What is Anthropology Now?
Anthropology Now is an independent initiative committed to claiming a public voice for anthropology. We believe that anthropology has important insights to contribute to contemporary conversations and policy debates. Through our field research and in-depth, holistic analysis, anthropology presents an oblique perspective on mainstream common sense. By challenging taken for granted “truths,” we believe anthropology can enrich public understandings of the world.

About Us

WEBSITE EDITORS

Wenrui Chen, Website – Print Magazine Liaison As a socio-cultural, linguistic, and medical anthropology PhD student at NYU, Wenrui is interested in mental health issues among urban youth in China, consumption, mass media, and documentary mode of filmmaking. Additionally, broader interests in education inform her interests and commitment to Anthropology Now.

Matthew Durington, Media Editor , is an associate professor at Towson University, Matthew received his doctorate in the anthropology of visual communication program and urban anthropology at Temple University. He is an ethnographic filmmaker and conducts research on housing in Baltimore City and South Africa as well as indigenous land rights in Botswana.

Kathryn Koumatos, Web Editor, received a BA in Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz. Currently she is preparing to move to New York City to begin a MA program at NYU. Kathryn utilizes a psychological anthropology approach to investigate how American women create identity around their weight and the complex relationship they have with food, fat, and shame. A multi-media artist, Kathryn uses photography and audio recordings to create interactive and publicly accessible research.

Yoni Reinberg, Web Editor, loves anthropology and graphic design. Currently pursuing his PhD in anthropology at CUNY, his interest in the intersection of new media, globalization, and weird web worlds guides his commitment to Anthropology Now.

Will Thomson, Web Editor

CONTRIBUTORS

Alex Posecznick, Education, is an adjunct lecturer at CUNY’s Borough of Manhattan Community College and Metropolitan College of New York, as well as a PhD candidate in Applied Anthropology at Columbia University.

Denice Szafran, Education, is a a third-year PhD student in Cultural/Social Anthropology at the University of Buffalo, where she also teaches introductory courses. She is also a lecturer in anthropology at SUNY College at Buffalo. Her research interests include pragmatics, humor, performance, play, ritual, liminality, invented tradition, intentional community, space and place, new religious movements, cyber and digital ethnography, cyborg anthropology, social networking, flashmobs, urban pranks, and edupunk.