Barrett is a cultural and medical anthropologist whose research has focused on
religious healing, the social aspects of infectious diseases, and the ways that human
beings come to terms with their own mortality. He has conducted fieldwork in Northern and
Western India as well as in the United States. Barrett's recently published book,
"Aghor Medicine: Pollution, Death, and Healing in Northern India", received the
Wellcome Medal in 2010, an award given biennially by the Royal Anthropological Institute
"for a recent body of published work which makes, as a whole, a significant
contribution to research in anthropology as applied to medical problems."
Barrett has taught at Macalester since 2009.
EDUCATION: B.A., University of Colorado at Boulder, 1990; B.S., Johns Hopkins University,
1992; M.A., Emory University, 1999; Ph.D., Emory University, 2002
