Cultural Politics

Cultural politics represents a new strength in the department. Faculty members working on this topic consider ways in which cultural institutions, practices, and expressive forms mediate relations of power within society. Linguistic and sociocultural anthropologists in this group approach these questions from a variety of perspectives, making connections between political leadership, state institutions, and ideological discourses on the one hand and diverse areas of culture on the other, including institutional structures, the production of artistic objects or performance, and the organization of culturally marked livelihoods.

Faculty with Current or Recent Research Projects in Cultural Politics


Rudi Colloredo-Mansfeld
Laura Graham
Adi Hastings

Scott Schnell

Current and Recent Graduate Students Conducting Research in Cultural Politics

Balmurli Natrajan –“Ailing Artisans, Dubious Development: Potters in Central India” Ph.D. 1999.

Judith Siebert - “Expressions of Ethnic Identity in the German-Chilean Community”, currently writing up dissertation

Jolene Marie Stritecky-“Looking through a Moral Lens: Morality, Violence, and Empathy” Ph.D 2001.

Jerry Wever - “Shaping creolization and Folklorization Processes: Expressive Culture and Creole Identity in St. Lucia and the Seychelles”, research supported by Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and Wenner-Gren Foundation

Benjamin Willett - “Ethnic Tourism in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala”,

Ph.D. 2007.

Emily Lee-“A Story of Strategies: Negotiating State and Society in Chengdu” Ph.D. 2002.

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences