selected lectures

The following lectures are recorded in Panopto as part of my online Introduction to Cultural Anthropology course. These are meant to be both educational and to provide an example of my teaching style.

Understanding Culture

This lecture is introduces students to the concept of culture and to the ways in which anthropologists approach culture. "Welcome to Naciremaland" is complemented by the first chapter of Omohundro's Thinking Like an Anthropologist textbook and Miner's (1959) classic article "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema."

Tourism and the Holistic Approach

One of my favorite parts of teaching general anthropology courses is that there are numerous opportunities to include my own research and fieldwork experience in my lectures. "Tourism, Anthropology, and Holism" uses my research on community-based tourism to understand the importance of a holistic perspective in ethnographic research.

Art and Interpretation

Creating dynamic participation in an online course is challenging. I use Active Assignments throughout the term to engage students with the course material and with each other. This lecture, "Iconography," accompanies one of these assignments that requires the students to work with their groups to create icons that are representative of their lives and experiences

Putting it all together

At the end of the semester I like to give the students a chance to reflect on not just what they learned, but on how the concepts they learned can relate to their ongoing learning and life experiences. This lecture, "Are My Hands Clean," is the final lecture of the online course.