'Conrad Kottak' (born October 6, 1942 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an
American anthropologist. He did extensive research in
Brazil and
Madagascar, visiting societies there and writing books about them. He then wrote several textbooks (see list below) such as ''Window on Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Anthropology''; ''Madagascar: Society and History'', and ''Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity and Cultural Anthropology'', which are often used by colleges and high schools in the United States. He is currently an anthropology professor at the
University of Michigan, where he has been teaching since
1968. He believes that various American legends and stories, such as
Star Trek,
Star Wars and the
Thanksgiving story are growing into a type of
mythology which someday might be comparable to
Greek,
Roman, or other stories which today are considered to be myths.
Kottak has received several honors for his work. Among these awards is an excellence in teaching award by the College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts of the
University of Michigan in
1992, and the AAA (American Anthropological Association)/Mayfield Award for Excellence in the Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology in
1999.
Books by Conrad Kottak
★ Madagascar: Society and History (1986)
★ Researching American Culture: A Guide for Student Anthropologists (1982)
★ The Past and Present: History, Ecology, and Cultural Variation in Highland Madagascar (1980)
★ Prime-Time Society: An Anthropogical Analysis of Television and Culture (1990)
★ Assault on Paradise: Social Change in a Brazilian Village (1999)
★ Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity and Cultural Anthropology (2003)
★ Physical Anthropology and Archaeology (2003)
★ Window on Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Anthropology (2004)
★ On Being Different: Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream (with co-author Kathryn A Kozaitis) (2003)
The list is from
his profile at umich and he can be contacted at ckottack@umich.edu
Reference
★ Kottak, Conrad. Window on Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Anthropology. "About the Author" (pages xxvii-xxviii)