Dr. Janis Hutchinson
Department of Anthropology
Telephone: (713)743-3785
Fax: (713)743-4287
E-mail: jhutchinson@uh.edu
Texas 77204-5020
Education
- M.P.H., School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1997.
- Ph.D., University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, Anthropology, 1984.
- M. Phil., University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1982.
- M.A., University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Anthropology, 1980.
- B.A., University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Anthropology, 1975.
Honors
- Who’s Who in America, 2004.
- Phi Beta Delta-UH, Honor Society for International Scholars, 2000.
- Visionaries of Excellence Award, National Women Achievers-Houston Chapter, 1996.
- Heritage Education Award, given to `Keep Five Alive' for Evergreen Negro Cemetery Project, 1994.
- Fellow, American Anthropological Association, 1993-present.
- Nominated for Teaching Excellence Award, The University of Houston, 1992.
- Nominated for Teaching Excellence Award, The University of Houston, 1989.
- Nominated for Teaching Excellence Award, The University of Houston, 1988.
- Summer Fellowship, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1983.
- Gerontology Fellowship, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1981-1982.
- Post-baccalaureate Fellowship, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1980-1981.
Selected Publications
- Hutchinson, Janis Faye, Editor, CULTURAL PORTRAYALS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS: CREATING AN ETHNIC/RACIAL IDENTITY. Westport, Conn.:Bergin and Garvey, 1997.
- Hutchinson, Janis, THE COEXISTENCE OF RACE AND RACISM: CAN THEY BECOME EXTINCT TOGETHER. University Press of America, in progress.
- Hutchinson, Janis, POWER, RACE, AND CULTURE: THE EVOLUTION OF A BLACK ANTHROPOLOGIST. Hamilton Books, in progress.
Research Interests
- I am currently conducting an oral history study on African American and Creole history in Natchitoches Parish. Over a hundred people were interviewed between 2000 and 2002. Through examination of these oral histories and analysis of primary and secondary sources, I am investigating the history, development and culture of Africans, Creoles, and African Americans from 1722 to the 1960s. This study focuses on traditional medicines and health, plantation life/sharecropping, education, local politics, race/culture, foodways, agriculture, leisure time and social activities as well as daily life.
- I am currently working on the Human Genome Project where I am examining the impact of new genetic information on health beliefs of Indian Americans in Houston, Texas. I will conduct focus groups to engage community members in discussions about: 1) human genetic variation research and the construction of an international haplotype map; 2) social meanings attached to racial and ethnic identities; and 3) the potential for genetic variation research and haplotype mapping to affect how members of the community interpret those racial and ethnic identities.
Teaching
- General Anthropology (1300)
- Introduction to Physical Anthropology (2301)
- Principles of Anthropology (4501)
- Human Variation (3360)
- Race and Anthropology (3363)
- Medical Anthropology (4331)
- Anthropology of HIV (4384)
- Health, Culture, and Poverty (4394)
- Seminar--Topics in Physical Anthropology (6509)
- Seminar--Topics in Medical Anthropology(6690)
- Seminar--Applied Anthropology(6510