Graduate Students
This information is updated twice yearly.
Name/Email |
Bio |
| Zonna Barnes | (BA Anthropology, 2003 Fort Lewis College). Barnes studies Southwestern archaeology with specific interests in Ancestral Puebloan rock art and ornamentation. Her advisor is Cathy Cameron. |
| Traci Bekelman | (BA Biology, 1998 UC Berkeley; MPH, 2002 Johns Hopkins University; MA Anthropology, 2008 University of Colorado Boulder) Traci studies the relationship between health and culture in urban Latin American communities. Thesis title: Evidence for a Positive Secular Trend in Obesity in Colombia. Her advisor is Darna Dufour. |
| Richard Bender | (BA Anthropology, 2005 University of Colorado; MA Anthropology, 2009 University of Colorado). Bender is primarily interested in nutritional anthropology and human biology. His thesis research focuses on diet and health in low-income Colorado schoolchildren. His advisor is Darna Dufour. |
| Adam Blanford | (BA Anthropology, 2004 University of Cincinnati; MA Anthropology, 2006 Kent State University). Adam studies cultures of west Mexico, as well as applications of geographic information systems and remote sensing to archaeological field research. His advisor is Payson Sheets. |
| Wm. Porter Bourie | (BA Anthropology, 2004, The College of William and Mary; MA Cultural Anthropology, 2009, CU-Boulder) Bourie's dissertation research focuses on the interrelationships between the religious beliefs of rural communities of Niger and the development programs of international aid agencies. Specifically within these dynamics he is interested in how the landscape becomes a site of social meaning that is appropriated, contested, or negotiated. His advisor is Dr.Terry McCabe. |
| Alison Bredthauer | (BA Anthropology, 2006 James Madison University). Alison studies Southwestern archaeology under Dr. Cathy Cameron. Her specific research interests focus on issues of social identity and the social meaning of architecture in the Northern San Juan Basin of southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah. |
| Cris Campbell | Campbell is fully committed to holistic, multi-field anthropology, which means that he spent his first two years in the graduate program as a cultural student advised by Terry McCabe, has now switched to biological anthropology and is being advised by Matt Sponheimer, and in two years probably will switch to archaeology with yet another advisor. In the meantime, Cris has "narrowed" his studies to all things evolutionary and intends to write extensively in those areas where evolution, philosophy, and culture overlap. |
| Alicia Davis | (BA Anthropology, 1995 University of Florida; MA Anthropology/Graduate Certificate in Environmental Policy, 2004 University of Colorado). Davis studies conservation and communities in East Africa. Her dissertation research is exploring the effects of risk perception and ethnicity on land/resource use and conservation around Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Her advisor is Terry McCabe. |
| Chris Dixon | (BA Anthropology/ Archaeology, 2003 St. Mary's College of California ; MA Anthropology, 2006 University of Colorado). Dixon's research interests currently include the archaeology of Mesoamerica and the application of ground penetrating radar in archaeological research. Her MA thesis focused on a detailed investigation of ground penetrating radar data from the site of El Ceren, El Salvador. Her advisor is Payson Sheets. |
| James Dubendorf | (BA Anthropology, 2000 Hamilton College; MA Anthropology, 2007 University of Colorado). Dubendorf is interested in the issues of modernization and economic development facing the remote community of Pitcairn Island. His advisor is Paul Shankman. |
| Lori Fields | (BA/MA Anthropology, 2001/2004 New Mexico State University). Fields studies human-nonhuman primate interactions in the Philippines. Specifically, she focuses on how cultural stories and folklore influence indigenous perceptions of tarsiers and macaques in the Visayan region of the Philippines. Her advisor is Michelle Sauther. |
| Kate Fischer | (BA Latin American Studies, 2003 Carleton College; MA Anthropology, 2008 University of Colorado). Fischer's research is focused on the cultural aspects of coffee production in Costa Rica and Guatemala, particularly with respect to the actors and issues involved in Fair Trade certification. She is also interested in the linkages between coffee production and violence, including structural violence. Her advisor is Carole McGranahan. |
| Krista Fish | (BA Anthropology, 1997 Colorado College; MA Anthropology, 2000 University of Colorado). Krista's past research projects examined the impacts of habitat fragmentation and degradation on primate populations in the Neotropics and in Madagascar. Currently, she is interested in exploring primate community ecology, focusing on interactions between primates and other mammals in South Africa. Her advisor is Michelle Sauther. |
| (BA Anthropology, 2000 Dartmouth College; MRP Regional Planning, 2005 University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill). Rachel's research is in cultural anthropology, with a focus on skilled migration between India and Ireland. Her advisor is Donna Goldstein. | |
