Petra Rethmann

Petra Rethmann is Professor of Anthropology at McMaster University, with additional affiliations in the Cultural Studies & Critical Theory program and the Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition. Her academic home is firmly within the Department of Anthropology, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses including Global Futures, Readings in Cultural Anthropology, and Anthropology of Contemporary Europe.

Her research spans two primary geographical foci: Russia/Siberia and South Africa, with theoretical concentrations in cultural politics, historical representation, and the intersection of art with history. Key themes include the afterlife of historical movements, cultural creativity and agency, fetishization, and the violence of culture. Current book projects examine West German left-wing collectives from the 1980s and critical perspectives on South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle.

Professor Rethmann's publication trends reveal deep engagement with political anthropology, particularly examining left-wing movements, post-socialist transitions, and memory politics. Her recent work increasingly explores temporal dimensions of political movements and the role of art in political imagination, with publications spanning anthropology journals (American Anthropologist, Anthropologica), Slavic studies publications, and interdisciplinary venues.

Her extensive scholarly activity includes numerous book reviews (over 20 listed), edited volumes including Cultural Autonomy: Frictions and Connections (2010), and the monograph Tundra Passages: History and Gender in the Russian Far East (2001). Current publications include Exceptional Experiences: Engaging with Jolting Events in Art and Fieldwork (2023) and Russia Anthropological Insights (2018).

Teaching records show consistent graduate supervision through Major Research Paper courses (GLOBALST 708 series) and specialized seminars on global futures, political anthropology, and contemporary Europe since 2018. Her academic journey includes a BA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Vienna, MA from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and PhD from McGill University.