Anthropologies of Institutions: Conceptual Issues

Our conference provides the occasion to explore current theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of institutions. It also brings together, for the first time, researchers from three institutions now engaged in a program of collaboration in research and graduate training: the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris, the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research of the University of Amsterdam, and Washington University in St. Louis. Speakers will discuss how they approach their own study of institutions; invited discussants will relate these approaches to broader fields of research. The conference is expected to provide a springboard for future research projects and graduate training.