Giovanni Bennardo

We bring together 18 international scholars (12 senior, 4 junior, and 2 post-doc) as well as 6 students (2 doctoral and 4 master) to assess the contribution that Cultural Model Theory (CMT) makes to anthropology and how it has the potential to shape the future of the discipline. The workshop is titled ‘Cultural Model Theory: Shaping a New Anthropology’ and is held in Dekalb, IL at Northern Illinois University on May 19-22, 2022. Presentations and discussions share a timetable conducive to a rich exchange of ideas and the generation of an innovative platform.

Scholars have investigated cultural models for more than three decades. However, a separation between research privileging either a qualitative or a quantitative approach emerged early. We attempt to overcome this division that delayed the development of the field and reduced its potential to be an effective presence in anthropology. CMT can unify anthropology because it generates access to knowledge about humans in evolutionary terms, in historical terms, in contemporary terms, and in linguistic practices terms. Thus, the whole discipline benefits from embracing the theory.

We invited scholars from the four subfields whose work is shaping this ‘new’ anthropology. They work under common assumptions in human (cultural and linguistic) evolution, history, contemporary cultures, and languages. A newly defined agenda for anthropology should emerge from the workshop.