Welcome to Anthropology
The Post Graduate Department of Anthropology, Utkal University was established in 1958 and takes pride in being one of the oldest university departments in India imparting teaching and research in advance fields of anthropology. The Department offers M.A. /M. Sc., M. Phil. and Ph. D. programmers and in the last 65 years, well over 1500 students have received Master’s degree and more than 110 scholars have been awarded doctorates. The Departments offers specialisations, which are beneficially contemporary, in all major areas that include Social-Cultural Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, Archaeological Anthropology and Development Anthropology.
The Department was initiated to eminence and moved to initial glory during the very inception under the leadership of two stalwart professors; Professor A. Ayappan, the founding Professor of the Department and Prof. L.K. Mahapatra, who, supported by members of the Department played a critical role in certain milestone developments.
Anthropology Department at Utkal has the distinction of being the first department in the country to have instituted the UGC- Centre of Advanced Study (CAS) I and II,MHRD recognized National Resource Centre (NRC) in Anthropology, 2017-18. To add to its significant achievement, it received the Department of Special Assistance status (DSA Programme) by UGC from 1988 to 2007 and The UGC Assistance for Strengthening of Infrastructure for Humanities and Social Sciences (ASIHSS) programme. Faculty achievement of the department has been noteworthy and can be evidenced in the fact that most of the prestigious research awards and fellowships, both national and international, have been won by the faculty. The awards include the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship, Commonwealth Academic Staff Post-Doctoral Fellowship, the Indo-French Cultural Exchange Programme etc. Six Professors of the Department have held the position of President of the Anthropological and Behavioural Sciences Section of the Indian Science Congress in various years.International academic activities, collaborative research, exchange programmes and extended educational programmes have come to be present in the DNA of the Department. MoU with University of Tubingen, Germany, University of Goethe (Frobenius-Institut), Frankfort, Germany and University of Groningen, Netherland; collaborations with a number of national institutes /centres, such as Indian Council for Medical Research, Anthropological Survey of India, Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal and Deccan College, Pune etc. are some of the testimonials to the fact that the department has turned itself to a centre of excellence. The Department was also awarded with the CSIR-Kalinga-Haldane Chair in Human Genetics.
In terms of Alumni giving back, the Department has witnessed significant alumni participation in its growth and development. The Utkal Anthropology Alumni association meets regularly and works on the planning and the Department thankfully acknowledges their noteworthy contributions. The Department boasts of its distinguished alumnus Shri Dharmendra Pradhan (1988-1990 batch), the current Hon’ble Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Prof. Sabita Acharya and Prof. Kishor K. Basa, the Honourable Vice-Chancellors of Utkal University, Bhubaneswar and Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Baripada respectively.
Extensive fieldwork, national and international conferences and seminars are integral part of the department. The Department has been bringing out an annual, peer reviewed Journal, Man in Society. The Department organized the 12th Indian Anthropology Congress (INCAA Congress) in February, 2015, celebrated the silver Jubilee in the year 1982, Golden Jubilee in the year 2007 and Diamond Jubilee in the year 2018. In the Diamond Jubilee celebration in 2018, more than 200 alumni joined the programme, including Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, the then Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
Vision:
- To achieve excellence in higher education, research, innovation, consultancy and extension activities in the areas of anthropological sciences and to remain sensitive and responsive to the emerging needs of the society.
- To impart teaching, research and training on human bio-cultural experiences through a scientific and multi-disciplinary approach
Mission:
- The mission of the department is to provide advanced and critical knowledge in the field of anthropology keeping in view the increasing complexities of human bio-cultural development, and to bridge the gap between local and global.
Strategic Goals:
• To upgrade/enhance the curriculum regularly by incorporating new avenues of anthropological inquiries and achieve time bound outcome of course curriculum.
• To provide a platform for the stakeholders (students, alumni, faculty and staff) for learning, sharing and development of the discipline.
• To provide maximum opportunities for career building of students by providing an up-to-date academic and research environment through state-of-the-art facilities.
• To engage in community services that foster self-reliance, success and empowerment among the marginalized community.
• To assume a leadership role in the promotion and preservation of the cultural heritage of Odisha and of the country as a whole.
