Biography
Overview
I’m a folklorist and anthropologist. I study popular culture, gender, sexuality, festival, material culture, and narrative. I’m particularly interested in the ways in which tourist sites use folklore and other cultural markers to engage with visitors. I’ve done work on Las Vegas (foodways, festival, narrative); Los Angeles (narrative, gender and sexuality) and most recently on the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs (narrative, material culture, history and recreation). I have degrees in history, literature, and folklore. I also serve as the Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Studies and have served in administrative roles at CSUN in the College of Humanities, the Liberal Studies Program, and the Office of Student Success.
Current Projects
- Tourism in the Coachella Valley: I’ve been doing fieldwork in tourist sites in Palm Springs and the surrounding areas since the recession of 2008. I’m taking a multi-method approach (participant observation, interviews, symbolic analysis) to examine the relationship of a cultivated and created past with the current tourist environment.
• Data Storytelling: I’ve been working (within the larger context of higher education) on the ways in which storytelling and data can intersect to drive change in student success. I’m particularly interested in how we can harness these two disparate phenomena to begin to address the equity gaps in higher education and degree attainment.
• Artificial Intelligence and Higher Education success: Using an artificial intelligence chatbot relying on natural language processing, I’m looking at the ways in which a.i. can be used for student success and retention. I’m examining the ways in which it can be used both faculty and in terms of increasing student sense of belonging.
Courses Taught
Anthropology 222: Visions of the Sacred
Anthropology 232: Expressive Culture
Anthropology 308: Women, Sex Roles, and Culture
Anthropology 305: Culture and Personality
Anthropology 326: Introduction to Folklore
Humanities 491: Senior Capstone
Liberal Studies 150: Liberal Studies Seminar in Anthropology
Liberal Studies 300: Liberal Studies Gateway
Degrees and Credentials
Ph.D., 1999, University of California, Los Angeles
M.A., 1994, University of California, Los Angeles
M.A., 1991, American University
- B.A., 1989, American University
Selected Publications
“Becoming a Student-Ready University at California State University, Northridge,” with Linda Bowen, Kristy Michaud, and Janet Oh in A Vision for Equity: Results from AAC&U’s Project. AAC&U, 2018.
“A Data Informed Approach to Advancing Equity,” with Janet Oh, Linda Bowen, and Kristy Michaud, AAC&U Peer Review 2017(19:2).
“All Those Mounds of Shrimp: Las Vegas Buffets Considered” Western Folklore 67(2008) 236-249.
“The Power of Artificial Intelligence to Achieve Student Engagement and Success” with Andrew Magliozzi, Amir Dabirian, and Michael Berman, CSU GI 2025 Summit, San Diego, CA, September 2018
“Improving First-Year Retention with a Data-Informed Approach: Early but Promising Outcomes at a Large Comprehensive State University” with Janet Oh, National Summit on Student Retention, Salt Lake City, November 2018
“Change is Hard: Data Informed Decision Making the Limits of Capacity” with Janet Oh, AHSIE National Conference, Riverside, CA, April 2019
Invited presentation: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education” with Michael Galinsky, Michael Le, William O’Shea, and Drew Thiemann, Association of Institutional Researchers Conference, Denver, May 2019