Catherine Bolten is a Professor of Anthropology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, holding concurrent appointments in Africana Studies and Poverty Studies. Her primary affiliation is the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, where she also served as Director of Doctoral Studies (2018–2023). She is affiliated with multiple interdisciplinary initiatives including the Eck Institute for Global Health and the Initiative on Race and Resilience. Bolten holds a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan (2008), an MPhil from the University of Cambridge (2000), and a BA from Williams College (1998). Her research focuses on Sierra Leone, examining themes such as youth agency, structural violence, food security, and climate change through long-term ethnographic engagement. She has conducted fieldwork on primate-human coexistence, Ebola crisis response, and post-conflict development since 2003. Her research interests bridge anthropology, peacebuilding, and environmental studies. Recent work explores climate change impacts in rural Sierra Leone, youth participation in peace processes, and the intersections of ecology and violence. She has authored three books and over 40 peer-reviewed articles, with ongoing projects funded by the NEH and ND Institute for Advanced Studies. Bolten has advised over 30 doctoral and master’s students in anthropology, peace studies, and global health. Her awards include the Undergraduate Mentoring Award (2013, 2022) and the UC Press Public Anthropology Prize. She serves on editorial boards for African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review and Studies in Comparative International Development , and has held leadership roles in professional organizations like the American Anthropological Association.
