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 My basic approach to instruction embraces the idea that student engagement and minding the ‘big picture’ are both critical. Thus, I see much of my role as a teacher tied to my drive to make anthropology exciting, relevant, and meaningful to my students as well as myself, always keeping in mind what my main goals as an educator should be. In the classroom, I favor very student-centered modes of learning, where critical thinking and problem solving are emphasized. I am much more interested in promoting student competencies than in having students learn any specific items of knowledge. (There are definitely no multi-guess exams in my undergrad courses.) At the undergrad level, I have recently spent a lot of energy developing ASU’s new undergraduate major in Global Health, which promotes this sort of engagement through study abroad, community service learning, research experience and advocacy. At the graduate level my main goal is to ensure my students leave not only with a Ph.D. but with a sophisticated skill set (professional, theoretical, and methodological) that will help them go from success to success as they move into their own careers. I thus not only believe in the importance of mentoring grad students as emerging professionals, but also in training them. This is why my repertoire of graduate courses includes ethnographic methods, professional development, research design, and proposal writing. Graduate students who would like to work with me have several options, and are encouraged to contact me at any time to discuss possibilities. We offer the Ph.D. in Anthropology, in one of the top-ranked, largest, and most dynamic programs in the country, and within that we can provide concentrated training in medical anthropology, anthropology & environment, nutritional anthropology, biocultural/life history anthropology, as well as provide an unmatched suite of instruction in social science methods, such as ethnography, demography, modeling, GIS, and epidemiology. For those seeking an interdisciplinary training that draws from but is not completely focused in Anthropology with a strong community-based and translational emphasis, we offer the Ph.D. in Social Science and Health. I can also supervise students in the Ph.D. in Environmental Social Science. Over the last few years, a majority of my undergrad teaching has taken place outside of the regular classroom setting. More than a decade ago, somewhat by chance, I ended up teaching in a study abroad program in Europe. As I went from discussing the politics of race with students on the ride home from Dachau, to peering into a glass freezer with them to see Utzi the ‘ice man’ in Bolzano, I had an epiphany. Students were learning faster and thinking more deeply than I had ever seen in a classroom, and were unbelievably happy as they were doing it. I now understand better the research behind what I took from that experience: study abroad, even short-term, really deepens student learning, engagement, and critical thinking (and it is good for faculty too). Born again, I went on to develop and manage both long- and short-term programs in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Antarctica, and Belize while I was at UGA. Now at ASU, I direct a summer program in New Zealand and Fiji that is centered on issues of culture, health, and environment.
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