Dear Anthropology Graduate Students' Union (AGSU) Members,

Nominations and voter registration are open for the AGSU 2025 Spring General Elections, with nominations closing at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26. The full timeline and instructions document for the elections can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/.../1r9tVvW... . All AGSU Members are encouraged to read this important document. Also below are some key points of information:

Running for Election

The following positions are to be filled during these General Elections:

Co-President (2)

Social Coordinator (2)

Office Coordinator (1)

The duties and responsibilities for each of these positions can be found in the AGSU constitution: https://www.utorontoagsu.com/.../CONSTITUTION-UPDATED... .

All successful candidates will serve in these positions from May 1st, 2025 until the end of their 2025-2026 executive terms (April 30th, 2026).

The Nomination Period is open, and will close at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26th. All candidates who wish to stand for election must be current AGSU Members and must also complete the following self-nomination form during this time period: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSf9BsrjQAjmTt.../viewform

At the close of the nomination period, any candidates with uncontested nominations (i.e., there are not more candidates than positions available) will be elected by acclamation, with results being announced by email soon afterward.

Voting

If there are more candidates for any of these positions than can be afforded by the constitution, an election will be called for the relevant positions.

To vote in this election, all eligible voters must be current AGSU Members and must also register to vote. Voter registration is open now, and will close at 3:00 PM on Wednesday, April 2nd. To register to vote, please email your full name to anthro.cro@gmail.com using your 'utoronto' email. Registered voters will receive a unique four digit code which will allow them to access the online ballot and submit the ballot once. This will ensure that the vote is anonymous and not available to the general public.

Voting will be conducted using an online ballot and a single transferable vote ranked ballot system. The Voting Period will open at 12:00 PM on Friday, March 28th, and close at 1:00 PM on Thursday, April 3rd.

There will be no in-person registration or voting. All registration and voting will be online.

Results

The results of the election will be made available through the AGSU email listserv and social media shortly afterwards. These results will also be announced at the AGSU Spring Wine and Cheese event following tradition.

Further details can be found in the linked 'timeline and instructions' document above. If you have any questions or concerns, please email anthro.cro@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

John Vandergugten (Chief Returning Officer)

Shelby Patrick (Deputy Returning Officer)

Feeling a little fried? Us too! 

The final few weeks of term can be overwhelming, so we've put together an opportunity to pencil in some rest and a space to vent and socialize with other students in the department. Join us for a VERY chill evening of crafting, chatting, and snacking. Bring your own crafts to work on, and we'll take care of providing some tasty treats and good tunes. 

Date: Monday, March 24th, 2025

Time: 4:30PM-7:00PM

Location: AP246

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with Ale, the AGSU Mental Health Coordinator at alejandra.armitage@mail.utoronto.ca! 

Retour de Terrain: Experiences with Labwork/Fieldwork - March 20th 10-11AM 

After his Keynote, presentation, Dr. Kyle Morrisson will join us for a casual chat about working in the field. This is a chance for students to voice their concerns or worries about field work, or for students to air their grievances and destress after coming back from the field.

Available to join in person in AP246 or via Zoom at: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/84325887708

Available to join in person in AP246 or via Zoom at: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/84325887708

5-5:30 “Variation of Mental Health among Student during the Pandemic: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis” by Dominick Roussel and Yichen Xu

5:30-6 “Sleep and Autism from an Evolutionary Perspective: Sleep Midpoint is Later in Autistic Individuals” by Dominick Roussel

Available to join in person in AP246 or via Zoom at: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/84325887708

Dr. Nisrin Elamin will be hosting a panel on public scholarship and engagement that will touch on collaboration and organizing as an academic and the limitations and challenges that come with them.

