented her work widely at the largest conferences in the U.S. Rebecca started attending UCF in fall 2010 and […]
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Vertical Archaeology Explores Tomb Secrets
This summer, J. Marla Toyne, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the UCF Anthropology Department, will return to the high jungle of Peru to continue her research of ancient tombs. However, instead of digging down to uncover remains, she and her team will climb and rappel along mountain ridges, plateaus, and narrow cliffs. The ancient Chachapoya people […]
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A Summer in Sicily
Caitlin Sawyer, senior anthropology student with a focus in bioarchaeology, was recently selected for a National Science Foundation Research Experience (NSF REU) in Sicily, Italy. This very selective program is conducted through the University of Georgia, where she will be working with assistant professor Laurie Reitsema, Ph.D., from UGA. Caitlin’s NSF REU will specifically focus on “Immersive Research in the Bioarchaeology […]
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COS Shines at Student Research Week
Student Research Week celebrates the research and creative projects of UCF undergraduate and graduate students. From April 4 through April 7, graduate and undergraduate students attended workshops, presented research, developed research skills, and met with researchers. On April 5 and April 7, students from all disciplines, shared their research with the UCF community at the annual Graduate […]
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Anthropology Student Sheds Light on European Crisis
Adam Kersch, second-year master’s student and graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Anthropology, has been named a guest columnist with the Orlando Sentinel. His new article, which was published April 13, was about the migrant crisis taking place in Europe. Adam published a piece in the Orlando Sentinel in 2014 regarding his preliminary fieldwork analyzing the poor provision of […]
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A Farewell for Arlen and Diane Chase
The music of a mariachi band filled the Grand Ballroom of the UCF FAIRWINDS Alumni Center on Monday, April 11 as UCF faculty, staff, retirees, and friends bid farewell to Drs. Arlen and Diane Chase. A Latin American themed farewell reception was held to honor the internationally recognized Pegasus Professors and to wish them well in […]
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STEM Day at UCF
On Friday, April 8, more than one thousand students from the Central Florida area spilled on to UCF campus for STEM day. STEM day is a bi-annual outreach event for K-12 students interested in learning more about the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The day featured a wide variety of activities focused on STEM […]
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College of Sciences Shines at Founders’ Day
From a nanoscientist to an undergraduate biology student, the College of Sciences had many recipients recognized at the annual Founders’ Day Honors Convocation on Wednesday, April 6, 2016. Founders’ Day is a time-honored tradition where UCF faculty members, staff and students who have made significant achievements and academic contributions are recognized. Awards were given to […]
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Dr. Mishtal Wins LIFE @ UCF
The College of Sciences is proud to announce that Associate Professor of Anthropology, Joanna Mishtal, Ph.D., was awarded one of the “Life @ UCF Awards” that was presented by the CSWF at a ceremony on Feb. 19. The UCF Center for Success of Women Faculty (CSWF) awarded four women the “Life @ UCF” Women Faculty Excellence […]
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Hot Summer Nights in Roman Egypt
Join Anthropology Lecturer, Lana Williams, Ph.D., on Tuesday, April 26, as she talks about seasonality in conception, birth, and death and how it is one of the most fundamental and enduring patterns in life’s rhythms. These patterns are mostly influenced by interactions between biology and environment. However, human culture also plays a very distinct role […]
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COS Women Making History
Since March of 1981, Americans everywhere have helped pay tribute to women whose commitment to humanity and to our planet have proved to be invaluable for society. Each year during March – Women’s History Month, the UCF Center for Success of Women Faculty honors and shares the stories of 31 outstanding UCF women that have been […]
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Excellence in Online Education
UCF ranks at No. 15 in the nation for the Best Online Colleges for 2016, according to thebestschools.org. Online learning has increased tremendously over the last decade. It is estimated that over 7 million higher education students are e-learners. E-learners make up about one third of the overall higher education student body population in the U.S. UCF’s College […]
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Artifact: Under Wraps
Egyptian mummies reveal secrets from the past to inspire future scientists. By Eric Michael, ’96 When students in the Mummies, Life After Death course are invited to touch and smell samples of preserved human skin, bone, hair and other remains dating back more than 2,000 years, anthropology lecturer Lana Williams, Ph.D., ’99, says the most common […]
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Remembering Dr. David Jones
Anthropology expert, musician, and mentor, David Jones, Ph.D., passed away on Jan. 31, 2016. The retired anthropology professor and founding faculty member of the anthropology department, dedicated over 30 years of excellent service to the students, the University and the community. A mentor to many students and faculty, Dr. Jones was known for his studies of Native American shamanism, […]
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Get Plugged in with Anthropology Professor Branting
On Jan. 28, Assistant professor of anthropology, Scott Branting, Ph.D., participated in a Future Tense discussion about how present and emerging technologies can be used to deliver cultural heritage from the past to the future. After the event, Increasing Human Potential asked Dr. Branting for a follow-up interview for their “Unmanned Unplugged” feature. Increasing Human […]
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GIS Delivers the Past to the Future
On Thursday, January 28, Scott Branting, Ph.D., will participate in a Future Tense discussion about how present and emerging technologies can be used to deliver cultural heritage from the past to the future. Hosted by New America, a non-partisan think tank in Washington D.C., and in partnership with Arizona State University and Slate magazine, “Deploying Technology to […]