Rate My Professor Kathleen DeWalt

A cultural anthropologist, DeWalt specializes in medical anthropology and the anthropology of food and nutrition, drawing on bio-cultural anthropology and political economy perspectives. Her research examines the health and nutrition impacts of economic and agricultural development policies in Latin America, child survival and adult health in developing countries, nutrition and health of older adults and youth in rural United States settings, and health decision-making in pluralistic settings. She is a qualitative methodologist expert in participant observation for ethnographic research. Over 40 years, she has conducted fieldwork in Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Ecuador, and Kentucky, collaborating with international agencies on food security and gender inequality in rural communities. Current projects investigate the health and nutrition of indigenous peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the 25-year impacts of women's income-generating projects on social power and child welfare in Manabí Province, Ecuador. Key publications include the influential textbook Participant Observation: A Guide for Fieldworkers, co-authored with Billie R. DeWalt (AltaMira Press, 2002; second edition, 2011). DeWalt received the 2013 Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement recognizing her visionary contributions to global education.