Faculty

Ph.D, Tulane University (Anthropology)

Interests: development of complex societies; ancient Maya civilization; material culture and cultural identity; indigenous societies of Latin America.

Current Research: traditions and transitions in material culture and cultural identity at Copan, Honduras; regional politics and sociocultural developments in the El Paraiso Valley, Honduras.

Courses Taught: ANTH 1120, ANTH 1131, ANTH 1132, ANTH 1160, ANTH 2234, LAMS 1100

Ph.D, Simon Fraser University (Cultural Anthropology)

Interests: community research; anthropological methods and ethics.

Courses Taught:  ANTH 1120, ANTH 1170, ANTH 1500, ANTH 2250, ANTH 2260

Katharine is originally from Ontario but moved east to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to study a B.A.H Social Anthropology and International Development at The University of King’s College and Dalhousie University. She moved to the UK to study at the Institute of Archaeology at University College London, to complete her master’s degree in Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology. Katharine joined the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the beginning of 2020.

Katharine’s current research focuses on the forensic themes of taphonomic damage, specifically the thermal alteration of cranial gunshot trauma, as well as the application of forensic archaeology and forensic anthropology methods to human rights concerns including when communities are facing natural disasters and displacement.

At Langara, Katharine teaches Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 1120), Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Human Origins (ANTH 1131), and Forensic Anthropology (ANTH 1400).

When Katharine isn’t teaching, you are most likely to find her kayaking in the summer and snowshoeing in the winter.  No matter the season you will find her with a cup of tea on the go.

Eric is an anthropological archaeologist whose core interest is in the relationships between archaeology and contemporary people. His MA research (Simon Fraser University) was an investigation of how archaeologists in British Columbia work with Indigenous knowledge holders to develop understandings about the past. His PhD research (University of British Columbia) examines his archaeological role in a community-led effort to locate missing children from an Indian Residential School.

 Eric grew up Vancouver and has lived in southwestern BC, in Coast Salish territory, most of his life. Before studying archaeology, he practiced as a visual artist (BFA, SFU), worked in federal and provincial politics, and farmed. These experiences shape Eric’s archaeological interests—in past people’s relationship with the land and with each other, in social justice, and in the variety of ways people represent themselves and their worlds.

Drawing on his visual art background, Eric also practices archaeological illustration, including archaeological landscape recreations, methodological and pedagogical visualizations, and cartooning.

Courses Taught:  ANTH 1132 (Introduction to Archaeology), ANTH 1224 (Ethnoarchaeology)

Department Chair

Adam grew up in a small farming community in the Ottawa Valley region of Ontario, and first moved to Vancouver in 2007 to take up graduate studies at the University of British Columbia. Completing both an MA and a PhD at UBC, Adam was fortunate enough to take up an instructor position in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Langara College in the summer of 2016.

As an applied Cultural Anthropologist, Adam believes deeply in Anthropology’s dual purpose of celebrating cultural diversity and critiquing/exposing forms of inequality in our societies. His research has primarily focused on visual culture, in particular family photograph collections and acts of visual sovereignty in Northwest Coast Indigenous communities, by assisting with community-driven archival and ethnographic research projects. Currently, Adam is developing a new research project on competing cultural discourses of conservation around anadromous fish species throughout the Pacific Northwest.

At Langara, Adam teaches courses such as: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 1120), Colonialism and Reconciliation in BC (ANTH 1180), the Anthropology of Religion (ANTH 2250), the Anthropology of Food (ANTH 2270), and special topics courses in subjects like Visual Anthropology and the Anthropology of Media.

When not teaching, Adam can most likely be found tying flies and fishing for steelhead, playing or watching baseball (go Brewers!), playing music, or on an adventure with his partner Jill and their dog Ruby.