Gareth Barkin

I’m a cultural anthropologist and administrator whose scholarly research is focused on practices surrounding neoliberalism and the representation of culture. My expertise is concentrated in three areas:

• The anthropology of media and technology

• Study abroad, international education and neoliberalism

• Indonesia and Southeast Asia area studies

As an administrator and member of university leadership, my skills and experience are focused in the following areas: 
Curriculum Design and Innovation, Data-Driven Curricular Management, Experiential Pedagogy Design and Administration, Faculty Evaluation, Academic Affairs Operations Workflow Management, Academic Technology and Course Management Administration, Program Assessment (Academic Departments and Curricular Initiatives), Accreditation Support, Study Abroad Program Design and Research, Summer Term Programming Administration, Library and Information Systems Administration.

Learn more about me on my professional website

See an updated list of my publications

I serve as Dean of Operations and Technology in the Office of the Provost and Academic Deans, where I navigate the intersections of technology and education to strengthen our curriculum, advance students' interests, and further our institutional mission. From 2018-2023 I was the chair of the Department of Sociology & Anthropology and from 2013-2022 I was director of the Luce Initiative on Southeast Asia and the Environment (LIASE) Southeast Asia Symposium, as well as the fieldschool program leader for Indonesia.

My current research explores short-term study abroad at U.S. universities, focusing on the representation of Southeast Asian culture and place in an increasingly market-driven pedagogical arena. My work has been supported by the Fulbright Foundation, the Fulbright-Hays Program, the National Science Foundation, the Henry R. Luce Foundation, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. My photography has been featured by the American Anthropological Association.

My teaching has brought together a general interest in cultural anthropology practice and methodology, through courses like Introduction to Anthropology (SOAN 102) and Ethnographic Methods (SOAN 299), with my specific research focus, through courses like Muslim Cultures and Communities (SOAN 380), Visual & Media Anthropology (SOAN 308), and Indonesia & Southeast Asia in Cultural Context (SOAN 312).