Cast in India Trailer from Natasha Raheja on Vimeo.

Cast in India, a film about the labor production behind New York City’s iconic and ubiquitous manhole covers, was highlighted in New York City culture blog Gothamist! Congratulations to director Natasha Raheja, a Doctoral Student in the Culture and Media Program, for this exposure! Read the article here.

From an NYU Press Release by James Devitt: “An international research team, which includes NYU anthropologists Scott Williams and Myra Laird, has discovered a new species of a human relative. Homo naledi, uncovered in a cave outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, sheds light on the diversity of our genus and possibly its origin.

‘“This discovery is unprecedented in the sheer number of hominins collected from such a small area in the virtual absence of other animal remains,” says Williams, an assistant professor in NYU’s Department of Anthropology. “That makes this site unique. Moreover, the announcement describes only the tip of the iceberg of analyses that will come, and we hope that is also true of the cave itself and the material that it still holds.”’

Williams worked at the excavation identifying and processing the material as it came out of the cave. In addition, both Williams and Laird attended a 2014 workshop, in which scholars from around the world traveled to Johannesburg to carry out studies on the fossils. At the gathering, Williams led the study of the axial skeleton, which included the vertebrae and ribs, while Laird, a doctoral candidate, worked on the skulls”

This discovery is profoundly important for the field of physical anthropology and the study of human origins. Congratulations to Scott, Myra, and their colleagues!

A collaborative research project involving NYU Anthropology undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni and faculty has just been published in PLoS ONE. The study, led by doctoral student Alejandra Ortiz, used 3D geometric morphometrics to re-examine Bunopithecus sericus, a fossil gibbon from the Pleistocene of China. The paper concludes that Bunopithecus should be recognized as a distinct genus and that it is most closely related to the living hoolock gibbons.
You can read further about the new study, here.

Congratulations to Culture & Media alumnae Sami Chan and Natasha Raheja! They have been selected to an elite group of six filmmakers from around the country for the Southern Environmental Law Center’s 2015 Southern Exposure film fellowship program this summer.
Now in its fourth year, this unique summer program gives up-and-coming documentary filmmakers the opportunity to make compelling films about Alabama’s environment and the triumphs and challenges of those working to protect its beauty. The films span a variety of topics and pressing issues in Alabama. Previous years projects have covered the environmental and agricultural damage caused by feral hogs, sewage infrastructure problems, and natural solutions being used to preserve and protect Alabama’s coastal ecosystems from erosion. Out of the many talented filmmakers who applied, SELC and Southern Exposure’s Program Director Katherine Gorringe are pleased to welcome this year’s fellows.
Congratulations to Sami and Natasha!

Come hear about New York City’s urban legends and catch a screening of Natasha Raheja’s C&M film Cast in India on FEB 6 at 7PM at Alligators in the Sewers Day, an unofficial annual holiday initiated by the Manhattan Borough Historian to mark the birth of one of New York City’s greatest true urban legends.
Friday, Feb 6th at 7pm
Hunter College, Room HW 714
Registration Required!
ABOUT THE EVENT:
Celebrate Alligators in the Sewers Day, an unofficial annual holiday that Manhattan Borough Historian Michael Miscione initiated four years ago to mark the birth of one of New York City’s greatest true urban legends. It was on that date back in 1935 that a live alligator was found in an East Harlem storm sewer. A detailed article about the discovery was printed in the New York Times the next day.
Join NYC H2O for an afternoon of fun-filled festivities including a screening of the documentary Cast in India about the making of manhole covers. Michael Miscione will recount the 1935 sighting and briefly discuss other great NYC urban legends — some true, some not.

To our returning students, welcome back! We hope you had a relaxing and productive summer. To our new and transfer students, welcome to NYU and the Anthropology Department! The 2014-2015 academic year will be an exciting time for all of you. As the school year starts, we as a department want to remind you of resources and people that are here for you if you have any questions about academic requirements, need help navigating NYU class bureaucracy, or require academic assistance.
We have an awesome team of administrators who are hear to answer your questions related to classes, registration, and other Anthropology-related academic inquiries. Please check out their contact information, here.
There are many student academic resources here at NYU that are invaluable as you continue down your undergraduate or graduate path. See below for a few of them, and be sure to check out an exhaustive list of student resources, here.
–The Writing Center: Want one-on-one, peer assistance with a writing project? Then check out the writing center, where other NYU students assist each other with writing style and technicalities.
–University Learning Center: Any student at NYU is eligible to receive academic assistance through the ULC. To find out more about their peer tutoring opportunities in all academic areas of study at NYU, check out their website.
We all hope you have a great start to Fall semester! Be sure to keep up with the Anthropology Fall 2014 list of events by stopping by the department, checking out our colloquia, and joining the NYU Anthropology events email list.

The following graduating seniors are this year’s recipients of the Anthropology prizes and awards:
Madalyn Danielson – Edward Sapir Award (co-recipient), presented to an outstanding senior with a joint major in Linguistics and Anthropology.
Samantha Held – Department of Anthropology Prize, presented to a senior who has demonstrated excellence in academic achievement and who shows promise in this field.
Ming Yan Kei – Edward Sapir Award (co-recipient), presented to an outstanding senior with a joint major in Linguistics and Anthropology.
Elizabeth Zhou – Annette B. Weiner Memorial Prize, presented for excellence in this field and service to the department.
Congratulations!