Richard Handler is a cultural anthropologist who studies modern western societies. He was educated at Columbia University (Ba., English literature and anthropology, 1972) and the University of Chicago (Ph.D., anthropology, 1979). His initial fieldwork was in Quebec (1976–1984) studying the Québécois nationalist movement, resulting in his first book, Nationalism and the Politics of Culture in Quebec (1988). His 1997 book, The New History in an Old Museum, coauthored with Eric Gable, was written after conducting an ethnographic study of Colonial Williamsburg, which is both an outdoor museum and a mid-sized nonprofit corporation. He also writes on the intersection of anthropology and literature, as well as the history American anthropology. Handler is currently professor of anthropology and director of the Program in Global Studies at the University of Virginia. 

• Visit website