Research Focus

Applied anthropology; gender, development, and indigenous land rights; tourism and natural resource management; women, work and economic justice; consumerism and environmental sustainability; applied qualitative methods; participatory action research; Central America, US.

Academic Summary

Dr. Brondo received her PhD from Michigan State University in 2006.  She is a practicing anthropologist engaged in teaching and research in the areas of gender, development and social justice, tourism, natural resource management, consumerism and environmental sustainability, and applied participatory action research and assessment.  She has over twelve years of research experience in both urban and rural communities in Central America and the United States. 

Dr. Brondo is active in leadership within the American Anthropological Association (AAA).  She served on the Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology (COSWA) from 2005 to 2007 (Chair, 2006-2007), and currently serves on the Committee for Applied, Practicing, and Public Interest Anthropology (CoPAPIA).  She has worked on two international work climate surveys that explored the gendered dimensions of work as academics and practicing anthropologists sponsored by American Anthropological Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology, and CoPAPIA’s survey of Anthropology MAs.  Dr. Brondo was also one of the principal actors in developing the American Anthropological Association’s (AAA) “Guidelines for Evaluating Scholarship in the Realm of Practicing, Applied, and Public Interest Anthropology for Academic Promotion and Tenure,” adopted by the AAA Executive Board in 2011.

In her research in Central America, Dr. Brondo has explored the organizational mobilization of Mayan domestic workers in Guatemala, identity politics and indigenous mobilization, tourism development, and the gendered impacts of neoliberal agrarian reform in Honduras.  Her research with the afro-indigenous Garifuna community of Honduras focuses on the intersection of gender, development, indigeneity, and territorial rights.  She spent two years serving as the Senior Social Scientist for Operation Wallacea, a private scientific research expedition organization, in the Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Honduras.  In that role she was responsible for the design and implementation of a multi-year project to assess the socioeconomic impacts of regulations on natural resource extraction, as well as expectations and potential for ecotourism development within five Garifuna communities. Her current studies in Honduras are in the areas of the conservation policy, resource rights, and “voluntourism.”

Dr. Brondo’s local research is guided by the University of Memphis’ engaged scholarship mission as an urban-serving institution.  With support from the Strengthening Communities Grant Initiative Program, she collaborated with Jacob’s Ladder CDC and the Belt Line Neighborhood Association on a youth-led oral histories project to preserve community heritage and bring resident voices into neighborhood redevelopment (2007-2009). Currently, she and her students are working to expand an environmental anthropology and cultural heritage research agenda in Memphis.  Students in her classes have been involved in conducting ethnographic research in the areas of environmental justice, the relationship between parks, people, and conservation, and on green infrastructure and social justice.

Books

Brondo, Keri Vacanti. (Forthcoming June 2013).  Land Grab:  Green Neoliberalism, Gender, and Garifuna Resistance.  University of Arizona Press. 

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Tara Hefferan. (eds.).  2010.  Intersections of Faith and Development in Local-Global Contexts. NAPA Bulletin.  Volume 33, Issue 1.

Refereed Journal Articles and Chapters 

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Linda Bennet.  2012.  Career Subjectivities in American Anthropology:  Gender, Practice, and Resistance.  American Anthropologist.  114(4):  598-610.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti.  2012.  From Fishing to Tourism?  Conservation, Development, and Garifuna Activism in the Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area.  Cengage Learning's Anthropology CourseReader.  Detroit:  Gale, 2011

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Natalie Bown. 2011. Neoliberal Conservation, Garifuna Territorial Rights, and Resource Management in the Cayos Cochinos Protected Area. Conservation & Society. 9(2): 91-105.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Marietta L. Baba.  2010.  Last In, First Out: A Case Study of Lean Manufacturing in North America’s Automobile Industry.  Human Organization 63(9):  263-264.
 
Brondo, Keri Vacanti.  2010.  Practicing Anthropology in a Time of Crisis: 2009 Year in Review. American Anthropologist 112(2): 208-218.