| Jamie Forde | (BA Anthropology, 2002 University of California Santa Cruz; MA Anthropology, 2006 University of Colorado). Forde's research focuses on the archaeology of central and southern Mexico, particularly Oaxaca, and the interdisciplinary uses of epigraphy and ethnohistory to better understand the transition from Postclassic to Colonial periods. His interests include social theory, ideology and relationships of power, iconographic analysis, and text-aided archaeology. His advisor is Art Joyce. |
| Hillary Glasgow | |
| Amy Harrison-Levine | (BS Natural Resources/Anthropology, 1992 Michigan State University; MA Anthropology, 1998 Kent State University). Harrison-Levine has participated in a wide range of studies regarding the behavior and ecology of living primates. Her dissertation will focus on human/non-human primate resource overlap in Vietnam and will include an analysis of conservation education as a mitigating factor. Her co-advisors are Bert Covert and Michelle Sauther. |
| Jessica Hedgepeth | (BA Anthropology & History, 2003 Brandeis University; MA Anthropology, 2009 University of Colorado). Hedgepeth studies ceramic production in Mesoamerica, investigating craft specialization and its ties with social complexity. She is particularly interested in using statistical methods and petrographic analysis for these studies. Her advisor is Art Joyce. |
| Michaela Howells | (BS Primate Behavior and Ecology, BA Anthropology, 2002 Central Washington University; MA Anthropology, 2005 Iowa State University). Howells's research interests include reproductive ecology, disease ecology, and ethnoprimatology. Her current research focus regards the biocultural implications of menopause. Her advisor is Darna Dufour. |
| Sarah Jennings | (BA Anthropology, 2002 University of Colorado at Denver). Jennings' focus is in mesoamerican archaeology. Her specific focus is in figurine studies. She is currently working full-time as a project director for Metcalf Archaeological Consultants, Inc. Her advisor is Arthur Joyce. |
| Kathy Kondor | (BA Anthropology, 2001 Lakehead University; MA Medieval Studies, 2006 Central European University). Kondor is interested in skeletal biology, dental anthropology, and diet and health of medieval populations. Her geographic specialization is Hungary. Her advisor is Dennis Van Gerven. |
| Marni LaFleur | (BS Biology, 2004 University of Victoria; MS Interdisciplinary Biology and Anthropology, 2008 University of Victoria). LaFleur's interests are in extant primate evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology. Her previous research examined ringtailed lemur feeding and nutrition, and future research interests surround ringtailed lemur adaptation to variable terrain and environmental instability. Her advisor is Michelle Sauther. |
| Jessica Lee | (MA Anthropology 2006, University of Colorado, MA Deaf Studies 2004, Gallaudet University, BA Philosophy 2001, University of Northern Colorado). Lee is studying Deaf culture in East Africa, specifically Tanzania. She is interested in issues surrounding disability studies, development, HIV/AIDS, and Deaf studies. Her advisor is Terry McCabe. |
| Roberta Martine | (BA English, 1965 St. Mary of the Plains College, Dodge City Kansas; MA Anthropology, 1982 University of Colorado, Denver; MS Telecommunications, 1988 University of Colorado, Boulder; Certificate in Web-Based Training, 2002 University of Colorado, Denver). Roberta teaches anthropology in China with Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. Her specialization is Biological Anthropology with an emphasis on human diversity. She plans to study diabetes among the Hispanic population. |
| Kathy McCardwell | (BA Anthropology, 2005 Oberlin College; MS Library Science, 2008 University of Kentucky) Kathy is interested in rights of representation, particularly in the museum and within cultural tourism. She is interested in working with the Tlingit of Southeast Alaska. Her adviser is Carole McGranahan. |
| Meryleen Mena | (BA Anthropology, 2005 Columbia University). Meryleen's research is in cultural anthropology, with a focus on Afro-Latin American identity, collective memory, political economy, and gender. Her advisor is L. Kaifa Roland. |
| Emily Mertz | (BS Biology, 2001 University of Missouri; MA Anthropology, 2006 University of Colorado). Emily is pursuing a PhD. Her advisor is Michelle Sauther. |
| James Millette | (BS Anthropology, 2003 Emory University; MA Anthropology, 2007 University of Colorado). James focuses on nonhuman primate behavior, biology, and ecology. His research interests center on the interplay between social behavior and endocrine function. His advisor is Michelle Sauther. |
| Mark Mitchell | (BS Geography, 1991 University of Utah; MA Anthropology, 1997 University of Colorado, Denver). Mitchell's research focuses on the contact period archaeology of the northern Great Plains, with a particular emphasis on the farming villages of the Missouri River region. His dissertation traces changes in the social and economic organization of those communities during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He also has research interests in historic Native American art and in the anthropology of technology, especially the organization of craft production. His advisor is Doug Bamforth. Additional information on Mitchell's current research can be found at www.paleocultural.org. |
