Anthropology

Anthropology

Head: Hadley Kruczek-Aaron

Secretary: Phyllis Sampier Charleson

(315) 267-2053 FAX: (315) 267-3176 124 MacVicar Hall

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Name	Contact Information
Jaimin D Weets Associate Professor Anthropology Jaimin D Weets Associate Professor Anthropology weetsjd@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2714 (315) 267-3176 Ph.D. 2004, Pennsylvania State University Courses taught: ANTA 106 Ancient People and Places ANTP 495 Dental Anthropology ANTA 417 Archaeological Procedures ANTH 111 Introduction to Anthropology ANTC 202 Cultural Anthropology GEOG 350 World & US Geography GEOG 360 Introduction to Social Geography Research interests: European prehistory, bioarchaeology, dental anthropology More Info	weetsjd@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2714 (315) 267-3176
Susan A. Stebbins Adjunct Instructor Anthropology Susan A. Stebbins Adjunct Instructor Anthropology stebbisa@potsdam.edu (315) 267-3372 (315) 267-3176 Ph.D. 1992, SUNY Albany Courses taught: ANTH 111 Introduction to Anthropology ANTH 130 Native Americans ANTH 333 Indian Images ANTH 331 Women in Native American Cultures ANTH 340 Anthropology of Gender Research interests: Native American Ethnohistory, particularly Northeast, gender, education More Info	stebbisa@potsdam.edu (315) 267-3372 (315) 267-3176
Lydia Rodriguez Assistant Professor, Linguistic Anthropology Anthropology Lydia Rodriguez Assistant Professor, Linguistic Anthropology Anthropology rodrigl@potsdam.edu (315) 267-3014 http://www.lydiarodriguez.aibr.org/ More Info	rodrigl@potsdam.edu (315) 267-3014
Morgan B Perkins Associate Professor, Cultural Anthropology and Museum Studies Art, Anthropology Morgan B Perkins Associate Professor, Cultural Anthropology and Museum Studies Art, Anthropology perkinmb@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2593 (315) 267-3176 Ph.D. 2000, Oxford University Courses taught: ANTH 202 Cultural Anthropology ANTH 270 Museum Studies ANTH 470 Museum Internship/Tutorial ANTH 358 Cross-Cultural Approach to Art ANTH 320 Museum Archives & Exhibit ANTH 140 World Art & Culture ANTH 371 Anthropology of China ARTH 395 Art & Culture in China Research interests: Asian art, museums, Native Americans More Info	perkinmb@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2593 (315) 267-3176
Timothy C Messner Associate Professor, Archaeology Anthropology Timothy C Messner Associate Professor, Archaeology Anthropology messnetc@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2039 http://www.archaeoverse.com/ More Info	messnetc@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2039
Nasser R. Malit Associate Professor, Biological Anthropology Anthropology Nasser R. Malit Associate Professor, Biological Anthropology Anthropology malitnr@potsdam.edu (315) 267-3252 Education: B.A. 1995, The University of Nairobi, Kenya M.A. 2002, State University of New York at Binghamton Ph.D. 2009, State University of New York at Binghamton Research Inclination: Evolution of Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, Biology of Modern Skeletal Populations, Miocene Primates, Paleoenvironments, Vertebrate Paleontology, Human Diseases Areas of Teaching Interest: Paleoanthropology, Evolutionary Theory, Human Skeletal Biology, Forensic Anthropology, Archaeology of Death, Research Methods in Anthropology, Introduction to Anthropology, Introduction to Physical Anthropology, Human Violence Current Teaching Load: ANTH 201 Human Origins ANTH 380 Human Osteology ANTH 365 Archaeology of Death My current research interests focus on the study and evolution of Homo erectus. These studies employ morphometric methods in understanding the biology and variability among these defunct hominins. I am also presently reevaluating the mandibular and dental morphology on Middle Pleistocene hominins from Kapthurin, Baringo, in the Rift Valley of Kenya. My study on teeth focuses on the evaluation and comparison of dental cusp areas of these Middle Pleistocene hominins with other contemporaneous groups from Africa and elsewhere. Besides these commitments, I am also involved in a collaborative effort that seeks to comprehensively describe and evaluate the status of the Olorgesailie Homo erectus. I expand my research interests to include terminal Pleistocene hominins with an entry point to this important time period offered by a specimen that my team excavated in 2004 from a new locality in Buffalo Springs in Samburu, Kenya .The Sumburu site is composed of both palaeontological and archaeological artifacts, and will contribute in answering questions regarding the origins of modern human as well as their dispersal and behavioral ecology. The Sumburu hominin maybe of Later Pleistocene age and is coming at a location that is many miles south of Lake Turkana. I am in the process of collecting morphometric data on contemporaneous modern human specimens available for study and comparison with the Samburu hominin. Further fieldwork in Samburu is also underway. Current students in the department are involved in some aspects of these research projects. More Info	malitnr@potsdam.edu (315) 267-3252
Shana A Lessing Adjunct Instructor Anthropology Shana A Lessing Adjunct Instructor Anthropology lessinsa@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2053 More Info	lessinsa@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2053
