Teaching

I regularly teach courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level. My most recent graduate courses have been Folklore Theory in Practice (FOLK-F 516), Material Culture (FOLK-F 540/ANTH-E 699), Curatorship (FOLK-F 731/ANTH-E 600), and Highland Peoples of Southwest China/Southeast Asia/Northeast India (FOLK-F 600/ANTH-E 600). My next graduate course will be Cultural Heritage and Cultural Property (FOLK-F 732/ANTH-E 600).

My most recent undergraduate course was Museum Practice in Folklore Studies/Museum Methods (FOLK-F 406/ANTH-A 405). Other recent undergraduate courses are World Arts and Cultures (FOLK-F 121), Studying Smithsonian Cultural Collections (FOLK-F 253), and Folklore and the New Social Problems (FOLK-F 253). My next undergraduate course will be The Study of Craft (FOLK-F 440/ANTH-E 400).

I presently work with graduate students pursuing studies in a wide range of fields of interest to me, but the specific foci of my research group are: (1) material culture studies, (2) museums, and (3) heritage, cultural property, and related policy domains. Working with M.A. and Ph.D. students as they develop and implement their own research programs and as they secure professional positions in the field is one of the great pleasures of my own professional life.

My career was set in motion through faculty-supervised undergraduate research and I welcome undergraduates interested in undertaking work in the Material Culture and Heritage Studies Laboratory, which I direct.