Applied Anthropologist Profile: Kris-An Hinds, Applied Anthropology Doctoral Student

 

Figure 1: Kris-An Hinds, Applied Anthropology Doctoral Student

Whenever I speak to people about how anthropology can be used outside of the classroom it is easy to point out the obvious, such as anthropology’s use in understanding health and disease, forensics, language use and preservation, and even in recreating ancient ales.  It becomes a little more challenging when individuals from very scientific areas of study, such as engineering, ask for how anthropology can be used within their areas of study and work.  There are various ways that anthropology can be used in such areas, and this blog post is actually dedicated to showcase one such example involving two doctoral students from the University of South Florida, Michelle Platz and Kris-An Hinds (Figure 1).

 

Michelle Platz is an environmental engineering doctoral student and Kris-An Hinds is an applied anthropology doctoral student at the University of South Florida, and they teamed up to complete a great and necessary project to help preserve south Florida’s natural maritime resources and its economy!  Florida’s coral reefs home hundreds of diverse aquatic plant and animal species that aid in fostering a health oceanic environment.  This region is also critical to Florida’s economy as the beautiful beaches and scuba diving opportunities draw thousands of tourists annually.  Unfortunately, these oceanic environments are at risk of disappearing, largely due to disease, climate change, and pollution, leading to dire need to move in quickly and efficiently save the reefs from further destruction.  There are also pushes to not only help preserve but revitalize the reef systems as able. 

 

These efforts are largely grant funded, meaning that political and public support are needed.  Without these, as noted by Platz, these projects could neither begin nor move forward, which is where Hinds comes in.  Using her sociocultural anthropological background she approaches this project by seeking to understand how legislative policies are impacting the Florida reefs and how public perceptions and priorities are influencing laws and strategies concerning Florida’s oceanic environments.  Over the summer of 2021 she interviewed various stakeholders, from scientists and policy makers, to understand the full scope of the coral reef restoration problems and survey these stakeholders for their ideas on what they felt were the areas of most critical need and best solutions for them.  Due to Covid-19 she has not been able to interview local community members for their knowledge about the reef systems, but she plans to do so when it is safe to complete this aspect of the project.

 

Overall, Platz and Hinds supervisors have been very pleased with their efforts, and their work has received favorable response from politicians, scientists, and the general public.  Platz and Hinds plan on publishing their initial findings throughout various platforms in hopes that what they have learned thus far can be used not only in Florida and elsewhere.  Ultimately, they are showcasing how anthropological approaches can and do influence public policy initiatives, particularly those related to saving terrestrial and oceanic environments and local economies.

 

Works Cited

Research and Innovation. USF doctoral students combining engineering and anthropology to inform Florida’s Coral Reef restoration and monitoring . 10 February 2021. Electronic. 22 February 2021.