Anthropology

Sugandh Gupta, Ph.D.

sgruver@ufl.edu — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 20:52:13 +0000

Sugandh Gupta, Ph.D.

Office:

B119 Turlington Hall

Phone:

+1-352-294-7600

Email:

sugandhgupta@ufl.edu

Mailing Address: :

Department of Anthropology
University of Florida
P.O. Box 117305
Gainesville, FL 32611-7305

Education

Ph.D. Anthropology, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, 2025
M.A. Anthropology, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, 2018
M.A. Psychology, University of Delhi, India, 2011

Research Interests

Anthropology and politics of mental health and well-being, Militarism and Mental Health, Opioid Use Disorder, De-addiction and Recovery, Addiction Medicine, Harm Reduction, Care and Kinship, State Bureaucracies, Ethnographic Methods and Writing, Psy-sciences, Psychological Anthropology, South Asia, Jammu & Kashmir, India

Personal Statement

I am a sociocultural medical anthropologist and psychologist whose research and teaching focus on culture and mental health, the anthropology of care, bureaucracy, psychiatry, addiction, and recovery studies in South Asia. My project, titled “Drugs, Dependency, and De-Addiction in Jammu City, Jammu and Kashmir, India,” is an ethnographic study of a government-sponsored psychiatric hospital that provides substance use treatment to injecting heroin users in Jammu. This hospital operates in a region affected by prolonged militarization and political conflict in nearby Kashmir. By amplifying the voices and experiences of Jammu residents, patients, clinicians, family members, and other stakeholders, I aim to integrate Jammu’s experiences into anthropological scholarship, highlighting how addiction and recovery, militarism and mental health, and harm and healing coexist amid political conflict and war. My upcoming projects include a multi-site investigation into the mental health challenges faced by communities in India’s borderlands, confronting the triple burden of military presence, illicit opioids, and narcoterrorism; and a socio-historiography examining the rise of addiction medicine in India.

Current and Prospective Students

For Undergrads:

Are you an undergrad interested in getting involved in research in medical anthropology? Send me an email to ask about research opportunities.

For Prospective Graduate Students

Are you a prospective grad student interested in applying to our Ph.D. program and wanting to work with me? I’d love to hear from you and learn more about your research interests! Please get in touch to find out if we might be a good fit. I will only be taking one to two students in a given application cycle.

Positions and Honors

Positions and Employment

Other Experience and Professional Memberships

Honors

Selected Publications

Diana Quintero Bisono

sgruver@ufl.edu — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 19:02:40 +0000

Diana T. Quintero Bisono

Graduate Student
Email: dquinterobisono@ufl.edu

Education

Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Florida, In Progress
M.S., Museum and Field Studies, University of Colorado – Boulder, 2024
B.A., Anthropology, Purdue University 2022

Subfield

Archaeology

Chair

Dr. Michelle LeFebvre

Research Interests

Caribbean Archaeology, Museums, Archaeological Synthesis, Landscape Archaeology

The research topics I am interested in as part of my dissertation work involve understanding the persistence of land use throughout the island of Puerto Rico. Particularly, I am interested in how these patterns relate to the natural and built environment through which people create the perception of heritage and ecological knowledge. My research interests build off of the work I pursued in my master’s thesis where I explored the relationship between archaeology, cultural institutions in Puerto Rico and the conceptions of Indigenous heritage.

Selected Publications

Quintero-Bisono, D. (2024) Broadening Narratives About the Indigenous Past in Puerto Rico: Digitization of Archaeological Heritage at Centro Ceremonial Indígena Tibes in Ponce. : University of Colorado Boulder.

Link to Thesis

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

2024, University of Colorado – Boulder, Museum of Natural History Collie Fund Award ($1000.00)
2023, University of Colorado – Boulder, Museum Research Award ($ 299.00)
2022, University of Colorado – Boulder – Graduate School Diversity Recruitment Fellowship ($2,500.00 award)
2022, 3rd place poster Purdue Undergraduate Research Conference ($100.00 award)
2021, NSF-REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates)
2021, 3rd place poster Purdue Undergraduate Research Conference ($100.00 award)
2020, 1st place poster Purdue Undergraduate Research Conference ($100.00 award)
2019 – 2020, Margo Katherine Wilke Internship, Purdue University ($500.00 award)

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Damian Oakes

sgruver@ufl.edu — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 19:43:04 +0000

Graduate Student
Email: doakes@ufl.edu

Education

PhD., Anthropology, University of Florida, In Progress
M.A., Sustainable Development Practice, University of Florida, 2024
M.A., Interpreting and Translation, University of Pretoria, 2015
B.S., Political Science and French, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal

Subfield

Cultural Anthropology

Chair

Dr. Abdoulaye Kane

Research Interests

My research seeks to understand local perceptions of and responses to Spain-Africa Strategy Document (2025-2028) relating to irregular migration by focusing on the lived experiences of social pressure among non-migrants in the Langue de Barbarie, Senegal. In 2024, record numbers of Senegalese and West African irregular migrants have arrived in the Canary Islands. Hundreds have lost their lives in these perilous journeys on traditional boats lead by young fishermen from the Senegalese Coastline to the Canary Islands (an estimated 963 miles).

