Â鶹´«Ã½

l am a Study Abroad Faculty Ambassador and mentor students in the Environmental Sector of Â鶹´«Ã½ State's Peace Corps Prep Program and the Lambda Alpha National Anthropology Honor Society.

PEACE CORPS PREP Program

Education

• PhD University of Kentucky (Anthropology)
• MA University of Kentucky (Anthropology)
• BA University of Pittsburgh (Anthropology)

Research Biography

I am an anthropological archaeologist specializing in the archaeology of Mesoamerica, North America, and the Caribbean. I am an Associate Professor of Archaeology at Â鶹´«Ã½ State University. My primary research interests are interactions during periods of transformation, such as imperial and colonial expansion, political and demographic collapse, immigration, and rapid climate change. I am especially interested in how global scale changes are reflected in the everyday practices of communities, and how negotiations play out locally. I am equally adept at exploring prehistoric and historic contexts, but I am especially fascinated by those of the Contact Era. The data that I employ most often derive from archaeological ceramics, ethnohistorical accounts, and historical records.

I am currently the Principle Investigator of a collaborative NSF archaeological research grant investigating the cultural, historical, and environmental dimensions of sugarcane agriculture in Veracruz, Mexico; a board member of the Kentucky Organization of Professional Archaeologists (KYOPA); and a Commissioner on the Kentucky Native American Heritage Commission.

Teaching and Mentoring

• ANT 140: Exploring World Cultures
• ARC 150: Introduction to Archaeology
• ARC 300: Archaeological Method and Theory
• ARC 302/402/510/602: Archaeological Field Methods (I, II, Advanced, Graduate)
• ANT/ARC 320: Human Ecology
• ANT 325: Biological Anthropology 
• ARC 335: Forensic Archaeology
• ANT/ARC 355: Pottery and People
• ARC 345: Archaeology of Ancient Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
• ARC 360: Historical Archaeology
• ARC 389: Archaeology and Political Ecology of Empires
• ANT 390: Anthropology of Development
• ARC 600: Graduate Seminar in Archaeology