Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement and Strategic Initiatives
Professor
Director, U.S. Culture and Business Practices
My work is situated at the juncture of development studies, economic anthropology and food studies. I am particularly interested in how alternative food networks such as fair trade work to create and sustain diverse economies in the United States and Latin America.
Contact Information
sarah.lyon@uky.edu
257 Patterson Office Tower
859 257-5038
859-539-1296
Education
Ph.D. Emory University
B.A. Smith College
Research Interests
economic anthropology
business and organizational anthropology
Latin America
gender and development
agri-food systems
Affiliations
Anthropology
Gender and Women's Studies
Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies
U.S. Culture and Business Practices
Research
My current research explores how changing labor practices, economic relations, and discourses surrounding marketable coffee qualities (e.g., organic, fairtrade) within global value chains affect cooperatives and communities. Specifically, we are investigating how these changing practices shape the gendered conditions of women's coffee production in Oaxaca, Mexico and struggles for gender equity across the value chain.
I also continue to investigate the nature of producer and consumer relations in certified commodity networks and the impact of fair trade and other consumption based development initiatives among agricultural smallholders in Mexico and Central America. Fair trade is a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency, and respect that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers. Minimum prices and social premiums linked to fair trade certifications, which require independent audit of the environmental, economic, and social conditions of commodity production and exchange, are integral to the system.
Courses Taught
ANT 101: Introduction to Anthropology ANT 245: Food, Culture, and Society ANT 301: History of Anthropological Thought ANT 311: Anthropological Perspectives on Globalization ANT 324: Contemporary Cultures of Latin America ANT 338: Economic Anthropology ANT 352: Business, Culture, and Society ANT 352: Anthropology of Tourism ANT 480: Business and Organizational Cultures ANT 582: Public Anthropology - Senior Seminar ANT 601: Contemporary Theory ANT 610: History of Anthropological Theory ANT 680: Business and Organizational Cultures ANT 734: Economic Anthropology ANT 770: Globalization ANT 770: Culture and Power in Latin America