Experience

University of Illinois Chicago

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Associate Professor of Anthropology

  • Aug 2013 - Present

  Ethnographic research on the social and cultural aspects of organic agriculture, food, the environment. Developing and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. Mentoring graduate students, undergraduates, and Honors College students. Serving on Departmental and University committees, organizing conference panels, conferences, and Keynote presentations, participating as a founding member of the Chicago Area Food Studies Working Group, serving on the editorial board of a book series and a scholarly journal, peer-reviewing many scholarly article and books, writing articles, books, and book reviews, reviewing grant applications and serving as a consulting anthropologist for an Anthropological Foundation. I am currently finishing a book on culture and politics of fair trade coffee. I am especially interested in social activism concerning the production and consumption of organic food and environmental commodities.

• Assistant Professor of Anthropology

  • Aug 2007 - Aug 2013

  Carried out ethnographic research on the social and cultural aspects of fair trade coffee, focusing on coffee produced in Mexico and roasted in the Midwest, US and the UK. Wrote several articles and a book called Stealing Shining Rivers: Agrarian Conflict, Market Logic, and Conservation in a Mexican Forest (University of Arizona, 2012) based on earlier research. Taught Classes in Sociocultural Anthropology at the Graduate and undergraduate levels. Gave many public presentations and conference presentations, reviewed articles and books for scholarly journals and presses, organized professional, university, and departmental functions, served on departmental and University committees.



Anthropology

• Anthropologist

  • 1992 - 2013



Marquette University

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Assistant Professor of Anthropology

  • Aug 2003 - Jun 2007

  Carried out ethnographic research in Mexico on the "Culture and Politics of Fair Trade Coffee, "Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the national Science Foundation. Taught undergraduate courses in Cultural Anthropology. Advised and mentored undergraduate students. Presented research at public venues and professional conferences.