Department of Comparative Cultural Studies

Who’s Who in the Department of Comparative Cultural Studies

Chair:
Christian A. Eberhart

Professors:
R. Alexander Bentley (Anthropology)  Kenneth L. Brown (Anthropology), Christian A. Eberhart (Program Director, Religious Studies), Andrew J. Gordon (Anthropology), Elizabeth Gregory (English, Program Director, Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies), Janis F. Hutchinson (Anthropology)

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

Assistant Professors:
Elizabeth Farfan-Santos (Anthropology), Rachel Afi Quinn (Women’s Gender & Sexuality Studies), Thomas Behr (Program Director, Liberal Studies)

Non-Tenure Faculty and Directors:
Anjali Kanojia (Program Director, International and Global Studies), Caryn Tamber-Rosenau (Religious Studies), Bhavya Tiwari (India 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 (BA, BS, MA), Liberal Studies (BA), Religious Studies (BA) and minors in India Studies and International and Global Studies.

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 (minor), International and Global Studies (minor) and Liberal Studies, each dedicated to 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 cultural analysts, 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 perspectives;
• to consider the universals of culture, as well as practices and belief systems unique to particular cultures;
• to help students gain the knowledge they need to innovate, work in transdisciplinary groups focused on real world issues and challenges. 

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  

Programs

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

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