Welcome
At the heart of my work
With specializations in Medical Anthropology and the Anthropology of Higher Education, my work focuses on a sustained inquiry into how individuals and communities interpret their experiences within the larger institutional and historical frameworks, including the Cultural Analysis of American Medicine and Medical Anthropology Research.
Medical Anthropology
Historical & Contemporary Cultural Analysis of American Medicine
My work sheds light on how individuals navigate multiple sites of knowledge, negotiating contradictory ideas about health, citizenship, modernity, and inclusion, especially those shaped by the history of health governance and the rise of scientific medicine, which is a key focus within the anthropology of higher education.
In my book, African American Midwifery in the South: Dialogues of Birth, Race, and Memory (Harvard University Press, 1988), I describe, through evidence from fieldwork and archival research, nearly four centuries of midwifery care as foundational to the health of rural African American mothers and children in the southern United States. I argue that public health professionals, in alliance with southern obstetric gynecologists and legitimized by the rising influence of eugenic science, criminalized African American midwifery practices. This criminalization disrupted the apprenticeship lineages through which successive generations had learned to provide culturally resonant reproductive care within their communities, a topic that aligns with the cultural analysis of American medicine. The community members’ descriptions of midwifery cosmology and birthing practices—along with their complex, often ambivalent views on whether it was a loss or benefit to be included in or excluded from segregated birthing spaces in hospitals—painted a multifaceted picture of the changing landscape. Their pragmatism regarding the inevitable subordination of intrinsic knowledge or 'mother wit' to the technical expertise of biomedicine reflected a nuanced reality that I have worked to convey through my medical anthropology research.
Anthropology of Higher Education
Faculty Development in Institutional Culture
The Anthropology of Higher Education has, to date, barely scratched the surface of the complex dynamics within the higher education academy, often overlooking how faculty life and careers are shaped by these structures and normative routines. Through my international exposure to comparative higher education systems in Brazil, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, and across the US—while on inter-agency leave from UVA as a Ford Foundation Higher Education Program Officer—I gained a unique understanding of how universities are organized and manage change, particularly in relation to incorporating previously excluded people. Upon returning to my home institution, I aimed to catalyze change that would transform barriers impeding faculty and the institution from realizing their highest ideals. My research and knowledge innovation, informed by a Cultural Analysis of American Medicine and insights from Medical Anthropology Research, led to the creation of groundbreaking initiatives through community engaged scholarship.
Art for Institutional Change: Legitimizing Women in STEM Through Visibility
Here I translated academic research into an exhibit that integrates texts from qualitative analysis of themes derived from oral history interviews, narratives based on archival historical research, and a collaborative portraiture project involving co-created images between the subjects and the photographer. This towering 9 ft multi-walled installation was showcased in the Chemistry Building and the Charles C Brown Engineering and Science Library. Between March 2017 and May 2017, it served as a significant stop on campus tours for aspiring students and faculty candidates, and it was warmly embraced by the campus community. This project not only highlights the Anthropology of Higher Education but also reflects aspects of the Cultural Analysis of American Medicine and contributes to ongoing Medical Anthropology Research. To commemorate the exhibit, an 82-page book was developed.
Search Committee Tutorial and Search Tools Portal
In the US, search committees serve as the crucial entry point for faculty into the academy, representing what some authors have described as the “principal expression of academic values.” It is within the intricate work of the search committee that transformations in faculty recruitment, advancement, and the culture of the university are shaped. My research encompassed a systematic review of the literature concerning the anthropology of higher education, interviews with colleagues at similar research institutions, and discussions with faculty who had experience either as members or chairs of search committees at UVA. An anthropologically informed qualitative analysis of the data led to the creation of the Search Committee Tutorial and Search Tools Portal: a university-wide resource for faculty recruitment and hiring at UVA. This initiative was later recognized nationally as a best practice resource for faculty recruitment and has been implemented at various U.S. institutions and universities, including MA-HERC, a consortium of 57 institutions, which aligns with ongoing medical anthropology research, particularly within the cultural analysis of American medicine.
Interactive Theatre : Faculty Unpacking Hidden Meaning in Everyday Interactions
Institutional climate can negatively impact some members of the community while going unnoticed by others. Theatre, unlike daily interactions, is curated to prompt reflection and awareness, helping audiences see issues they might otherwise overlook. Interactive theatre, particularly in the context of faculty development and the Anthropology of Higher Education, assists participants in recognizing marginalization within everyday interactions. It fosters embodied problem-solving and shared meaning-making, which are essential for developing skills and dispositions necessary for behavior change. The ADVANCE program utilized interactive theatre to engage faculty in reflection on critical issues, such as faculty recruitment, search committee evaluation, departmental cultural climate, and equity in the allocation of faculty service and rewards, ultimately contributing to a shift in institutional culture. This approach echoes principles found in the Cultural Analysis of American Medicine and aligns with insights from Medical Anthropology Research.
Professors as Writers
PAW is an institutional, extra-departmental effort deliberately structured to alleviate concerns that participants are being evaluated. The program was designed to foster conversations about the writing process, particularly within the contexts of the Anthropology of Higher Education and the Cultural Analysis of American Medicine. It aims to de-stigmatize the writing difficulties faced by many, while providing practical advice from U.Va. colleagues and nationally known experts on the practice of writing and academic publishing, including insights relevant to Medical Anthropology Research.
Emerging Inquiry Failure & Failure Disclosure in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
My new research, launched after an NSF conference on failure disclosure I organized in June 2024, explores the growing topic of failure disclosure in science, which aligns with the broader themes in the Anthropology of Higher Education. Recent scholarship suggests that transparency about failure can enhance public trust in STEM fields and provide valuable lessons to students and early-career professionals, demonstrating that failure need not hinder career advancement. Advocates argue that scientists should avoid internalizing failure and instead use it as a stepping stone, fostering a more open, generative approach. This perspective could strengthen scientific communities and promote inclusivity and diversity, echoing principles found in the Cultural Analysis of American Medicine. Some even suggest that scientists share 'failure CVs' to normalize setbacks and cultivate resilience.
However, my research highlights that failure disclosure may not benefit everyone equally. A key focus will be examining how gender impacts access to the privileges of failure transparency. Oral histories from women in STEM reveal that many find it risky to openly discuss their failures, especially with peers, suggesting that societal and institutional factors influence who feels empowered to disclose failure. I aim to create opportunities for STEM practitioners to build communities and allyship networks where they can openly discuss failure and its meanings in their work. Additionally, I seek to identify institutional models that reward failure as a resource for innovation. Alongside the conference, I’ve organized an international network of failure scholars from the U.K., Poland, Nigeria, and the U.S., all working in critical failure studies and contributing to Medical Anthropology Research.
