Department of Comparative Cultural Studies

Who’s Who in the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies

Chair:
Lois Parkinson Zamora

Professors:
Kenneth L. Brown (Anthropology), Christian A. Eberhart (Religious Studies), Andrew J. Gordon (Anthropology), Janis F. Hutchinson (Anthropology), Susan J. Rasmussen (Anthropology), Ibrahim Sumer (Religious Studies), Lois Parkinson Zamora (English/Comparative Literature)

Associate Professors:
Keith McNeal (Anthropology), Rebecca Storey (Anthropology), Randolph J. Widmer (Anthropology)

Assistant Professors:
Thomas Behr (Faculty Director, Liberal Studies)

Non-Tenure Faculty and Directors:
Guinn Blackwell-Eagleson (Adjunct, Religious Studies), Rabbi Kenny Weiss (Lecturer, Religious Studies)

Overview of Comparative Cultural Studies

The Department of Comparative Cultural Studies highlights the rich comparative traditions of disciplines and programs. The Department offers major degree programs in Anthropology (B.A. , B.S. ),  Liberal Studies , and Religious Studies . Beginning in the Fall 2012, the department began offering minors in India Studies  and Global and International Studies . Collaboration among these program enhances the strengths of each, and encourages experiential learning and cross-cultural understanding.

Students in these programs explore the historical construction of cultures and the ways in which cultural constructs affect the political, social, and aesthetic relationships that shape human communities. by creating a shared space for scholarly debate and student learning, the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies enhances the interdisciplinary opportunities inherent in its constituent disciplines.

Mission Statement

The Department of Comparative Cultural Studies offers degree programs in Anthropology, Religious Studies, India Studies, Liberal Studies, and a number of interdisciplinary minors in the comparative study of cultures worldwide.

CCS provides students with the foundation for a wide range of careers in education, research, media, business, government, and the professions. Our students gain the knowledge and skills to become effective readers, thinkers, and leaders in the global workplace and in local communities.

Goals Of Comparative Cultural Studies

• to provide the skills and knowledge to understand and work in cross-cultural and global contexts;
• to provide students with the disciplinary vocabularies to work in the intricate networks that define cultural production worldwide;
• to compare cultures from diverse disciplinary perspectives;
• to consider the universals of culture, as well as practices and belief systems unique to particular cultures;
• to inspire, promote, and develop visual literacy and cultural understanding through the comparative study of two or more intellectual, visual, and/or performative traditions.

Affiliated Programs

Asian-American Studies

Center for the Americas

Latin American Studies

Institute for World Literature

The Hemispheric Institute of Politics and Performance

Arab Studies  

Religious Studies Program  

Programs

• Anthropology, B.A.
• Anthropology, B.S.
• Liberal Studies, B.A.
• Liberal Studies, B.S.
• Religious Studies, B.A.

• Anthropology Minor
• Global and International Studies Minor
• India Studies Minor
• Religious Studies Minor