9th Biennial Graduate Student Conference in Anthropology
This year, 2024, marked the 9th Biennial Graduate Student Anthropology Conference. The theme of the conference was, “Creating Anthropologies: Moving Between and Beyond Boundaries” and encouraged submissions that bridge, straddle, transcend, or explore the intersections of disciplinary, geographical, and conceptual boundaries. The announcement and call for papers stated,
“For example, Schneider and Hayes (2020) argue an archaeology that remains a discipline unto itself cannot be decolonized, and practitioners should seek to undiscipline it. Their aim is to move beyond conventional anthropological tools and concepts, prioritizing the questions, methods, and ideals of indigenous communities. This conference builds on their call. Untying knots that bind disciplines, we search for threads interpreting anthropology through novel ways.”
The conference was planned and hosted entirely by UCSC students in the Friends of Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society, Alpha Gamma of California, and Diversity in Anthropology. Over 70 participants, both in-person and virtual, attended the event. This year, undergraduate students were encouraged to submit completed, on-going, or proposed research. Jason de Leon, a prominent anthropologist and archaeologist at UCLA, acted as the keynote speaker:
“Jason De León is Professor of Anthropology and Chicana, Chicano, and Central American Studies and Director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project, a 501(c)(3) research, arts, and education collective that seeks to raise awareness about migration issues globally while also assisting families of missing migrants be reunited with their loved ones.”
Alaura Hopper, a UCSC Graduate student & the Lambda Alpha treasurer, opened the event.
Robert Penner, a second year PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, presenting, “The Backrooms of Late Capitalism: Fearful Nostalgia, Liminal Spaces and the Organic Emergence of a Virtual World.”
Ryan Jones, a 2nd year PhD in Social Anthropology at Harvard University, presents, “Indexing the Invisible: Mosaic Evidence and Environmental Photography.”
Suraiya Luecke and Sienna Ruiz, UCLA graduate students, presenting, “Transcending Ethnographic Boundaries Through Embodied Practice.”
Suraiya and Sienna’s presentation included a breathwork segment followed by a creative component. Attendees were encouraged to draw a “body map”. This photo features three body maps drawn by conference attendees.
Juan Carlos Aguirre, a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at San José State University, presents, “An Audit of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within Urban Place-Making Organizations’ Workforce in the State of California.”
Zaith Lopez, a 6th year anthropology PhD Candidate at Stanford University, presents “The Therapeutic as Situation?: Rajarse in Residential Drug Centers in Tijuana, Mexico.”
Katrina Clugston, a UCSC undergraduate student, presents her research proposal, “The Uprising of Paganism in the Modern World.”
Ameyalli de la Rosa, a fourth year undergraduate student in the UCSC Department of Anthropology, presents her senior thesis work, “Tenacious Ties: Mexican Folk Catholicism and its Rebellious Ecologies.”
Boluwaji Ajayi, a second year PhD student in Anthropology at UCSC, presents “Rock Hollows through Times: Material Itinerary and Daily Practices in West Africa’s Socio-cultural Landscape.”
Gaëlle Ames, a 3rd year undergraduate at UCSC, presents their research proposal, “Interrelations Between Shamanis, Ecotourism, Agroforestry in Bri Bri Society and Economy: Ethnobotanical Fieldwork with the Bri Bri of the Talamancas.”
Oke lroegbu, a 2nd year participant of the Folklore Graduate program at UC Berkeley, presents, “The Role of Indigenous Knowledge and Folk Narratives in Human-Wildlife Conflict Management.”
Jason de Leon, the keynote speaker of the event, concluded the conference. Jason discussed his work and upcoming book, Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling.
