Kimberly K. Cavanagh, PhD

Kimberly K. Cavanagh, PhD

Chair, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Associate Professor of Anthropology

Library 258

One University Boulevard

Beaufort, SC 29909

Office: 843-208-8347

kcavanagh@uscb.edu

CV_Cavanagh.pdf

I am an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina Beaufort. I hold a PhD in Cultural Anthropology (2013), as well as an MA in Cultural Anthropology (2006), and a Graduate Certificate in Visual Anthropology (2007) from the University of South Carolina. I also earned two undergraduate degrees from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada: Anthropology (2003) and Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus in Classical Archaeology (1999). I am the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar Award (2019-2020) and a Fulbright Student Award (2008-2010). In 2012, I was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award in Social Sciences by University of South Carolina Education Foundation.

I have been conducting ethnographic research since 2005. My research on identity, tourism development and the Middle East guides my work in the classroom where I encourage students to not only be aware of global cultures but also to appreciate differences. More recently, I have begun a research agenda closer to home. In 2019 I began a new collaborative project with Dr. Audrey Dawson, exploring the archaeology of the Barnwell Site on Hilton Head Island. Currently I am using digital ethnographic methodologies paired with archival and media-based research, to explore the fragility of two tourism-dependent economies (Hilton Head Island, SC and Aqaba, Jordan), highlighting challenges encountered by two communities, as they attempt to survive this moment.

I am an active campus citizen and sit on several committees promoting student scholarship and research, including the Student Research and Scholarship Day Committee (co-chair), the International Programs Committee and it’s Fulbright and International Opportunities sub-committee, and the Student Scholarships and Fellowships Committee.