Emory University Department of Anthropology
PhD Program Alumni
ANDREA ABRAMS
Dissertation: "Who I Am and Whose I Am: Race, Class, Gender and Nation in an Afrocentric Church." 2006
Current Position: Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Centre College
RONALD BARRETT
Dissertation: "Aghor Medicine: Pollution, Power, and Healing in Banaras, Northern India." 2002
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Macalester College
Ron has taken a position beginning Fall 2009 as Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Macalester College. His book, Aghor Medicine: Pollution, Death, and Healing in Northern India, was published in 2008.
KATHARINE SIECK BARRETT
Dissertation: "Nowhere Else to Go: Cultural Models and Class Conflict in the Juvenile Welfare System." 2004
Current Position: Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Hamline University
JOHN BING
Dissertation: "The Poison Grows Next to Its Cure: Substance Abuse, Life-History, Ritual, and Self-Transformation on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation." 2006
VICKI K. BENTLEY-CONDIT
Dissertation: "Infant-Adult Male Relationships as Adult Female Reproductive Strategies in Yellow Baboons (Papio cynocephalus cynocephalus)." 1995
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Grinnell College
Vicki has recently been working on a project concerning Tana River National Reserve (Kenya) yellow baboon nutrition. She has spent a sabbatical year conducting research at the Smithsonian National Zoo and hopes to look at the impact of nutrition on the baboons’ reproductive output.
RYAN BROWN
Dissertation: "Resilience, Derailment and Hope During the Transition to Adulthood among Cherokee and Anglo Youth." 2006
Current Position: Associate Social Scientist, The Rand Corporation
MARGARET BUCK
Dissertation: "Female Mate Choice in Sooty Mangabys Social Constraints on Mating Behavior." 1998
SVEA CLOSSER
Dissertation: "Global Development in Policy and Practice: The Polio Eradication Initiative from Atlanta to Rural Pakistan."
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Middlebury College
ANDREW COUSIN
Dissertation: "Ideology and Biomedicine on the Palestinian West Bank." 2000
RICHE DANIEL BARNES
Dissertation: "Still Uplifting the Race: Black Professional Wives and the Career and Family Debate." 2009
Current Position: Instructor, Afro-American Studies Department, Smith College
JOANNA DAVIDSON
Dissertation: "Feet in the Fire: Social Reproduction among the Diola of Guinea-Bissau, West Africa." 2007
Current Position: SARR Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Critical International Studies, Emory University
JASON DECARO
Dissertation: "The Proximal Ecology of Stress and Bioecocultural Architecture of Daily Life." 2006
Current Position: Assistant Professor , Department of Anthropology, University of Alabama
Jason directs the Developmental Ecology and Human Biology Lab at the University of Alabama, doing research involving immunological, endocrine, and other biological markers. . . . go to website »
SEAMUS A. DECKER
Dissertation: "Modernity, affluence, and well being: A comparison of stress and social life in a remote-rural and a central-urban community in Botswana." 2001
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Seamus’ lab, the Psychological Anthropology and Human Adaptation Laboratory (PAHA), is an experimental psychosomatics lab looking at stress-reactivity and related things. He is primarily interested in reward-seeking behaviors, reward-dependencies, i.e., 'addictions,' and, in particular, over-eating and obesity.
LARA DEEB
Dissertation: "An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Diety Among Islamist Shi'I Muslims in Beirut." 2003
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Scripps College
Lara is the author of An Enchanted Modern: Gender and Public Piety in Shi‘i Lebanon (Princeton University Press 2006. She is currently working on a co-authored book project with Mona Harb (American University of Beirut), tentatively titled Constructing and Negotiating the Islamic Milieu: New Moralities and Spatialities in Shi‘i Lebanon.
ALEXA DIETRICH
Dissertation: "The Corporation Next Door: Pharmaceutical Companies in Community, Heatlh and the Environment in Puerto Rico." 2007
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Wagner College
MAYSOUN FREIJ
Dissertation: "The Lighter Side of Evil: Arab American Artists in New York." 2008
Current Position: Senior Evaluator and Researcher, Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, New York Academy of Medicine
At the Center for Urban Epidemiological Studies, Maysoun engages in research on a variety of topics related to urban health and vulnerable populations. . . . . go to website »
JESSICA GREGG
Dissertation: "Virgins without Hymens and Cancer without Cure: Sexual Strategies and Cervical Cancer in Recife, Brazil." 1999
Current Position: Adjunct Assistant Professor, International Health and Development, Tulane University
KENDRA HATFIELD-TIMAJCHY
Dissertation: "Delayed Diagnosis: The Experience of Women with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLS) and SLE-like Symptoms in Atlanta, Georgia." 2007
Current Position: Health Scientist, Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control
Kendra is working on a project with the CDC which concerns condom and contraceptive use among African American and Puerto Rican young adults (18-24 in Hartford and Philadelphia.
