I am an anthropologist, ethnographer, and educator. My research and teaching interests are broad, and I have written on a wide range of subjects, but for the most part, I have focused on elaborating the relationships between community expressions (e.g., language, song, narrative) and larger systems of history, identity, and meaning (e.g., memory, belief, culture).

Much of this work has revolved around articulating a model for collaborative ethnography, an approach to qualitative research that emphasizes how scholars and local communities can research and write together to advance multicultural understanding and social change. I strongly believe that scholars at all levels (professionals, faculty, graduates and undergraduates) can engage in this process through community-centered, collaboratively-conceived, and product-based research, teaching and learning. I also believe that communities and institutions can reap great benefits from such collaborations, especially as they seek to address questions of cultural resource preservation, cross-cultural conflict, and social and cultural change.