Jackson Montgomery Roper
(Monty)

Associate Professor of Anthropology

Grinnell College
204 Goodnow Hall
Grinnell, IA 50112
Tel: (641) 269-3017
roperjm@grinnell.edu

I am a cultural anthropologist specializing in the political economy of natural resource management, economic development, and indigenous peoples in Latin America. I have done research in Mexico, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. My primary research has been in the Bolivian Amazon. In 1997, I lived in the Beni for 12 months in order to examine how the relationships between indigenous peoples, logging companies, the state, and other social actors was affecting the management and development of natural resources in an indigenous territory. In 2004, I spent another two months in the region.

As an applied anthropologist, I am interested in addressing issues of sustainable development through program and project evaluation and policy analysis and recommendation. I have written a policy paper for the World Bank on Indigenous Development in Latin America, and undertook consultant research in Bolivia on the impact of legislative reforms on forest management. Most recently I undertook an analysis of the costs and benefits of commercial forestry for indigenous communities in the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region of Nicaragua.

The courses I currently teach include Introduction to Anthropology, Introduction to Global Development Studies, Latin American Cultures, Theories of Culture, Cultural and Political Ecology, Sustainable Development in the Modern World System, and Globalization and Development.

This site provides information on my research, on the courses that I teach, and a little about me. If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail me

Grinnell College

Last Updated:August 18, 2003