Available to join in person in AP246 or via Zoom at: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/84325887708

9-9:30 “Ritual Sacrifice in the Ancient Andes: The Role of Humans, Nonhumans and Sacred Landscapes” by Ellen Pacheco

9:30-10 “Can Anthropometric Measurements Tell the Truths: Questioning Standardized Growth and Health Measurements in Biological Anthropology” by Sangyu Shen

10:30-11 “‘The Monster on the Mountain’: Green Energy Infrastructure Encounters in a Pugliese Village” by Francesca Nichol (SOAS)

11-11:30 “Archaeology as Service from Theory to Practice: Exploring Relevant Approaches to Archaeology through Community-Based and Collaborative Projects” by Susannah Clinker

11:30-12:00 “Whispers and Choking Points Defacements Amid Toronto Drug Toxicity Crisis” by Hannah Ali

Available to join in person in AP246 or via Zoom at: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/84325887708

4-4:30 “Truths of Human Lifeways Through the Lives of Rats” by Evelyn Fransoo

4:30-5 “Departmental Confines: Implications and Insights of Divided Primatology” by Coco Tucker-Gritt

5-5:30 “Abandoned Research: Amoral Anthropology, Emotional Labour, and the German Far-Right” by Anastasia Udarchik

5:30-6 “Climate Discourse and Mobilizing Knowledge for Social Change” by Tariq Harney

Available to join in person in AP246 or via Zoom at: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/84325887708

Dear Anthropology Graduate Students' Union (AGSU) Members,

Nominations and voter registration are open for the AGSU 2025 Spring General Elections, with nominations closing at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26. The full timeline and instructions document for the elections can be found here:

https://docs.google.com/.../1r9tVvW... . All AGSU Members are encouraged to read this important document. Also below are some key points of information:

Running for Election

The following positions are to be filled during these General Elections:

Co-President (2)

Social Coordinator (2)

Office Coordinator (1)

The duties and responsibilities for each of these positions can be found in the AGSU constitution: https://www.utorontoagsu.com/.../CONSTITUTION-UPDATED... .

All successful candidates will serve in these positions from May 1st, 2025 until the end of their 2025-2026 executive terms (April 30th, 2026).

The Nomination Period is open, and will close at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, March 26th. All candidates who wish to stand for election must be current AGSU Members and must also complete the following self-nomination form during this time period: https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSf9BsrjQAjmTt.../viewform

At the close of the nomination period, any candidates with uncontested nominations (i.e., there are not more candidates than positions available) will be elected by acclamation, with results being announced by email soon afterward.

Voting

If there are more candidates for any of these positions than can be afforded by the constitution, an election will be called for the relevant positions.

To vote in this election, all eligible voters must be current AGSU Members and must also register to vote. Voter registration is open now, and will close at 3:00 PM on Wednesday, April 2nd. To register to vote, please email your full name to anthro.cro@gmail.com using your 'utoronto' email. Registered voters will receive a unique four digit code which will allow them to access the online ballot and submit the ballot once. This will ensure that the vote is anonymous and not available to the general public.

Voting will be conducted using an online ballot and a single transferable vote ranked ballot system. The Voting Period will open at 12:00 PM on Friday, March 28th, and close at 1:00 PM on Thursday, April 3rd.

There will be no in-person registration or voting. All registration and voting will be online.

Results

The results of the election will be made available through the AGSU email listserv and social media shortly afterwards. These results will also be announced at the AGSU Spring Wine and Cheese event following tradition.

Further details can be found in the linked 'timeline and instructions' document above. If you have any questions or concerns, please email anthro.cro@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

John Vandergugten (Chief Returning Officer)

Shelby Patrick (Deputy Returning Officer)

Join us for an informal get-together with snacks and drinks. Take the time to decompress with other students and faculty.

The theme of this year’s conference is Truth-Making. This theme reflects upon the perceptional role of anthropology as an authority in parsing and understanding the hidden realities of biological, sociocultural, and historical life. As well, this theme reflects upon the contemporary disorientating notion of truth-making as a tool for power and control.

The conference is scheduled to take place over three days between March 18th and 20th.  The conference will be held in a hybrid format.

The AGSU Medusa Planning Committee is now accepting paper submissions for symposium-style presentations as well as roundtable and discussion panels.

For individual papers, please submit your abstract via the submission form by Friday, March 14th (updated deadline!). For roundtable and discussion panel submissions, please submit a proposal. For led panel submissions, please submit a proposal and the abstracts for each paper on the panel (Maximum 4 papers).

For more information please click here.

