Keith Brown

Associate Professor (Research):
Watson Institute for International Studies
Phone: +1 401 863 9604
Keith_Brown@Brown.EDU

Brown University Research Profile Page for Keith Brown

Keith Brown conducts qualitative research which aims to highlight the social and cultural dimensions of political and economic processes. His work centers on Macedonia and the Balkans, but increasingly explores international and transnational linkages that run through the region. Current topics of research include the evaluation of democracy promotion programs, identity politics in diasporic communities, and what the US military learned about culture from its experience in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Interests

My current and ongoing research falls into three broad categories, which I refer to as the study, respectively, of political violence, democratization, and inter-cultural communication. In all three areas, my approach reflects my commitment to two central tenets of anthropology: to make rich empirical data speak to major issues, and to highlight the often under-appreciated role of culture in the contemporary world order. At the same time, the three strands of research illustrate my quest to contribute to the ongoing reinvention of anthropology, which increasingly deals with transnational flows and processes that demand multi-sited and multi-perspectival interrogation.

Teaching

I teach courses in the fields of anthropology and international relations. My main ongoing responsibility is a keystone course in political anthropology for IR concentrators, emphasizing the theoretical and methodological contributions of anthropology to the field of IR. I have also taught economic and legal anthropology, and courses bringing anthropology to bear on humor and laughter, (modern) Europe, and the archive.

Web Links

Curriculum Vitae

Download Keith Brown's Curriculum Vitae in PDF Format