Dr. Sonja Dobroski

Biography

Sonja Dobroski is a sociocultural anthropologist specializing in settler colonial theory and material culture, particularly within the context of Native American studies. Her research focuses on how materiality functions in settler colonial societies, emphasizing the power dynamics maintained through material culture. Dobroski employs a multidisciplinary methodology that integrates historical, archaeological, and anthropological methods, including oral history, ethnography, and archival research. She received her PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews and holds master's degrees in American Indian Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Archaeology from the University of Oxford. Additionally, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology with an emphasis on Native American Studies from the University of Montana-Missoula. Her forthcoming book, 'Feathered Possession', examines the evolution of war bonnets in U.S. settler culture and traces the history of Indigenous feathered headdress appropriation. Dobroski also collaborates on international research projects and serves as a Research Fellow at the Manchester Museum, focusing on provenance research of cultural collections. Her teaching addresses key themes in social anthropology, incorporating diverse pedagogical approaches.

Research Interests

Experience