| Ricardo Moreno-Contro | (MSS 2007 University of Colorado at Denver, BS Law 2000 ITESO, Gdl Mexico) Ricardo studies indigenous communities in the Pacific coast of Mexico, particularly their relationship with the tourism industry. His research focuses on issues of sustainable development, local control of development tools, ethnicity, and identity, in rural settings where tourism has become a major source of income. His advisor is James R. McGoodwin. |
| Chris Morris | |
| Brian Naze | BA Anthropology, 1980 University of Colorado; MA Anthropology 1994, Colorado State University). Naze is interested in prehistoric hunter-gatherers with an emphasis on the Paleoindian occupation of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. His dissertation research addresses the current controversy over the nature of Paleoindian band mobility patterns, with the traditional school of thought maintaining the view of highly mobile big game hunters and the alternative viewpoint arguing for mobility strategies more analogous to that of later hunter-gatherers. Naze's research will evaluate these contrasting views by sourcing the varieties of stone comprising artifact assemblages from Paleoindian sites in Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska. His advisor is Doug Bamforth. |
| Cody Newton | (BA Anthropology, 1996 University of Wyoming; MA Anthropology, 2008 Colorado State University). Cody studies the archaeology of the western Great Plains and middle Rocky Mountains. His dissertation research focuses on the early contact period and the development of Plains Indian equestrianism. Other research foci include Paleoindian studies, early European exploration and settlement, the historic bison robe trade, and the Plains Indian Wars. His advisor is Doug Bamforth. |
| Jonathan O'Brien | (BA Anthropology, 2000 University of Florida; MA Anthropology, 2006 University of Colorado at Boulder). O'Brien studies the feeding and sensory ecology of South East Asian colobines. Specifically, he is looking at habitat variation within black shanked doucs (Pygathrix nigripes) and the status of silvered langurs (Trachypithecus margarita) in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam. His work focuses on the conservation of primates within Vietnam. His advisor is Bert Covert. |
| Lena Papadopoulos | (BA Sociology, 2008 Clemson University) Lena is currently interested in the integration of superstitious beliefs in the Orthodox religious tradition of Greece. She hopes to investigate the origin and nature of these superstitions, how they have come to be practiced as a part of Orthodoxy, how this has impressed upon Greek culture, and how this relationship can speak to a more world-wide and cross-cultural phenomena of the integration of superstition and ritual into fixed religious practice. Her advisor is Dennis McGilvray. |
| Katy Putsavage | (BA Anthropology, 2001 University of Maryland; MS Museum and Field Studies, 2008 University of Colorado). Putsavage's research interests are in Museums and Southwest Archaeology. Her specific interests in Southwest Archaeology include ceramic use wear patterns and Mesa Verde mugs. Her advisor is Steve Lekson. |
| Paul Sandberg | (BA Anthropology, 2002 Colorado College; MA Anthropology, 2006 University of Colorado). Sandberg's research interests include the reconstruction of human diet, life history, and health through stable isotope analysis. Sandberg is currently using stable isotopes to investigate dietary changes in a Medieval Nubian population. His advisor is Matt Sponheimer. |
| Nicole Sauvageau | |
| Colleen Scanlan-Lyons | (BA American Studies, 1990 University of Notre Dame; MIA School for International Training 1995; MA Anthropology, 2002 University of Colorado). Colleen studies how grassroots activists, nongovernmental organizations and the state shape the development of social movements in Brazil. In particular, she looks at the dynamic relationships emerging between the environmental and land reform movements working in the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia, Brazil. Her advisor is Donna Goldstein. |
| Carey Scheerer | (MA Latin American Studies, 2003 University of Kansas; MA Anthropology, 2007 University of Colorado). Carey's current research is on sexuality and HIV/AIDS in a Garifuna community of Honduras. Her areas of interest include gender, reproduction, sexuality, HIV/ AIDS, globalization/transnationalism, development, and medical anthropology. Her advisor is Donna Goldstein. |
| Morgan Seamont | (BA Anthropology, 2007 Washington State University-Vancouver). Morgan's area of interest is in the archaeology of the American southwest. She is studying frontiers of contact among different cultural groups. Her advisor is Steve Lekson. |
| Jakob Sedig | (BS Anthropology, 2007 Illinois State University). Jakob is an archaeology student, specifically focusing on the southwest United States. He is interested in lithics, especially tool production. Jakob's advisor is Cathy Cameron. |
