For me, research mentoring means giving students the tools, the training and the confidence that they need to succeed, and then getting out of their way and letting them do their best work.
Brian Brazeal joined the Department of Anthropology in 2007 after completing his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on the intersection of religion and economy in Afro-Brazilian communities and in the global gemstone trade. He founded and directs the Advanced Laboratory for Visual Anthropology where students, faculty and staff work together to produce documentary films based on anthropological research. They use the technologies of digital cinema and the medium of public television broadcast to ensure that anthropological insights reach the broadest possible audiences. His students’ work has screened across the country and around the world.