Category Archives: Alumni

DACA-mented, Undocumented, and Temporary Protected Status Students and Allies

Alumni, Anthropology in NYC, Anthropology in the Field, Center for the Study of Human Origins, Conference, Department Colloquium, Faculty Research, Films, Graduate Students, Jobs/Internships, Prizes and Awards, Program in Culture & Media, Talks, Undergraduate Students, Videos, Videos

Without congressional action, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will expire on March 5, 2018.  We do not know what the results of congressional debate will be for DACA or how these will influence other immigration issues and statuses.  The Anthropology Department’s goal is to support you during this uncertain time.  NYU will continue to support undocumented students, staff and faculty. If you are or someone close to you is undocumented or have DACA or temporary protected status, please know that there are many things you can do before March.  The following link provides practical steps you can take as well as connections to NYU immigrant defense initiative which can help with legal advice and referrals (http://as.nyu.edu/anthropology/undergraduate/resources/daca-students.html). NYU provides additional information and resources for students here.  We want to remind you during these disconcerting times that you are a valued member of our community.

Behold the Black Caiman: A Chronicle of Ayoreo Life

Alumni, Prizes and Awards

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Congratulations to alumnus Lucas Bessire (University of Oklahoma) on winning the Gregory Bateson Book Prize from the Society for Cultural Anthropology and the Society for Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology Book Prize for Behold the Black Caiman: A Chronicle of Ayoreo Life (University of Chicago press, 2014).  

Behold the Black Caiman: A Chronicle of Ayoreo Life
In 2004, one of the world’s last bands of voluntarily isolated nomads left behind their ancestral life in the dwindling thorn forests of northern Paraguay, fleeing ranchers’ bulldozers.  Behold the Black Caiman is Lucas Bessire’s intimate chronicle of the journey of this small group of Ayoreo people, the terrifying new world they now face, and the precarious lives they are piecing together against the backdrop of soul-collecting missionaries, humanitarian NGOs, late liberal economic policies, and the highest deforestation rate in the world.

Tertzakian is editor of new HBO documentary

Alumni, Program in Culture & Media

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Congratulations to C&M alumna Anoosh Tertzakian! She is one of the editors of the new documentary SINATRA: ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL. The film airs on Monday, April 5th and Tuesday, April 6th on HBO.
This film is an up-close and personal examination of the life, music and career of the legendary entertainer. Told in his own words from hours of archived interviews, along with commentary from those closest to him, the documentary weaves the music and images from Sinatra’s life together with rarely seen footage of Sinatra’s famous 1971 “Retirement Concert” in Los Angeles. The film’s narrative is shaped by Sinatra’s song choices for that concert, which director Alex Gibney interprets as the singer’s personal guide through his own life.
(Edited by Sam Pollard, Ben Sozanski, and Anoosh Tertzakian)