From prehistoric humanity all the way to contemporary cultural diversity, anthropologists engage with a wide range of issues and phenomena that affect individual and public life.
Waterloo's anthropology research and teaching expertise covers three major sub-fields of the discipline: sociocultural anthropology, archaeological anthropology, and biological anthropology.
Events
Transpolitical Spanish-Sahrawi Relations: Migration, Solidarity & Intimate Aid
This joint talk, hosted at the Basillie School, focuses on the diplomatic dispute between Spain and Morocco over the pending decolonization of Western Sahara, focusing on the summer of 2019 and the sudden arrival of close to 70.000 people to the shores of Ceuta.
Vivian Solana is an Associate Professor at Carleton University's Department of Sociology & Anthropology in Ottawa, Canada. Her work focuses on ethnographic research in Sahrawi refugee camps, particularly on forms of female political labour.
Graduate Forum 2026
Join us for the Annual Grad Forum where our Public Issues Anthropology MA students present their research.
News
Public Issues Anthropology Alum Aicha Lariani featured in UWaterloo Arts blog!
Check out Rachel Maus' UWaterloo Arts blog article featuring our very own Aicha Lariani!
Aicha Lariani Receives The 2025 Sally Weaver Award
Congratulations to Aicha Lariani on winning the 2025 Sally Weaver Award!
The Sally Weaver Award recognizes excellence among MA students in Public Issues Anthropology, honoring the late Dr. Sally Weaver’s distinguished career as a pioneering scholar and advocate for justice and Indigenous rights.
Alum Spotlight: Benjamin Scher
Congratulations to Benjamin Scher MA '20, who will be graduating this summer with a PhD in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the University of Oxford! Ben is headed to a postdoctoral position in global health at Princeton in fall 2025.