Tanya Luhrmann facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tanya Luhrmann
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| Born | 1959 (age 65–66) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Christ's College, Cambridge (MPhil, PhD) |
| Spouse(s) | Richard Saller |
| Awards | AAA President's Award (2004) Lewis Henry Morgan Lecture (2006) Guggenheim Fellowship (2007) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Psychological anthropology |
| Institutions | Stanford University University of California, San Diego University of Chicago |
| Doctoral advisor | Jack Goody Ernest Gellner |
Tanya Marie Luhrmann (born 1959) is an American anthropologist. She studies how people's minds work and how culture shapes their experiences. This field is called psychological anthropology. She is known for her research on modern-day witches and charismatic Christians. She also looks at how culture affects experiences like hearing voices or feeling disconnected. Tanya Luhrmann is currently a professor at Stanford University.
Contents
About Tanya Luhrmann
Her Early Life and Studies
Tanya Luhrmann grew up in New Jersey. She earned her first degree from Harvard University in 1981. Later, she studied at Cambridge University in England. In 1986, she earned her PhD for her research on modern-day witches in England. She wrote a book about this called Persuasions of the Witch's Craft. In her book, she explained how magic and other special practices can help people with their feelings. She also showed how these practices can start to make sense to people as they do them more often.
Exploring Different Cultures
Tanya Luhrmann has studied many different groups of people. One of her projects looked at the Parsis in India. The Parsis are a community that follows the Zoroastrian religion. She explored how this group felt about their future after India gained independence from British rule. Her book about this was called The Good Parsi.
She also studied how doctors learn to treat mental health issues. Her book Of Two Minds looked at the differences between two main ways of thinking about psychiatry: talk therapy and medical treatments. This book won several awards.
Another important project for Luhrmann was about evangelical and charismatic Christianity. In her book When God Talks Back, she explored how people in these groups come to feel like they can talk to God every day through prayer.
Understanding Homelessness and Mental Health
Tanya Luhrmann has also done research on how being homeless for a long time can affect people who have schizophrenia. This study was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health.
Teaching and Awards
Tanya Luhrmann has taught anthropology at several universities. She was a professor at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Chicago. Since 2007, she has been a professor at Stanford University.
She has received many awards for her important work. In 2003, she became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She also received the President's Award from the American Anthropological Association in 2004. In 2007, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship, which is a special award for people doing important research.
Family Life
Tanya Luhrmann has two sisters. One of her sisters is Anna Dewdney, who wrote popular children's books like the Llama Llama series. Tanya Luhrmann is married to Richard Saller, who has been a president at Stanford University.
Books by Tanya Luhrmann
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (1989) Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft.
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (1996) The Good Parsi: the postcolonial anxieties of an Indian colonial elite.
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (2000) Of two minds: The growing disorder in American psychiatry.
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (2012) When God talks back: Understanding the American Evangelical Relationship with God.
- Luhrmann, Tanya M. (2022) How God Becomes Real: Kindling the Presence of Invisible Others.
