“Living with Javelinas”: New Book Under Contract
After five years of research and writing, I am pleased to announce that my first book is under contract with University of Texas Press. Peer reviews came back…
Tag: Texas
Guest on The Sausage of Science Podcast
I was a guest on The Sausage of Science podcast with Dr. Chris Lynn, discussing my research. Listen below.
Dissertation Defense: Five Years of Recovery
On April 30, 2019, a shooter entered my classroom on my last day of teaching at UNC-Charlotte. I was preparing to move to Texas to begin a doctoral…
Dissertation: Living with Javelinas: On the Co-production of Human-Javelina Conviviality in Texas
Abstract This dissertation investigates the coexistence of humans and javelinas in Texas. Through a blend of traditional ethnography, ethology, and GIS mapping, the study explores the dynamics…
Our Edited Volume is Out:
Nurturing Alternative Futures: Living with Diversity in a More-than-Human World I am pleased to announce that Nurturing Alternative Futures: Living with Diversity in a More-than-Human World is cur…
American Anthropological Association 2023 Talk: Making Pigs Dirty: Conflicting Perspectives on Javelinas and Hogs in Texas
I co-chaired a panel at the 2023 meeting of the American Anthropological Association titled “The America Animal.” Abstract: Other-than-human animals comprise a large part of the so…
Colonizing Mars or Colonizing the Earth? A Reflection on Landscape and SpaceX in Texas
By Robert Kopack, University of South Carolina § I was startled awake by a faint voice announcing something across the humid, coastal air. Maybe it was a shift…
Radio Guest: “Anthropologist traces the “multi-species politics” of javelinas and humans”
I was a guest on the Marfa Public Radio show, Nature Notes, discussing my research on human-javelina relations in Texas. Listen for a sneak peek at some of…
Dissertation Manuscript Outline: Human-Javelina Relations in Texas
Humans and Javelinas: Something Something… I need a title … This study is motivated by the broad pressing question: How do we live in a world full of…
Dissertation Update: “On Anthropomorphism”
I’ve sent off the first section of my dissertation to my advisor. This section is going in the introduction around the theoretical and methodological foundations of the study.Next…
Why I Study Human-Animal Relations as an Anthropologist
Anthropology is the study of humans, or as Dr. Jon Marks says: “the study of who we are and where we come from.” I consider it to be…
Making a Multispecies Community in the Texas Hill Country: AAA2022 Talk
Below is a recording of the talk I am giving in person at the 2022 annual American Anthropological Association meeting on November 10. Video of my talk
Digging for Birds
My partner and I bought a house in 2019 and moved to San Antonio, TX, in service of my pursuit of a Ph.D. in anthropology. One thing that…
Big Bend Javelina Survey
Thank you for participating in this survey. To complete the survey, follow the link below:
The Same Old Song and Dance: Nothing Has Been Done to Reduce Mass Shootings
We are only a few days removed from the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX where nearly two dozen people were murdered in cold…
Sandy Smith-Nonini: Energy Crises in the Time of Covid: Precarious Fossil Infrastructures
The spectacle of Russia invading Ukraine has elevated tensions over Europe’s access to natural gas and may herald a sea-change in regional geopolitics of energy. But prior to…
Javelinas and Texas Ebony Trees in South Texas
Texas Ebony trees (Ebenopsis ebano) is a species of legume native to South Texas. These trees produce large bean pods (see below) that ripen and fall to the…
A Rat’s Journey There and Back Again
In early August of this year, my partner and I took a much needed vacation to South Padre Island. While visiting, we decided to go snorkeling in Laguna…
Abstract: Of People and Peccaries: Perception and Politics in the Texas Hill Country
I am giving a talk in October for the Royal Anthropological Institute: https://www.therai.org.uk/conferences/anthropology-and-conservation/panels#10866 Here is the abstract for my talk based on or…
Qualifying Exam Essay: Javelinas in SPAAAACE and Time
I have passed my qualifying exams and so am making my essays available on my blog. The other essays can be found: Attending to Animals in Anthropology and…
Fieldwork Diary July 8-9, 2021
I am conducting research across Texas on Human and javelina relations. I am interested in how humans and other animals negotiate space at sites of encounter. During this…
Qualifying Exams Reading List: Javelinas and Texas through Space and Time
Altrichter, Mariana. “The sustainability of subsistence hunting of peccaries in the Argentine Chaco.” Biological Conservation 126, no. 3 (2005): 351-362. Bement, Leland C.&nb…