Ann Kingsolver College of Arts & Sciences, Anthropology

Dr. Ann Kingsolver is a Professor of Anthropology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Kingsolver's research interests include globalization and how people talk about it shaping their work and identities. Dr. Kingsolver's topical focus is political anthropology and her ethnographic fieldwork has been primarily in the U.S., Mexico, and (as a Fulbright researcher) in Sri Lanka, "I am especially interested in possibilities for people to communicate across different perspectives to find points of convergence in work toward economic, environmental, and social justice." Her current research is focused on interpretations of foreign trade zones and jurisdictions of place in the U.S. as well as economic nationalism in global perspective.

In the last year, even while on sabbatical in Bristol, England, Dr. Kingsolver mentored one undergraduate student and several doctoral students through virtual meetings. Technology has been very helpful in allowing her to mentor and engage students in her research, "I have facilitated linked classrooms between students in the U.S. and students in other countries to plan, carry out and publish collaborative transnational research on topics they choose together, of importance to them: examples are food insecurity and youth unemployment. Part of the challenge of the research design for students is figuring out equitable ways to navigate differences in language, time zone, communication technologies, institutional contexts, and research practices and establish feasible projects together that are also respectful to those in their communities with whom they further collaborate." Whether near or far, Kingsolver believes that learning to listen and collaborate transnationally is a research skill that all students should be able to experience. 

Mentoring is a learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn. When she was an undergraduate student, Dr. Kingsolver had a very positive research experience and great mentors to guide her along the way, "I was volunteering in a Spanish-language clinic on the U.S.-Mexican border, and I had great mentors in the community and in my undergraduate anthropology program who encouraged me to return and do my Honors research project on both sides of the border challenging national stereotypes; that did shape my career in anthropology." When considering students for her research, Dr. Kingsolver appreciates an "openness to listening and learning across perspectives, which is vital to research in cultural anthropology, and the patience to leave room in a research design for the unanticipated - that is what we learn from the most." For students who are considering undergraduate research, Dr. Kingsolver encourages to start with a feasible project that you can build onto it based on what's been learned. "Since those I mentor are often doing interview research, it’s important to consider other people’s time and interests as well as your own in planning a conversation," she explained, "And I always suggest not asking anyone an interview question that the researcher would not be willing to answer if asked."  

Thank you Dr. Ann Kingsolver for your unwavering support of undergraduate research at the University of Kentucky. We are pleased to recognize your dedication this week as our Research Faculty Mentor of the Week. 

Dr. Ann Kingsolver - College of Arts & Sciences, Anthropology