Robert C. Hunt papers

Professor Robert C. Hunt taught Anthropology at Brandeis University from 1969 until his retirement in 2002. Hunt was born May 30, 1934 in Binghamton, New York. He received a Bachelor's Degree from Hamilton College, a Masters Degree from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Hunt taught at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle before coming to Brandeis. At Brandeis, he taught courses in economic anthropology, development and cross cultural study, and served as Chair of the Anthropology Department 1980-1983 and 1990 -1993. In addition, he served on many committees at Brandeis and was Faculty Representative to the Board for two terms. He was awarded the Louis Dembitz Prize for Excellence in Teaching at Brandeis for the 2001-2002 academic year. Hunt's scholarly interests include the study of economic and social structure, particularly with respect to irrigation and exchange systems. He was the editor of Personalities in Cultures: Readings in Psychological Anthropology, published in 1967, and co-editor of Property in Economic Context, published in 1998. His interest in the theory and method of measurement and comparison in Anthropology has culminated in a book, Beyond Relativism: Rethinking Comparability in Cultural Anthropology, to be published in 2007. Hunt has served in several offices for the Society for Economic Anthropology: as Vice-President from 1992 to 1993, President from 1993 to 1994, and has served on the Editorial Board since 2001.