Department of Anthropology

Geographical Areas of Specialization
Ethiopia; Sub-Sahara Africa

Research Interests
anthropology and business; industry and industrialization in emerging markets; national economy; alcohol production, distribution, and consumption; science and technology studies (STS); anthropology of development

Christina T. Collins is a cultural anthropologist whose ethnographic research examines the social, cultural, and economic impact of multinational alcohol companies in Ethiopia. Up until the early 2010s, the alcohol industry in Ethiopia was primarily state-owned, but recent privatizations have opened up the local market to international competition. With a focus on beer and brewing, her fieldwork explores the socio-cultural effects of private investments within labor and service economies (e.g., brewing, malt barley production, draft cleaning services, alcohol distribution, food and beverage services, advertising/marketing, and entertainment/nightlife). Her research shows that market activities (i.e., the production, distribution, sale, and consumption of commercial lagers in Ethiopia) are not merely economic in nature but saturated with symbolic, affective, religious, ethnic, and political meanings.