On April 30, 2019, a shooter entered my classroom on my last day of teaching at UNC-Charlotte. I was preparing to move to Texas to begin a doctoral program in environmental anthropology at UTSA. UTSA was so kind, offering to defer my enrollment as I struggled with the aftermath of the shooting. However, I needed…
Dissertation: Living with Javelinas: On the Co-production of Human-Javelina Conviviality in Texas
Abstract This dissertation investigates the coexistence of humans and javelinas in Texas. Through a blend of traditional ethnography, ethology, and GIS mapping, the study explores the dynamics of interactions at three primary sites across Texas, emphasizing the mutual shaping of shared spaces and the significance of negotiation. The dissertation argues that convivial human-javelina relations in…
Our Edited Volume is Out: Nurturing Alternative Futures: Living with Diversity in a More-than-Human World
I am pleased to announce that Nurturing Alternative Futures: Living with Diversity in a More-than-Human World is currently out with Routledge. I am honored to have contributed a portion of my research – “Of People and Peccaries: Perception and Politics in the Texas Hill Country” – alongside such wonderful scholars.
American Anthropological Association 2023 Talk: Making Pigs Dirty: Conflicting Perspectives on Javelinas and Hogs in Texas
I co-chaired a panel at the 2023 meeting of the American Anthropological Association titled “The America Animal.” Abstract: Other-than-human animals comprise a large part of the social and ecological fabric of our lives in ways that are often unexpected or unnoticed. Humans encounter other-than-human animals as pets, pests, food, medical devices, entertainment, bastions of “wild”…
GSA 2023 Keynote Speech: STRIVING FOR MENTAL WELL-BEING IN ACADEMIA
I was invited to speak in a Pardee Keynote Symposium on “Encouraging Positive Mental Health in the Geosciences” at the 2023 Geological Society of America meeting in Pittsburgh, PA. The symposium was part of a NSF-funded grant to explore and ameliorate institutional triggers for mental health crises among faculty and students. Abstract Mental health is…
Radio Guest: “Anthropologist traces the “multi-species politics” of javelinas and humans”
I was a guest on the NPR and Marfa Public Radio show, Nature Notes, discussing my research on human-javelina relations in Texas. Listen for a sneak peek at some of the content in my forthcoming book on the subject. Link to the radio show. https://www.marfapublicradio.org/show/nature-notes/2023-05-10/anthropologist-traces-the-multi-species-politics-of-javelinas-and-humans
UNCC Shooting Four Years Later…
Yesterday marked the fourth year since a shooter entered my classroom in Kennedy 236, took two lives, and changed dozens more forever. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte brought me back to campus for the first time since 2019 for the dedication of a new memorial structure and garden. When I first met with…
Returning to UNC-Charlotte Approaching the 4th Anniversary of a Mass Shooting in My Class
Tomorrow, I get on a plane to fly to Charlotte, NC to attend the unveiling and dedication of a new memorial for Reed, Riley, and the other victims of the April 30, 2019 shooting that occurred in my class. I have written several pieces on the subject over the four years and I always write…
Dissertation Manuscript Outline: Human-Javelina Relations in Texas
Humans and Javelinas: Something Something… I need a title … This study is motivated by the broad pressing question: How do we live in a world full of difference? More specifically, how do our relationships with other beings shape our identities and the course of our shared futures? As we experience increasing precarity associated with…
Paleoanthropology: The Ancestor Worshipping Death Cult
Firstly, this is satire. I love all of my paleoanthropologist friends. Paleoanthropology is a scientific discipline dedicated to illuminating our evolutionary history. However, it is also a low-key ancestor-worshipping death cult. Consider this; many paleoanthropologists go to great pains to locate and disinter the fossilized remains of hominins: members of our lineage, after we and…
Anthropology 365 