Research Statement

I am a trained anthropologist with experience in global health as well as a working artist (pebble studio), art teacher, and jewelry apprentice. I have worked on global projects for education and social change in Nepal, caregiving during covid 19 in childrens hospitals in Zambia, hpv vaccine interventions in Zambia, and rural colon cancer and childhood cancer research in the us. These varying epistemologies are informed by ontologies of reciprocity (and respect), pleasure activism, and dialectical materialism.

Current research

Shaping Forms, Shifting Futures: Tradition and Modernity Metalcraft Artisans in Nepal

This research project is an anthropological study funded through the fulbright us student program. How is knowledge sharing of metal smithing, a craft largely handed down through generations, being shifted by a changing socioeconomic landscape and livelihood strategies? Who is engaging in this art form and what are the techniques that are used today? The goals of this project are threefold: 1) Conduct ethnographic narrative interviews of artisans about their practices, histories, and visions for the future, 2) Advocate for the importance of arts educations through local project dissemination, and 3) Enrich my artistic knowledge of the craft of fine metal work through observation.

This study will build understanding of the needs and goals of preserving artistic heritage and traditional methods and investigates the strategies needed to implement arts based knowledge sharing efforts that attends to contextual factors and existing strengths and resources in the setting.

This research was presented publicly in Kathmandu, nepal on May 8, 2024. The event features a public lecture, panel discussion, and a two week exhibition, followed by a 5 day workshop on the traditional repoussé craft.

Click here to see the final dissemination booklet from this research.

Publications

1. Burack, S., G. Childs, E.A. Quinn, J. Sangmo, N. Sangmo and J. Hunleth. (2023) “Drawing Out Migration:Rural to Urban Transitions and the Re-imagined Futures of Himalayan School Children.” In Educational Transformations and Avenues of Learning: Anthropological Perspectives on Education in Nepal, edited by K. Valentin and U. Pradhan. Oxford University Press buy here

2. C Asante & S Burack, M Chileshe, J Hunleth (2021) “Co-producing knowledge and care in team-based fieldwork in the COVID-19 era” Anthropology Southern Africa 44 (4), 175-191 read here

3. Hunleth, Jean, Comfort Asante, Sarah Burack, and Mutale Chileshe. 2021. “Care at the Gate.” Anthropology News website, June 23, 2021. Read here

4. E Bunkley, C Asante, S Burack, J Hunleth (2023) “A Heart for the Care.” In review at Medical Anthropology Quarterly

5. D Kuziez, J Harkey, S Burack, J Borja, EA Quinn (2020) “Maternal birth weight is associated with milk epidermal growth factor in Filipino women” American Journal of Human Biology 32 (6), e23403n,

6. EA Quinn, Jhangchuk Sangm, Sarah Burack, Geoff Childs. (2023) “Childhood growth and education migration among ethnic Tibetan children in Nepal.“ American Journal of Human Biology.