Caroline Brettell

Zoe Caroline Brettell (née Bieler; born June 11, 1950) is a Canadian cultural anthropologist known for her scholarship on migration and gender. She is currently Professor Emerita at Southern Methodist University, where she was previously University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Ruth Collins Altshuler Professor. At SMU, Brettell served as Chair of the Department of Anthropology, interim Dean of the Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, and inaugural Director of the Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute. She has also been President of both the Society for the Anthropology of Europe (1996–1998) and the Social Science History Association (2000–2001).

Brettell's ethnographic research in Portugal and Texas is notable for centering the gendered, lived experiences of migrants. In 2017, she was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2025, SMU's Department of Anthropology announced that its new endowed seminar series—the ''Caroline B. Brettell Seminars in Anthropology—''would be named in honor of Brettell. Provided by Wikipedia