M. CAMERON HAY (also Hay-Rollins)
Dissertation: "Remembering to Live: Coping with Health Concerns on Lombok." 1998
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Miami University (Ohio)
Cameron also holds a secondary position as Assistant Research Anthropologist at the UCLA Center for Culture and Health in Los Angeles. In September she will also take on the role of Book Review Editor for Ethos.
ALEX HINTON
Dissertation: "Cambodia's Shadow: An Examination of the Cultural Origins of Genocide." 1997
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Rutgers University
The American Anthropological Association has awarded Alex the 2009 Textor Prize in recognition of his work in the anthropology of genocide. Alex is Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights and Associate Professor of Anthropology and Global Affairs at Rutgers University, Newark. . . . go to website »
KATHERINE HIRSCHFELD (Mary “Tassie” Crabb)
Dissertation: "Socialism, Health, and Medicine in Cuba: A Critical Re-Analysis." 2001
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma
Tassie’s book, Health, Politics and Revolution in Cuba since 1898, was published in 2007. Written in the form of a first-person narrative, the book critically reevaluates Cuban healthcare after the 1959 revolution. . . . go to website »
DAN HRUSCHKA
Dissertation: "The Diverse Functions of Friendship." 2006
Current Position: Assistant Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University
Dan studies culture change and behavior and how these affect health. His work involves ongoing collaborations with investigators in Bangladesh and Nepal, on topics including maternal and child health and mental illness.
BENJAMIN JUNGE
Dissertation: "Citizenship Appeals: Gender and the Lived Experience of Leftist Politics in Porto Alegre, Brazil." 2007
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, New Paltz
JUN HU
Dissertation: "Under the Knife: Medical 'Noncompliance' in Hmong Immigrants." 2000
VINAY KAMAT
Dissertation: "Negotiating Illness and Misfortune in Post-Socialist Tanzania." 2004
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia
BRANDON KOHRT
Dissertation: “Wounded Hearts, Wounded Minds: Psychological Trauma in Nepal.” 2009
Current Position: Resident, Department of Psychiatry, Emory University School of Medicine and Mental Health and Research Technical Advisor, Transcultural Psychosocial Organization Nepal
Brandon’s documentary film, Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal’s Maoist Army, produced with director Bob Koenig, has won several awards, including best short documentary for child advocacy at the 2008 Artivist Film Festival in Hollywood and best student documentary film at the 2008 annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association. . . . go to website »
NICHOLAS KOTTAK
Dissertation: "Stealing the Neighbor's Chicken: Social Control in Northern Mozambique." 2002
Current Position: Principal, Ethnographic Solutions
CHRIS KUZAWA
Dissertation: "Maternal Nutrition, Fetal Growth, and Cardiovascular Risk in Filippino Adolescents." 2001
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University
Chris co-directs (along with Tom McDade, see listing below) the Laboratory for Human Biology Research at Northwestern, which does population-based research into the biological, social and cultural factors that shape human biology and health. . . . go to website »
DANIEL LENDE
Dissertation: "Pattern and Paradox: Adolescent Substance Use and Abuse in Bogota, Colombia." 2003
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame
Dan’s blog, Neuroanthropology, is a collaborative weblog created to encourage exchanges among anthropology, philosophy, social theory, and the brain sciences. . . . go to blog »
LEANDRIS LIBURD
Dissertation: "The medical anthropology of type 2 diabetes at the intersection of race, class, and gender." 2006
Current Position: Chief, Community Health and Program Services Branch, Centers for Disease Control
In addition to her work in the U.S. to eliminate health disparities in communities of color, Leandris is expanding her work in chronic disease prevention to sub-Saharan Africa. In the fall 2009, her first edited volume, "Diabetes and Health Disparities: Community-based Approaches for Racial and Ethnic Populations," will be released by Springer Publishing Company.