Hadley Kruczek-Aaron Department Chair, Anthropology Anthropology Hadley Kruczek-Aaron Department Chair, Anthropology Anthropology kruczehf@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2072 PhD 2007, Syracuse University Courses taught: ANTH 106 Ancient People and Places ANTH 195 Archaeology of New York State ANTH 204 Archaeology ANTH 359 African American Archaeology ANTH 362 Historical Archaeology ANTH 410 Advanced Archaeological Research ANTH 417 Archaeological Procedures Research interests: Northeast historical archaeology; African American archaeology; cultural identity; religion, social reform; public education More Info	kruczehf@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2072
Faris A Khan Assistant Professor, Cultural Anthropology Anthropology Faris A Khan Assistant Professor, Cultural Anthropology Anthropology khanfa@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2041 http://farisak.wixsite.com/fariskhan Degrees Ph.D. 2014, Syracuse University M.A. 2008, Brandeis University B.A. 2005, Hanover College Courses Taught (2017-2018) ANTH 111 - Introduction to Anthropology ANTH 202 - Cultural Anthropology ANTH 391 - Anthropological Theory ANTH 107 - World Cultures Expertise Gender and sexuality, queer and transgender studies, identity and performance, activism and social movements, globalization and transnationalism, digital and biotechnologies, Islam, South Asia and its diaspora. Profile I am a cultural anthropologist, specializing in the anthropology of gender and sexuality and South Asia studies, with an emphasis on nonnormative genders and sexualities in Pakistan. After earning my undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology from Hanover College, I completed graduate training in cultural production from Brandeis University, followed by a doctorate in anthropology from Syracuse University. Before joining SUNY Potsdam, I served as a visiting assistant professor in LGBTQ and global studies at Sarah Lawrence College, as well as a lecturer in anthropology at Syracuse and Brandeis Universities, and most recently, I was a postdoctoral research scholar in anthropology at Brandeis. My dissertation research and current book project center on the culture, politics and activism of gender non-conforming people in Pakistan known as the khwaja sira (also hijra). In my writing, I explore how gender and sexual minorities navigate the challenges of everyday life and how they address obstacles in their fight for social justice. My research also examines how queer and trans* people's identity, performance and sense of self are shaped by new media, biotechnology, and transnational connections. In addition to my primary ethnographic research in the Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan, I have conducted fieldwork in the state of West Bengal in India and in the South Asian diaspora in the United States. Awards and Honors American Institute of Pakistan Studies Write-Up Grant (2014) Maxwell Dean's Fellowship, Syracuse University (2013) Claudia De Lys Scholar in Cultural Anthropology, Syracuse University (2013) American Institute of Pakistan Studies Short Term Research Fellowship (2012-2013) Claudia De Lys Fieldwork Grant, Syracuse University (2011-2012) Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship (relinquished) (2010-2011) Fulbright IIE Fellowship (declined in favor of Fulbright-Hays) (2010-2011) Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (declined) (summer 2010) Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (2009-2010) Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (declined) (summer 2009) Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (2008-2009) Gordon Bowles Essay Prize (for outstanding graduate student paper), Syracuse University (2009) Bharati Research Grant, South Asia Center, Syracuse University (2008-2009) Central States Anthropological Society Undergraduate Student Paper Prize (2005) Richter Grant, Hanover College (2004) Scholarship Khan, Faris. 2016. "Khwaja Sira Activism: The Politics of Gender Ambiguity in Pakistan." TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly 3(1-2): 158-164. Khan, Faris. 2014. "Khwaja Sira: 'Transgender' Activism and Transnationality in Pakistan." In South Asia in the World: An Introduction, edited by Susan S. Wadley, 170-184. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. Khan, Faris. 2014. "Khwaja Sira: Culture, Identity Politics, and 'Transgender' Activism in Pakistan". Dissertations - ALL. 56. Khan, Faris. 2011. "Powerful Cultural Productions: Identity Politics in Diasporic Same-Sex South Asian Weddings." Sexualities 14(4): 377-398. More Info	khanfa@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2041
Alan L. Hersker Director of General Education; Interim Assistant Provost Anthropology, General Education Program, Provost & Academic Affairs Alan L. Hersker Director of General Education; Interim Assistant Provost Anthropology, General Education Program, Provost & Academic Affairs herskeal@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2138 Ph.D. 2002, American University Courses taught: ANTH 111 Introduction to Anthropology ANTH 161/LNGS 111 Origins of Language ANTH 202 Cultural Anthropology ANTH 203 Language and Culture ANTH 205 Applying Anthropology ANTH 403 Applied Anthropology Seminar Research interests: Urban anthropology, Gender, GLBT studies, Space and place, Medical anthropology, Cultural tourism, Cultural preservation More Info	herskeal@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2138
Phyllis Sampier Charleson Secretary Modern Languages, Anthropology Phyllis Sampier Charleson Secretary Modern Languages, Anthropology charlepc@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2053 (315) 267-3176 Anthropology More Info	charlepc@potsdam.edu (315) 267-2053 (315) 267-3176 Anthropology