Connolly, Robert and Keri Vacanti Brondo.  2010.  Incarnate Theology and the Social Gospel: Exploring the Mississippi Model of Episcopal Medical Missions to Panama.  In Keri Vacanti Brondo and Tara Hefferan’s (eds.) Intersections of Faith and Development in Local-Global Contexts.  NAPA Bulletin 33(1): 31-49.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Tara Hefferan.  2010.  Resource Guide for Anthropologists Working in Faith-Based Development. In Keri Vacanti Brondo and Tara Hefferan’s (eds.) Intersections of Faith and Development in Local-Global Contexts.  NAPA Bulletin 33(1): 161-70.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti. 2010.  When Mestizo Becomes (Like) Indio…or is it Garifuna?: Negotiating Indigeneity and 'Making Place' on Honduras' North Coast.  Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology 15(1): 171-14.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Laura Woods. 2010. Garifuna Land Rights and Ecotourism as Economic Development in Honduras’ Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area.  In Vanga Surendar Reddy’s (ed) Ecotourism-Sustainable Development. Nagarjuna Hills, Punjagutta, India: Amicus Books.  The Icfai University Press. Pp. 87-113.  (*reprint of Brondo and Woods 2007, originally published in Ecological and Environmental Anthropology)

Brondo, Keri Vacanti,Carla Guerron-Montero, and Catherine Kingfisher. 2009. The Squeaky Wheels Squeaks Again: Reflections on the Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology.Voices 9(1): 5-8.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti. 2008. La pérdida de la tierra y el activismo de las mujeres garífunas en la costa norte de Honduras. [Online] 9(4): 372-394 (translation reprint)

Brondo, Keri Vacanti. 2007. Land Loss and Activism in Honduras. Journal of International Women’s Studies. [Online] 9(1): 99-116.  Available: http://www.bridgew.edu/SoAS/jiws/Nov07/Garifuna1.pdf.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Laura Woods. 2007. “Garifuna Land Rights and Ecotourism as Economic Development in Honduras’ Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area.”  Ecological and Environmental Anthropology.  3(1): 2-18. Available:  http://eea.anthro.uga.edu/index.php/eea/article/view/25.

Brondo, Keri, Marietta Baba, Sengun Yeniyurt, and Janell Townsend. 2005.   “Fertile Ground: Homegrown Loyalty Makes for Globally Competitive Industry.”  In EPIC 2005. American Anthropological Association.  University of California Press.  2005:158-166.

Non-refereed Journal Articles and Chapters

Brondo, Keri Vacanti, Natalie Bown and Laura Woods. 2011. Protecting Garifuna Territory for Whom? Gender, Power, and Ecotourism in the Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area.  Practicing Anthropology. 33(4): 13-18. 

Brondo, Keri Vacanti. 2011. Rights, Roots and Resource Control in Honduras' Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area. Special Issue “Recent Perspectives on Ecotourism” (edited by David Fleischer and Rodrigo Paranhos). Electronic Journal of University of Brasilia, Brazil. 

Book Reviews

Brondo, Keri Vacanti. 2011. Review: Black and Indigenous: Garifuna Activism and Consumer Culture in Honduras by Mark Anderson. American Ethnologist. 38(3): 598-600.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti. 2011. Review: The Meskwaki and Anthropologists: Action Anthropology Reconsidered by Judith M. Daubenmier. Journal of American Ethnic History. 30(4) 77-79. 

Encyclopedia Articles

Brondo, Keri Vacanti.  Joseph K. Golson (ed.), Tennessee Consumption and Waste. Encyclopedia of Consumption and Waste. Sage Publications.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti. 2009. Women’s Leadership in Anthropology. In Sarah Brewer (ed.), Gender and Women’s Leadership: A Reference Handbook, Volume 2. Sage Publications. Pages 650-659.

Recent Technical Applied Reports

Bartlo, Wendy D., Keri Brondo, Elizabeth K. Briody, and SHirley J. Fiske.  2011.  "Linking Anthropology Graduates to the Job Market," Report to CoPAPIA, February 26, 2011.

Bennett, Linda, Keri Brondo, Sunil Khanna on behalf of the AAA and CoPAPIA.  2011. Guidelines for Evaluating Scholarship in the Realm of Practicing, Applied, and Public Interest Anthropology for Academic Promotion and Tenure.  American Anthropological Association. [Online] Available: http://www.aaanet.org/resources/departments/upload/Final-T-P-Document-2011.pdf.

Fiske, Shirley J., Linda A. Bennett, Patricia Ensworth, Terry Redding, and Keri Brondo. 2011. The Changing Face of Anthropology: Anthropology Masters Reflect on Education, Careers, and Professional Organizations. AAA/CoPAPIA 2009 Anthropology MA Career Survey. Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti, Linda Bennett, Harmony Farner, Cindy Martin, and Andrew Mrkva.  2009.  Work Climate, Gender, and the Status of Practicing Anthropologists.  American Anthropological Association. [Online]. Available: http://www.aaanet.org/_cs_upload/resources/departments/28201_1.pdf

Wasson, Christina, Keri Brondo, Barbara LeMaster, Trudy Turner, Maia Cudhea, Kelly Moran, Inez Adams, Andrea McCoy, Megan Ko, Tomoko Matsumoto, and Maria Raviele.  2008.  We’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe: Academic Climate Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology. American Anthropological Association. May 12, 2008. [Online]. Available: http://www.aaanet.org/_cs_upload/resources/departments/17366_1.pdf

Brondo, Keri, Andrew Mrkva, and Katherine Lambert-Pennington. 2008.  Beltline Community Action Process Report.  Submitted to Jacob’s Ladder Community Development Corporation and Beltline Neighborhood Association.  May 19, 2008.

