by: Emma Fleming
Parkland College’s second celebration of World Anthropology Day is in the books! On Thursday, Feb 21st Parkland’s Anthropology Department celebrated World Anthropology Day by hosting an event in the Student Union. The event was led by Dr. Isabel Scarborough, Dr. Lauren Anaya, and by part-time faculty members Erin Riggs and Benjamin Skousen. The four professors discussed the importance of anthropology, the archaeology field school offered in the summer, and the various anthropology courses that Parkland offers. The anthropology department displayed archeological artifacts and a slideshow and provided free food and t-shirts for the students.
Dr. Scarborough, Associate Professor and Anthropology Program Director, explained the purpose and importance of the event. “#AnthroDay is an initiative of the American Anthropological Association,” Scarborough said. “Parkland’s Anthropology program first celebrated National Anthropology Day in the Spring of 2017.” Scarborough also said that Parkland participated in this event along with 300 other colleges and universities, and that the event was intended to promote anthropology courses and careers.
For the Anthropology Department, AnthroDay was focused on student involvement. “Our four anthropology instructors personally contacted students taking our classes who they know are interested in pursuing careers or classes in archeology, cultural anthropology or biological and forensic anthropology,” Scarborough said. “The idea was to socialize and have students network with each other and with some of our instructors with whom they are not currently taking classes.”
The event allowed students to interact with the anthropology professors and ask questions about the program, but also allowed the Anthropology Department to meet potential students. “I know our anthropology instructors pride themselves in mentoring and supporting our students.” Scarbarough said. “The event gave us the chance to continue conversations with some of the students we already knew and to meet new students, all while having fun.” Overall, the event seemed to attract student interest. Many students examined the artifacts, engaged with the professors and even enjoyed free food. “I would say we met our objectives and had a very successful AnthroDay,” Scarborough said.
“In our globalized and rapidly changing world, students who know how to handle themselves in situations where they come into contact with people from different cultures have an advantage over other applicants”
At the event, both anthropology students and non-anthropology students gathered to see what AnthroDay had to offer. Erin Riggs, professor of archaeology at Parkland, explained that the Anthropology Department was trying to build community. “The purpose of this event is to build community around anthropology and its exciting opportunities,” Riggs said. Along with Riggs, Scarborough also highlighted some of the opportunities that anthropology provides students. “In our globalized and rapidly changing world, students who know how to handle themselves in situations where they come into contact with people from different cultures have an advantage over other applicants in fields as varied as IT, marketing, health professions, engineering and business and finance,” Scarborough said. “Anthropology classes teach you the skills to master cross-cultural communication.”
The department director also mentioned anthropological opportunities specific to Parkland. When asked about what students should look forward to from the anthropology program, Scarborough said that, “Every spring semester the anthropology program sponsors a ‘Speaker Series’ where we bring anthropologists working in our community and beyond to give presentations on their work. On Feb 27, we have Dr. Maritza Quinones, the Anthropology Undergraduate Advisor of UIUC presenting on Afro-Puerto Rican women in popular culture as a part of Black History Month.” Scarborough added that Dr. Kasia Szremski, an archeologist, will speak about her research on ancient Peru on March 27, and Dr. Elizabeth Youngling will speak about the Chicago housing crisis on April 18.
Another Parkland-specific opportunity that was mentioned was the Archaeology Field School. “Parkland offers a unique opportunity to students every summer in its Field Archaeology course (ANT 220) with an ongoing partnership with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey,” Scarborough said. Professor Riggs leads this two-week archaeology course. “I instruct Parkland’s field school, and students can spend two weeks at Allerton Park getting hands-on experience with excavating,” Riggs said. “This summer we will mostly be excavating pre-historics.” The course opens for enrollment in April.
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For more information about the Archeology Field School or about Parkland’s Anthropology Program, see the Anthropology website which can be found at www.parkland.edu, or contact one of the Anthropology professors.
