Dr. Anna Boshnakova is a Professor of Social Sciences and Anthropology at Sheridan College, where she teaches cultural and applied anthropology, visual narratives, the anthropology of music, posthuman culture, social and behavioural sciences, and creative studies within the Degree Breadth and General Education curriculum. Since joining Sheridan in 2009, she has developed interdisciplinary courses connecting culture, creative thinking, visual communication, music, emerging technologies, and posthuman futures.

Dr. Boshnakova holds a Ph.D. in the History of Philosophy, specializing in the Anthropology of Antiquity (summa cum laude), an M.A. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology (summa cum laude), and a B.A. in Cultural Studies from Sofia University. She also holds certificates in College Teaching, Online Course Design, and Online Instruction from George Brown College.

In 2021, she received Sheridan’s Teaching and Learning Award in recognition of her contributions to student learning and educational excellence.

Dr. Boshnakova’s student-centred teaching philosophy combines high academic standards with the clear guidance and support students need to succeed. Her courses make complex theories accessible through clear explanations, transparent expectations, and assessments aligned with learning outcomes. They help students develop independent thinking, effective communication, creativity, and adaptability. Her goal is not only to expand students’ academic knowledge but also to help them develop essential skills that build upon their professional studies in business, arts and design, healthcare, education, technology, community services, and other public-facing professions. These skills prepare students to think independently, communicate effectively, respond creatively to unfamiliar challenges, and navigate culturally diverse and rapidly changing workplaces.

The electives Dr. Boshnakova teaches cultivate curiosity, intellectual flexibility, and informed decision-making while developing transferable skills that complement a wide range of Sheridan programs:

ANTH 18731GD Introduction to Cultural Anthropology develops cultural intelligence, intercultural communication, and ethical awareness. Students learn to recognize cultural assumptions and bias, understand different viewpoints, communicate respectfully and respond effectively in diverse social and professional settings.

ANTH 26859GD Visual Narratives: Creative and Critical Analysis develops visual and media literacy, critical interpretation, creative analysis, and visual communication. Students learn to examine how representation, ideology, symbolism, persuasion, bias, and cultural storytelling shape the production and interpretation of images across media, and professional contexts.

ANTH 33796GD Applied Anthropology develops human-centred research, qualitative inquiry, observation, community engagement, needs assessment, ethical reasoning, and culturally informed problem-solving. Students learn to apply anthropological perspectives to practical challenges involving business, communities, healthcare, technology, arts, design, and user experience.

ANTH 13741G Posthuman Culture: An Anthropological Perspective explores human relationships with artificial intelligence, technological creativity, extended lifespans, artificial reproduction, and non-human intelligence. The course strengthens AI and digital literacy, ethical reasoning, critical and future-oriented thinking, adaptability, research literacy, and the ability to assess bias and competing perspectives. Students also investigate the relationship between human and non-human creativity and consider whether AI limits, transforms, or enhances human creative potential.

SOCS 10206G Social and Behavioural Sciences provides interdisciplinary tools for understanding human behaviour, social institutions, inequality, identity, power, and cultural change. It strengthens critical thinking, evidence-based analysis, research literacy, systems thinking, perspective-taking, and informed decision-making.

ANTH 20088GD Anthropology of Music examines music as a form of cultural knowledge, identity, memory, and social communication. The course develops intercultural understanding, attentive listening, comparative analysis, interpretive skills, cultural awareness, and the ability to understand creative expression within its broader social and historical contexts.

Before joining Sheridan, Dr. Boshnakova served as a Lecturer in the Department of History of Philosophy at St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, a senior expert and curator at Bulgaria’s National Museum of History, and a visiting researcher at the Universities of Heidelberg and Halle in Germany.

Her interdisciplinary research reconstructs past cultural realities through the study of ethnographic collections, music-related archaeological artefacts, historical and epigraphic evidence, and visual narratives. Her scholarship brings together anthropology, visual culture, classical studies, music archaeology, material culture, and the history of literacy.

Dr. Boshnakova’s scholarly contributions include two monographs, numerous peer-reviewed articles, and textbook chapters. She has presented her research at international conferences and participated in scholarly collaborations across her fields of expertise.

She is a long-standing member of the International Study Group on Music Archaeology (ISGMA) and MOISA—the International Society for the Study of Greek and Roman Music and Its Cultural Heritage. She is also a Research Associate with the Institute for Hellenistic Studies at the University of Waterloo.

Selected Bibliography:

Boshnakova A. 2024. "Attic Vases with Implied Melodies ", in: Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography, XLIX/1-2, 2024, Research Center for Music Iconography, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, pp. 37–86. 

http://www.musiciconography.org/parent-page/music-in-art-international-journal-for-music-iconography-xlix-2024/

Boshnakova, A. 2020. Experiencing Culture. In: J. Pulis and P. Angelini (Eds.), Social and Behavioural Sciences: Exploring Human Behavior and the Environment, TOPHAT.

Boshnakova, A. and J. Ginter. 2020. Introduction to Anthropology. In: J. Pulis and P. Angelini (Eds.), Social and Behavioural Sciences: Exploring Human Behavior and the Environment, TOPHAT, pp. 3-55.

Boshnakova, A. 2017. “Anthropological Analysis of 'Musical Records' on Late Archaic and Classical Vase Paintings”. In: R. Eichmann, L. Koch, Fang Jianjun (Hrsg.), Studien zur Musikarchäologie X, pp. 247 – 250.

Boshnakova, A. 2009. The World of Ancient Man: Ancient Greece. Prosveta: Sofia.

Boshnakova, A. 2008. "Reading Ancient Greek Music in Documents, Images, and Artifacts: On the Practical Application of Musical Archeology" In E. Hickmann, R. Eichmann, L. Koch, and A. Both (Hrsg.) Studien zur Musikarchäologie VII, pp. 337 – 345.

Boshnakova, A. 2007. "Hermeneutics of the Archaeological Artifact: Destruction and Reconstruction of the Lost Meaning" In K. Boshnakov (Ed.) Jubilaeus VI: The Ancient Heritage of the Black Sea, pp. 51-102.

Boshnakova, A. 2006. "Bittgesang für Apollo", Abenteuer Archäologie 3, pp. 32-33.

Boshnakova, A. 2005. "From the Visible to the Invisible – Musical Metaphysics from the 6th and 5th Centuries B.C." In: E. Hickmann, R. Eichmann (Hrshg.) Studien zur Musikarchäologie IV, (Orient-Archäologie 15), pp. 35-48.

Boshnakova, A. 2003. Aulos and Lyra: The Philosophy of Music in Ancient Hellas (Diss.). Publ. Comp. LIK: Sofia.