Zoe Caroline Brettell (née Bieler; born June 11, 1950) is a Canadian

cultural anthropologist Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portman ...

known for her scholarship on migration and gender. Brettell is the University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

, where she was previously the Dedman Professor and Ruth Collins Altshuler Professor. At SMU, Brettell has served as the Chair of the Department of Anthropology (1994–2004) and the interim Dean of the

Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences is the school of liberal arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth- ...

. She has also been president of both the Society for the Anthropology of Europe (1996–1998) and the

Social Science History Association The Social Science History Association, formed in 1976, brings together scholars from numerous disciplines interested in social history. : Its statement of purpose is: "To bring together members of various disciplines (including economics, sociolo ...

(2000–2001). In 2017, she was elected as a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. Brettell received a Bachelor of Arts in

Latin American studies Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, history ...

from Yale University in 1971. She completed her Ph.D. in anthropology at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1978.

Books

* ''Men Who Migrate, Women Who Wait: Population and History in a Portuguese Parish''. Princeton University Press, 1986. * ''When They Read What We Write: The Politics of Ethnography'' (Editor)''.'' Praeger, 1996. * ''Writing against the Wind: A Mother's Life History''. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999. * ''Migration Theory: Talking Across Disciplines'' (Co-edited with James F. Hollifield). Routledge, 2000. * ''Citizenship, Political Engagement, and Belonging: Immigrants in Europe and the United States'' (Co-edited with Deborah Reed-Danahay). Rutgers University Press, 2008. * ''Spaces of Identity: Constructing and Contesting Belonging Among Children of Immigrants'' (Co-edited with Faith Nibbs). Vanderbilt University Press, 2015.

References

1950 births Living people Southern Methodist University faculty American anthropologists Brown University alumni {{US-anthropologist-stub