fbpx

Degrees

  • B.A., Maryland 1974
  • M.A., Virginia 1979
  • Ph.D., Virginia 1982

 

Areas of Interest

She is widely known for her expertise on Anglo-American life cycle rituals and civil religious holidays and traditions in the United States. She has also completed extensive research on the wives of retired military officers and gated retirement communities, the police, Neopagan religions, and experiential pedagogy. Her courses include “Introduction to Anthropology”, “Linguistic Anthropology”, “Ethnographic Research Methods”, “Peoples and Cultures of Contemporary United States”, “Magic, Witchcraft and Religion”, and “Food and Culture”.

Courses Taught
  • Gender in World Cultures
  • Ethnographic Research
  • Internship
  • Introduction to Anthroplogy
  • Linguistic Anthropology
  • Magic, Witchcraft and Religion
  • Museum Anthropology
  • People and Cultures of Contemporary United States
  • Peoples and Cultures: Latin America
Publications
  • Experiential and Performative Anthropology in the Classroom: Engaging the Legacy of Edith and Victor Turner (2020 Palgrave).
  • “Archaeological Legacies of Knowledge” in “Constructing Legacies of Mesoamerica:  Archaeological Practice and the Politics of Heritage in and Beyond Mexico”; special edition of the Archaeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association; David S. Anderson, Dylan J. Clark and J. Heath Anderson (eds.).  Vol. 25; pp. 128-132. 2015.
  • Book reviewer for the “American Anthropologist; reviewed Kenneth T. MacLeish, Making War at Fort Hood:  Life and Uncertainty in a Military Community. AA, Volume 116, issue 2.  Pp. 461-462.  June, 2014.
  • Review of “Anthropological Intelligence: The Deployment and Neglect of American Anthropology in the Second World War. by David H. Price. Durham and London: Duke University Press. July, 2009. Journal of Military History.
  • “Guardians of the Golden Age: Custodians of American Military Culture and the Fortified ‘Home’ in Time and Space.” In Home Cultures. Volume 5, Issue 1. March. Pp 11-28, 2008.
  • With Margaret Harrell (eds.) Anthropology and the U.S. Military: Coming of Age in the Twenty-first Century. New York and England: Palgrave Macmillan. Pp. 147-152, 2003.
  • (ed.) Celebration of Identity: Multiple Voices in American Ritual Performance. (Foreword by Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney), New York, Connecticut, London: Bergin & Garvey, 1993.
  • With John M. Coggeshall (eds.) Transcending Boundaries: Multi-Disciplinary Approaches to the Study of Gender. New York: Bergin & Garvey, 1991.
Professional Experience
  • Widely quoted by a number of national media outlets, including USA Today and The Los Angeles Times.
  • Faculty member since 1986.
  • Selected to serve on the Anthropology and Archaeology Peer Review Committee for the Fulbright Senior Specialists Program (CIES)
  • Content Consultant Chinese New Year, Ramadan, Christmas, and Cinco de Mayo in the Cultural Holidays Series. Edna Minnesota: Magic Wagon a division of ABDO Consulting Group, Inc.
  • Has appeared on CNN and multiple radio shows
Professional Affiliations
  • Fellow, American Anthropological Association
  • Central States Anthropological Society
  • Society for Feminist Anthropology
  • American Ethnological Society
  • Society for Humanistic Anthropology