Myrdene Anderson

Myrdene Anderson is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Purdue University, where she has been a faculty member since 1977. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in anthropological linguistics and ethnographic analysis, including ANTH 414/LING 498 Language and Culture.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Anthropology from Yale University (1978)

Dr. Anderson's research spans semiotics, anthropological linguistics, ethnography, human-animal studies, ethnicity and identity, the cultural construction of trash, mathematics education, and violence. She is internationally recognized for her ethnographic fieldwork among Saami reindeer breeders in Norwegian Lapland, initiated in 1971, and has edited volumes across these interdisciplinary domains.

Her notable honors include:

• Fulbright Visiting Professorship in Estonia (2003)

Dr. Anderson has organized over 50 international and transdisciplinary symposia and served on editorial boards of Semiotica and The American Journal of Semiotics. She held leadership roles as President of the Central States Anthropological Society (1993) and President of the Semiotic Society of America (1996), reflecting her significant contributions to academic communities.