Seniors
Katherine Pady
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Anthropology
Minor(s): English
My experience in anthropology at Bowdoin will shape all the work I do moving forward. It has helped me become a more open and honest listener, writer, and researcher, and become better at questioning the institutions around me and the ethics of the discipline itself. I felt encouraged by my studies in the Department to practice field research in the fall of 2020, where I studied migration and transnational identity in Morocco and was able to participate in difficult conversations, ethnographic research, and examinations of myself in the field which I could later put into greater context in the Research and Methods course with Professor Sreenath. I've learned that anthropology is engaging with vulnerability, embodiments, and lived experiences to write a better world. I feel so grateful to Professors Sreenath, Kaplan, Dickey, Kohut, and Sosa with a special thanks to Professor Van Vleet for getting me excited about fieldwork and engaging with the discipline as a responsible, considerate, and informed researcher and student.
Audree Grand Pierre
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Psychology, Visual Arts
Minor(s): Anthropology
As a Psychology and Visual Arts double major and Anthropology minor, I am very appreciative for my Anthropology minor. It was my first-year seminar class: Class, Identity and Inequality that most piqued my interest my first semester at college, as I began learning how Anthropology took cultural and social factors into account when examining the why of human behavior. As we explored various minority cultures in my Anthropology course, I could not help but notice the cultural hegemony within the Psychology community. I recognized that by blending Psychology and Anthropology, I could use my undergraduate experience to investigate systemic racism issues, often overlooked in mainstream psychological research. Thus, I am very thankful for the wide range of cultures I was able explore through the classes needed to get my minor. Furthermore, I will forever be grateful for Professor Sara Dickey who introduced me to the Anthropology field and cultivated my love for the field.
Lowell Ruck
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Anthropology
Minor(s): German
For me, anthropology is not just the study of culture, but also its interrogation. I think we sometimes tend to see culture as closed, monolithic, and unchanging, but when we examine culture from an anthropological perspective, we discover how incredibly interconnected, internally diverse, and adaptable it actually is. Pursuing a major in anthropology has given me a chance to cultivate this perspective, and I am grateful for this and for the professors who have guided me along the way.
Ariana Smith
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Anthropology
Minor(s): Theater
Hi! My name is Ariana Smith. Something that is really important to me is using anthropology as a tool in which to see the world. When we use anthropology as tool that builds a framework of ideas, rather than using it as an entity to “verify” culture, we work towards decolonizing the checkered, racist origin of the science. It is my responsibility as an Anthropologist to continue anti-racist and decolonizing practices within and outside of the classroom and study. My goal is to use the knowledge I have gratefully received through my Bowdoin education and from the amazing faculty of the Anthropology Department to position myself as a friend, activist, ally, and steward; using what I have learned to support others and forge ahead in the pivotal anthropological work of the new millennia.
My favorite project I’ve worked on has been a two year long independent study in which I worked to see how Inuit ideological sovereignty could be asserted on an international platform such as the Arctic Winter Games. I was set to travel to be a volunteer in the Games in March of 2020, but unfortunately was not able to due to the pandemic. However, I would still like to volunteer someday and continue my work when traveling is allowed (wherever they are held!)
As I exit my Bowdoin education with warmth and kind regards to those who have helped shape me (Professors Lempert, Dickey, Strickland, Kaplan, and Van Vleet to name a few of many), I am nervous about the pandemic and post pandemic world I enter. However, in the words of Zora Neale Hurston, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.” I believe that many of the questions I’ve asked throughout my college years will be answered, and I can’t wait to see what awaits.
Alex Withers
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Anthropology, Economics
Minor(s): Art History
Being an anthropology major at Bowdoin has taught me to think critically about every aspect of our lives, and that doing so always extends out of the classroom. Unrelated, but I am currently reading a book called 'Sing, Unburied, Sing' by Jesmyn Ward, gifted to me by a close friend. It's truly brilliant, I highly encourage everyone to give it a read this summer. : )
Samantha Schwimmer
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Religion
Minor(s): Anthropology
My favorite Anthropology project was an ethnographic study of Jewish funerals for Professor Dickey's Cultural Performances class. This project was inspired in part by the film Shiva Baby, which also happens to be my favorite movie at present!
Manuela Velasquez
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Anthropology
Minor(s): Environmental Studies
Being an anthropology major allows me to bring my classroom into the world and the world into my classroom. I’ve been able to explore my relationships with the people and places in my life with a new attunement to how I listen, relate, and understand. I’m excited to continue to embrace the world around me after graduation (and after Covid restrictions are lifted)—if I could travel anywhere, I think I’d love to visit New Zealand for the first time. A quote currently sticking with me comes from The Mushroom at the End of the World, a book we’re reading for my senior seminar, Toxicities:
“Many preindustrial livelihoods, from foraging to stealing, persist today, and new ones...emerge, but we neglect them because they are not a part of progress. These livelihoods make worlds too—and they show us how to look around rather than ahead.”
I hope that as I continue on from Bowdoin and feel around for my future, that I may also look around—and savor life as it happens.
Brooke Vahos
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Anthropology
Minor(s): Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies
If I could travel anywhere, I would go to my grandfather’s farm in San Vicente, Colombia.
Elise Lindbergh
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Anthropology
Minor(s): Philosophy
I am so grateful to the Anthropology Department for inspiring me, encouraging me, and enriching my understanding of the world. I am also grateful to my fellow anthropology peers who have helped make studying anthropology at Bowdoin even more engaging and fun! Some of my most fulfilling work has come out of my independent research on intentional communities with Krista Van Vleet and April Strickland—feel free to ask me about it!
Katheryn Kiser
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Psychology
Minor(s): Anthropology
Hello! My name is Kate Kiser! Looking back, I still remember what Professor Simon May said in my Introduction to Anthropology class during my first semester of college: “Anthropology is about making the strange familiar, and the familiar strange.” I have carried these words with me as I’ve developed my passion to study how our culture compares to and differs from other cultures.
Being an anthropology minor encouraged me to learn about mental health from different global and cultural perspectives. As I studied abroad in Copenhagen, I learned about the impact of developmental disorders on children in Scandinavia. I also took Professor McIsaac’s Medical Anthropology class where I did a final project on college students’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m currently taking Professor McIsaac’s Anthropology, History, Temporality course where we have discussed the impact of intergenerational, psychological trauma from war and oppression. As a strong advocate for mental health and aspiring future clinical psychologist, the lessons I have learned from my courses, professors, and the field of anthropology have been invaluable. I hope to carry them with me long after Bowdoin!
Cooper Dart
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Environmental Studies, Anthropology
Being an anthropology major has encouraged me to think much more critically about the reciprocal environmental interactions between communities and their landscapes. From developing methods for public participation GIS assessment of Maine’s open spaces values, to conducting participant observation-based research on informal waste management in Bhutan, the anthropology department has enabled me to move through social spaces in an ethical, intentional, and mutually-beneficial manner — and for that, I’m very grateful.
Lily McVetty
Class of: 2021
Major(s): Anthropology, Environmental Studies
As an Anthropology Major, I try to apply an anthropological lens to everything I do. This empowers me to better navigate Bowdoin and the world beyond.