Milica Milic-Kolarevic

I am a medical anthropologist interested in how societies organize care in times of institutional uncertainty and social change. Through ethnographic research, I examine how health systems, public policies, and community organizations shape people’s experiences of illness, vulnerability, and responsibility.

My research spans two long-term projects. In the United States, I study opioid use, homelessness, and the challenges of building integrated systems of care across fragmented health and social service infrastructures in both rural and urban communities. In Serbia, I examine oncology care, pharmaceutical governance, medical decision-making, and the lasting effects of postsocialist transformation on healthcare institutions. Across both settings, I ask what kinds of labor, institutions, and political decisions make care possible, and who ultimately bears the burden when systems fall short.

I received my Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. I am currently a Research Affiliate at Colgate University and a Scholar in Residence at Hamilton College. My teaching bridges anthropology and public health, where I have developed and taught courses in medical anthropology, global public health, pharmaceuticals, health and technology, humanitarianism, memory and trauma, and social inequality.

More broadly, I am interested in how ethnographic research can generate insights that deepen our understanding of health, care, and society while contributing to conversations within academia and beyond. I see ethnography not only as a way of understanding people’s lived experiences, but also as a means of generating knowledge that deepens our understanding of health, care, institutions, and social change.