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l am a Study Abroad Faculty Ambassador and mentor students in the Environmental Sector of Murray 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 Murray 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