Teaching and Advising
I am a passionate and engaged faculty member who believes strongly in West Chester University’s teacher-scholar model. I seek to inspire and engage students in high-impact learning experiences in all of my classes. As an active and productive scholar, I bring my research into my classes and, likewise, involve my students in my research and curatorial activities. I am also a strong believer in international education and, in addition to hosting a popular field school in Italy, I am always willing to work with students to choose the right program for them. My students have presented papers and posters at West Chester University’s Research Day, the College of the Sciences and Mathematics’ CSM Celebrates! Poster session, regional and international conferences, and at the American Anthropological Association.
Classes Instructed
As Professor of Anthropology, I teach a range of classes including Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, a General Education distributive class; I find it immensely rewarding to open students’ minds to anthropology and its deep focus on culture, diversity and experience. Bringing my research expertise into the classroom, I created and instruct courses such as Ethnographic Methods, Cultural Heritage, Anthropology of Tourism, among others. I also created and co-instruct Sustainable Food Systems with a registered dietician—one of the only courses that are co-instructed across colleges at WCU. I also have created the museum studies program and several of its core courses, including Introduction to Museum Studies and Museum Exhibition Curation.
ANT 102: Introduction to Cultural Heritage
ANT/NTD 277: Sustainable Food Systems
ANT 352/552: Cultural Heritage: Making and Preserving the Past
ANT 349: Ethnographic Methods
ANT 355/555: Anthropology of Tourism
ANT 375: Ethnographic Field School: Sustainable Food and Cultural Heritage
ANT 492: Anthropological Theory
ANT 558: Museum Exhibition Curation
MST 258: Introduction to Museum Studies
MST 280: Museum Techniques
MST 358 Museum Exhibition Curation
Museum Studies Program
As Founding Director of the Museum Studies Program, I enjoy introducing an interdisciplinary group of students the ins and outs of museum work. Museum and the nonprofit “culture sector” is a growing field, particularly in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The program’s core courses include an introductory seminar on museum studies, hands-on collections care and management, and a capstone course in which students co-curate an exhibition, publish a museum catalog, and create an online virtual exhibition. This extraordinary program, with its high-impact educational experiences, prepares our students well for museum careers and graduate school. Alumni have attended graduate programs in museum studies and public history at Johns Hopkins, Temple University, and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia—among other places. Others work in the Delaware Museum of Nature and Science, the Chester County History Center, Reading Museum, Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, and more.
Ethnographic Field School: Sustainable Food and Cultural Heritage
In this immersive field school, students spend 5 memorable weeks in the historic city of Perugia in the central Italian region of Umbria. Students are instructed in the methods of ethnography, anthropology’s unique qualitative research methodology of participating in, and observing, the daily lives of locals. We are introduced to the rich culinary culture of Italy through exclusive behind-the-scenes tours at organic vineyards, sustainable farms, local markets, and country inns—as well as a cooking lesson at the Umbra Institute’s state-of-the-art test kitchen. We will enjoy a truffle hunting adventure and spend time deep in the countryside, taking idyllic walks to learn about wild herbs, talking with local beekeepers, and learning how to make cheese and salumi. We will then be placed in groups at a food-related venue among locals who have made their living valorizing and revitalizing their traditional sustainable food practices. Working with me, each group designs, carries out, and presents their findings of a short-term ethnographic research project, and many students have also presented their work at WCU Research Day, international conferences, and the American Anthropological Association. The interdisciplinary, high-impact experience brings together students from all colleges and majors—from anthropology and Italian to nursing and nutrition, communications studies to education, sociology to political science.
Collaborative Teaching
I value collaboration with wonderful and diverse colleagues across disciplines, especially in my capacity as founding director of the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, and founding director of the interdisciplinary museum studies program. ANT/NTD 277: Sustainable Food Systems and ANT 375: Ethnographic Field School are both co-instructed by a nutrition professor—one of the few courses taught across different colleges! MST 358 is co-instructed by Tom Haughey, Associate Professor of Theater and the Museum’s designer. In addition, many of my classes feature guest lectures from diverse experts inside and outside of the university. It is also a distinctive pleasure to now be able to feature former students and alumni as guest lecturers in my classes and in public lectures as well!
Students and Advising
I care deeply about providing my students with the best intellectual experience, and enjoy my role as an advisor. I have been honored with numerous advising awards over the years, including those from the College of the Sciences and Mathematics, and the Honors College. I am also the longtime advisor to the Anthropology Club, which is a vibrant student organization that sponsors popular field trips, movie nights and well-attended public lectures. I also enjoy serving as an external advisor for doctoral students at WCU and elsewhere in the US and abroad.
Advising Awards
University College and Omicron Kappa Delta Outstanding Advisor Award, 2023
University College and Omicron Kappa Delta Outstanding Advisor Award, 2022
University College and Omicron Kappa Delta Outstanding Advisor Award, 2019
College of the Sciences and Mathematics Advising Excellence Award, 2019