The seeds of anthropology
This is part of a series about Harvard’s deep connections with Asia. JINAN, China — On the 16th floor of Shandong University’s tallest building, more than 70 students filled a conference room, some carrying in chairs from the hallway to hear a Harvard professor talk about a subject relatively new to the university: anthropology. Michael Herzfeld, Ernest E. Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard, urged students during the session earlier this month to ask questions and interact. He scanned the room, remarking, “I didn’t expect such a crowd,” and then launched into a discussion of cultural heritage and identity. Herzfeld’s lecture was part of the six-week intensive course he taught at the university this spring as a way to bolster the fledgling Anthropology Department there. The department was begun in 2010 by Harvard alumnus Zongze Hu, who graduated with a doctorate in anthropology in 2009. Hu has been working to raise the profile...