UH Maui College has many campus clubs that help engage students in education and promote student life. One of those clubs is the UHMC Anthropology Club. The Anthropology Club focuses on how to promote and appreciate diversity, respect, and awareness in our campus and Maui community.
“The Anthropology Club sits in front of the Kalama Building for Girls Day.”
“We get together to study the holistic study of humans throughout time and space,” said Sarah Brandenstein, president of the Anthropology Club. “We focus a lot on current issues as well as just learning about other cultures.” Brandenstein has been president of the Anthropology Club for three years. “It’s really fun to get to talk to all the different students and different faculty and people in the community who work in anthropology,” Brandenstein said. “It is always interesting to see the different paths that brought to this discipline because it is so vast.” The faculty advisor for the club is UH Maui College anthropology professor Dr. Melissa Kirkendall known as Dr. K.
The Anthropology Cub recently had its first event of the semester, a guest lecture from Dr. Terry Hunt of the University of Oregon. You can read about the lecture here. Brandenstein was especially excited about the event because Hunts work is very famous and relevant to Hawaii. The club worked with many UH Maui College faculty members to incorporate the lecture into their classes.
In the past, the Anthropology club has sponsored events including the showing of “The Cherokee Word for Water,” a film which depicts a Cherokee community and their struggles to obtain running water. The film was shown during the same time many water rights issues were occurring in Hawaii. “We try to incorporate some of the same issues that Native Hawaiians face in our community, also some of the same issues being faced with water rights for the Cherokee Nation as well as other indigenous peoples,” Brandenstein commented. The Anthropology Club has worked in the community on water rights issues and to support opposition of the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock. Brandenstein stated that the Anthropology Club is always looking for issues in the community to work on.
“The Anthropology Club hikes down the mountain during their field trip to Nu’u.”
Not only does the Anthropology Club support issues in the community, it gives students the opportunity to become further involved in the field. Earlier this year, the Society of Hawaiian Archeology had their annual conference on our UH Maui College campus and the Anthropology Club was able to attend the talks. The Anthropology Club was also able to go on a one day field trip to visit the remains of a very old village in Nu’u. The club explored where villagers would have processed their fish and gathered salt. “It was very interesting,” said Brandenstein.
Anthropology is a growing discipline which is becoming increasingly relevant in our daily lives as cultures continue to merge and attempt to understand and respect each other. “I think that anthropology is so important and relates to any career that anyone can go into,” Brandenstein said, “if you’re going to deal with people, or you’re a person or want to know more about it.”
To learn more about the Anthropology Club, become a member, or join the mailing list you can email Sarah Brandenstein at sarah211@hawaii.edu or speak with Dr. K. The Anthropology club is always looking for more members.
