Anthropologist | Writer | Researcher | Teacher
TEACHING
Undergraduate Courses and Descriptions
As a teacher, I'm committed to developing creative ways for students to engage with disciplinary ideas and concepts. I believe that integrating experiential learning in the classroom is a critical part of teaching Anthropology, and the courses I develop and teach reflect this belief. If you would like a copy of a syllabus, please feel free to contact me.
FIELD METHODS IN CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY/UNEARTHING THE PARANORMAL
INTRODUCTION TO ANTHROPOLOGICAL DATA
What histories and experiences of place can be “unearthed” by taking seriously stories of ghosts and hauntings? How do these stories and experiences shape people’s perceptions of their environment? What is real and what is imagined, and how do we know the difference? We will examine these questions and more by applying research methods widely used in the field of cultural anthropology. Through interviews, participant observation, archival research and other methods, students will have the opportunity to collect, analyze and present original data.
ANTHROPOLOGY OF SEX AND GENDER
Data is everywhere and the work of anthropologists – whether the focus is archaeology, physical anthropology, linguistics or cultural anthropology – is to collect, analyze and present this data. Each of the subfields of anthropology addresses different aspects of experience and behavior through capturing and interpreting data. While this course will comprehend data primarily through the lens of cultural anthropology, the methods and modes of collecting and analyzing data can be applied to all of the four-fields of anthropology.
ANTHROPOLOGY OF ISLAM AND MUSLIM SOCIETIES
Culture shapes our understanding of gender and sex in ways that are dependent on historical and political arrangements of power. Students will explore these dynamics by engaging with topics including nature versus culture, global migration, gender-based violence, and transgender identities. Students will also gain an understanding of cross-cultural conceptions of sex and gender through ethnographic readings from a range of global contexts.
This course is designed with two objectives in mind: 1) Students will read about and discuss contemporary debates and approaches to the study of Islam, Muslims, and Muslim societies; 2) Students will become familiar with a wide range of ethnographic work that explores the diversity of Muslim practices and experiences.
MAGIC, MYTH AND RELIGION
HUMAN DIVERSITY
Is baseball a religion in the United States? Why do many people consider the national flag to be sacred? How is magic understood, used and articulated in everyday life? These are some of the questions we’ll start asking in this course, which explores anthropological theories of and perspectives on magic, myth and religion.
What does it mean to be different? How is difference understood cross-culturally? How can human diversity be comprehended both biologically and culturally? What is the relationship between the cultural construction of difference and power? These are questions we will be addressing in this course as we examine the wide array of factors and categories that inform human diversity throughout the world.
RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE UNITED STATES
INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
The study of racial and cultural minorities is an important area of study and represents an exciting, challenging, and changing dynamic in our society that affects each of us personally, institutionally, and on a global level. This course will focus on both individual level and societal level phenomena, encouraging you to question many common assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes to which you may have been exposed about the nature of race and ethnicity.
HUMAN CULTURES
This course is an introduction to Cultural Anthropology. The course is designed to: (1) familiarize students with key anthropological concepts; and (2) examine how anthropologists study the diversity of human relations, institutions and their place in the world. Through core readings, selected articles, films and online content, we will examine a range of economic and political systems, religious practices, family and kinship arrangements, race and ethnicity, and gender and sexuality from anthropological perspectives.
The course examines, in the broadest possible sense, all it means to be human across space and time. The course attempts to understand the socio-cultural origins of humankind, the changes that have taken among human societies, and the similarities and differences in across human cullures. Through core readings, selected articles, films, and discussions, we will examine a range of economic and political systems, religious practices, family and kinship arrangements, race and ethnicity, and gender and sexuality from anthropological perspectives.
ANTHROPOLOGY OF GLOBALIZATION
This course explores anthropological engagements with and critical approaches to the concept of globalization and globalizing processes. We will theoretically and empirically analyze the meanings, consequences and experiences of globalization by exploring key themes, including: the emergence and expansion of capitalism; the role of the nation-state; histories, processes and structures of global inequalities; experiences of migration and diaspora; transnational movements, including anti-globalization and anti-capitalist social movements; tourism and the commodification of “culture”; and patterns of global consumption.