Lisa Jackson

Lisa Jackson, a doctoral candidate in Anthropology, employs commodity chain analysis to trace lobsters from the Caribbean to corporations such as Red Lobster and Sysco Foods as a way of studying broader issues such as globalization, economic inequality, and social injustice. Her study examines economic disparities as well as the ecological and material limits of a natural resource confronting degradation, the gendered tension in a traditionally matrifocal society amidst newly asserted male economic power, and the health repercussions of excessive deep-water diving. Her project also examines spiritual and symbolic understandings of Liwa Mairin, the mermaid goddess and protectorate of the sea’s natural resources, as a local expression and understanding of distant transnational processes. Lisa will intern on the Honduran coast with MOPAWI, a non-profit dedicated to sustainable local economic development and to the empowerment of Miskito human and territorial conservation rights. Specifically, she will work to develop alternative economic programs for injured divers, would-be divers, and their families.

Read on about Lisa’s fellowship experience here.