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The Department of Social & Cultural Anthropology


Welcome to the Department!

The paths of national and international students and scholars intersect at our department. Viewing the latter as an institution of research and teaching, we strive to engage in dialogue particularly with university representatives from those parts of the world which are at the focus of our studies. In addition, we welcome any dialogue with national and international scholars and students who share our interest in both historical and current topics of modern social and cultural anthropology.

Anthropology is devoted to the study of societies worldwide, with a central focus on the human being (anthropos) in her/his cultural environment. In research and teaching, the Department of Social & Cultural Anthropology at ¿´Æ¬Èí¼þ provides contemporary and historical perspectives on social phenomena as processes and expressions of varied dynamics. Non-European societies have long been a focus of research at the Frankfurt Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Today, the emphasis has largely shifted to those global interconnections of people that are the result of migration, (neo)colonial and transnational relations, global economies, and the social impact of worldwide processes of profound change.

The department's regional expertise is based on anthropological fieldwork in Africa, Central and South Asia (India), South-East Asia, the Americas, Oceania, as well as the Islamic world. The empirical and comparative research particularly studies the close interconnections – but also the lines of demarcation – between religion, kinship, economy, politics and law, material culture and museums, and migration. Another field of research is the history of the discipline.

In 2015, the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) formed a strategic alliance. Within the framework of this alliance we collaborate closely with colleagues at the (particularly the ) and the .

There are various roads that may take you to the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology. Below, we will show you some options which will lead you to our department depending on your individual interests and goals. Please discuss your ideas individually with the contact persons either at the department or at the Global Office.