Selected Publications

“La Traduction et l’interprétation comme lieu idéal de l’interculturalité ? Université MUST “Le traducteur et son texte : Relations dialectiques, difficultés linguistiques et contexte socioculturel” (2013)

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

Department of Anthropology (UF) – Conference funding (Fall 2025)

Center for African Studies (UF) – Conference funding (Fall 2025)

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Graduate Student Travel Award (Summer 2025)

Center for African Studies Summer Pre-dissertation Research Award (Summer 2025)

Center for European Studies (CES) Graduate Student Travel Award (Summer 2025)

Elizabeth Eddy Summer New Graduate Student Research Award (Summer 2025)

First prize in fieldwork poster presentation (2024)

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellow – Arabic language (2025-2025)

Master in Sustainable Development Practice (MDP, UF) – (Summer 2023)

Center for African Studies – Fieldwork Grant, (Summer 2023)

Sahel Research Group – Capstone Project Grant, (Summer 2023)

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Dr. Aaron Broadwell: Bloomfield Award Finalist

sgruver@ufl.edu — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 17:48:46 +0000

Dr. Aaron Broadwell: Bloomfield Award Finalist

Dr. Aaron Broadwell’s new book, The Timucua Language: A Text-Based Reference Grammar (University of Nebraska Press, 2024), has been designated as a Finalist for the Linguistic Society of America’s 2026 Leonard Bloomfield Book Award!

He will be recognized at the Awards Ceremony at the next Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting in January. This the first year that finalists are selected and honored alongside the winner.

The Bloomfield Award is the highest honor for a single work in linguistics, and its recipients, and finalists, are those works that make the most significant contributions to our science, exhibiting exemplary scholarship, empirical import, and theoretical acumen. Dr. Broadwell’s book being named a Finalist for this award is in recognition of its excellence.

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Huaca de la Luna Lecture 10/30/25

sgruver@ufl.edu — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 20:00:37 +0000

Huaca de la Luna Lecture 10/30/25

“>Talk in Spanish by Dr. Alejandro Yepjen Ramos, Director of the School of Archaeology at La Universidad Nacional de Trujillo.

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Rafael Galindo

sgruver@ufl.edu — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 18:08:57 +0000

Rafael Galindo

Graduate Student
Email: rgalindocruz@ufl.edu

Education

Ph.D. Anthropology, University of Florida, In Progress
M.A. in Anthropology from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, class of 2016·
B.A. in Anthropology from Universidad Nacional de Colombia, class of 2012

Subfield

Archaeology

Chair

Research Interests

My research interests focus on how variations in the daily activities of the pre-Hispanic population in Latin America gave rise to differential practices in food production and consumption. To analyze food, I focus on organic residues (lipids and starch) and lithic and ceramic materials.

Selected Publications and Presentations

Sandoval, Robert; Galindo, Rafael; Romero, Nidia; Herrera, Karina. 2025 “An Adaptive Methodology for Phytolith Analysis in the Colombian Caribbean: Evidence of Paleoenvironment and Agriculture in La Guajira”. Manuscript accepted in Jangwa Pana. https://doi.org/10.21676/issn.1657-4923

· Vargas Ruíz, J. C., Romero Patiño, I., Soto, L. M., & Galindo Cruz, R. (2023). Patrones de asentamiento prehispánicos y uso de modelos de idoneidad en la evaluación de la guerra en la

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. P. Arguello García, JC Vargas Ruíz, & CH Langebaek Rueda, Cacicazgos en las Américas: Estudios en homenaje a Robert D. Drennan, 77-108.

Presentations

· (PACC-S11-006-2022) Physical Characterization of Prehispanic Ceramic Technologies in the Upper Basin of the Ariari River (Colombia). Pan American Ceramic Congress and Ferroelectrics Meeting of Americas. Type of event: Congress Scope: International Held on: 2022-07-24, 2022-07-28 in Panama City-Panama. R.R. Galindo*; L. Laura; M. Lopez; D. Contreras; V. Benavides; J. Jaramillo; S. Fajardo (Oral presentation)

· Pre-Hispanic diet as a marker of social differentiation, Based on the analysis of organic residues obtained from ceramic material for the archaeological sites of Mesitas (San Agustín) and Suta (Sutamarchan). Colombian Congress of Archeology 2022. Type of event: Congress. National Scope held from March 15 to 17, 2022. Universidad del Cauca. R.Galindo. (Oral presentation)

