Welcome to the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Social and cultural anthropology adopts a comparative perspective to focus on the variety of forms that human coexistence takes in various places and at various times. In the past the field's attention was primarily given to small-scale societies outside of the industrial world. Nowadays, the focus of research is frequently on the processes related to colonialism, globalisation and the worldwide flows of migration seen in the present day, for example the redefinition of identities and cultural distinctions. The classical themes of local cultural interactions, organisational forms and world views are simultaneously developed, and intensive field research remains the field's defining characteristic in connection with the "participant observation" method.
Beyond scientific research, the practical application of cultural and social anthropological expertise is useful and sought after in many fields, including refugee work and integration, development cooperation, international missions, cultural mediation, exhibition and media work, tourism, and health care systems.

News & Events

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Event

Kelas Budaya Indonesia - Indonesian Cultural Class

every Friday, 18:30h

@Indonesian Embassy

free of charge

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Publikation

Politisches Chamäleon: Richard Thurnwald und seine kolonialethnologischen Ansätze in der NS-Zeit

Peter Rohrbacher

in: Zeitschrift für Ethnologie / Journal of Social and Cultural Anthropology 149, 2 (2024): 313–340

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Event

My Anthropology: That's Anthropology - Performance

Studierende des Seminars "Angewandte Anthropologie und Theater" präsentieren ihre kreativen Umsetzungen, performative Skizzen und künstlerische Übersetzungen basierend auf ethnographischen Daten

25.01.2025, 18:00 Uhr

@Dschungel Wien

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Event