Department of Anthropology & Archaeology
Anthropology 1593 The science of mankind in the widest sense, coined from Greek: anthropos “human being” + –logos “study of.”
ANTH210 Translating Culture: Reading Ethnographic Texts
ANTH320 Comtemporary Ethnographic Research
ANTH325 Rites of Passage: Death, Grief and Ritual
ANTH424 The Anthropology of Evil: Witchcraft, Wickedness and Cruelty
Dr Schafer's current research projects focus on memory, continuing bonds with the dead, and contemporary funerary practices. Dr Schafer is presently engaged in research examining ‘body-snatching’, familial conflict and the role of the coroner in New Zealand. He is also beginning a fieldwork project exploring heath, disease and post-mortem practices in Siberia.
Dr Schafer is the editor of Sites: a journal of social anthropology and cultural studies.
Journal Website: http://sites.otago.ac.nz.
McManus, R. and Schafer, C. (2009) Final Arrangements: Attitudes to funeral costs in New Zealand. BRCSS Research Report.
Schafer, C. T. (2009-forthcoming) Celebrant ceremonies: Life-centred funerals in New Zealand. Journal of Ritual Studies
Schafer, C. T. (2007) Dead serious: funeral directing in New Zealand. Sites 4, No 1: 95-121.
Schafer, C. (2007). Post-mortem personalisation: pastoral power and the New Zealand funeral director. Mortality 12 (1): 4-21.
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