Conrad Kottak is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 anthropologist

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

. He earned his Ph.D from Columbia University, and he did extensive research in Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 and Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

, visiting societies there and writing books about them. He then wrote several textbooks (see list below) such as Window on Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Anthropology; Madagascar: Society and History, and Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity and Cultural Anthropology, which are often used by colleges and high schools in the United States. He is currently an anthropology professor at the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

, where he has been teaching since 1968. He believes that various American legends and stories, such as Star Trek

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

, Star Wars

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

 and the Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...

 story are growing into a type of mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

 which someday might be comparable to Greek

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Roman

Roman mythology

Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...

, or other stories which today are considered to be myths.

Kottak has received several honors for his work. Among these awards is an excellence in teaching award by the College of Literature, Sciences, and the Arts of the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

in 1992, and the AAA (American Anthropological Association)/Mayfield Award for Excellence in the Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology in 1999. He was elected to the membership of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008.

Books by Conrad Kottak

• Madagascar: Society and History (1986)
• Researching American Culture: A Guide for Student Anthropologists (1982)
• The Past and Present: History, Ecology, and Cultural Variation in Highland Madagascar (1980)
• Prime-Time Society: An Anthropogical Analysis of Television and Culture (1990)
• Assault on Paradise: Social Change in a Brazilian Village (1999)
• Anthropology: The Exploration of Human Diversity and Cultural Anthropology (2003)
• Physical Anthropology and Archaeology (2003)
• Mirror for Humanity: A Concise Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (2004)
• On Being Different: Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream (with co-author Kathryn A Kozaitis) (2003)

The list is from his profile at umich.