Category Archives: Feature

Royal Anthropological Institute Conference in London Recap

HRAF was pleased to attend the Anthropology and Education conference in London hosted by the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI). The conference took place at Senate House, University of London from June 25 to 28, 2024.…

An Anthropology of Dads: Exploring fatherhood in eHRAF

Francine Barone Are fathers and “fatherhood” underrepresented as a subject of inquiry in anthropology? According to evolutionary anthropologist Anna Machin, up until 10 years ago, fatherhood was neglected by researchers “due to the misguided assumption…

Luck of the Irish: Folklore and fairies in Rural Ireland

If the month of March has you seeing shamrocks, it might be a good time to brush up on your knowledge of Irish culture. The Rural Irish collection in eHRAF World Cultures is a great…

Unconditional Love: Is devotion to pets a cultural universal?

If the number of cute animal memes on the internet is a fair benchmark, then the human love of pets is a powerful and global phenomenon. For many pet owners, their furry (or scaly) domestic…

HRAF celebrates Anthropology Day 2024

On Friday, February 16, the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University hosted a celebration in honor of Anthropology Day, the yearly event for anthropologists to share our discipline with the public. HRAF Director of Membership and…

Using eHRAF to explore supernatural explanations for natural and social events

Belief in the supernatural is a cultural universal. While there is considerable variation in supernatural belief systems across cultures, some form of belief in gods, spirits, and similar phenomena occurs in all cultures.  George Peter…