Research Interests:  I study the relationship between man and the sky. The night sky continues to fascinate people all over the world.  How people think about the sky, use the sky, and depict the sky is immensely varied.  Assuming that these variations reflect cultural and environmental differences, I use sky lore and sky knowledge as a way to probe cultures other than my own.  Oftentimes, I decipher the science behind the myths: For example, moon goddess myths often speak of the goddess growing larger and then shrinking and growing larger again.  This reflects the observed waxing and waning of the moon which occurs over 29.5 days. For Africa, I am collecting examples of how astronomy knowledge has emerged in the cultural forms studied in anthropology. I am interested in rituals and dance ceremonies related to astronomy knowledge. The majority of my research focuses on the functional relationship between man and the sky. Using celestial bodies for navigation, described below, is a common aspect of that relationship. Another area I'm exploring is the intersection between man, the sky, the environment and agriculture. I am trying to understand what role astronomy knowledge has in sustainable agricultural systems. A consistent thread of my research is the loss of sky knowledge in the North America and Europe. "Following the Stars" touches on this with ocean navigators, "The Sky in Our Lives" surveys this in the general public, and "Astronomers and Observing" studies this among astronomers.

I'm currently editing a manuscript on my recently completed study of celestial navigation in three cultures.  The communities were located on Moce Island in Fiji, on the Kerkennah Islands in Tunisia, and at the United States Naval Academy.  All these communities continue to navigate at night on the ocean using the stars.  However, the way they use the stars and which stars they use reflects their physical location on the Earth as well as their navigation needs.  The book "Following the Stars" details the importance of navigation by the stars in this age of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Teaching Mission: The classes I have designed and taught often include the intersection between Africans/African Americans and the physical sciences. Since joining the faculty of the University of Arizona, I have exclusively taught classes focused on Cultural Astronomy: One class on Africa, another on the Pacific, and I will teach a graduate cultural astronomy class next. I often wonder if a cultural astronomy program is needed to train students in the United States, or if cultural astronomy should remain under anthropology, astronomy, or the history of science. For now, I teach classes crosslisted in astronomy and anthropology. In addition to those courses I have given lectures on African American scientists' assimulation strategies, representations of African American scientists in films, and about my education and career as an African American woman astrophysicist. I give several outreach talks a year for young people interested in studying the sciences. My talk given to young women at the Space Telescope Institute is online linked to my Web projects page.
Classes:
ASTR/ANTH 345: Cultural Astronomy: Pacific.
Anthropological Case Studies in Navigation - Summer 2007 grad course at the Institut fur Ethnologie, Heidelberg, Germany.
ANTH_493-1: Ghana Internship Class

ASTR/ANTH_345: Cultural Astronomy: Africa

Though the terms archaeoastronomy, ethnoastronomy, and cultural astronomy are relatively new, the study of astronomy in diverse cultures has been an emerging field for about 100 years. Books that touch on this field tend to be sensational with very little scientific research. In response, I have made a reading list on Amazon that should help beginners: The Cultural Astronomy Reader .

Web Projects: As part of my research in astronomy and culture, I spend a lot of time in museums searching for artifacts.  What I find is art, instruments, and tools relevant to astronomy.  I have been toying with what to do with this information but for now I want to make it available to the public. If you do use any of this information for your classes or publications please cite this website. 

Linked Publications: A few of my papers and my students' papers are available on the internet. These have already been published so you can cite and refer to them as you would a normal paper article. There are also links to African Cultural Astronomy resources and syllabi on the WEB.

Web Projects and Publications.

This WEB page created by J. C. Holbrook. Last updated in 2008.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0003234 and No. 0233967. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author( s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.