University of Central Missouri

Faculty Member, History and Anthropology

Asst Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Nance Collections

University of Central Missouri

About

I am an anthropologist-cultural studies scholar with terminal degrees in museum studies and cultural studies and specialties in ethnographic research, ethnomusicology and heavy metal, gender and queer theory, critical geography and museum anthropology.  My research focuses on spatiality, identity formation, and subcultural spaces.  I'm focused on music scenes- specifically gender impersonation in jazz scene Midwest U.S. and queer identity in heavy metal scenes.  As a museum curator I manage one of the largest collections of modern Middle Eastern art and artifacts in the United States, and I specialize in the conservation and interpretation of ethnographic textiles.  I'm also very interested in interdisciplinary scholars, their place in the academy, and the concept of "hybridity."

I currently serve as Co-Editor of the Central States Anthropological Society Bulletin, webmaster for the Federation of Small Anthropology Programs, and on a working group for the foundation of an international society of metal scholars.  I am also working on an international, ethnographic study of queer fans of heavy metal.

Contact Information