Cultural Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology is a major subfield within the discipline of anthropology. Cultural anthropologists cover a vast range of topics of study, researching the variation in systems of meaning, belief, and behavior among contemporary societies and those of the recent past. One of the core approaches is a commitment to spending extensive time with communities in order to better understand their aspirations, actions, and constraints. At UH Mānoa, we have programmatic specializations in Applied Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Anthropology, and Medical Anthropology, as well as strengths in the areas of Asia, Oceania, and Hawai‘i.

Core Faculty

Related Courses

  • ANTH 152: Culture and Humanity
  • ANTH 175: Polynesian Surf Culture (w/ field lab)
  • ANTH 301: Culture and Health
  • ANTH 316: Anthropology of Tourism
  • ANTH 332: Anthropology of Surfing
  • ANTH 335: Society and Environment
  • ANTH 341: Anthropology of Virtual Worlds
  • ANTH 350: Pacific Island Cultures
  • ANTH 419: Indigenous Anthropology
  • ANTH 465: Science, Sex, and Reproduction
  • ANTH 426: The Anthropology of Sexuality
  • ANTH 428: Anthropology of the Body
  • ANTH 446: Cultures of Southeast Asia
  • ANTH 463: Anthropology of Global Health and Development
  • ANTH 481: Applied Anthropology
  • ANTH 483: Japanese Culture and Behavior
  • ANTH 484: Japanese Popular Culture
  • ANTH 485: Pre-European Hawai‘i
  • ANTH 486: Peoples of Hawai‘i
  • ANTH 493: Oral History: Theory and Practice
  • ANTH 611: Contemporary Anthropological Theory
  • ANTH 663: Anthropology of Global Aid
  • ANTH 667: Biomedicine and Culture
  • ANTH 681: Applied Cultural Anthropology
  • ANTH 710: Seminar in Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
  • ANTH 711: Seminar in Research Design and Proposal Writing
  • ANTH 720: Anthropology of Japan
Students in the North Shore Ethnographic Field School conduct interviews with Moki Labra in Waialua, O‘ahu
Students in the North Shore Ethnographic Field School conduct interviews with Moki Labra in Waialua, O‘ahu
Faculty member Jonathan Padwe doing field research in northeast Cambodia
Faculty member Jonathan Padwe doing field research in northeast Cambodia
Students in the North Shore Ethnographic Field School conduct interviews with Judy Miram in Waialua, O‘ahu
Students in the North Shore Ethnographic Field School conduct interviews with Judy Miram in Waialua, O‘ahu
Students in the North Shore Ethnographic Field School conduct interviews with Kenneth Segawa (elders) in Waialua, O‘ahu
Students in the North Shore Ethnographic Field School conduct interviews with Kenneth Segawa (elders) in Waialua, O‘ahu