Department of Anthropology Hires Human Rights Scholar

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Ram Natarajan

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Ram Natarajan will join the Department of Anthropology in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences this fall as an assistant professor. He comes to the University of Arkansas after a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard University.

"Ram will complement our department's existing strengths," said Peter Ungar, department chair. "He will add to it by teaching courses that offer anthropological, interdisciplinary perspectives on subjects such as law, violence and Latin America."

Natarajan's current book project examines how officers who perpetrated Argentina's last military dictatorship live with their use of violence. He also studies how torture survivors live through their injuries and how the Argentine judiciary determines whom to hold accountable for the country's human rights violations. 

"I have always had an interest in how people live history at the level of everyday life," said Natarajan. " I look forward to joining the Department of the Anthropology, collaborating with the Latin American Studies Program, and working with the university's students."

A dedicated teacher, Natarajan has received an Outstanding Teaching Award from the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at New York University.  The Andrew Mellon Foundation/Social Sciences Research Council, the Fulbright-Hays Program, the National Science Foundation and the Wenner-Gren Foundation have supported his research.

Natarajan earned a Bachelor of Arts from the writing seminars and the program in Latin American Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a Master of Arts, Master of Philosophy and doctorate in anthropology from New York University.

About the Department: The Department of Anthropology examines similarities and differences among people, lifestyles and world views through time by the study of artifacts and material remains, the evolution of humankind and other primates and issues such as ethnicity, gender, class, social inequity and religion. Courses help students explore many approaches to the various subfields.