Interview with Marietta L. Baba by Keri Vacanti Brondo, Applied Anthropology Oral History Project of the Society for Applied Anthropology, May 24, 2007, East Lansing, Michigan, in the Oral History Collection of the University of Kentucky.

Brondo, Keri and Laura Woods.  “Operation Wallacea Social Science Field Report 2006.”  In Marine Field Research Summary: Cayos Cochinos Marine Site, June-September 2006.  UK: Operation Wallacea LTD, 2007: 7-10. Available: http://www.opwall.com/Library/Honduras/Honduras%20Marine/Cayos%20Cochinos%20-%20Season%20science%20summary%202006.pdf

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Natalie Bown.  “Economic Structure and Attitudes Towards Conservation in Honduran Coastal Villages.” In Operation Wallaca Science Programme Annual Report, edited by UK: Edited by Timothy Coles, D. Smith, and R. Field. UK: Operation Wallacea. 2007: 99-101. Available: http://www.opwall.com/Library/Operation%20Wallacea%20Science%20Programme%202007.pdf 

Professional Newsletters & Commentaries

Ferguson, T.J. and Keri Brondo.  2012. Online Research Library Now Available. Anthropology News, October 2012.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Linda A. Bennett.  2009.  Gendered Dimensions of Applied Work Environments:  COSWA Survey Report.  Anthropology News.  50(5):  34-36.

Brondo, Keri and Ruthbeth Finerman.  2008.  Strengthening Communities in the Mid-South:  Engaged Anthropology at the University of Memphis.  Society for Applied Anthropology Newsletter.  19(1):  34-35.  February 2008.

Brondo, Keri Vacanti and Christina Wasson.  2007.  COSWA Update.  Anthropology News.  May 2007.

Brondo, Keri and Marietta L. Baba.  2006.  Ethnography of Women in US Business.  Anthropology News.  April 2006.

Awards and Fellowships

Ignite: Sustainability. Co-PIs Amelia Mayahi, Matt Farr, Doug Campbell, Jenna Thompson, and John Hochestein. Green Fee Grant Program, University of Memphis. $7545

COPAA Visiting Fellows Program Award. Consortium of Practicing and Applied Anthropology Programs. $2000.

Professional Development Award. College of Arts and Sciences, University of Memphis. 2011.

Early Career Research Award.  College of Arts and Sciences, University of Memphis.  2010.  
 
Environmental Justice Workshops in Southwest Memphis. (Co-PI K. Hicks). Anthropology & Environment Small Grants Award, American Anthropological Association.  $1800.  2009.

Environmental Justice and Urban Ecology in Southwest, Memphis.  Co-PIs: R. Connolly, C. Goudie, K. Hicks, M. Kennedy B. Simko, and J. Waits Benjamin L. Hooks Faculty Research Grant. $4000, 2009.

Strengthening Communities Grant. Co-PI: Bill Marler, Jacob’s Ladder Community Development Corporation. $18,000 to support community coalition-building and a digital oral histories project in the Beltline neighborhood.  Funded through the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, United Way, and the University of Memphis.2008.

Carrie Hunter Tate Award.   National Student Association of Student, American Anthropological Association, 2006.
Fulbright-IIE, Fulbright Foundation, 2002

U.S. Department of Education Title IV Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships (for Spanish and Garifuna), 2002/2002.

Tinker Field Research Grant, Tinker Foundation, 2001.

National Science Foundation Ethnographic Research Training Grant, 2001. 

Leadership Positions

Chair, Committee on Practicing, Applied, and Public Interest Anthropology.  American Anthropological Association, 2011-Present.

Committee Member.  Committee on Practicing, Applied, and Public Interest Anthropology.  American Anthropological Association, 2009-2011.

Advisory Network Member.  Committee on Practicing, Applied, and Public Interest Anthropology.  American Anthropological Association, 2009-Present

Local Planning Committee and co-organizer of “Memphis Day” Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting in Memphis, TN April 2008.

Chair, Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, 2006-2007.

Undesignated Seat #4, Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology, American Anthropological Association, 2004-2006.

Courses Taught at The University of Memphis