Faculty Directory

About

I am an “expatriate Vermonter” who moved to the far-away lands of Rhode Island to attend graduate school at Brown University. Geographically, my research focuses on Guatemala, where I have conducted extensive ethnographic research in both rural and urban communities, and on southern Mexico, where I have completed shorter periods of fieldwork. My work explores questions of justice, the environment, and historical memory, and the ways in which Guatemalans experience the myriad, daily manifestations of violence and insecurity. These range from systematic political violence to petty crime and to the more subtle, but pernicious, forms of structural violence that manifest as malnutrition and food insecurity. Prior to starting coursework for my Ph.D., I spent several years in Guatemala working for a human rights-focused international coalition of non-governmental organizations supporting individuals and communities striving for collaborative, grassroots solutions to building a more just society.

At Wheaton, I regularly teach Introduction to Cultural Anthropology as well as courses on environmental, linguistic, and medical anthropology and our core research methods course. I also support the Taylor & Lane Social Justice Scholars honors program by offering its foundations course, Imagining a Just World through Action every spring semester.

Degrees

Ph.D., Anthropology, Brown University, Providence, RI, ABD
A.M., Anthropology, Brown University, Providence, RI, 2010
B.A., Anthropology and Philosophy, cum laude, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 2004