Kay Warren
Encyclopedia
Kay Barbara Warren is an American academic anthropologist, known for her extensive research and publications in cultural anthropology
studies. Initially trained as an anthropologist specializing in field studies of Latin America
n and Mesoamerica
n indigenous cultures, Warren has also written and lectured on an array of broader anthropological topics. These include studies about the impacts on politically marginalized and indigenous communities
of social movements, wars and political violence
, transnationalism
, and foreign aid programs. Warren holds an endowed chair as the Charles C. Tillinghast Jr. ’32 Professor in International Studies at Brown University
, where she is also a professor in the Department of Anthropology and a research professor at Brown's Watson Institute for International Studies
. Before joining the faculty at Brown in 2003, Warren held professorships at both Harvard
and Princeton
universities.
in 1965, where she completed a B.A.
in cultural anthropology and cultural geography
in 1968. Her graduate studies in cultural anthropology were undertaken at Princeton, where she completed her M.A.
in 1970 and was awarded a PhD
in 1974.
The year before completing her doctorate Warren took up a position as an instructor in anthropology at Mount Holyoke College
, a liberal arts
women's college
in Massachusetts
.
In 1982 Warren moved to Princeton University as associate professor. The same year she became the founding director of the Program in Women's Studies at Princeton. In 1988 Warren was made full professor, and from 1994 served as chair of the Anthropology Department.
Warren transferred to Harvard as professor in anthropology in 1998, and lectured there for the next five years. In 2003 she took up several concurrent appointments at Brown University—as Tillinghast Professor in International Studies, professor in anthropology, research professor at the Watson Institute, and as Director of the Politics, Culture, and Identity Program.
of the Guatemalan highlands
. Her work here formed the basis of her first book, The Symbolism of Subordination: Indian Identity in a Guatemalan Town (1978). Warren returned to Guatemala to update and continue her research in this area in 1989, and throughout the 1990s she spent a succession of annual field seasons among rural and urban highland Maya communities. This resulted in another book, Indigenous Movements and Their Critics: Pan-Maya Activism in Guatemala (1998).
Warren spent the better part of the decade from 1974 to 1985 involved with field assignments to the Andes
and rural Peru
, conducting a research program into social change, identity, and gender roles and constructs among the rural and indigenous Peruvian communities. Much of the research was carried out in collaboration with Susan Bourque, a politics and government academic from Smith College
, with whom she co-authored Women of the Andes: Patriarchy and Social Change in Rural Peru, an ethnographic book that won several awards.
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
studies. Initially trained as an anthropologist specializing in field studies of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n and Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n indigenous cultures, Warren has also written and lectured on an array of broader anthropological topics. These include studies about the impacts on politically marginalized and indigenous communities
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
of social movements, wars and political violence
Political violence
Political violence is a common means used by people and governments around the world to achieve political goals. Many groups and individuals believe that their political systems will never respond to their political demands. As a result they believe that violence is not only justified but also...
, transnationalism
Transnationalism
Transnationalism is a social movement and scholarly research agenda grown out of the heightened interconnectivity between people and the receding economic and social significance of boundaries among nation states....
, and foreign aid programs. Warren holds an endowed chair as the Charles C. Tillinghast Jr. ’32 Professor in International Studies at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
, where she is also a professor in the Department of Anthropology and a research professor at Brown's Watson Institute for International Studies
Watson Institute for International Studies
The Watson Institute for International Studies is a center for the analysis of international issues at Brown University, focusing mainly on global security and political economy and society. Its faculty span a wide range of disciplines, including, anthropology, economics, political science, and...
. Before joining the faculty at Brown in 2003, Warren held professorships at both Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
universities.
Studies and academic career
Warren enrolled in undergraduate studies at University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
in 1965, where she completed a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in cultural anthropology and cultural geography
Cultural geography
Cultural geography is a sub-field within human geography. Cultural geography is the study of cultural products and norms and their variations across and relations to spaces and places...
in 1968. Her graduate studies in cultural anthropology were undertaken at Princeton, where she completed her M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1970 and was awarded a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1974.
The year before completing her doctorate Warren took up a position as an instructor in anthropology at Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It was the first member of the Seven Sisters colleges, and served as a model for some of the others...
, a liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
women's college
Women's college
Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
In 1982 Warren moved to Princeton University as associate professor. The same year she became the founding director of the Program in Women's Studies at Princeton. In 1988 Warren was made full professor, and from 1994 served as chair of the Anthropology Department.
Warren transferred to Harvard as professor in anthropology in 1998, and lectured there for the next five years. In 2003 she took up several concurrent appointments at Brown University—as Tillinghast Professor in International Studies, professor in anthropology, research professor at the Watson Institute, and as Director of the Politics, Culture, and Identity Program.
Research and fieldwork
In the early 1970s after completing her M.A., Warren conducted ethnographic field research among the Maya peoplesMaya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
of the Guatemalan highlands
Guatemalan Highlands
The Guatemalan Highlands is an upland region in southern Guatemala, lying between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas to the south and the Petén lowlands to the north....
. Her work here formed the basis of her first book, The Symbolism of Subordination: Indian Identity in a Guatemalan Town (1978). Warren returned to Guatemala to update and continue her research in this area in 1989, and throughout the 1990s she spent a succession of annual field seasons among rural and urban highland Maya communities. This resulted in another book, Indigenous Movements and Their Critics: Pan-Maya Activism in Guatemala (1998).
Warren spent the better part of the decade from 1974 to 1985 involved with field assignments to the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
and rural Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, conducting a research program into social change, identity, and gender roles and constructs among the rural and indigenous Peruvian communities. Much of the research was carried out in collaboration with Susan Bourque, a politics and government academic from Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, with whom she co-authored Women of the Andes: Patriarchy and Social Change in Rural Peru, an ethnographic book that won several awards.
External links
- Kay Warren's faculty profile, Brown University Dept. of Anthropology
- Kay Warren's research profile, Watson Institute for International Studies