The Anthropology Spotlight Lecture Series will feature Nathaniel Kendall-Taylor, vice president for research at FrameWorks Institute, on Monday, April 13, from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m. in Mather Memorial, Room 201. Kendall-Taylor will present on “Framing for Change: A Cultural-Cognitive Approach to Communication.” The event is open to the campus community and refreshments will be provided.
Kendall-Taylor is a medical anthropologist leading a multi-disciplinary team of social scientists in studying public understanding and exploring ways to reframe such pressing issues as criminal justice reform, immigration, taxation, early childhood development, addiction, environmental health, education, public health and climate change. He employs social science theory and research methods from anthropology to improve the ability of researchers, advocates and practitioners to improve social outcome.
His past research has focused on child and family health and in understanding the social and cultural factors that create health disparities and affect decision-making. He has conducted fieldwork studying pediatric epilepsy and the impacts of chronic illness on family well being on the coast of Kenya. He has applied social science methods in research on child marriage in Azerbaijan and higher education in Kazakhstan, and he has conducted ethnographic research on theories of motivation in “extreme” athletes.
The Anthropology Spotlight Lecture Series “Applying Anthropology to Real World Problems” is an annual lecture series that highlights the value of anthropological theory and methods in solving real world problems, with a focus on applying these methods to business activities. In addition to the lecture, anthropology students and selected other interested students are given the opportunity to meet with the lecturer in a small group setting.
This lecture was made possible through the generous support of Jonathon Plimpton, managing director of International Business Management, Inc. and a 1970 graduate of Western Reserve College in anthropology.