Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology and The Ethnographic Collection

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN GÖTTINGEN

Corona pandemic in Jakarta: A coffin towers over the heads of street vendors at an informal culinary market in Jakarta's Old City as a reminder to comply with pandemic measures (Foto: Nurman Nowak, 2020)

Dead wood as a result of erosion and rising sea level in Ha'apai/Kingdom of Tonga
(Foto: Norbert Pötzsch, 2018)

Tour bus in Ventiane, Laos
(photo: Paul Christensen, 2007)

Soccer match in Nkambe, Northwest Region, Cameroon
(Photo: Nikolaus Schareika, 2017)

Public Dance Competition, Banaban Community, Fiji
(Photo: Wolfgang Kempf 2005)

A photograph of Maukib Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani, a procession in honour of the central saint of the Sufi brotherhood of the Qadiriyya, Kano (Photo: Roman Loimeier, 1987)

Street scene Hue, Central Vietnam
(Photo: Andrea Lauser, 2013)

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In Göttingen we believe that it is anthropology’s primary task to analyse and comprehend how local actors experience and make sense of the complex processes of socio-cultural change in an increasingly interconnected, globalized world. It is our aim to contribute to a better understanding of different worldviews and different human experiences across places and socio-cultural contexts. In our B.A. and M.A. programme, we provide education that is research oriented and aligned with contemporary developments in our discipline as well as with demanding questions and problems of our times.

RESEARCH

Regionally, we focus on Africa (North, West, and East Africa), Oceania (Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia) and Asia (Southeast Asia). These are the areas where our academic staff members conduct research. The thematic foci and findings of their projects inform and feed back into teaching. Our main subject areas are 'Materiality and Environment', 'Mobility and Identity', and 'Religion and Knowledge Systems'.

OUR ETHNOGRAPHIC COLLECTION

Due to a large building refurbishment, our museum is currently closed.

The Ethnographic Collection of the University of Göttingen is one of the most significant Teaching and Research collections in the German-speaking region. Its beginnings reach back into the time of the Enlightenment.