Saturday, June 8, 2019

Applied Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Kristina Killgrove, Science Writer


Today’s blog post revisits a topic that has not been addressed in a long while: applied anthropologist profiles.  This delay was primarily due to a lack of contacts with individuals who both fit this category (of being applied anthropologists) and are willing to contribute to such a blog post about the topic, but luck would have it that an applied anthropologist (who I do not know personally) has been making the rounds on several anthropological boards and groups I follow and/or are a part of, and I have been re-inspired to cover this topic once again.  Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I get to discuss the applied anthropological contributions of Dr. Kristina Killgrove, research anthropologist and science writer (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Dr. Kristina Killgrove (Photo from Forbes Magazine's Website)

Dr. Killgrove was inspired to become an anthropologist due to a childhood experience where she broke a bone and was fascinated to learn (through her doctor) what could be learned from the study of bones.  As a result of this curiosity she focused on classical archaeology at the University of Virginia during her undergraduate studies, and she continued her studies in classics and expanded into bioarchaeology during her graduate work at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC).  She worked with Roman collections, focusing her bioarchaeological studies in isotopic anthropology, learning more about the diets and migratory patterns of ancient Roman populations. 

She landed a teaching position in Florida shortly after completing her Ph.D., but she found herself dissatisfied with the work, in part due to unfilled dreams and promises and the realization that her passions lies in research and writing.  With the support of her husband and family she left her job and pursued alternative to academic (alt-ac) employment opportunities.  Her previous blogging experience and professional contacts led her to find employment as a  science writer, first working for Science Uncovered, a British publication.  She eventually was hired to write for both Forbes Magazine and Mental Floss, specifically focusing on Roman bioarchaeology and other anthropological topics.  Additionally, she provides public lectures on various anthropological topics.  She finds this work very fulfilling as it fulfills her research and writing passions.  She also currently teaches at her alma mater, UNC, and is a research scholar at the Ronin Institute.  She has also served as the Chair of Social Media Committee for the Society of American Archaeology, a position she was actively sought to have due to her prolific social media presence.


Bibliography

Killgrove, K. (N.D.). Writer, Anthropologist, Scientist . Retrieved from Kristina Killgrove, Ph.D.: https://killgrove.org/

 


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its always cool learning why people choose the field of work that they do. She began interested in Anthropology all because she broke a bone and wanted to know how everything worked.
-Kyla Thomas

Chyann Taylor said...

I loved learning about why Dr. Killgrove decided on her future career, I bet that is a very important memory for her. She's also incredibly strong for not being stagnant in a job that she didn't enjoy and found her way out to another one. A job that she loves and still has something to do with her degrees. I'm inspired by her for sure.
- Chyann Taylor

Anonymous said...

I like learning about new people in this field. Its crazy how one incident could interest you in a future career. Im glad she realized that she didn’t like her job and felt that she needed something else. She ended up writing for great magazine industries. Great story. -castrele hoy

Shawn Austin said...

Its great to learn to about Dr. Killgrove as she is a great example of following a desire and finding satisfaction. I personally relate to Dr. Killgrove as I also was inspired to follow my passion due to a childhood experience.