Research: Dr. McArthur's research emphasizes social theoretical and semiotic approaches to traditional narrative (i.e. myth, oral history), cultural performance (ritual, ceremony, festival, spectacle), history, cosmology, and local cultures within the contexts of nationalism and globalization. With a geographical specialization in Oceania, he additionally includes comparative studies on cultures of Asia, Native America, Africa and the Classical world. He also integrates deep interests in comparative philosophy, the history of ideas, and traditional arts informed by ethnographic and historical methods.

Teaching: Dr. McArthur's teaching represents a wide-range of topics centered in theory, cultural studies, and expressive culture. In each course he seeks to fuse anthropology, humanistic inquiry and communications perspectives. While Oceania provides one geographical focus, he seeks to bring to bear a comparative perspective into the classroom through exposure to a range of cross-cultural materials. He desires to continue to develop curriculum that engages students to think about culture in critical and thought-provoking ways. In this way students learn to develop culture sensitivity and insight to function productively within academics, the private sector, government, and the community.

To view a sample class syllabus click on a specific class below: