General Information for Anthropology
ADMISSION
Admission to graduate study is based on academic records, scholarly recommendations, and scores on the Graduate Record Examination. The department offers the Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees with specialization in various subdisciplines. The department offers one stand-alone M.A. program for students specializing in human skeletal biology. In all other cases, the M.A. is awarded as a step in fulfillment of requirements for the Ph.D and applicants should apply directly to the Ph.D. program. They will be formally admitted to the Ph.D. program, however, only after the requirements outlined below have been fulfilled.ANTHROPOLOGY WITH A FOCUS IN NEAR EASTERN STUDIES
The Department of Anthropology offers Ph.D. candidates a special area of study with a focus in Near Eastern studies. This emphasis enables anthropologists to acquire systematic training in a Near Eastern language as well as knowledge of the literature, history, and civilization of the Near East. It is intended for both sociocultural anthropologists and archaeologists. Students take the M.A. core courses in anthropology, one course in Near Eastern archaeology, two courses in the anthropology of the Near East, and four courses in the Near Eastern field chosen outside the Department of Anthropology (usually in the history, literature, and civilization of the Near East). Language competence in both written and spoken versions of one of the area languages is needed to successfully complete this coursework.CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN STUDIES
The Department of Anthropology is actively connected with the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS) of the Graduate School of Arts and Science. CLACS brings together University faculty specializing in Latin American and Caribbean research. Anthropology faculty members offer courses and guidance to students in this program, and anthropology students may construct special programs of study and research that utilize the resources offered by CLACS. The Center forms a consortium with the Institute for Latin American Studies at Columbia University that sponsors joint courses and conferences that New York University students may attend.CENTER FOR MEDIA, CULTURE, AND HISTORY
The program works closely with the Center for Media, Culture, and History, directed by Professor Faye Ginsburg. The Center sponsors fellows, screenings, lectures, and conferences and integrates concerns of faculty and students from the Departments of Anthropology, Cinema Studies, History, and Performance Studies as well as other programs. The Center addresses issues of representation, social change, and identity construction embedded in the development of film, television, video, and new media worldwide. For more information about the Center, visit their Web site at www.nyu.edu/gsas/program/media.SPECIAL RESOURCES AND FACILITIES IN CULTURE AND MEDIA
Production classes and facilities in 16 mm film are provided at New York University’s Department of Film and Television in the intensive summer workshop Cinema: The Language of Sight and Sound, and in documentary workshops taught by award-winning filmmakers George Stoney, Chris Choy, and Jim Brown. Students produce their own documentaries in a small, intensive, yearlong digital video documentary production seminar for advanced culture and media students using digital video cameras as well as Final Cut Pro editing systems. The Department of Anthropology has a film and video screening theatre, the David B. Kriser Film Room, as well as an excellent and expanding collection of over 350 ethnographic documentaries, including most of the classics, important recent works, and a unique collection of works by indigenous media makers. The Department of Cinema Studies has a collection of over 400 films in its Film Study Center, and the Avery Fisher Center for Music and Media in Bobst Library contains nearly 2,000 tapes of films and documentaries as well as videodisc facilities available to students. In addition, some of the best film, video, and broadcast libraries are available in New York City, including the Donnell Film Library, the Museum of Modern Art Film Library, the Museum of Broadcasting, and the film and video collection of the Museum of the American Indian.The Program in Culture and Media sponsors frequent activities that have offered students invaluable opportunities to meet and see the works of key figures in the field such as the late Jean Rouch, David and Judith MacDougall, Dennis O’Rourke, and others. Symposia and conferences on special topics, from showcases of indigenous film and filmmakers to the uses of new media, are regularly held.
CENTER FOR RELIGION AND MEDIA
The Center for Religion and Media seeks to develop interdisciplinary, cross-cultural knowledge of how religious ideas and practices are shaped and spread through a variety of media. The Center, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, is a collaborative project of NYU’s Program in Religious Studies and the Center for Media, Culture, and History, providing a space for scholarly endeavor, a stage for public educational events, and an electronic interface with media specialists and the public through its innovative Web journal, The Revealer: A Daily Review of Religion and the Press. Professors Faye Ginsburg and Angela Zito are the Center’s codirectors; Barbara Abrash is its director of public programs. For more information about the Center, visit its Web site at www.nyu.edu/fas/center/religionandmedia.DISTINGUISHED LECTURES AND COLLOQUIA
Throughout the year the department sponsors many events to which distinguished scholars are invited. A colloquium is presented by an invited guest on Thursday afternoons. The Annual Annette Weiner Memorial Lecture is held each spring in honor of our former colleague. Recent lecturers have included Daniel Miller, Claudio Lomnitz, Terence Turner, Jane Schneider, Marshall Sahlins, and Shirley Lindenbaum. Periodically, the department hosts other events.DEPARTMENTAL FELLOWSHIPS, PRIZES, AND AWARDS
A comprehensive list of University, Graduate School, and departmental fellowships, prizes, and awards appears in the Financing Graduate Education section of the GSAS Application for Admission and Financial Aid. This information is also available on the GSAS Web site at http://gsas.nyu.edu/page/grad.financialaid.
