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…
Tag: science
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”…
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
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…
Dissertation Update: “On Anthropomorphism”
I’ve sent off the first section of my dissertation to my advisor. This section is going in the introduction around the theoretical and methodological foundations of the study.Next stop: “Chapter 1- Contested Actors”
Why I Study Human-Animal Relations as an Anthropologist
Anthropology is the study of humans, or as Dr. Jon Marks says: “the study of who we are and where we come from.” I consider it to be the study of humans and the variety of relationships humans have. These relationships include some of the most obvious: kinship, communities, institutions, businesses, and religions. It also…
Making a Multispecies Community in the Texas Hill Country: AAA2022 Talk
Below is a recording of the talk I am giving in person at the 2022 annual American Anthropological Association meeting on November 10.
Anthropology 365 