Professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences
A scholar of indigenous representation and politics in Latin America, Dr. Timothy J. Smith is a professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Anthropology, where he has taught since 2008. His teaching deals with the cultural politics of representation and indigenous movements, cultural and political constructions of knowledge, language and culture, contemporary Latin America, identity formation, and the practical application of theory/knowledge.
A study abroad field school while an undergraduate anthropology student at Tulane University allowed him to begin a long-term relationship with the predominantly indigenous town of Sololá, Guatemala, and he has since become fluent in the local language, Kaqchikel Mayan. A Fulbright grant in 2001 allowed him to study the customs, traditions and practices of the town’s indigenous government. His research has been supported by fellowships from Harvard University, Columbia University and Princeton University. This scholarly work includes helping translate 16th- and 17th-century documents written in Kaqchikel Mayan, and publishing through Appalachian the first social science textbook written in Kaqchikel Mayan, which was distributed to indigenous leaders, school officials, teachers and students in Sololá.
In addition to serving as chair of Appalachian’s Department of Anthropology, he also directs its Honors Program and has served on numerous leadership committees. He is a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Academy of Outstanding Teachers and received the college’s Jimmy Smith Outstanding Service Award in 2018 and its Strickland Outstanding Young Faculty Award in 2012. In 2019, he received an Appalachian Campus Excellence in Teaching Award.
Areas of Expertise
Latin America
Latin American development and politics
Reasons for the U.S. border crisis
Participation in electoral politics
Indigenous languages and pedagogy
Ethnicity
Patterns in U.S. and Latin American voter turnout
Voter abstention
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About Dr. Timothy J. Smith
A scholar of indigenous representation and politics in Latin America, Dr. Timothy J. Smith is a professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Anthropology, where he has taught since 2008. His teaching deals with the cultural politics of representation and indigenous movements, cultural and political constructions of knowledge, language and culture, contemporary Latin America, identity formation, and the practical application of theory/knowledge.
A study abroad field school while an undergraduate anthropology student at Tulane University allowed him to begin a long-term relationship with the predominantly indigenous town of Sololá, Guatemala, and he has since become fluent in the local language, Kaqchikel Mayan. A Fulbright grant in 2001 allowed him to study the customs, traditions and practices of the town’s indigenous government. His research has been supported by fellowships from Harvard University, Columbia University and Princeton University. This scholarly work includes helping translate 16th- and 17th-century documents written in Kaqchikel Mayan, and publishing through Appalachian the first social science textbook written in Kaqchikel Mayan, which was distributed to indigenous leaders, school officials, teachers and students in Sololá.
In addition to serving as chair of Appalachian’s Department of Anthropology, he also directs its Honors Program and has served on numerous leadership committees. He is a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Academy of Outstanding Teachers and received the college’s Jimmy Smith Outstanding Service Award in 2018 and its Strickland Outstanding Young Faculty Award in 2012. In 2019, he received an Appalachian Campus Excellence in Teaching Award.
Areas of Expertise
Latin America
Latin American development and politics
Reasons for the U.S. border crisis
Participation in electoral politics
Indigenous languages and pedagogy
Ethnicity
Patterns in U.S. and Latin American voter turnout
Voter abstention
| Present | Faculty Member, Appalachian State University ‐ College of Arts and Sciences | |
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| Present | Professor and Chair, Appalachian State University ‐ Department of Anthropology | |
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Disciplines
Research Interests
Honors and Awards
- Recipient of an Appalachian Campus Excellence in Teaching Award (2019)
- Recipient of the Jimmy Smith Outstanding Service Award (2018)
- Inaugural member, Chancellor’s Academic Leadership Development Program (2016)
- Member of the College of Arts and Sciences Academy of Outstanding Teachers (2015)
- Recipient of the William C. Strickland Outstanding Young Faculty Award (2012)
| 2004 | PhD, University at Albany, SUNY | |
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| 2000 | MA, University at Albany, SUNY | |
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| 1998 | BA, Tulane University | |
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| 1998 | BS, Tulane University | |
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