Dr Shawn C. Rowlands

Dr Shawn C. Rowlands is a British-Australian anthropologist and historian specializing in heritage, material culture, and the production of knowledge around native identity and colonialism. His multidisciplinary work explores power, agency, and cultural taxonomy, with early research on popular protest movements in pre-industrial Europe and Japan. Transitioning to museum anthropology, he has taught at Harvard, Bard Graduate Center, and the University of Queensland, and worked with institutions like the American Museum of Natural History and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. Currently, his research focuses on the material culture of murder, Imperial Japan’s collection practices, and urban myths in contemporary Bhutan.