CALL FOR CRO AND DRO NOMINATIONS

The AGSU spring election (where we elect new Co-Presidents, Social Coordinators, and an Office Coordinator) is fast approaching! We need two AGSU members to nominate themselves as CRO (Chief Returning Officer) and DRO (Deputy Returning Officer) in order to run both Spring and Fall elections in accordance with the AGSU constitution. Act now, as the nomination window spans from March 3rd to March 14th. Your involvement makes a difference! This indispensable work involves broadcasting calls for nominations, administering anonymized digital ballots, and announcing election results. The time commitment for both positions should not exceed a few hours per election period. Please email agsu@studentorg.utoronto.ca with your nomination! This is a great, low-commitment opportunity to help your fellow graduate students, and it looks good on your CV! Please note that you can neither vote in AGSU elections nor nominate yourself for executive positions as long as you act as an AGSU CRO or DRO.

CALL FOR CRO AND DRO NOMINATIONS

The AGSU spring election (where we elect new Co-Presidents, Social Coordinators, and an Office Coordinator) is fast approaching! We need two AGSU members to nominate themselves as CRO (Chief Returning Officer) and DRO (Deputy Returning Officer) in order to run both Spring and Fall elections in accordance with the AGSU constitution. Act now, as the nomination window spans from March 3rd to March 14th. Your involvement makes a difference! This indispensable work involves broadcasting calls for nominations, administering anonymized digital ballots, and announcing election results. The time commitment for both positions should not exceed a few hours per election period. Please email agsu@studentorg.utoronto.ca with your nomination! This is a great, low-commitment opportunity to help your fellow graduate students, and it looks good on your CV! Please note that you can neither vote in AGSU elections nor nominate yourself for executive positions as long as you act as an AGSU CRO or DRO.

More info coming soon!

Zoom only

Vote on the movie we watch here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdA9p9rO8NGFKlLyaQv3HcY5IkOh1JMzr0dQ7ZoQrllnEVR6g/viewform?usp=header

The Anthropology Town Hall is an opportunity for us to share ideas and explore collective governance. The last townhall for this academic year, this event is for staff, graduate students, faculty/lecturers and postdocs in Anthropology, and will not be open to the public.

We are accepting suggestions for agenda items until 5 pm on Monday, Feb. 3rd.  Please be prepared to speak on your agenda item for no more than 5 minutes to set the context for the discussion.  An agenda will be circulated by the end of day, Feb. 5th. Please complete the brief survey here to join the Town Hall and submit agenda items (if you choose).

Dear AGSU Members,

The AGSU Executive invites you to join our upcoming General Meeting, which will be held virtually on December 12 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

During this meeting, we’ll share important updates on our work and highlight key accomplishments. We’ll also present proposed Constitutional Amendments designed to improve clarity and better align our union’s structure and executive roles with current practices.

This is a great opportunity to stay informed about AGSU activities and to help shape the future direction of our union.

Please register for the meeting and review the agenda in advance.

If you have any questions or would like to propose additional items for discussion, feel free to reach out to the Executive at agsu@studentorg.utoronto.ca.

Graduate students at the Department of Anthropology are cordially invited to the AGSU’s Winter Wine and Cheese.

Join us for an evening of drinks, appetizers, and friendly conversation! All UofT anthropology graduate students, faculty, and administrative staff are welcome to attend. All attendees will receive one free drink ticket (for an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage) at the door.

Event will take place on November 29th, 2024 in the First Floor Lounge. For more information, please see the attached poster in this email.

Please fill out the Google form linked below to register for this event if you have not already. We encourage you to fill out the form earlier rather than later, as space is limited.

Please RSVP here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/14h5coCsz4ZRzeOY7WwLOh-VtT4129B3oplkUbKzNTPY/edit

Check in and unwind after a long semester with a gentle writing workshop designed to help you get in touch with your feelings and develop personalized strategies to support yourself through them. 

Through a series of (fun, we promise!) creative writing prompts, we'll explore new avenues and perspectives from which to view our lives and develop paths forward you may not have considered before.

Your work will be as private as you'd like. You will not be expected to share anything you produce, but there will be some time allotted at the end of the workshop for optional sharing. 

 Holiday-themed snacks and drinks provided throughout! 

 Thursday, November 28th, 2024 AP246, Department of Anthropology 

Hello All!

