Portales, NM – February 27, 2024 – The Eastern New Mexico University Department of Anthropology and Applied Archaeology hosts its 25th annual Cynthia Irwin-Williams Lectureship at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 29, in room 110 of the Art and Anthropology Building.

The featured guest speaker will be Dr. Kristina Baines, Associate Professor of Anthropology at CUNY Guttman Community College and Director of Anthropology for Cool Anthropology. Baines will present on “Heritage in the Body: Sensory Ecologies of Health Practice in Times of Change.”  Baines will share how members of two Belizean indigenous communities, the Maya and the Garifuna, maintain and adapt heritage practices through changes in Belize and after migration to urban cities in the US.

“This year’s Cynthia Irwin-Williams Lecture, “Heritage in the Body: Sensory Ecologies of Health Practice in Times of Change,” provides a recent example of cultural change and adaptation,” said John Montgomery, Assistant Vice President for Research, Graduate Dean, and Anthropology Graduate Coordinator. “Like Dr. Irwin-Williams’ archaeological and anthropological research in northwest New Mexico, Dr. Baines’ research in Belize illustrates innovative ways to understand how societies change. Such scholarship helps us understand how different cultures define their heritage in the face of changing environments.”

The Cynthia Irwin-Williams Lectureship, entering its 25th year, was created to honor the many professional achievements of Cynthia Irwin-Williams. Irwin-Williams taught at Eastern New Mexico University in the Department of Anthropology and Applied Archaeology from 1964 to 1982. In 1978, Irwin-Williams was awarded the Llano Estacado Center for Advanced Professional Studies and Research Distinguished Research Professorship. Irwin-Williams also served as president of the Society for American Archaeology from 1977 to 1979, only the second woman to hold this position.

ENMU continues her legacy through the Cynthia Irwin-Williams Lectureship, which helps pave the way for later generations of women in the sciences by bringing in a guest speaker to share their recent research on various topics in Anthropology. This free event is open to the public; for more information, visit www.enmu.edu/CIWLectureship .