Departmental Undergraduate Group (DUG) Leaders work with faculty and staff to coordinate events and activities in an effort to build a sense of community within the concentration. Delve into anthropology's 2023-24 student leadership panel to learn more about their academic and personal backgrounds

James Langan '24:

"My name is James and I’m a senior from New Jersey. 

Like many first-year students, I arrived at Brown without a definite understanding of what I wanted to study. I knew that I enjoyed learning languages, reading theory, and studying politics and history–the countless possibilities were both exciting and impossibly overwhelming. Professor Lennon’s "Intro to Cultural Anthropology" course was pretty fundamental in introducing me to anthropology as a potential concentration. Beyond picking up fancy new words like ‘biopolitics’ and ‘communitas,’ I took a keen interest in anthropology’s ethos of situating one’s research within greater social and political quandaries. Subsequent classes with Professors Faudree and Fruzzetti opened my eyes to how anthropology can extend to linguistic and visual domains. 

As I begin my senior year, I’m excited to flesh out my interest in the philosophical foundations of anthropology in our department’s Senior Seminar. In my second year as a co-DUG leader, I continue to be surprised by how diverse the interests are of my fellow anthropology concentrators. Pre-med students, aspiring linguists, and humanities-inclined students all have a home here. I am hopeful that the DUG can continue supporting an ever-expanding group of students interested in our department – anthropology can and should be for everyone!"

Selena Sheth '24:

"Hello everyone! I am really excited for this school year and to serve as an Anthropology DUG Leader.

Before coming to Brown, I did not know exactly what I wanted to study, but Brown's Open Curriculum led me to the anthropology department and some of my favorite classes I have ever taken! Some of my favorites have been Bioethics and Culture with Professor Mason and the Anthropology of Homelessness with Professor Glasser. I also studied abroad in Copenhagen last semester, and took a range of sociocultural anthropology classes while there. 

I am very interested in the various factors that influence the ways in which people perceive health. My work as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) in conjunction with ethnography has led me to pursue a senior thesis on the moral experience and challenges of being an EMS provider. I am excited to help strengthen our community and welcome new concentrators into our family, helping people fall in love with the department as much as I have!"

Christina Miles '25:

"Hi! I’m Christina Miles (they/them, '25) and I’m so excited to serve as a DUG Leader this year!

I am a junior on the anthropological archaeology track hoping to study funerary practice and performance of post-Emancipation sites in the South. My experience at Brown has been amazing, and I have met so many people from various concentrations (from CS to Philosophy, and everything in-between) that challenge me to think in new ways. The first ever anthropology course I took was my first year seminar "Who Owns the Past?" With Dr. Patricia Rubertone, and I’ve been obsessed with all things anthropology ever since.

I hope to help make our community feel like home during your undergraduate experience at Brown, and help others build connections that will last past their four years here! I can’t wait to meet you all at future anthro events!"