Rise and Shine with the AGSU for their Grad Breakfast happening on Monday, November 4th from 9-11AM in AP 246! This event is co-hosted between the AGSU and Chairs of the department. The department chairs are very interested in fostering good connections amongst students in each subfield and this would be a great opportunity to meet new people and enjoy a free breakfast.

Start your day with a smile and come on our for some delicious nutritious breakfast!

For more information, please reach out to Charlotte Parry (Charlotte.parry@mail.utoronto.ca)

JOIN THE AGSU FOR A FUN AFTERNOON OF FALL PAINTING!

ALL SUPPLIES ARE INCLUDED AND REFRESHMENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE

THURSDAY OCTOBER 24TH

FROM 4:30 PM TO 7 PM IN

AP246 (LEE BOARDROOM)

Minutes to be posted after meeting.

Join us online or in-person on Friday September 20th, from 1-3pm

The Anthropology Town Hall is an opportunity for us to share ideas and explore collective governance.

The first of two mid-semester townhalls, this event is for staff, graduate students, faculty/lecturers and postdocs in Anthropology, and will not be open to the public.

To join the Town Hall, please register here.

 We look forward to seeing you there.

Learn about everything from how to use your

health insurance to tips for tracking your hours

at work!

Dear Anthropology Graduate Students' Union (AGSU) Members,

Nominations are now open for the AGSU 2024 Fall General Elections (see link for nomination form further down in this email), with nominations closing at 3:00 PM on Thursday, September 12th. The tentative timeline and instructions document for the elections can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yFCqSTZm5Axy0AmCovg-i9L9LflSWI_MvW3oVWm7gkE/ . Please note that all times are in ET.

All AGSU Members are encouraged to read this important document. Also below are some key points of information:

Running for Election

The following positions (and the number of each position available) are to be filled during these General Elections:

• Secretary (1)

• Treasurer (1)

• Communications Coordinator (1)

• Computer Coordinator (1)

• Mental Health Committee Coordinator (2)

• UTGSU Representative (1-2)

• Member-at-large (2-4)

• Medusa Coordinator (1-2)

• Diversity and Decolonization Committee Representatives (2)

The duties and responsibilities for each of these positions can be found in the AGSU constitution: https://www.utorontoagsu.com/constitution

All successful candidates will serve in these positions from September 26th, 2024 (tentative, pending confirmation of results) until the end of their 2024-2025 executive terms (April 30th, 2025).

The Nomination Period is open now, and will close on Thursday, September 12th at 3 PM. All candidates who wish to stand for election must be current AGSU Members and must also complete the following self-nomination form during this time period: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdO2eI5Umq11V9GdpmXTh5190WkZmJjjRpXrL5r3NxAI5EdJw/viewform

At the close of the nomination period, any candidates with uncontested nominations (i.e., there are not more candidates than positions available) will be elected by acclamation, with results being announced by email soon afterward.

Voting

If there are more candidates for any of these positions than can be afforded by the constitution, an election will be called for the relevant positions. To vote in the election, all eligible voters must be current AGSU Members and must also register to vote. You will receive another email when voter registration opens, with voting instructions attached. There will be no in-person registration or voting; voting will be online.

Results

The results of the election will be made available through the AGSU email listserv, our members-only social media page, and announced at the Fall General Meeting.

Further details can be found in the linked 'timeline and instructions' document above. If you have any questions or concerns, please email anthro.cro@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

John Vandergugten (Chief Returning Officer)

Shelby Patrick (Deputy Returning Officer)

Dear Incoming Anthropology Graduate Students, 

Welcome to the University of Toronto anthropology community! The Anthropology Graduate Student Union (AGSU) would like to extend our sincere congratulations as you prepare to embark on your academic journey here. 

On August 29th and 30th, you are all invited to a departmental orientation for new students organized by our administration and faculty. This session is designed to offer you insights into the upcoming phases of your graduate studies and help you get acquainted with the department. 

At 4:30 pm, the AGSU Presidents will deliver a presentation that sheds light on the role and significance of being a member of the Anthropology Graduate Student Union. This presentation aims to provide you with a clear understanding of the support and resources available through this union. After this presentation, a guided tour of our facility is scheduled. Please note that master's students are not given an office in the department but will be given access to the master's student group workspace.