At the beginning of the Fall 2011 semester, we met with all of the new faculty hires in the College of Arts and Sciences. This series of podcasts introduces them and their research interests. Heather Worne is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. Worne's specialty is bioarchaeology and, in particular, she researches issues of community health, warfare, and agricultural sedentism in prehistoric times. Previously, Worne has focused on the late prehistoric period in the Middle Cumberland region of Tennessee, and she hopes to collaborate with other archaeologists at UK to expand her research into areas of Kentucky.
Allison Harnish is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology. Harnish recently received a Fulbright Grant for her research on the environmental and economic ramifications of displacement and resettlement along the Zambezi River in Zambia. In particular, Harnish focuses on how women and children have been affected by these changes.
Cristina Alcalde is one of the three faculty co-directors for A&S Wired, a new residential college at UK. A&S Wired starts in the Fall of 2011, and aims to integrate social and intellectual lives of first-year students. She is excited about being involved – and thinks the students will be too. Listen to what she believes this initiative will provide.
Monica Udvardy, a professor in the Department of Anthropology and the director of the International Studies Program, discusses where interdepartmental collaborative efforts could take the College of Arts & Sciences in the years to come.
Scott Hutson, a professor in the Department of Anthropology, recently received a Maya Area Cultural Heritage Initiative Grant and a National Science Foundation Grant for his ongoing work in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Hutson discusses the projects for which he received these grants, how his archaeological research engages with contemporary communities, and how the College of Arts and Sciences has played a supportive role in his research career.
Erin Koch, a professor in the Department of Anthropology, is one of the six University of Kentucky professors receiving a 2011 Great Teacher Award, which are given out each year by the UK Alumni Association for excellence in the classroom.