Annapurna Pandey, Lecturer

What made you interested in anthropology?

"The first reason is definitely my interest in people who are just like me or different from me. From a young age, I had always wanted to know what was happening in their world that was not immediately accessible to me. While growing up, I was always interested in the people working in my lower-middle class household. My father was a high school teacher and education was highly valued in my family. I could see that many people did not have that opportunity and whenever I saw an excess of poverty and scarcity, I always wanted to understand what was responsible for that and in what way I could make a difference in their lives. I always had a desire to be part of the world that I was not part of.

Second, I was always interested in the uniqueness of people. People are so different from one another - even in my own family. Growing up as a single girl with four brothers, I could see that each of my brothers was very different. As a result, I questioned why people were so different, even if they grew up in the same family. This innate desire to know about people pushed me to study sociology in India, which is very similar to social anthropology, and it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me."

How would you convince a student to study Anthropology?

"Many students I meet are studying politics or sociology and I always tell them to pursue anthropology to broaden their horizons. Observing my GE courses, I can see that the non-anthropology students get very excited while discussing issues or topics anthropologically. Anthropology is very present in the world and can be apt and useful when applying for any position in many fields today. Anthropology students have tailored abilities to study the world and interact with people to get a better sense of their preferences and values and are often times better team members. By studying anthropology, they would not only be better individuals but also better team leaders and innovators."

What classes do you currently teach?

"I am teaching Magic, Science & Religion and Cultures of India, in which I have the opportunity to use my own personal research. Next quarter, I am teaching India and Indian Diaspora Through Film and a senior seminar, Women in Politics: A Third World Perspective. I am really looking forward to not only teaching about my own personal research but also learning from the students and from their experiences."

What are you hoping to teach?

"I may like to teach a course on aging. I am very interested in the elderly situation from a cross cultural perspective, comparing India and the West. I had previously taught this course in Spring of 2016 for Semester at Sea and I would be open to bringing it back."