Jessica Chandras is an anthropologist trained in ethnographic methods with a focus on linguistic and sociocultural anthropology. She joins the anthropology department at Kenyon College in 2019. Chandras received a bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Washington in 2010 and her Ph.D. from the George Washington University in 2019. Her current research focuses on language, education, and identity in India and has previously conducted research in Oaxaca, Mexico, and taught English in the Basque Country in the north of Spain. She has run a blog with a focus on ethnographic field methods since 2015.
Areas of Expertise
Linguistic anthropology, education, India.
Education
2019 — Doctor of Philosophy from George Washington University
2015 — Master of Arts from George Washington University
2010 — Bachelor of Arts from University of Washington
Courses Recently Taught
ANTH 113
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 113
This course introduces students to the discipline that studies and compares cultures. Students will learn about the main concepts used in anthropology and how anthropologists conduct research, while also discovering how people live in other times and places. Students will learn about theories that provide frameworks for understanding and comparing cultures. Ethnographic descriptions of life in particular places give students factual materials with which to apply and critique such theories. Through this introduction to the study of culture in general, and an exposure to specific cultures, students inevitably come to re-examine some of the premises of their own culture. This foundation course is required for upper-level work in cultural anthropology courses. Offered every semester.
ANTH 253
Anthropology of Mass Media
ANTH 253
Never before in any period of history have so many people had access to so many mass-mediated images. Yet in spite of this proliferation, anthropology has been a recent newcomer to the study of mass media production, distribution and consumption as situated human activities. Uniquely suited to enter this discourse, an anthropological approach to mass media transcends the limitations of traditional media scholarship by paying closer attention to the broader social and political contexts in which they are embedded. This course endeavors to develop an anthropological understanding of contemporary forms of cultural communication and reception by analyzing the flow of media images across national borders; particular emphasis is given to the local impact of media culture in different parts of the world. Students will examine the role of mass media in forging national and ethnic identities, body images, sexuality, gender and experiences of war and violence. This counts as an upper-level elective for the major. ANTH 113 is strongly recommended. No prerequisite. Offered every two years.
ANTH 291
ST: Intro Linguistic Anth
ANTH 291
ANTH 291
ST: Intro to Linguistic Anth
ANTH 291
ANTH 391
ANTH 464
Methods in Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 464
This course will provide hands-on experience with some research methods that cultural anthropologists use. Participant observation, interviews and note taking are standard methods, and we will consider how to organize and access qualitative data through electronic database management. We will pay some attention to quantitative methods as well, including statistical inference based on methods such as unobtrusive observation or survey questionnaires. The difficulties of designing a good questionnaire and of becoming a perceptive interviewer or observer are best learned through practice. Students will be required to carry out a research project, from literature search and project design to writing and possibly publishing the results. Only by actually attempting primary research ourselves do we realize just how difficult it is to make statements about human ideas and behaviors that stand up to scientific scrutiny. It is only through such research, however, that we can contribute to knowledge. This counts toward upper-level cultural anthropology requirement for the major. Prerequisite: ANTH 113 or permission of instructor. Offered every other year.
ANTH 493
Individual Study
ANTH 493
The Anthropology Department reserves individual study for those students who are unusually motivated in an area of the field and who we believe are responsible enough to handle the challenge of working independently. Such courses might be research-oriented (e.g., students returning from off-campus study programs with data) but are more commonly reading-oriented courses allowing students to explore in greater depth topics that interest them or that overlap with their major course of study. To arrange for individual study, a student should consult with a faculty member during the semester prior to when the independent work is to be undertaken. The individual-study course may be designed exclusively by the faculty member or it may be designed in consultation with the student. For reading courses, a bibliography is created, and the student reads those works, meeting periodically (weekly or bi-weekly) with the faculty member to discuss them. Faculty directing the individual study will set the terms of course evaluation, which typically involve either a research paper or an extensive annotated bibliography with a short explanatory essay tying the entries together and situating the debates which they represent. Another option is for the student to write one- to two-page assessments of each book or reading at intervals throughout the semester. The faculty member comments on these assessments and may request periodic reassessments. The course culminates with a synthetic paper that pulls together all the readings. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study preferably the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek the departmental approval before the established deadline. This course can count toward the major or minor.