During the end-of-year “holiday season” throughout much of the Western world, we are often reminded to be grateful for the things that we have, and even to go out of our way to be gracious…
For over 70 years, the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) has been fulfilling our mission to promote understanding of cultural diversity and commonality in the past and present. To accomplish this mission, HRAF produces scholarly…
As All Hallow’s Eve approaches, it’s once again the time of year for ghastly ghouls, wicked witches and terrifying things that go bump in the night. From haunted houses to headless horsemen, there are many…
As part of our philanthropic outreach efforts, the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) at Yale University is offering the HRAF Global Scholarship program which has been established with the goal of expanding access to eHRAF World…
Where Have All the Comparisons Gone?, a recently published series from the Society for Cultural Anthropology, revisits a longstanding topic in the social sciences: the debate over the value of comparative cultural studies. In this…
Pumpkins are typically associated with Halloween in the form of carved “jack-o-lanterns” and, especially in the United States, with pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. But around the world, pumpkins have been an important food throughout the…
The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) at Yale University is pleased to announce a new initiative to expand our engagement with community colleges. The HRAF Community College Initiative recognizes the important role of community colleges…
There are few signifiers of culture more potent and recognizable than food. Edibles and cultural identity share a deep-seated connection. Food, and especially our preferences for preparing, cooking and eating it, are about far more…
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 that it…
HRAF turns 70 years old this month! The Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) celebrated its official 70th birthday on May 7, 2019, but its origins go back much longer than that. In the 1930s, an…