Lecturer and Internship Coordinator
Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin 2007
Email: neill@txstate.edu
Phone: (512) 245-7961
Office: ELA 246

Research:

My current work centers on the rhetoric and history of ethnographic writing, which I juxtapose with experience narratives that stem from disability, trauma, or chronic illness. I am interested in the critical self consciousness produced by the act of composing these kinds of culturally unsettled and unsettling texts, because what I am learning from them helps me talk about what "thinking anthropologically" means as an instrumental approach to the conundrums of everyday life.

I've always approached anthropology as a generalist, and have pursued interests in ethnomusicology, performance studies, applied anthropology, discourse analysis, the philosophy of language, the philosophy of science, the anthropology of consciousness, museum studies, and the social impacts of consumer technologies ...so far. All of it comes in handy for my work with students.


In addition to teaching cultural anthropology classes at Texas State, I direct the Department's internship program and serve as undergraduate advisor. If you stop by my office, you'll be greeted by Adler, my extremely vocal, people-loving German Shepherd, spoiled prodigy of Seeing Eye dogs.