| Margaret Shugart | (BA Anthropology & BA Religious Studies, University of Texas at Austin 2003). Margaret's current research is on the return to traditional/organic rice farming practices in Bali, Indonesia. Coming from a bio/culture perspective, she is interested in the intersection of agriculture and nutrition. She is dual advised by Darna Dufour and Terry McCabe. |
| Casey Sloan | |
| Nicole M. Smith | (BA Anthropology, 1994 University of Minnesota; MA Anthropology, 1998 Colorado State University). Nicole studies Maasai land use and conservation policy in east Africa. In particular she is looking at livelihood diversification among Maasai in the Simanjiro District of northern Tanzania. She is interested in how out-migrations are influencing land use at the village level and the implications of changes in land use for conservation policy in areas around Tarangire National Park. |
| Magdalena Stawkowski | (BA Anthropology/History, 2003 University of Delaware; MA Anthropology, 2007 University of Colorado). Stawkowski is interested in the subject of nationalism and ethnic identity among Kazakhs of Polish descent in Kazakhstan. More specifically, her research will focus on the maintenance of national ethnic identity and the relationship between migration and nationalism after the fall of communism in Kazakhstan. Her advisor is Donna Goldstein. |
| Jordan Steininger | |
| Marnie Thomson | (BA Anthropology, 2004 Washington University in St. Louis; MA Social Sciences, 2006 University of Chicago). Thomson's research is in cultural anthropology with a focus on the politics of Congolese refugee repatriation from Tanzanian camps to the DRC. Her advisor is Carla Jones. |
| Kellam Throgmorton | (BA History 2005, Colorado College) Kellam is a first year masters student and focuses on the archaeology of the American Southwest. He is mainly interested in Puebloan prehistory, although he occasionally gets excited about Bajada points, too. His advisor is Cathy Cameron. |
| Brenda Todd | (BA Anthropology, 2003 Fort Lewis College; MA Anthropology, 2005 University of Colorado). Todd focuses primarily on the archaeology of the American Southwest with a secondary interest in the Southeast. For her MA thesis, Todd conducted NAGPRA cultural affiliation research for Fort Union National Monument in New Mexico. For her PhD, Todd is doing a comparison of the components of political complexity at Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Cahokia in Illinois. Her advisor is Stephen Lekson. |
| Carlos Torres | (BA/MA Anthropology, California State College at Fullerton). Carlos studies contemporary Maya society in Chiapas, Mexico, and media representation of the issue of land conservation and land settlement in the Montes Azules rainforest reserve. As a visual and media anthropologist, Carlos seeks to document the representation of the Mayan people through the Western gaze, and to document the Mayan quest for self-representation through visual and cultural media, asking the question, "How do deeper levels of ethos and ways of seeing the world influence the power and politics of representation?" His advisor is Russ McGoodwin. |
| Michelle Trogdon | |
| Larry Ulibarri | (BA Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies, 2002 University of Northern Colorado; MA Anthropology, 2006 University of Colorado). Larry's studies involve the conservation and ecology of Southeast Asian colobine primates, specifically those endemic to Vietnam. His advisor is Bert Covert. |
| Erin Van Regenmorter | (BA English, BS Biology, 2000 Hope College; BS Anthropology, 2006 Grand Valley State University; MA Anthropology, 2009 Western Michigan University). Erin’s research has focused on environmental, developmental, and biological influences on the behavior patterns of captive spider monkeys. She is currently interested in investigating the various correlates of growth and development and how they relate to life history in captive primates. Her advisor is Bert Covert. |
| Crystal Watson | (MA Anthropology, 2008 University of Colorado). |
| Errin Weller | (BA Anthropology, 2000 Vassar College; MA Anthropology, 2002 University of Colorado). Weller studies the Late Classic (AD 600-800) Maya in Peten, Guatemala where she is using remotely-sensed data from satellites and aerial photography to identify areas of ancient occupation. Specifically, she is investigating the relationships between landscape (especially low-lying seasonal swamps) and non-elite and elite habitation. Her advisor is Payson Sheets. |
| Dana Whitelaw | (BA Anthropology, BA Biology, 1997 University of Montana; MA Anthropology, 2001 University of Colorado). Dana studies the interplay of anthropogenic habitat disturbance and primate behavioral ecology. Her fieldwork has been focused at Beza Mahafaly Reserve in southwestern Madagascar. Her advisor is Michelle Sauther. |
| Heather Williams | (BS Forensic Anthropology, Metropolitan State College of Denver, 1999; MA Anthropology, University of Colorado, Boulder, 2005). Heather's previous research has focused on developmental defects among Ancestral Pueblo populations in the southwest. Her current interests are in human biology. She is researching work efficiency in lactating women and biocultural aspects of childhood nutrition and childhood obesity. Her advisor is Darna Dufour. |
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Field school group on porch |
Barb in
Brazil (Photo/Barb Piperata) |