Work by Sandy Smith-Nonini, assistant professor of anthropology, was featured in an article in the October 2002 edition of Anthropology News. Details...
The article, by Celeste Ray of the University of the South, detailed Smith-Nonini’s work with migrant farmworkers in North Carolina. She has worked with churches, civic groups and other organizations to educate the public about the living and working conditions these workers face, including poor housing and inadequate water and sewage facilities. North Carolina is the nation’s largest importer of migrant “guestworkers” through a federal government program. “You don’t have to go to Central America to find sweatshops, they are in our own backyard,” Smith-Nonini says in the article.
The article also examines the unique and sometimes difficult challenges Smith-Nonini faces as she balances “an academic position with anthropological research that is both public and activist.”