Cultural Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology at the University of Kentucky encompasses a broad range of content areas including: applied and development anthropology, economic and ecological anthropology; gender and kinship; identity; medical anthropology; political economy; politics and the state; and transnationalism, among a range of other themes in cultural anthropology. For more detailed discussion of the range of research activities that faculty in the department pursue, see the research pages of our web site. Students typically develop their graduate program (course choices and research topic) in consultation with a faculty advisor whose research area fits with the student´s interests.

Community members work together to build carpets for the religious processions during Holy Week on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.
Photo by Sarah Lyon.

Students in cultural anthropology gain foundational knowledge in contemporary social-cultural theory as well as the history of anthropological theory. Students also gain practical skills in research methodology and design. Beyond core courses in theory and methods, students build expertise in their chosen areas of concentration by taking courses within the department of anthropology, and also across the UK campus (including, in particular, courses in Geography, Sociology, and Social Theory, among others). Students also fulfill a language requirement for the graduate degree.

Students pursuing the PhD in cultural anthropology at the University of Kentucky have had great success in securing competitive funding for their dissertation research. Students have received grants from, among other organizations, the National Science Foundation, Wenner-Gren, Social Sciences Research Council, Fulbright IIE, and Fulbright Hays. See the graduate student pages for more information about the kind of research and funding that our graduate students pursue.

Amin Ahmed wisecracks in the foreground while Jangir Amin gives written consent for the publication of this picture with Ibrahim Amin's assistance. Qadiye Village, near Zakho, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Photo by Diane King, 18 June 2008.

Students completing a graduate degree with a concentration in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Kentucky have found impressive employment with a range of private, public and international organizations including, university teaching and research, NGO / development work in the US and abroad, US government agencies, and the National Park Service among many other positions.

Cultural Anthropology Faculty

• Mary Anglin
  Medical anthropology, breast cancer/reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, cultural anthropology, gender, political economy; Appalachia and U.S., Latin America.
• Lisa Cliggett
  Ecological and economic anthropology, livelihoods, household, gender, kin networks and social organization, political economy and ecology, migration, aging, anthropological demography, GIS and remote sensing; sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia, Haiti, Caribbean.
• Diane E. King
  Identity, migration, kinship, gender, religion, the state, ethno-history, conflict and its resolution, political organization, international development; Southwest Asia / the Muslim Mediterranean, Kurdish studies.
• Erin Koch
  Medical anthropology, ethnography of science and technology, globalization and health, infectious disease, displacement, humanitarianism, the state; Georgia (country), former Soviet Union, the U.S.
• Sarah Lyon
  Economic anthropology, transnational networks and globalization; agricultural production and commodity chains; international "green" and "ethical" marketplace; anthropology of Latin America, Maya culture.
• Monica L. Udvardy
  Cultural anthropology, cultural property and heritage management, cultural identity politics, anthropological ethics, gender, women's activism and organizations, anthropology of symbols and meaning; Sub-Saharan Africa, East Africa, Kenya, Tanzania.

Affiliated Faculty

• Cristina Alcalde, Gender and Women’s Studies and Department of Anthropology.
  Gender, violence, race, domestic violence; Latin America, Peru, U.S. Latinos.
• Srimati Basu, Gender and Women’s Studies and Department of Anthropology.
  Gender, law and the State, marriage and kinship, development, social movements; South Asia.
• Lee Blonder, Department of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine.
  Medical anthropology, brain and behavior, evolution of language, emotion and psychopathology.
• Beth Goldstein, Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, College of Education.
  Anthropology and education; Southeast Asia.
• Robert F. Kraus, Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine.
  Cultural anthropology, cultural psychiatry, culture and personality; Arctic and Subarctic.
• Thomas Håkansson, Adjunct Professor, Department of Anthropology.
  Economic anthropology, political ecology, world-systems, historical anthropology, comparison, kinship and marriage; East Africa, Scandinavia.
• Karl B. Raitz, Department of Geography.
  Cultural geography, recreation, tourism, settlement; North America, Appalachia.
• Lucinda Ramberg, Gender and Women’s Studies and Department of Anthropology.
  Medical anthropology, religion and secularism, sexuality, kinship, queer, feminist and postcolonial theory; South Asia.
• Nancy Schoenberg, Department of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine.
  Medical anthropology, health and aging, chronic disease management, qualitative methodology; North America.
• Shaunna Scott, Department of Sociology.
  Political economy, gender, social theory; U.S., Appalachia.
• Mark Swanson, Department of Health Behavior, College of Public Health
  Local food systems, food and public health, School nutrition, alternative agriculture; U.S., Latin America.
• Jean Wiese, Department of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine.
  Medical anthropology, communications, response to illness; Caribbean.

Cultural Anthropology Courses

Required

• ANT 601 - THEORIES AND CONCEPTS IN ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANT 610 - HISTORY OF THEORY IN ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANT 660 - ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
• ANT 662 - RESEARCH DESIGN

Other

• ANT 600 - PRACTICUM IN TEACHING ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANT 603 - HUMAN BIOLOGY IN CONTEXT OF SOCIOCULTURAL CHANGE
• ANT 604 - SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
• ANT 620 - TOPICS AND METHODS OF EVALUATION
• ANT 621 - ADVANCED TOPICS AND METHODS OF EVALUATION
• ANT 637 - SOCIOCULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• ANT 640 - SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
• ANT 641 - GENDER ISSUES IN DEVELOPMENT
• ANT 645 - ANTHROPOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY
• ANT 646 - GLOBAL HEALTH: PEOPLE, INSTITUTIONS AND CHANGE
• ANT 725 - SEMINAR IN APPLIED ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANT 731 - SEMINAR IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DYNAMICS
• ANT 732 - SEMINAR IN ECOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANT 733 - SEMINAR IN SYMBOLS AND MEANING
• ANT 734 - SEMINAR IN ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANT 735 - SEMINAR IN PRACTICE AND ACTION
• ANT 736 - CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
• ANT 737 - GENDER ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANT 765 - ADVANCED SEMINAR IN MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
• ANT 766 - GENDER, ETHNICITY AND HEALTH
• ANT 774 - FOOD AND FOOD SECURITY IN A CHANGING WORLD