Lisa Shutt

Lecturer - Carter G. Wooson Institute of African-American and African Studies

Lisa Shutt earned her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Virginia in 2010 after earning an M.A. at the University of Chicago. In addition to holding a multi-year position as an association dean, Shutt has also taught for several years in UVa’s Department of Anthropology and in several of the University’s interdisciplinary programs including Studies in Women and Gender, the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, Global Development Studies, and Media Studies.  Ms. Shutt’s research is located in the Central African nation of Gabon, where she examines local understandings about citizenship and national belonging in  the city at the center of Gabon’s oil industry, Port-Gentil. She finds that the idea of a Gabonese national identity is frequently rejected by the citizenry despite being clearly observable in the performances that structure everyday life. More generally, Ms. Shutt’s research interests include transnational studies, colonialism/post-coloniality, media representations of Africa/race in the US, foodways and the history of anthropology.  She is a Faculty Fellow with Hereford Residential College.