· Methodological proposal for the identification of human remains in submerged contexts through the use of geographic information systems. 9 th European Meeting on Forensic Archeology EMFA 2020/21 Type of event: Congress Scope: International Held on: 2021-08-26 00:00:00.0, 2021-08-27 00:00:00.0 in Geneva-Switzerland – University of Geneve . E. Quiñones, R. Galindo. (Oral presentation)

· Recreation of pre-Hispanic tombs, a strategy for teaching archeology in the Colombian Caribbean. XIV INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF EDUCAÇÃO AND INOVAÇÃO. Portugal 2020. E. Quiñones, R. Galindo. (Oral presentation)

· Evaluation and Identification of Fatty Acids Contained in Archaeological Ceramics, 40th International Symposium on Archaeometry, Los Angeles, California, 2014. R. Galindo, B. Castro, H. Henderson.(Poster presentation)

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

Elizabeth Eddy Summer New Graduate Student Research Grant, Summer 2024, University of Florida.
Latin American Studies Research Grant. Summer 2024, University of Florida
Grinter Fellowship, 2023. University of Florida
Fonciencias Research Grant, 2021 to 2022. Universidad del Magdalena-Colombia
Scholarship-Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos (IFEA), 2015-2016 (IFEA / UMIFRE CRNS USR 3337) 2015.

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New Degree Fall 2026: Master of Science in Archaeology

sgruver@ufl.edu — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 18:17:54 +0000

New Degree Fall 2026: Master of Science in Archaeology

Beginning fall 2026 the Department of Anthropology will offer a Terminal MS degree in Archaeology.

Its purpose is to provide specialized instruction and training in Applied Archaeology, a part of Cultural Resource Management (CRM), conducted for compliance with federal, state, and local mandates to identify and protect cultural heritage sites and artifacts in the public interest.

The deadline to apply for admission is March 15, 2026.

Contact Dr. Ken Sassaman (sassaman@ufl.edu) for information and to ensure that this new MS option is a good fit for your career goals.

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Welcome Dr. Sugandh Gupta!

sgruver@ufl.edu — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 17:11:54 +0000

Welcome Dr. Sugandh Gupta!

She is a sociocultural medical anthropologist and psychologist. Her research and teaching focus on culture and mental health, anthropology of care, bureaucracy, addiction and recovery studies in South Asia. Her current research, Entangled Care: State, Psychiatry, and Kinship in Jammu City’s De-Addiction Center, examines the impact of long-term militarization and political conflict on state-sponsored substance use treatment for recovering drug users in Jammu City. Her next project will be a multi-sited inquiry into the complex mental health needs of communities in India’s borderlands facing the triple burden of military presence, illicit opioids, and narcoterrorism.

Dr. Sugandh successfully defended her PhD at UNC Chapel Hill on July 1st 2025 and we are delighted to welcome her into our department and community.

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Chloe Walton

sgruver@ufl.edu — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 19:46:18 +0000

Chloe Walton

Graduate Student
Email: chloe.walton@ufl.edu

Education

M.A. Anthropology, University of Florida, In Progress
B.A. Anthropology, University of Florida, 2024

Subfield

Archaeology

Chair

Dr. Kenneth Sassaman

Research Interests

Public Archaeology, Sustainability, Ethics, GIS, Field Methods, Indigenous Relations, Conservation, Decolonization, Globalization, Archaeology/Anthropology of Care, Historical Archaeology, Paleontology, Economic Anthropology, Medical Anthropology, Personhood/Identity, Spirituality/Cosmology.

Selected Publications and Presentations

Grants, Fellowships, and Awards

Patricia S. Essenpreis Scholarship for Archaeological Field School Award (2024)

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Dr. Kim Valenta Earns Excellence Award for Assistant Professors in Spring 2025

sgruver@ufl.edu — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 18:47:44 +0000

Dr. Kim Valenta Earns Excellence Award for Assistant Professors in Spring 2025

Photo Credit https://kimvalenta.com/

Assistant professor, Dr. Kim Valenta was awarded one of two College of Liberal Arts “Excellence Awards” for Assistant Professors for the Spring of 2025.

Dr. Valenta is “an evolutionary ecologist researching the interactions between wild plants and animals and how these can be affected by human activities. My current research is focused on how fruits attract (and leaves deter) mutualists and antagonists in Kibale National Park, Uganda, and on the role of particular odorants in attracting seed dispersing animals in mainland Africa and Madagascar. I am also the co-founder and co-director of the Mad Dog Initiative (www.maddoginitiative.com), and an assistant professor at the University of Florida, in the Department of Anthropology,” (https://kimvalenta.com/).

Students have noted,”Dr. Valenta is passionate, super knowledgeable lecturer. She explains things amazingly and makes the class super interesting. She is also very receptive to class input about tests or ways to study. The lab section is tougher for sure, but still manageable (and taught by a TA). 100 percent would recommend her to anyone,” (Ratemyprofessor.com).

Congratulations Dr. Valenta!

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