The Wake Forest University Department of Anthropology promotes understanding and appreciation of human cultural and biological diversity. Through academic courses, scholarly and applied research, and public service, the Department of Anthropology provides the Wake Forest community with the tools and knowledge necessary for global citizenship. Composed of scholars representing all sub-fields of anthropology, the Department of Anthropology serves as the premier academic and practical resource for multicultural awareness and education in the University and Winston-Salem communities, enhancing the University’s commitment to Pro Humanitate.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that the Department of Anthropology stands on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Keyauwee, Tutelo, Saponi, and other Indigenous peoples whose names have been lost, but who stewarded this land for generations. We honor and respect the diverse Native communities who came here to camp, hunt, and trade for centuries including the Saura, Catawba, Cherokee, and Lumbee. We acknowledge the history of violence and displacement from this land, and we honor the vibrant Native communities who make their home here today. Please join us in recognizing the Indigenous people of this land, past and present.
Department of Anthropology News
- ‘The New Voice of God’ – Review
- Dr. Paul Thacker Awarded 2025 URECA Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentored Scholarship
- Is America in Housing Crisis? Interview with Dr. Sherri Clark.
- Vibrating Together: Egyptian Belly Dance & Community in a Socially-Mediated World – Dr. Meg Morley – Lam Museum March 19th – 6pm
- Former WFU Anthropology Professor/Chair David Weaver Passes Away
Anthropology in the National Press
Facebook Posts
Recent book publication from our department!
Dr. Margaret Bender’s latest book, The New Voice of God, explores the powerful intersection of language, worldview, and translation in the history of the Cherokee Bible. This work highlights how linguistic and cultural exchange reshapes meaning in profound ways—an essential insight for anthropology today.
The New Voice of God
Language, Worldview, and the Cherokee Bible
by Margaret Bender and Thomas N. Belt
“For Christian European missionaries among the Cherokees at the turn of the eighteenth century, translating the Bible meant wrestling with the extreme structural differences between Cherokee and English. The New Voice of God reveals how these linguistic differences encoded basic predispositions and orientations toward the physical, spiritual, and social worlds—and how their translation in turn encodes the profound linguistic and cultural exchange manifested in the making of the Cherokee Bible. While the introduction of Christianity shaped Cherokee communicative practices and culture, the Cherokee language also reshaped the Bible to reflect a definitive Native worldview.”
📖 Learn more via the QR code
#Anthropology #LinguisticAnthropology #IndigenousLanguages #NewBook #AcademicResearch AnthroMatters @univ of oklahomapress
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Spring 2026 is off to an exciting start!
Dr. Gitzen has published two new articles exploring timely and innovative questions at the intersection of anthropology, science, and technology.
From rethinking research ethics in digital spaces to examining life “in the times of viruses,” these pieces highlight how anthropological perspectives help us make sense of rapidly changing worlds.
Check them out using the QR codes!
#Anthropology #Research #STS #DigitalEthics
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Dr. Jessica MacLellan, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, was interviewed live on the Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio on Feb. 12. She talked about the archaeology of whistles and flutes, including her research on Classic Maya ceramic figurine whistles. Scan the QR code to listen to the episode about why whistles are having a cultural moment.
#whistles #maya #Archaeology @wfuniversity
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