Jane Goodman

Jane Goodman is a Professor of Anthropology and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Indiana University Bloomington’s Department of Anthropology, housed within the College of Arts & Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. from Brandeis University (1999). Her research focuses on performance, intertextuality, and postcolonial formations in North Africa, the Middle East, and France. Goodman has conducted extensive fieldwork in Algeria, exploring theater, music, and poetry as sites of cultural and political expression.

Her honors include the NEH-Mellon Digital Publication Fellowship (2017-18) and Trustees’ Teaching Award (2003). She teaches courses on performance, power dynamics, and identity in Middle Eastern/North African contexts. Key publications include Staging Cultural Encounters: Algerian Actors Tour the US (2020) and Berber Culture on the World Stage (2005), analyzing transnational cultural flows and performative practices.

Goodman’s work bridges ethnography and theory, examining how cultural forms negotiate colonial legacies and neoliberal transformations. Her research websites document collaborations with Algerian theater groups like El Moudja and Istijmam Culturelle, showcasing performances and civic engagement.