Adrienne Cohen

Adrienne Cohen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Geography at Colorado State University, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. Her research focuses on the intersections of aesthetics, politics, and urban life in Africa, particularly through ethnographic studies of dance and performance in Guinea. She currently explores rock climbing as a lens for understanding environmental knowledges and kinesthetic practices, supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

Education: Ph.D. (2016), M.Phil (2013) in Sociocultural Anthropology from Yale University; M.S.Ed. (2005) in TESOL from Long Island University; B.A. (2001) in International Studies from Pitzer College.

Research Interests: Aesthetics and politics, African studies, urban theory, embodiment, environmental knowledges, qualitative methods. Notable works include Infinite Repertoire (2021), analyzing dance in postsocialist Guinea, and recent articles on rock climbing ethnography and feminist testimony.

Teaching: Courses span cultural anthropology foundations, African urban studies, ethnographic writing, and contemporary theory. She advises graduate students in cultural anthropology focusing on embodiment, performance, environmental studies, and the Anthropocene.

Advising & Grants: Actively mentoring MA/PhD students; her current project on rock climbers has received Wenner-Gren Foundation support. She emphasizes collaborative, fieldwork-driven research.

Labs/Teams: Engages in transnational ethnographic collaborations, particularly in Guinea and climbing communities. Her work bridges urban African studies with emerging environmental anthropology frameworks.