The University of Alabama at Birmingham is now accepting applications from undergraduates for the 2012-2013 archaeological field school in the Lau Islands, Fiji. 

Students will have the opportunity to learn about ethnoarchaeology and methods of participation observation. Additionally, all students will make a meaningful contribution to the understanding the lifeways of Fijian peoples, and experience another culture.  

We will accept between 6-9 undergraduate students from all majors and of any level (freshman-senior), for the 2012-2013 fieldschool who will receive funding to cover plane fare, living expenses, and each will be provided a generous stipend for completing this 9-week experience (it will either take place in December 2012-January 2013 or June-July, 2013). 

The process is competitive and in 2010 we had over 100 applicants for only 9 REU Fellowship positions. We are interested in recruiting students from all backgrounds; it is not necessary to have had prior anthropological experience to apply.  Specific instructions regarding the application process are provided below.  Completed applications and any questions should be sent to Dr. Sharyn Jones, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Recruiting will begin immediately.

For information on the NSF REU Fiji program in the past, visit the REU website.

Melissa King is a Doctoral Candidate of Anthropology at University of California, Riverside, and serves as Adjunct Faculty of Anthropology at San Bernardino Valley College and Chaffey College. She is currently writing a dissertation that explores Armenian American politics of memory and survivorship through a focus on activism and expression, especially among youth. Armenian American experiences and subjectivities have been underrepresented in the discipline of anthropology. Further, Armenian Americans have been called “demographic ghosts” whose distinctions are imperceptible in a variety of legal, political domains. Yet, the Armenian American community in the Los Angeles area has been called the fiercest, the most vocal perhaps of the diaspora, in the “struggle for justice” through which they demand recognition of genocide. From art galleries and coffee shops to street protests and a hunger strike, Melissa’s research provides an ethnographic perspective that speaks to ethical and theoretical questions of visibility, power, and resilience. In 2011, Melissa was honored to participate in a NEH Summer Institute at Columbia University, rethinking the ways that “America Engages Eurasia.” She recently published two poems in Anthropology and Humanism.