Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, I am a professional archaeologist with fieldwork and research experience spanning the United Kingdom, the midwestern United States, southern Mexico, and highland Guatemala. At the University of Kentucky my geographical focus has been Mesoamerica, but thanks to several semesters teaching the Old World civilizations course I have also been able to maintain my parallel interest in the ancient cultures of the Near East and Europe. This has also been facilitated by the broad scope of the readings provided in Dr. Scott Hutson's seminars on archaeological theory and and identity. 

In terms of theory, my primary focus while taking classes at UK was in political systems and power more broadly. However, over the last couple of years, this has morphed into an overriding concern with community dynamics and issues of resilience and well-being. Like several other scholars I am excited by the apparent potential of these concepts to broach the divide between systems and agency thinking.