Education and Research Accomplishments
MA in Cultural Anthropology, University of Florida
This is part of a combined Masters/PhD program offered by the Department of Anthropology, in which the thesis research is defended and published, then serves as a springboard for doctoral research.
Approved Thesis: Anthropologically-Based Investigation into Bullying in Schools A groundbreaking approach to the bullying phenomenon as an adaptive response to the stresses of the school institution, based on an anthropological theory of violence, that uses educators’, parents’, and observers’ narratives as the source of data.
Interviews with local educators were videorecorded for use in a supplemental documentary, to be used as an application of ethnography and a teaching method.
Publication:
- “The Social Construction of Childhood Bullying in the U.S. News Media,” Journal of Contemporary Anthropology 4(1). Available here.
Conferences:
- “The Social Construction of Childhood Bullying in the U.S. News Media,” the 9th Annual Conference of the International Association for the Study of Environment, Space, and Place, University of Florida, April 26-28, 2013.
Appointments:
- Teaching Assistantship, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, University of Florida, Spring 2014
- Teaching Assistantship, Sex Roles Cross-Culturally, University of Florida, Spring 2013
BA in Anthropology, Valdosta State University, May 2010
Double major in Cultural Anthropology and Theatre Arts
Honors Program student
Conferences:
- “Sarcasm, Suaveness, and Starships: James Bond and Han Solo as American Folk Heroes,” an anthropological analysis of American mythology in film, presented at:
- Council on Undergraduate Research Symposium, 2007
- Georgia Collegiate Honors Council Conference, 2007.
Ethnographic Research
- Thesis research in Gainesville, Fla., September 2013 – present
- Interviews with educators in Alachua County Public Schools about bullying and anti-bullying programs and policies
- Integration of video footage with anthropological discussion of bullying as social phenomenon
- Study abroad in Belize and Guatemala, June 2007
- Ethnographic fieldwork conducted for a month in a Mayan village in southern Belize.
- Ethnographic study of Mayan agricultural practices and economic syncretism, presented at:
- Council on Undergraduate Research Symposium, 2009
- Georgia Collegiate Honors Council Conference, 2009.
Other Research Accomplishments
Program Development Specialist, Alachua County, Gainesville, Fla. (August 2014 – present)
- Multifaceted research on clean energy, fair housing, and economic development
- Investigation and evaluation of clean energy financing
- Evaluation and procurement of sustainability in Florida