Jamon Alex Halvaksz, II
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2005
Research
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2005
Research
My on-going research with Biangai speakers of Papua New Guinea focuses on the historical and contemporary politics of nature in a context of competing resource management regimes. Though grounded in a landscape of long-term gold mining, I interrogate a wide range of practices as they inform a local theoretic of human-environment relations. My work is directed toward interventions in contemporary policy highlighting 1) the role of local imaginaries and epistemologies in the definition and management of ‘nature’ and ‘resources,’ and 2) the competing ideations of indigenous and scientific knowledge.
Teaching
My teaching interests focus on various aspects of environmental anthropology including ecological anthropology, political ecology, human-animal relations, science and technology studies, as well as more general course work on the history and practice of ethnographic research. I also enjoy teaching introductory courses as they provide a venue for engaging diverse student audiences. Through teaching, I believe that we can be advocates for our research associates who often live on the margins of national and global discussions.
Representative Publications
2008 - Halvaksz, Jamon and Heather Young Leslie. ‘Thinking Ecographically: Places, Ecographers and Environmentalism.’ Nature+Culture. (forthcoming, September 2008)
2008 - Halvaksz, Jamon. ‘Whose Mine Closure?: Appearances, Temporality and Mineral Extraction along the Upper Bulolo River, Papua New Guinea.’ Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 14: 21-37
2007 - Halvaksz, Jamon. ‘Cannabis and Fantasies of Development: Revaluing Relations through Land in Rural Papua New Guinea.’ The Australian Journal of Anthropology 18(1): 56-71.