ERIC LINDLAND
Dissertation: "Crossroads of Culture: Religion, Therapy, and Personhood in Northern Malawi." 2005
Current Position: Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame
SARAH LYON
Dissertation: "Maya Coffee Farmers and the Fair Trade Commodity Chain." 2005
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky
Read about Sarah’s work following coffee back to the source, studying coffee farmers and the impact of fair trade practices in the Central American region. . . . go to story »
WYNNE MAGGI
Dissertation: "Our Women are Free: An Ethnotheory of Kalasha Women's Agency." 1998
Current Position: Chief Financial Officer, EnergyLogic
DAN MAINS
Dissertation: "Desire and opportunity among Urban Youth in Ethiopia." 2007
Current Position: Faculty Fellow, Department of Anthropology, Colby College
Dan has been working in Ethiopia for the past two summers on a collaborative project with Dr. Craig Hadley, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Emory University. The project, titled Poverty, Social Change, and Shifting Expectations: The Makings of Mental Health Disorders among Ethiopian Adolescents, is funded by the National Science Foundation.
SARAH MATHIS
Dissertation: "The Politics of Land: a Study of Power and Authority in Rural KwaZulu-Natal." 2008
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Anthropology, School of International Studies, University of the Pacific
THOMAS MCDADE
Dissertation: "Culture Change, Stress, and Immune Function in Western Samoan Youth." 1999
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University
Along with co-directing the Laboratory for Human Biology Research with fellow Emory grad Chris Kuzawa (see listing above), Tom is associate director of Cells to Society (C2S): The Center on Social Disparities and Health at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern. . . . go to website »
KEITH MCNEAL
Dissertation: "Ecstasy in Exile: Divinity, Power, and Performance in Two Trinidadian Possession Religions." 2004
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California San Diego
MELISSA MELBY
Dissertation: "Biocultural Approaches to the Study of the Local Biology of Menopause in Japan." 2007
Current Position: Nutrition Education Program Shokuiku Project Leader, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan
MATSHELISO MOLAPO
Dissertation: "A Biosocial Study of High Blood Pressure Among Underground Mineworkers in One South African Gold Mine." 2001
DONNA MURDOCK
Dissertation: "When Women Have Wings: Feminist NGO Strategies and Social Class in Medellin, Colombia." 2003
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Sewanee: University of the South
Donna’s new book, When Women Have Wings, is an ethnographic account of the problems of professionalization and feminism in a community center project in one of Medellín, Colombia's most embattled working class districts. . . . go to website »
HAL ODDEN
Dissertation: "The Acquisition of Cultural Knowledge of Hierarchy by Samoan Youth." 2007
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
MARK PADILLA
Dissertation: "Looking for Life: Male Sex Work, HIV/AIDS, and the Political Economy of Gay Sex Tourism in the Dominican Republic." 2003
Current Position: Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan
FAIDRA PAPAVASILIOU
Dissertation: "The Political Economy of Local Currency: Alternative Money, Alternative Development, and Collective Action in an Age of Globalization." 2008
Current Position: Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Georgia State University
JENNIFER PILLIPS DAVIDS
Dissertation: "New Lives: Migration, Fertility Transition, and Life Course Change Among Ethiopian Jewish Immigrants in Israel." 1999
Current Position: Chair and Teacher, Middle School Social Studies Department, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester
HOLLY MALUK PLASTARAS
Dissertation: "Cross-Race Friendships and Segregated Peer Groups Among Teens: An Educational Anthropology Study of Race Relations in Two 'Integreated' U.S. High Schools." 2005
Current Position: Research Associate, Research for Action
An educational anthropologist, Holly’s work with Research for Action has focused on high school reform in Philadelphia.
