This yearlong John E. Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures, hosted by the MIT Anthropology Program, will explore how scholars in the social sciences and humanities study the unseen. From September 2010 through April 2011, the seminar will meet once a month, bringing together faculty and students throughout the Boston/Cambridge metro area. Each session will feature research presentations by two invited speakers, followed by discussion led by one or two local scholars. The seminar is led by Professors Stefan Helmreich and Heather Paxson of the MIT Anthropology Program.