Welcome

I am an assistant professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Philosophy at Northern Kentucky University. I maintain this website with information on my research, pedagogy, information on the Darkness in El Dorado controversy, and my contact information.

My core interest is understanding how humans interpret their environment and how their interpretations may influence their practices. In short, I have focused on the ethnoecology of agricultural development. I use both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore how cultural models vary within and between groups. Specifically, my ethnoecological ethnography has been applied to assisting the transition from swidden to irrigated agriculture in Madagascar and agricultural development in both California and Kentucky. I am now focusing my research on improvement of sugar cane farming in Belize. In sum, my research interests are at once theoretical, methodological, and applied.