GAYATRI REDDY
Dissertation: "With Respect to Sex: Charting Hijra Identity in Hyderabad, India." 2000
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago
JAMES RILLING
Dissertation: "Comparative Regional Neuroanatomy of Higher Primates Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Insights into Human and Non-Human Primate Brain Evolution." 1998
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Emory University
Jim directs the Laboratory for Darwinian Neuroscience in the Department of Anthropology at Emory University. His lab uses brain imaging techniques to compare human and non-human primate brains and to investigate the neural bases of human cooperation. . . . go to website »
ELAINE SALO
Dissertation: "Respectable Mothers, Tough Men and Good Daughters: Producing Persons in Manenberg Township, South Africa." 2004
Current Position: Director, Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies, University of Pretoria
THEODORE SCHURR
Dissertation: "Population Genetic Analysis of Indigenous Peoples of Northeast Siberia: Prehistoric and Historic Influences on Genetic Diversity." 1998
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania
Tad is Principle Investigator for the Laboratory of Molecular Anthropology. Research projects at the lab range from studies of molecular genetic variation in Altaian ethnic groups to biomedical studies of mtDNA diseases in Slavic populations to studies of Holocene archeological populations from the Lake Baikal region. . . go to website »
REBECCA SELIGMAN
Dissertation: "Sometimes Affliction is a Door: A Bio-Psycho-Cultural Analysis of the Pathways to Candomblé Mediumship." 2004
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University
SALLY SERAPHIN
Dissertation: "The Neuroendocrinology, Neuroanatomy, and Behavior-Pharmacology of Dopamine in Juvenile Nursery-Reared and Mother-Reared Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca Mulatta)." 2004
Current Position: Research Fellow in Psychiatry, McLean Hospital, Harvard University Medical School
DANIEL SMITH
Dissertation: "Having People: Fertility, Family and Modernity in Igbo-Speaking Southeastern Nigeria." 1999
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Brown University
Dan is the recipient of the 2008 Society for Applied Anthropology’s Margaret Mead Award for his book, A Culture of Corruption. Everyday Deception and Popular Discontent in Nigeria. . . . go to website »
RONDA STAVISKY
Dissertation: "Socioendocrinology: Non Invasive Techniques for Monitoring Reproductive Function in Captive and Free-Ranging Primates." 1994
Current Position: Rising Star Farms
DIANA SMAY TOEBBE
Dissertation: "Measurement of Inclusion Biases in Archaeological Skeletal Collections: A Case Study of Hasanlu." 2005
Current Position: Teacher, Kent Denver School
AMANDA THOMPSON
Dissertation: "More than Just Birth Weight: a Longitudinal Study of the Reproductive Ecology of Infant Growth and Development." 2007
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Before becoming assistant professor at UNC Chapel Hill in 2009, Amanda was a postdoctoral fellow at the UNC Carolina Population Center. She is now a faculty fellow with the center. . . . go to website »
BETHANY TURNER
Dissertation: "The Servants of Machu Picchu: Life Histories and Population Dynamics in Late Horizon Peru." 2008
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Georgia State University
Beth is currently working on several collaborative projects in the Peruvian Andes. These projects center on the reconstruction of patterns of diet, mobility and health in ancient human remains, and the interpretation of these patterns within a context of state formation, decline and transition through different periods in pre-Columbian history.
HOLLY WARDLOW
Dissertation: "Passenger Women: Gender and Agency in a Papua New Guinea Modernity." 2000
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto
Holly is beginning a new project, "The Moral Politics of 'Reliable Personhood' and the Social Life of Antiretroviral Therapy Policy in Papua New Guinea." Her plan is to investigate Papua New Guinea's antiretroviral therapy policy (ART) program from three different social locations: (1) the policy arena, (2) the clinical arena, and (3) the lived experience of patients who are on ART.
ERIC WARGO
Dissertation: "Towards a Cultural Iconology: Meaning in Art and Anthropology." 2000
Current Position: Editorial Director, Association for Psychological Science
Eric is also a science writer and blogger. Read Eric’s blog, The Nightshirt, here »
ELIZABETH DIXON WHITAKER
Dissertation: "The Medicalization of Maternity in Italy: Fascism and Breastfeeding in an Apennine Community." 1995
Current Position: Visiting Professor, College of the Atlantic
For the past six years, Betsy has alternated teaching in the US with teaching at the University of Bologna in Italy, where she was initially in the history department (which houses the anthropologists), but more recently in the interdisciplinary department of translation, languages, and cultures.
SARAH WILLEN
Dissertation: "'No Person Is Illegal'? Configurations and Experiences of 'Illegality' Among Undocumented West African and Filipino Migrant Workers in Tel Aviv, Israel." 2006
Current Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University
Sarah has accepted the position at SMU for Fall 2009 after an NIMH Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
JOHN WOOD
Dissertation: "When Men Are Women: Opposition and Ambivalence Among Gabra Nomads of East Africa." 1997
Current Position: Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Asheville