Anthropology

Samantha’s research and teaching experience includes sociology and language revitalization as well as English as a Second Language teaching and academic writing.

After graduating from Simon Fraser University, Samantha gained first-hand experience as an international student while on the Japanese government MEXT program in Okinawa, Japan.

She completed her master’s in Linguistics and Communications and doctorate in Comparative Regional Culture and Area Studies at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan, and continues her Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL)-sponsored research on language reclamation in Okinawan cultural arts.

Dr. Christine Elsey received her PhD, MA and BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Simon Fraser University. Formerly, she was an Associate Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley, in the School of Culture, Media and Society, where she taught Sociology and Anthropology courses at the undergraduate level. Her main areas of expertise are anthropological and sociological theory, and BC. First Nations.

Over the years, Christine has taken special enjoyment in teaching introductory courses in Cultural Anthropology. She was covered with a blanket for her contribution to the education of one of her First Nations students, during a special First Nations graduation ceremony, at the Malloway Longhouse in Chilliwack, BC. (in 2006). In 2021, she was awarded the designation of Professor Emeritus at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) for her contributions to scholarship, university service and teaching.

Dr. Patino-Contreras is a Canadian researcher and an educator. As a Cultural History Enthusiast, Knowledge Builder, and Curiosity Kindler, he advocates for promoting intersocietal dialogue, critical thinking, and exchanging ideas through engaged teaching, learning, and researching.

Dr. Patino Contreras has a PhD. In Archaeology from the University of Calgary. His professional experience encompasses over a decade of research in anthropological archaeology in Guatemala, Central America, and some work in Colombia, South America. Dr. Patino-Contreras is interested in the evolution of social, economic, and political integration and segregation dynamics in pre-industrial societies. Specifically, his work addresses the roles of the creation, manipulation, and consumption of ceramics, developing cultural mechanisms of societal inclusion and exclusion. He has investigated this subject within the framework of international archaeological projects at El Mirador Basin and the sites of Naachtun, El Tigre, and La Sufricaya in Guatemala.

Dr. Patino Contreras has studied how Indigenous identities in the Eastern Andes of Colombia were asserted and reproduced in the house plans and garbage discarding practices of a small settlement before and after the Spanish invasion. He has also examined Indigenous views of societal change during this critical period by analyzing myths and descriptions of rituals and spiritual beliefs gathered by Spanish authors.

As an instructor at AC and an independent researcher, Dr. Patino-Contreras hopes to spark further curiosity for his subject of study by disseminating his research in publications and presentations. His research is featured in international peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations, and field reports.

Dr. Kate Kingsbury is an anthropologist of religion who earned her MPhil and DPhil from the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the intersections of spirituality, gender, and violence, with an emphasis on vernacular and lived expressions of Christianity and Islam. She has carried out ethnographic research in West Africa, and worked extensively in Mexico, especially Oaxaca, examining the rise of Santa Muerte devotion among women in marginalized communities.

Kingsbury adopts a decolonial and feminist approach that centers the voices, practices, and epistemologies of women, Indigenous and subaltern groups often excluded from dominant narratives. Her work focuses on Santa Muerte devotion as a fluid and adaptive vernacular praxis through which marginalized subjects negotiate survival, articulate power and resistance, reclaiming agency and their Indigenous heritage amid regimes of structural violence, precarity, and socio-political abandonment.

Her scholarship has been published in numerous edited volumes and leading peer-reviewed journals, including International Journal of Latin American Religions, Journal of Religion in Africa, Anthropologica, Religions, and Anthropology and Humanism.

Kingsbury is a staunch believer in activism and humanitarian ethical scholarship and is engaged in community-based disaster relief and advocacy in southern Mexico, combining scholarship with praxis, including fundraising efforts following Hurricane Agatha in 2022.

Lindsay holds a M.A in Anthropology from Simon Fraser University.

Her thesis, Studenthood: An ethnography of post-secondary student life, explores the distinct subjectivity of students through a variety of participant action research methods with a focus on the notion of student fragility.

Using life course theory and the related concepts of tacking and vital conjunctures, Lindsay explores student navigational strategies and rethinks this demarcated period in the life course which has been traditionally perceived as a period of adolescent indecisiveness encapsulated as liminality.

Lindsay’s future research aims to better understand how higher education marketing fosters an environment of student fragility that necessitates numerous institutionally sanctioned stress-relief practices.

Lindsay is currently working with Simon Fraser University and The University of Toronto on a national workforce intergration social enterprise (WISE) longitudinal evaluation project (SSHRC Insight Grant, 2017-2022). This study follows youth graduates of social enterprise-based training programs to see to what extent they can integrate into the workforce. Lindsay’s previous experience includes working with SFU’s Urban Studies Department on an employer transit subsidy study (ETSS).

This project involved conducting experimental research on a worker transit subsidy program for downtown Vancouver hotel workers and included an examination of transit ridership levels, commuting patterns, and workplace performance.

Sharmita Paul is a dynamic instructor specializing in Anthropology and Sociology with over 4 years of teaching experience. Sharmita Paul is passionate about using anthropological and sociological frameworks to address real-world issues. She believes in creating an inclusive classroom environment where diverse perspectives are appreciated and critical discussions flourish.

She is skilled in program design and innovative teaching methodologies, successfully engaging students in various cultural anthropology and sociology courses. Notably, she has conducted anthropological research on water conservation practices, producing reports at the executive level. She is committed to fostering academic excellence and student success and is capable of enhancing curriculum development and student engagement in the fields of anthropology and sociology.

Outside the classroom, she has many years of experience working in various federal government positions, with a strong understanding of Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial systems, as well as its political landscape, legislative processes, and government structures. Feel free to reach out to Sharmita Paul if you have any questions. Also, she is actively involved in various community programs that aim to foster social change and improve community relations.