Elizabeth Krause

Elizabeth Krause is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, holding the Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship Award. She specializes in sociocultural anthropology, focusing on population politics, migration, medical anthropology, and globalization. Her current research explores transnational families, fast fashion, and the cultural significance of figs. Krause is on leave for the 2024-25 academic year.

Education:

• Ph.D., University of Arizona
• M.A., Oregon State University
• B.J., University of Missouri

Research Interests: Krause examines sociocultural dynamics in Italy and the U.S., including population politics, medical anthropology, global families, fast fashion, and historical ethnography. Her work combines encounter ethnography with narrative methods to analyze capitalism’s complexities and transnational connections.

Awards:

• Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship Award (2024)
• William A. Douglass Prize Finalist for Tight Knit (2019)
• Polgar Prize for Best Article (2013)
• Dean’s Excellence in Research Award (2018)

Grants: Krause has led NSF-funded projects on Chinese migration in Italy and teen pregnancy advocacy. Her work emphasizes global-local intersections and collaborative ethnography.

Labs/Teams: Her research groups focus on migration, fast fashion, and figs as cultural metaphors, collaborating with institutions like the National Humanities Center.