October 22, 2019
Linda Blaser
Professor Todd Beer reports from sabbatical in Kenya
Associate Professor Todd Beer is pictured with his two Maa language interpreters.
Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Todd Beer is currently in Kenya conducting field research in Maasai communities near Amboseli National Park, near the Kenya-Tanzania border just north of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Through extensive interviews in the communities, Beer is exploring how the global norms of gender equality, wildlife conservation, and formal education are spread to and interact with more remote communities.
“Studies of the spread of global culture tend to focus on large global cities or big organizations. I try and use my experiences in small communities in rural Kenya to give the often-neglected people a voice and show the far reach of global processes,” Beer said via email from Kenya.
Beer’s research will be incorporated into his introduction to sociology courses, as well as his classes on globalization and environmental sociology. His previous work in Kenya examined the relationship between local and international organizations and the issue of climate change.
This work was published in Sociological Perspectives and the Journal of the Global South. Professor Beer is pictured with his two Maa language interpreters.
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