Tag Archives: anthropology

UM-Flint alum working to improve health outcomes for city's marginalized populations

Through his work at Wellness Services, Jude Krajnyák is making a difference for the Flint community.

Reducing harm, dismantling stigma and improving mental health outcomes for marginalized populations in Flint. It's all in a day's work for one University of Michigan-Flint alum. Jude Krajnyák, a 2022 UM-Flint graduate with a bachelor's degree in anthropology, works at Wellness Services in Flint, an organization that provides free testing for HIV, hepatitis C and[…]

UM-Flint first-year student to participate in overseas research study

The Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, located in the center of Banda Aceh city, Aceh Province, Indonesia, is a symbol of religion, culture, spirit, strength, struggle and nationalism of the Acehnese people. (Photo/Dan Birchok)

One University of Michigan-Flint student will spend his summer overseas after being selected to be part of the "Trusted Faces, Familiar Places" study.  Keaton Reese, a first-year student working towards dual degrees in anthropology and computer science from Grand Blanc, along with other researchers from all three University of Michigan campuses as well as the[…]

Hostile Terrain 94: Documenting the Undocumented

Photo of the completed project at the Flint Farmers’ Market. Pictured from left to right: Students Brendan Nelson, Eleni Batsios, Elsa Butterfield, and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Daniel Birchok.

On the border between Arizona and Mexico lies the vast Sonoran Desert, one of the most inhospitable environments in the world. In this 100,000 sq. mile desert, thousands of migrants have died and hundreds of thousands have been detained and deported. Most of these migrants go unnoticed by society. Some remain unidentified even after death.[…]

Gift-giving unwrapped with a UM-Flint anthropologist

Assistant Professor of Anthropology explores gift-giving in ANT 352/552: Gifts, Goods, and Graft: The Anthropology of Value and Exchange.

In theory, gift-giving seems like a simple way to spread holiday cheer: You think of the important people in your life, shop for what they would like, and present the perfect item to them, neatly wrapped. But as you probably know, things get much more difficult in the real world. Between all the lists, shopping,[…]

$600K grant allows UM-Flint students to explore global questions

Daniel Birchok (left) and Jacob Lederman discuss plans for "Borders and Crossings," a series of courses that engage students in global problem-solving.

Thanks to a $600,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a program titled "Borders and Crossings: Exploring Global Questions at the University of Michigan-Flint" will help exponentially more students gain the tools they need to solve grand questions on a global scale.