Kathleen DeWalt

Kathleen DeWalt is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences in the Graduate School of Public Health. She earned her PhD from the University of Connecticut in 1979. Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh in 1993, she advanced from assistant professor to full professor in the Department of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky. At Pitt, DeWalt served as Chair of the Department of Anthropology from 1995 to 1996 and Associate Dean from 1996 to 1999. She directed the Center for Latin American Studies from 2001 to 2013, the longest tenure in that role, during which she developed innovative programs such as the full-semester Pitt in Cuba study abroad, the eight-week Pitt in Ecuador summer program focused on Kichwa language, biodiversity, ethnobiology, and indigenous health, and the online publication Panoramas to foster understanding of Latin America.

A cultural anthropologist, DeWalt specializes in medical anthropology and the anthropology of food and nutrition, drawing on bio-cultural anthropology and political economy perspectives. Her research examines the health and nutrition impacts of economic and agricultural development policies in Latin America, child survival and adult health in developing countries, nutrition and health of older adults and youth in rural United States settings, and health decision-making in pluralistic settings. She is a qualitative methodologist expert in participant observation for ethnographic research. Over 40 years, she has conducted fieldwork in Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Ecuador, and Kentucky, collaborating with international agencies on food security and gender inequality in rural communities. Current projects investigate the health and nutrition of indigenous peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the 25-year impacts of women's income-generating projects on social power and child welfare in Manabí Province, Ecuador. Key publications include the influential textbook Participant Observation: A Guide for Fieldworkers, co-authored with Billie R. DeWalt (AltaMira Press, 2002; second edition, 2011). DeWalt received the 2013 Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement recognizing her visionary contributions to global education.

Professional Email: kmdewalt@pitt.edu