The University of Michigan’s Anthropology graduate association (MAGA) is hosting a FREE anthropology conference here in Ann Arbor this coming Saturday, 27 March. The event is titled, “Is Boas Dead?! Four-field anthropology in the 21st Century,” (click the title for the link) and will feature a day of anthropology talks in all four fields (well, archaeology didn’t really represent, unfortunately).
Four members of this blog will be presenting at this conference. I myself will be presenting at the end of the day, in a talk fairly mundanely titled, “Population-specific variation in studies of integration.” Basically, variation is a natural part of human populations. However, some populations are more variable than others. The question I ask is whether variation unique to populations poses a problem for studies of integration, which are based on correlations between traits, usually in large, pooled samples containing individuals from all over dodge. The answer to the question is, ‘yes and no.’
So if you can make it out, come see what the Michigan anthropology graduate students are up to! It’s free, and better yet, educational! Or maybe the free part is more exciting.
Lawn Chair Anthropology 