Denny Hall Room 305
I received my Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology and M.P.H. from the University of Pittsburgh in 2014. I also have a Master's degree in International Development from Clark University. My research looks at health inequalities among vulnerable populations. I study the challenges faced by Indigenous people to access culturally-appropriate health care and to have their medical traditions recognized and incorporated into state health services. I also conduct research about the experiences and health needs of underserved populations with chronic conditions. I am especially interested in research that can contribute to designing better strategies to improve healthcare access for people with diabetes and hypertension in low and middle income countries.
FYSM 100 First-Year Seminar
The First-Year Seminar (FYS) introduces students to Dickinson as a "community of inquiry" by developing habits of mind essential to liberal learning. Through the study of a compelling issue or broad topic chosen by their faculty member, students will:
- Critically analyze information and ideas
- Examine issues from multiple perspectives
- Discuss, debate and defend ideas, including one's own views, with clarity and reason
- Develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information, and
- Create clear academic writing
The small group seminar format of this course promotes discussion and interaction among students and their professor. In addition, the professor serves as students' initial academic advisor. This course does not duplicate in content any other course in the curriculum and may not be used to fulfill any other graduation requirement.
ANTH 101 Intro to Cultural Anthropology
This course is a comprehensive introduction to how cultural anthropologists study culture and society in diverse contexts. We will use ethnographic case studies from across the world to examine the ways people experience and transform social relationships and culture in areas including families, gender, ethnicity, health, religion, exchange, science, and even what it means to be a person. We will examine how culture and society are embedded within, shape, and are shaped by forces of economics, politics, and environment.
Offered every semester.
ANTH 216 Medical Anthropology
Comparative analysis of health, illness, and nutrition within environmental and socio-cultural contexts. Evolution and geographical distribution of disease, how different societies have learned to cope with illness, and the ways traditional and modern medical systems interact.
Offered every other year.
ANTH 242 Rsch Methods in Global Health
This course introduces students to different methodological approaches used in global health to understand health needs in the global south and design appropriate interventions to address them. Through readings and discussions about the theoretical underpinnings of qualitative and quantitative research students will learn the different ways in which each approach contributes to understanding a health problem and developing solutions, with a special emphasis on the growing role of anthropological perspectives in conducting socially relevant and context appropriate global health research. Pre-requisites: ANTH 100 or 110 (ARCH 110) or 101 or 216 or permission of instructor.
LALC 300 Indig Movements in Latin Amer
Cross-listed with ANTH 345-03.
The goal of this course is to analyze contemporary Indigenous Movements in Latin America through a historic and ethnographic lens. We will explore and discuss the key demands of indigenous peoples, their strategies to negotiate at the national level as well as the policies that have been developed in response to indigenous activism in the region. We will discuss the various levels of success indigenous movements have accomplished in different countries, and analyze the explanations given to understand such differences.
Using texts from a range of Latin American countries, this course will begin by doing a historical analysis of the position of Indigenous peoples after independence, during the nation-building processes, and their strategies to resist assimilation. We will discuss the particularities of indigenous identity in a region where the colonial hierarchies based on class and ethnicity persists and shapes privilege of lighter skinned Latin Americans and discrimination towards indigenous peoples. We will analyze contemporary intercultural policies in both education and health to learn about the possibilities and limitations of the concept of “interculturalidad.” This approach, meant to improve the recognition of indigenous perspectives and culture has oftentimes resulted in the cooption of indigenous peoples demands.
ANTH 345 Indig Movements in Latin Amer
Cross-listed with LALC 300-04.
The goal of this course is to analyze contemporary Indigenous Movements in Latin America through a historic and ethnographic lens. We will explore and discuss the key demands of indigenous peoples, their strategies to negotiate at the national level as well as the policies that have been developed in response to indigenous activism in the region. We will discuss the various levels of success indigenous movements have accomplished in different countries, and analyze the explanations given to understand such differences.
Using texts from a range of Latin American countries, this course will begin by doing a historical analysis of the position of Indigenous peoples after independence, during the nation-building processes, and their strategies to resist assimilation. We will discuss the particularities of indigenous identity in a region where the colonial hierarchies based on class and ethnicity persists and shapes privilege of lighter skinned Latin Americans and discrimination towards indigenous peoples. We will analyze contemporary intercultural policies in both education and health to learn about the possibilities and limitations of the concept of “interculturalidad.” This approach, meant to improve the recognition of indigenous perspectives and culture has oftentimes resulted in the cooption of indigenous peoples demands.