ABOUT
I am an associate professor of anthropology and director of the Digital Humanities Institute at the University of North Florida where I teach in a department dedicated to the four field approach. My research investigates the experience of deafness among deaf children and their families in Mexico City, Mexico. To address the interrelatedness of human biology, culture, and language among deaf participants, I integrate the analytical lens of medical anthropology with sociocultural-linguistic theoretical approaches. I use a community-based approach that incorporates participatory and visual methods including photovoice, digital storytelling and personal history timelines.
PHOTOVOICE
Photovoice is a qualitative research method that asks participants to respond to research themes or questions using digital photography. Participants and researchers then discuss the images which allows participants to guide the researcher to topics that may not otherwise be discovered using “traditional” ethnographic research methods. I use photovoice methodology with deaf youth participants in Mexico City, Mexico (Proyecto Fotovoz or Project Photovoice) and I adapted this research method for the undergraduate classroom (Observations through Photovoice).
Field Research
East-West Center - Cambodia
Participated in a current events seminar investigating the effects of the Khmer Rouge regime and civil war on contemporary Cambodian education. Conducted interviews and participant-observation at non-governmental organizations sponsoring deaf education (2009; 1 month).
Instituto Pedagógico para Problemas de Lenguaje - Mexico City, Mexico
Longitudinal ethnographic field-research investigating the medicalization of deafness. Field methods include digital storytelling, photovoice, personal history timelines, surveys, and semi-structured interviews (January-July 2018; 7 months).
Civil and Environmental Engineering Dept., USF - Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Designed ethnographic research for civil engineering team investigating the impact of public green spaces on urban water drainage. Implemented surveys, conducted semi-structured interviews, analyzed and presented results (2010; 1 month).
Student Research
Tylyn Dagsaan
Birth Control Behind Bars: Anthropological Perspectives on the Care of Captive Bonobos – Honors Thesis in Anthropology, OUR Grant Winner, Outstanding Anthropology Graduate (2019)
Project Brush Up, Winner United Way UpStream Grant (2017)
Julia Rivera-Whalen
Rising Nationalisms and the Migrant “Crisis” in the European Union (2019)
MOSH History and Natural Science Collection Internship (2017)
Kaitlynn Himmelreich
Fulbright U.S. Student Program award in Education (2020)
Cambodian Sign Language: Development and Impact, OUR Grant winner, and Outstanding Research Award in International Studies (2018+)
Maria Encinosa
Embodied Injustices: COVID-19, Race, and Epigenetics, Undergraduate Researcher of the Year (2021)
Two directed Independent Studies, Honors Capstone Project, Honors Biology Project (2020+)
“
Maria Encinosa
UNF Class of 2021
Tylyn Dagssan
UNF Class of 2019