Student Work
Senior Alec Zimmerman knew that she wanted to be an anthropologist when she was in the fifth grade. “I wanted to be the next Jane Goodall,” she says.
Fast-forward to present day, Zimmerman is still excited by anthropology. During her time at UO, she has been a member of the Northwest Primate Conservation Society, an on-campus group whose mission is to support and conserve primate populations throughout the world. She also studied abroad at La Suerte Biological Field Station in Coast Rica.
Zimmerman has volunteered with the Committee in Solidarity with the Central American People, a local grassroots organization that hosts presentations and talks to expose students and community members to new ideas about human-rights concerns in Central America.
In addition, Zimmerman has been co-director of the on-camps animal-rights group, Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, for the last two years. “Our goal is to influence change and inspire people,” she says.
Recently, Zimmerman’s academic interests have shifted into the realm of immigration and immigrants’ rights. She was surprised that while her interests were changing, she could still apply her studies in anthropology toward her new pursuits. “I’m really interested in human rights and immigration, animal rights, LGBTQ issues,” she says. “It’s incredible what you can do with an anthropology major.
Selected Faculty Work
Professor Geraldine Moreno-Black has been a professor at UO since 1974. She specializes in nutritional anthropology, biological anthropology, human ecology, and gender issues. She is also actively engaged in field work in Thailand and Laos, and has recently co-authored a book: The Lao: Gender, Power, and Livelihood.
Professor William S. Ayres has been a professor at UO since 1976. His research interests include the development of chiefdoms and early food production, especially in the Pacific Islands (Micronesia, Polynesia) and in Southeast Asia. He is continuing archaeological investigations at Pohnpei’s Nan Madol site, known for its massive stone architecture. Ayres uses computer graphics to facilitate architectural reconstruction and is engaged in provenance studies of archaeological materials, especially stone building resources and ceramics through geochemical analysis.
Professor Jon M. Erlandson is an archaeologist who specializes in western North America, with a focus on the archaeology of maritime societies of the Pacific Coast of North America, the Pacific Rim region, and the world. His research and teaching interests include the development of maritime societies, historical ecology in coastal environments, human evolution and migrations, the peopling of the Americas, the history of seafaring, traditional technologies, dating methods in archaeology, geoarchaeology, cultural resource management, and collaborative research with indigenous communities.
Lynn Stephen is Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Oregon. She is the author of four books and her research focuses on gender, ethnicity, political economy, social movements, human rights, and nationalism in Latin America. She is currently working on two projects involving immigration and Mexican farmworkers in Oregon, and the role of cooperatives and global marketing on the political, labor, and gender identities of Zapotec women in southern Mexico
Career Prospects
So you graduate with a major in anthropology—what can you do with it? Well, you can continue research and writing through master’s or doctoral programs. Or you can use it, along with a teaching certificate, to teach science. Or maybe you can use your cultural knowledge to act as a liaison between different groups of people. Or you can take your background in migrant farm worker conditions and apply it toward a career in immigration law. You can use physical anthropology knowledge to observe how culture, diet, and even religion can affect the human body. Archaeology students can use their skills in construction work; there is often a need to call in archaeologists and surveyors when land is being developed. Anthropology is a wide-ranging and fascinating subject. There’s no telling where it might take you.