Sociocultural Anthropology in Heidelberg

The Institute of Anthropology (IfE) is part of CATS. Southeast Asia is its regional focus in research and teaching. Students of Sociocultural Anthropology in Heidelberg can choose between a BA programme (75%, 50% and 25%) and an MA programme.  

Studies at the Institute of Sociocultural Anthropology can be complemented by anthropological courses at the following institutes at CATS: the Department of Anthropology of the South Asia Institute (SAI) in Heidelberg and the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies (HCTS). Each of those has associated professorships in anthropology held by Prof. Dr. Christiane Brosius (Visual and Media Anthropology) and Prof. Dr. William Sax (Head of the Department of Anthropology at SAI), respectively. The South Asia Insitute (SAI) offers courses on the Anthropology of South Asia and Medical Anthropology.

The programs offer also ample opportunity for specialisation in languages, for example, through courses in Bahasa Indonesia and Thai at the Institute of Anthropology, Hindi, and other South-Asian languages at the SAI. Long-established contacts of the teachers enable students also to participate in internships and international exchange programs.

Focus Areas of the Institute of Anthropology

The research and teaching activities at the Institute of Anthropology in Heidelberg focus on Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia. 
Thematic interests of the academic staff include research in ‘Ritual and Performance’, ‘Human-Environment Relationships’, ’The Anthropocene’, ‘Social Structures and Intercultural Ethics’. 

Other focus areas are economics and exchange, cultural heritage, gender, 
mobility, transculturalism and aesthetics.