Rate My Professor Shaawano Uran

Shaawano Uran, a scholar from the White Earth Anishinaabe community, is Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies at Bemidji State University. He earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of Iowa in 2012. Prior to this, he completed his undergraduate work in Anthropology and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Uran joined Bemidji State University in August 2021 as a full-time faculty member. Before his current appointment, he served as a lecturer at several notable institutions, including Bowdoin College in Maine, the University of Victoria in British Columbia, The Evergreen State College in Washington, the University of Washington, and Cornell University in New York. These positions underscore his extensive experience in teaching and engaging with Indigenous and anthropological topics across diverse academic environments.

Dr. Uran's research interests include Indigenous language revitalization, language and identity, American cultural studies, language ideologies, Indigenous sovereignty, critical theory, Indigenous studies, and coloniality. He is known for applying Indigenous critical theory to zombie films and literature, offering innovative perspectives that intersect academic scholarship with popular culture. His scholarly work also extends to Anishinaabe language revitalization, Indigenous representation in media, and the socio-politics of music. In addition to his research, Shaawano Uran is an artist and quilter, an electronic music and instrument maker, a hunter, a guitarist, a drummer, and a horror fan. He contributes to the Bemidji State University community as a member of the Honors Council and is affiliated with the Languages and Indigenous Studies department and the American Indian Resource Center. Dr. Uran has participated in public engagements, such as a panel discussion on the Rights of the Child at the Watermark Art Center and presentations on Indigenous interpretations of media like the 'Zombieland' frontier. He has also served as a content consultant for the book 'The Wendigo' by Marley Richmond.