RESEARCH
Georgia State anthropologists conduct funded research in the Americas, Africa and Europe, often employing student assistants to help in the lab or in the field.
Research Areas
Diet & Food
Whether in ancient or contemporary communities, the study of diet and food can reveal much about human sociality, subsistence activities and socioeconomic distinctions. Faculty in the Department of Anthropology study topics such as agriculture, prehistoric diet, food sustainability, nutrition and inequality, and the role of food consumption in family life.
Gender, Sex & Sexuality
Department of Anthropology researchers examine the impact of culture and socioeconomic difference on the conceptualization and embodiment of gender, sex and sexuality. This includes scholarship on women’s social movements, gender roles, stigma, gender and health, religion and sexuality, and fatherhood.
Health & Illness
The topic of health and illness in contemporary and ancient populations is a key research topic in the Department of Anthropology. Researchers in this area draw from and contribute to medical anthropology, global health, bioarchaeology and the anthropology of violence.
Human Migration & Exchange
Migration, movement and exchange are defining features of humanity. In the Department of Anthropology, researchers approach these topics holistically: this includes the study of the movement of communities and the exchange of artifacts within and across borders, as well as the examination of how these movements intersect with the patterning of race, class, gender and nationality.
Museums, Heritage & Tourism
The anthropological study of museums, heritage and tourism is rooted in critical reflection on how communities understand their heritage and represent that heritage to others. Anthropologists analyze and also contribute to the production of displays of culture, human artifacts and human remains in and outside of museums.
Race & Ethnicity
The field of anthropology is rooted in the critical study of the concepts of race and ethnicity. In the Department of Anthropology, researchers study the genetic/biological invalidity of the race concept, the social construction of cultural models of race and ethnicity and the enduring contemporary impact of socioeconomic distinctions integral to the historical creation of notions of race.
Religion & Ethics
Department of Anthropology researchers analyze the social significance of religion in cultural settings past and present. This includes the study of how conceptualizations and practices of ethics are shaped by culture, power and history.
Class & Economy
Anthropologists at Georgia State examine how structures of socioeconomic inequality shape everyday experience, identity and power, in both contemporary urban contexts and in the archaeological record. Ethnographic observation and archaeological methods illuminate moments of economic crisis and transformation as well as material practices of consumption, exchange and display.
Research Regions
While anthropologists often work on multi-sited and multiregional projects, the discipline also focuses on the historical and contemporary specificities of place and shared features of culture and history in distinct regions of the world.
Our Faculty’s Past and Current Research Projects Are Based In
Anthropology Labs
The Department of Anthropology houses laboratories for use in archaeological, bioarchaeological, and dental microwear research and teaching, as well as facilities for ethnographic data analysis and video editing. Learn more about these laboratory resources.
Contact Us
The Department of Anthropology
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Department Specialist
Aikaterini Grigoriadou
[email protected]
Department Chair
Dr. Jennifer Patico
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Dr. Faidra Papavasiliou
Director of Graduate Studies
Dr. Steven Black