Chair, Department of Anthropology
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
University of Florida
Areas of Specialization: Applied Anthropology, Mexico and Central America, Medical Anthropology, Language and Culture, Immigration.
rsity of Florida Anthropology Department
I am the duPont-Magid Professor of Anthropology
and Chair of the Department at the University of Florida. I am
also
an affiliate with the Latin American Studies program, Linguistics, the
Vision Center, and director of the Florida/Yucatan program at the
University of Florida. I received a Bachelor of Science in sociology
from Iowa State University, then went on to do graduate work at
the University of Washington where I received my MA and Ph.D. in
anthropology. Before coming to Florida I worked for a private
research company in Cambridge, MA, Abt Associates, doing evaluation of
bilingual education programs in the southwest. Throughout my career, my
research has focused on the Mayan language and culture in the Yucatan
of Mexico, Chiapas, Guatemala, and among Guatemalan refugees in
Florida. I also work in El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and
Belize. I've also done research on migration between the U.S. and
México city and within Europe. As an applied anthropologist, I am
a sworn federal witness for testimony on social and political
conditions in Mexico and Central America. I am also on the
technical advisory committe of the Pan American Health Organization's
TB section as an expert on indigenous communities in Latin America and
their responses to infectuous diseases. I lead short term trips
for medical, dental, and public health students to Mexico, Guatemala,
and El Salvador. Some of the grants and contracts
I have received are from organizations such as the National Science
Foundation, the Department of Labor, various governments of Micronesia,
the National Park Service, the Florida Humanities Council, and the
North South Center. I have also consulted for the National Geographic
Society, Info-Tech, Incorporated, Abt Associates, Inc., several states,
and several Native American tribes. I have published over ninety
articles and book chapters, two books, and many applied
anthropology reports. I am the President of the Society for
Applied Anthropology (2009-2011). I am a member of the U.S.
Foundation board for the Universidad del Valle in Guatemala City.
I am a visual anthropologist and have produced several ethnographic videos, two of which have been shown on public television stations. My videos are on things like Mayan culture, immigrant health, historic preservation in Micronesia, and Native American cultural resistance. I was one of the original members of the board of directors of "Corn Maya," an association of Guatemala Maya people in the United States, as well as on the board of View our Voices, Inc., a community-based photography and video project in Gainesville, Florida for at-risk teenagers. I have been recognized by the Kanjobal Maya refugees in Florida for research and humanitarian aid, and have won five teaching awards at the University of Florida. I am a minority mentor and administrator of graduate scholarships for minority students. I was Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Florida for five years and before that the Fulbright Awards Advisor through the U.F. honors program. I was a Fulbright scholar at the Copenhagen University's Institute for Anthropology (1991-92) and a visiting exchange scholar at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain (1985-86). I have also lectured and taught in Austria, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala. I speak Spanish and Yucatec Maya in addition to English, and have at times made great attempts to speak other European languages, including Lithuanian, Danish, German, and Portuguese.
My interests focus on the use of video and computers in anthropology, indigenous rights, and applied anthropology -- medical, educational, and political. Recent projects that students and I have been working on include a diploma course in intercultural education for bilingual teachers from seven different ethnic groups in Honduras, a health improvement project with Ak' Tenamit, a Maya NGO in Guatemala, a study of teenage tobacco initiation and use, an ethnohistory of the National Park of Kingsley Plantation, Jacksonville (with Antoinette Jackson) and a project on migrant housing policy in Florida, funded through the State of Florida Department of Community Affairs. I have also given workshops on visual anthropology and human rights for CIESAS-Chiapas, on visual anthropology for INAH-Mexico City, and for cultural heritage programs for many Native American groups.
I have mentored over 50 Ph.D. dissertation committees and direct several senior honors theses each year. Some Ph.D. projects that students are working on under my direction include migration and language retention in Bolivia (Leonardo Martinez), religious festivals and social change in Yucatan (Alicia Peon), Music and identity among the Maya of Yucatan (Emilio Benites), Garifuna language (Santiag Ruiz), Effects of Hurricane Mitch in Women dyers in Mali (Maxine Downs), Blacksmiths and the African Diaspora (Ade Offunian), Health in Guanajuato and Florida among migrants (Alayne Unterberger), among others.
Sample Recent publications:
