URochester student research featured at American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting
Joshua Jung ’26 and Gabriel Plata ‘27 presented their research at the meeting held recently in New Orleans, LA.
The 2025 American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting included presentation of research from two students from the Department of Anthropology. The annual meeting is the largest gathering of anthropologists, attracting professors, researchers, and students from around the world, says John Osburg, chair of the anthropology department.
“Both Josh and Gabriel were recipients of our Undergraduate Research Grant that enabled them to conduct independent field research over the summer,” adds Osburg.
“Their projects show the range of topics students can study in anthropology—from online R&B producer communities to the politics of memory on the Spanish island of Menorca.”
Research spotlight: Joshua Jung
Jung, an anthropology major with a minor in music, presented research titled “The Sound of a Digital City: Neo-Cru R&B" at the annual meeting. The hybrid fieldwork for the research was conducted over the course of a year.
The research illustrates how digital spaces mirror the function of cities in producing genre using Neo-Cru R&B as a case study. Jung partnered with Emmy-nominated Cantera Studio to produce a documentary to explore how Neo-Cru R&B manifests post-pandemic lamentations by the simultaneous desires to feel alone yet wanted, and to exist in a golden past in the clouded present.
“I thoroughly enjoyed enlightening junior and senior anthropologists on a particular territory of the internet and what it says about our generation's internal desire to exist in a golden past in the clouded present,” says Jung.
“It was exciting seeing some attendees take pictures of my poster and QR code, linked to the accompanying documentary I produced, to learn more on their own time.”
Research spotlight: Gabriel Plata
Plata, who is majoring in anthropology and comparative literature, presented research titled “Excavating Absence: Andalusi Heritage, UNESCO, and the Politics of Memory in Menorca.” Plata conducted fieldwork during the summer of 2025.
Plata’s fieldwork was conducted at an archeological site in Menorca, Spain. The research question examined how the medieval Islamic remains excavated at the dig site were translated into the various museums and heritage institutions on the island. Menorca’s history and cultures are tightly imbricated-sometimes highlighted by its multiple UNESCO designations and other times made invisible.
“Presenting at the AAA was exhilarating,” Plata says.
“Being surrounded by scholars who were so thoughtful and open about their work allowed me to make connections and get a vivid sense of the questions and debates shaping anthropological research right now.”