Hometown:

Lexington KY

About Me:

Jennifer R. Wies is an applied medical anthropologist dedicated to teaching and practicing anthropology. After graduating from the University of Kentucky with a doctorate in Anthropology and a certificate in the Medical and Behavioral Sciences, she served as founding director for the Xavier University Women's Center for three years. Through programs, activities, leadership development, and education, she created and implemented opportunities for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members to explore gender inequities and develop solutions. Jennifer is an assistant professor of anthropology at Eastern Kentucky University in the Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Work. She leads courses on applied anthropology, medical anthropology, kinship and marriage, and anthropological history and theory. An important aspect of her anthropological practice is engaging students in service-learning experiences that apply anthropological insights and methods to social inequities. Her research focuses on structures of violence as experienced and expressed by local populations in the United States. This has included her work with victims of gender-based violence, families affected by incarceration, people with HIV/AIDS, and first-generation college women. Her edited volume, Anthropology at the Front Lines of Gender-Based Violence (with Hillary J. Haldane, Vanderbilt University Press, 2011) presents global ethnographies of local-level advocacy and activism in the gender-based violence movement. Her recent work theorizes the intersection between feminist ethnography and feminist activism and traces the legacies of women anthropologists in applied anthropology. She became a member of the Society as a graduate student and has served on several committees, previously as the Student Representative to the Board of Directors, and continues to co-chair the Gender-Based Violence Topical Interest Group.

Area(s) of Training

anthropology, applied anthropology, cultural anthropology, ethnography, medical anthropology

Area(s) of Expertise

Women's Centers; gendered violence; non-profit organizations

Most Recent Degree

PhD

Current Area of Employment

Associate Profesor and Anthropology Program Coordinator, Eastern Kentucky University