On Friday, Oct. 10, Jason De León will give the Frank G. and Jean M. Chesley Lecture in Anthropology, hosted once every four years by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (SOAN).
De León is the Director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology and a Professor of anthropology at UCLA. He has written two books; his second book, “Soldiers and Kings,” the will be the main focus of his lecture.
“We were trying to find someone who was relevant to the different discussions that we’re having, not only on campus… [but] in the country and in other countries as well,” said Professor Constanza Ocampo-Reader.
Ocampo-Reader added that the department sought someone “to showcase the type of anthropology that we know is the most powerful, which is to be able to tell stories through the evidence that emerges from ethnographic research and to be able to reveal something about a community of people that is not readily available unless you do that sort of deep immersion and engage in cultural understanding about it.”
De León’s work reveals aspects of the migrant experience crossing the Mexico–U.S. border that are not widely discussed in popular media. Through interviews, archaeological research and collaborations with photographers, De León “puts names, faces, and stories to the thousands of individuals who have died in their attempt to reach the United States,” according to the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau.
De León started his career as an archaeologist investigating ancient tools in Mexico. Much of his work on the border centers around the Undocumented Migration Project, which, according to its website, “uses a combination of ethnographic, archaeological, forensic, and visual anthropological approaches to understand various aspects of unauthorized border crossings.” The archeological aspect comes from the collection of various items from the border.
“He was able to bring in his archaeology background and look at these kinds of remains and… interview the people today and asking them why do you do this to your water bottles? Like being able to probe and ask these questions about what kinds of things would they carry with them?” said Professor Cheryl Yin, who specializes in linguistic anthropology.
De León later transitioned to sociocultural anthropology. His first book, “The Land of Open Graves,” (2015), investigates the U.S. “Prevention Through Deterrence” border enforcement strategy. The objects gathered from the border “tell you a lot about the humans who risk their lives in order to cross the Arizona desert in order to make money in order to find jobs so that they could help their families back home,” said Yin.
“And it’s a really sad story. It’s a really violent story, and it’s a really delicate story, and I think he does a really beautiful job with it,” said Ocampo-Reader.
In 2017, De León won the MacArthur Prize, also known as the “Genius Grant,” for his outstanding research. He received $1 million for his future work, which helped fund research for his 2024 book, “Soldiers and Kings.”
According to the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau, “Through the lens of anthropology, “Soldiers and Kings” provides an intimate and up-close look at the daily (and often dangerous) lives of those charged with getting people past immigration security forces.” His lecture will mainly focus on this book, with a book signing to follow.
“I think no matter what your major is and no matter what position you’re coming from, there will be something that resonates with you from this talk,” said Ruby Dirks ’26, one of the SOAN Student Departmental Advisors (SDAs).
