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Anthropology Faculty and Staff

Dr. Stephanie May de Montigny, Chair
Associate Professor
Office: Swart 317A
Phone: (920) 424-7495
Email: may@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Ph.D., University of Texas Austin
Stephanie May de Montigny is a cultural anthropologist. Her courses and research interests include Native American studies, kinship, gender and sexuality, ethnohistory, vernacular architecture, and visual art and dance. She also teaches classes on ethnographic methods, American ethnography, and expressive culture.

Dr. Jordan Karsten
Assistant Professor
Office: Swart 320
Email: karstenj@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Ph.D. and M.A., State University of New York, Albany

Dr. Stephanie Spehar
Associate Professor
Office: Swart 313
Phone: (920) 424-7073
Email: spehars@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Ph.D., New York University
M.A., New York University
B.A., California State University Los Angeles
Stephanie Spehar is a physical anthropologist whose area of specialization is primate socioecology, or how ecology and the environment have shaped primate social systems and behavior. Within this framework, her research focuses on primate mating systems, group dynamics and social behavior, and communication. A second major research interest is primate conservation, especially the effect of habitat alteration, fragmentation, and hunting on primate communities.

Dr. Heidi Nicholls
Lecturer
Office: Swart 322
Phone: (920) 424-7183
Email: nichollsh@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Ph.D., University at Albany, SUNY
M.A., Cleveland State University
B.A., Cleveland State University
Dr. Heidi J Nicholls is a cultural anthropologist with research interests that include indigenous heritage tourism, intercultural relations and dynamics, US diversity, cultural expressions through dance and economic development. Dr. Nicholls has conducted ethnographic research on the Navajo (Dine) Reservation, in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Anguilla in addition to working as a cultural consultant focused on interactional competency, bias, and etymology.

Dr. Adrienne Frie
Assistant Professor
Office: Swart 312/Harrington 303B
Phone: (920) 424-1365
Email: friea@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
M.A., University of Chicago
B.A., University of California San Diego
Adrienne Frie is an anthropological archaeologist whose research specialties include prehistoric Europe, human-animal relations, and prehistoric art. Dr. Frie’s ongoing research is focused on Iron Age Slovenia, where she investigates how animal depictions and faunal remains provide insight into prehistoric interactions with and ideas about animals. Her work has demonstrated that prehistoric conceptions of animals were expressed and negotiated via imagery, but also that animal symbolism was a potent form of social expression, and one that was restricted by status and social role. This research is multidisciplinary, and in addition to archaeological evidence takes into account animal behavior, local environments, and the socioeconomic structures surrounding animal husbandry and other human-animal interactions.

Dr. Kevin Garstki
Lecturer
Office: Swart 314
Phone: (920) 424-4416
Email: garstkik@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
M.A., University of Chicago
B.A., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Kevin Garstki is an anthropological archaeologist whose research focuses on the impact of digital technology on modern archaeology, as well as the effect of emerging technology on prehistoric societies. He is a prehistoric European archaeologist who has worked in Cyprus, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and North America. His doctoral research centered on the organization of early iron production in Iron Age Ireland. Dr. Garstki’s current research focuses on the critical use and reuse of digital archaeological data, specifically using 3D visualization technologies to enhance the documentation, research, and archiving of material heritage and its use in public outreach. He has worked for the last eight years as director of digital imaging for the Athienou Archaeological Project in Cyprus and is the co-director of the Wolves and the Caesars (WAC) archaeological field school in Knežak.
For more information on Kevin’s research: http://kevin-garstki.com/archaeology/

Dr. Mai See Thao
Assistant Professor
Office: Swart 323
Phone: (920) 424-7070
Email: thaom@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Postdoctoral, Medical College of Wisconsin
Ph.D., University of Minnesota
B.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Mai See Thao is a medical anthropologist with research interests in historical trauma, displacement, the refugee body, biopolitics, and care (long-term care and chronic disease management). She completed her dissertation at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Anthropology, examining Hmong American experiences of type II diabetes and the implications of chronic care for a displaced community. Situating chronic disease management within a Hmong and U.S. historical and racial context, Dr. Thao examined how politics of belonging are central in caring for health and wellbeing. She infuses community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) with her anthropological training. With a macro-to-micro perspective, she teaches CBPAR and social science theories to community members as a form of social justice in achieving health equity. She is currently leading a community-based traveling exhibit that centers Hmong experiences of historical trauma and hope. She, along with her community partners in Milwaukee, are engaged in CBPAR on social determinants of health for Hmong with type II diabetes. As the Director of Hmong Studies, Dr. Thao is excited to lead the Hmong Studies Certificate and teach critical Hmong Studies courses in Anthropology that examines the topics of race, gender, the refugee, displacement, and globalization.

Dr. Brett Hoffman
Lecturer
Office: UW Oshkosh-Fox Cities Campus M1333
Phone: (920) 931-3427
Email: hoffmanbc@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin- Madison
M.S., University of Wisconsin- Madison
B.A., Beloit College
Brett Hoffman is an anthropological archaeologist whose research interests include Bronze Age Eurasia, ancient metallurgy, past technologies, early states, city-states, and the use of archaeological chemistry to understand ancient interaction networks. His current research is focused on understanding the role that copper and bronze metallurgy played in the economy of the Indus Civilization using chemical and isotopic analyses on artifacts, slags, and ores. In addition to these research activities, Brett works in Wisconsin doing Cultural Resource Management archaeological surveys and excavations. He has recently joined the University of Wisconsin Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project (UW MIA RIP) as a senior member of the team. The project’s goal is to recover, identify, and repatriate U.S. service members from past global conflicts. Brett teaches courses in archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and human skeletal anatomy.

Dr. Jeffrey Behm
Professor Emeritus
Email: behm@uwosh.edu
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Education:
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dissertation title: Identification and Analysis of Stylistic Variation in Hardin Barbed Points
M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.A., University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

Gina M. Schiavone
Academic Department Associate
Office: Swart 317
Phone: 920-424-4406
Email: schiavog@uwosh.edu
Interests: Playing piano, reading, traveling, Euro-style board games.