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Dr. Timothy J. Smith — a teacher-scholar of Latin America

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Smith with two indigenous colleagues during the 2003 Guatemalan elections. Photo submitted

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Dr. Timothy J. Smith

Smith’s leadership roles

Expertise in his field has segued into leadership roles on campus and elsewhere. Dr. Timothy J. Smith has been:

  • chosen as one of nine inaugural members of the Chancellor’s Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) in 2016
  • appointed one of 19 members of the board of governors for UNC Press, the publishing arm of the UNC system in 2016
  • treasurer of the Society for Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association
  • book reviews editor of American Anthropologist, the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association
  • named chair of Appalachian’s Department of Anthropology in 2016
By Jane Nicholson and Linda Coutant
Posted Sep. 14, 2017 at 2:13 p.m.

“A teacher who doesn’t engage in research, I think, is half of a teacher. And likewise a research scholar who doesn’t teach is half of a scholar.” This is how Dr. Timothy J. Smith, associate professor and chair of anthropology, describes his educational approach at Appalachian State University, where he has taught since 2008.

A scholar of indigenous representation and politics in Latin America, Smith has conducted considerable research. 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. He became fluent in the local language, Kaqchikel Mayan, and since then the relationship has included:

  • a 2001 Fulbright grant to conduct dissertation field work that studied the customs, traditions and practices of the town’s indigenous government
  • assistance in translating 16th and 17th century documents written in Kaqchikel Mayan by the town’s leaders, collectively known as The Kaqchikel Chronicles (University of Texas Press, 2006), through a research project at Tulane
  • a 2011 project by Appalachian to publish the first social science textbook written in Kaqchikel Mayan, which is being distributed to indigenous leaders, school officials, teachers and students in Sololá
  • the honor of addressing nearly 5,000 citizens attending the inauguration of Sololá’s new indigenous mayor and local government representatives in 2014

He has authored numerous articles and chapters on indigenous representation and politics in Latin America. He is co-editor of “Mayas in Postwar Guatemala: Harvest of Violence Revisited,” published by University of Alabama Press, and “After the Coup: An Ethnographic Reframing of Guatemala 1954,” published by University of Illinois. His piece, “Confronting Violence in Postwar Guatemala,” was the most downloaded article of 2010 for the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology.

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Dr. Timothy J. Smith, in Sololateco dress, speaks at the 2014 inauguration of Sololá, Guatemala’s new indigenous mayor and local government representatives. He was an invited guest due to his long-standing relationship with the town and spoke about indigenous historical accounts of diseases and epidemics in the 16th century. Photo submitted

Smith has led Appalachian students in overseas ethnographic field studies in Ecuador, teaching interviewing techniques and other skills so students can construct their own research. He also taught an Introduction to Kichwa course, the Ecuadorian variant of Quechua, spoken throughout western South America. Through his study abroad programs, Appalachian students have worked with a women’s cooperative promoting community tourism and studied local development models, while learning more about indigenous culture.

In fall 2012, he was selected to be a visiting research scholar in Princeton University’s Program in Latin America, the first U.S. scholar to be selected at that rank in a decade. While there, he worked on a comparative ethnography on indigenous mobilization related to environmental issues in Guatemala and Ecuador. In addition to holding joint appointments in the Department of Anthropology and Office of Population Research, he taught a seminar called Politics of Ethnicity in Latin America.

“I am so grateful that Appalachian supports faculty who pursue fellowships such as this. It shows that we value not only teaching, but research as well,” he said.

Prior to joining Appalachian, Smith taught at University of Illinois and University of South Florida and had visiting appointments at Harvard University and Columbia University. In 2012, he received Appalachian’s William Strickland Outstanding Young Scholar Award and in 2015 he was inducted into Appalachian’s College of Arts and Sciences Academy of Outstanding Teachers.

“That’s one of the wonderful things about Appalachian. We have a teacher/scholar model born out of the belief that teaching is lacking if one doesn’t have those research experiences.”

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Smith’s leadership roles

Expertise in his field has segued into leadership roles on campus and elsewhere. Dr. Timothy J. Smith has been:

  • chosen as one of nine inaugural members of the Chancellor’s Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) in 2016
  • appointed one of 19 members of the board of governors for UNC Press, the publishing arm of the UNC system in 2016
  • treasurer of the Society for Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association
  • book reviews editor of American Anthropologist, the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association
  • named chair of Appalachian’s Department of Anthropology in 2016
View larger image

Dr. Timothy J. Smith

Helping sustain and revitalize Guatemala’s indigenous culture
Helping sustain and revitalize Guatemala’s indigenous culture
March 24, 2014

A professor’s longtime relationship with a Guatemalan town helps sustain and revitalize its indigenous culture.

Read the story
Group studies indigenous activism in the Upper Amazon
Group studies indigenous activism in the Upper Amazon
Nov. 3, 2009

This past summer, 16 students from Appalachian State University traveled to Ecuador to study indigenous activism and language in the Upper Amazon for three weeks. They came away with a greater appreciation of the impact of oil in the Amazon and its affect on the lives of the indigenous people.

Read the story

About the Department of Anthropology

The Department of Anthropology offers a comparative and holistic approach to the study of the human experience. The anthropological perspective provides a broad understanding of the origins as well as the meaning of physical and cultural diversity in the world — past, present and future. Learn more at https://anthro.appstate.edu.

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

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Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

If you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian State University Podcasts
  • Stories and press releases published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found in University Communications Records at the Special Collections Research Center.
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
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