Passing it On: Inclusion from the Roots Up

The Department of Anthropology presents an exciting colloquium talk by Drs. Ann Kingsolver and Sasikumar Balasundaram who will be discussing their connected careers in anthropology, focused on engaged intergenerational listening and helping students develop relationships with other students globally and with the earth itself.

Event Details

ann, sasi

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2027
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Gambrell Hall 429
Reception: Reception to follow the lecture
Cost: Free Event
Registration: Requested

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About the Event

Drs. Kingsolver and Balasundaram will reflect on their long-standing collaboration in anthropology, highlighting the role of engaged, intergenerational listening in fostering meaningful connections among students, communities, and the more-than-human world. Their partnership began in Sri Lanka in 2004, when Dr. Kingsolver, then a faculty member in Anthropology at the University of South Carolina, met Dr. Balasundaram, an undergraduate at the University of Peradeniya who later completed his Ph.D. at USC. Drawing on over two decades of shared teaching, research, and mentorship, they will discuss strategies for connecting classrooms across national boundaries, integrating social, economic, and environmental justice into anthropology curricula, and cultivating reciprocal relationships that encourage students to learn from one another and from beings of all ages. Their conversation demonstrates how collaborative, globally engaged anthropology can nurture both cross-cultural understanding and deeper connections with the living world.

Department of Anthropology