Holly Walters
Lecturer in Anthropology
Cultural anthropologist whose ethnographic work focuses on pilgrimage and politics in the Nepal Himalayas, as well as material culture, divine personhood, and ritual practice in South Asia. Drawing on theoretical frameworks in psychological/medical and linguistic anthropology, her current research addresses the roles of sacred landscapes and digital religious revival in the relationships between Hindus, Buddhists, and Bonpos who venerate sacred fossils, called Shaligrams.
Current and upcoming courses
Advanced Theory in Anthropology
ANTH301
This course introduces students to contemporary anthropology by tracing its historical development and its specific application in ethnographic writing. It examines the social context in which each selected model or "paradigm" took hold and the extent of cognitive sharing, by either intellectual borrowing or breakthrough. The development of contemporary theory will be examined both as internal to the discipline and as a response to changing intellectual climates and social milieu. The course will focus on each theory in action, as the theoretical principles and methods apply to ethnographic case studies.