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About us

The Division of Social and Cultural Anthropology in Marburg is a teaching and research institution. We offer a Bachelor’s program in the Comparative Study of Culture and Religion and a Master’s program in Cultural and Social Anthropology. Successful graduates from the Master’s program have the opportunity to study for a doctorate. By participating in teaching/research projects, advanced research teams and colloquia students have the opportunity to gain experience and develop their own research interests in a creative environment, closely aligned with current faculty research.

Social and Cultural Anthropology in Marburg is dedicated to providing students with cutting-edge, international-standard academic knowledge. Research and teaching activities focus on the empirical study and theoretical analysis of the causes, dynamics, and effects of processes of sociocultural transformation in local, regional, national, and transnational contexts. Special emphasis is placed on the dimensions of conflict and of the environment. The study of Social and Cultural Anthropology enables the students to empirically study, analyze, and understand cultural and social characteristics and dynamics. The programs offer several regional foci.

The department’s key regional areas are Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as North America, Southeastern Europe and the Caucasus. Its focus on Lowland South America and Amazonia makes the department unique within German-speaking anthropology. Another special feature of the department is the affiliated Ethnographic Collection. The collection and its exhibitions are represented in the curriculum by the area of Material and Visual Culture.