USC Department of Anthropology

Fall 2026 Course Spotlight - ANTH 591: Decolonizing the Environment: (Re)imagining environmental histories, cosmologies, and futures (CRN 19802)

ANTH 591: Decolonizing the Environment: (Re)imagining environmental histories, cosmologies, and futures (CRN 19802)

Register by Tuesday, August 4th!

How are colonial and environmental histories connected? What are decolonial ecologies? This discussion-based course explores human-environment relations through these course themes: colonial histories, indigenous ecologies, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), black ecologies, and decolonial futures.

Undergraduates welcome! No prerequisites required. This small, discussion-based course is designed to support interdisciplinary learning and engagement. Films and visual art will also be part of the course experience.

History isn’t only found in books; it’s waiting underground. Thank you to The Columbia Star for this great coverage of Professor Kelly Goldberg’s archeological dig on the USC Horseshoe. Professor Goldberg’s team includes students and volunteers, who are gaining valuable hands-on experience as they uncover 19th century artifacts that can be studied to shed light on workforce of that time. Archeological research provides an important complement to written sources, especially for enslaved and underrepresented people, whose stories may not be included in recorded history. If you are walking around the Horseshoe this summer, be sure stop by to check out their progress.

Digging Into Missing USC History - Columbia Star “A quiet archaeological excavation over the past three years on USC’s historic Horseshoe has turned up a 19th century-era domino piece, ceramic sherds from serving dishes, tools made from animal bone, glass buttons, and more. It’s also filling gaps in our knowledge about the history of the are...

Curious about the past? This is your chance to dig in—literally and figuratively.

This Fall 2026, explore the deep history of Native American societies in the southeastern U.S. in Anth 229: Southeastern Archaeology (CRN 26489). Join Dr. Gabby Purcell as we uncover the past through the archaeological record—examining cultural change, belief systems, trade networks, technology, and the impacts of colonization. You’ll even get hands-on experience with artifacts and opportunities to visit significant sites.

Tuesdays & Thursdays | 2:50–4:05 PM
Hamilton 140
3 credits | No prerequisites

We're excited to share this update from Beidler Forest Audubon Center & Sanctuary! A special shoutout to recent graduate, Jacob Young, winner of the Outstanding Anthropology Student Award, who is part of the University of South Carolina archaeology team conducting this exciting excavation. We're proud to see Jacob applying his training in the field as the team investigates the rich cultural history of Beidler Forest.

📚 Fall 2026 Course Spotlight

ANTH 591: Decolonizing the Environment: (Re)imagining environmental histories, cosmologies, and futures (CRN 19802)

How are colonial and environmental histories connected? What are decolonial ecologies? This discussion-based course explores human-environment relations through these course themes: colonial histories, indigenous ecologies, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), black ecologies, and decolonial futures.

Undergraduates welcome! No prerequisites required. This small, discussion-based course is designed to support interdisciplinary learning and engagement. Films and visual art will also be part of the course experience.

How do scientists study and measure the long-term effects of radiation, and what can anthropology teach us about that work? This summer, USC cultural anthropologist Dr. Magdalena Stawkowski joined USC biologist Dr. Tim Mousseau and his students at Kazakhstan’s former Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site to take an anthropological view of their scientific research.

Explore her powerful visual essay, "People Who Measure", and learn more about life and research in this historically significant region:

https://www.magdastawkowski.com/people-who-measure

Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Reynolds, Professor of Anthropology and Professor in the Linguistics Program at the University of South Carolina, on the publication of her latest article, “The Shadow Presence of U.S. Models of Parental Involvement in Postcolonial Multilingual Language and Literacy Reforms in Western Highland Mayan Rural School Districts in Guatemala,” in the Journal of Sociolinguistics. The images in this graphic show a person that Dr. Reynolds interviewed, a picture of a school featured in the article, and an example of a USAID text that she analyzed.

Please visit the link below to read this article:
https://bit.ly/3Q94UOb

📣 ANTH 101 Course Registration Closes Monday, May 25!

🌍 Ever wondered how humans evolved? Join ANTH 101: Primates, People, and Prehistory this Summer 2026!
Explore human evolution, primates, fossils, archaeology, and the origins of modern humans in this engaging online course.
🦴 Fully Online & Asynchronous
📚 No textbook required
🎓 3 Credit Hours

Perfect for students interested in anthropology, biology, history, archaeology, or human origins!

🏺 Join us for Public Archaeology Day hosted by the ANTH 322 Archaeology Field School on Thursday, May 28!

This summer, students have been excavating areas connected to 19th-century buildings on USC’s Historic Horseshoe, uncovering spaces tied to daily life and labor on the early campus.

Visitors will have the opportunity to:
🔎 See active excavations
🏺 View artifacts recovered from past and current field seasons
📚 Learn about archaeological methods and fieldwork from USC students

📍 USC Historic Horseshoe (in front of the McKissick Museum)
🕙 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
📅 Thursday, May 28, 2026

Stop by and explore the stories beneath our campus!

📣 ANTH 392 Course Registration Closes Monday, May 25!

Looking for a summer course that’s flexible, engaging, and globally relevant? This fully online, asynchronous 3-week course (June 1–17) explores how gender, race, class, and inequality shape women’s health around the world.

Topics include:
• Reproductive justice
• Maternal mortality
• Environmental health
• Global healthcare disparities

Students will engage with ethnographic case studies, documentary films, and current global health research.

Perfect for students interested in:
Anthropology | Public Health | Medicine | Women’s & Gender Studies | Social Justice

✔ Fully online & asynchronous
✔ Fast-paced summer session
✔ Counts toward the Medical Anthropology minor elective requirement

Don’t miss the registration deadline — Monday, May 25!