Departmental Self Review - UCLA Academic Senate

faculty and students within a particular subfield, area of specialization, or program and mayalso include faculty and students from other subfields. The weekly meetings of each group arescheduled in a non-overlapping way to make it possible for students and faculty in all subfieldsto participate in more than one group either occasionally or on a regular basis. The schedule ofeach group is advertised on the Department's webpage. All interest groups have become quitewell known on campus and internationally, thereby attracting a steady flow of visiting PhDstudents and scholars from other universities across the US and abroad.Here is a brief description of the interest groups:~• Archaeology Lecture Series. The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA has twoactive, ongoing lecture programs (Wednesdays and Fridays) that afford scholars atUCLA and from around the world opportunities to present new research. In addition,short courses and seminars offered by Institute faculty and visiting scholars alsoenhance communication and interaction among scholars in the profession. One of theInstitute's primary goals is that of outreach through both media and communityinvolvement. Outreach activities such as public lectures inform and inspire the publicabout the exciting archaeological discoveries UCLA scholars are making and to interprettheir significance for the collective study of civilization. The Institute also offers a freepublic lecture series of approximately twelve lectures and seminars each year. Inaddition, the Institute sponsors special programs which in past years have focused onthe archaeology of such areas as Australia, Polynesia, India, South East Asia,Mesoamerica, California, and Africa (http:Uwww.ioa.ucla.edurWebCalendarl).• BEe. The Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture (BEC) unites scholars exploringthe connections among evolution, culture, the mind, and society. BEC provides aframework to facilitate research and training on the interaction among natural selection,cultural transmission, social relations, and psychology. A weekly speaker series bringsnationally and internationally known speakers together to discuss topics of interest withfaculty and students in an informal atmosphere. Once a quarter, BEC also offers a daylongconference organized jointly with the UC Santa Barbara Evolution, Mind, andBehavior Program (Monday 12-2pm. www.bec.ucla.edul).• CPSc. A working Group in Ethnographic Research, Culture, Power and Social Change(CPSC) brings together graduate students and faculty interested in exploring issues ofcultural production, links between political economy, power and culture, culturalconstructions of ethnicity, gender, national and religious identities and the ways inwhich they impact social change in the world. CPSC meets weekly throughout the34