Current Doctoral Students
ACNS Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program
Alec Bennett
Entered program: 2020
Primary interest: Future Climate Based Risk
Adviser: Brandon Boylan
Hometown: Palmer, Alaska
Education:
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Master of Security & Disaster Management, 2018
University of Alaska Southeast
B.S. Information Systems, 2005
Email: apbennett@alaska.edu
Research interests: Climate Change, Scenario Planning, Computational Modeling, Natural Disasters, Human Security, Resilient Infrastructure, Science Communication, Science Informed Policy & Decision Maki
Maureen Long
Entered program: 2018
Primary interest: Literature of the Canadian North and Alaska
Adviser: Eric Heyne
Hometown: Whitehorse, Yukon
Education:
University of Alaska Fairbanks
M.A. Northern Studies, 2003
University of Saskatchewan
Bachelor of Education, 1992
University of Saskatchewan
B.A. Honors English, 1991
Email: mlong9@alaska.edu
Research interests: Margaret Atwood and the Canadian North, North and Canadian Identity, Animal Studies and Ecocriticism, Literature of Alaska and the Yukon, Environmental History of Northern North America
Nick Parlato
Entered program: 2020
Primary interest: Political Geography
Adviser: Amy Lovecraft
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Education:
University of Northern British Columbia
M.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, 2019
Oberlin College
B.A. Russian and East European Studies, 2012
Email: njparlato@alaska.edu
Research interests: Peace and conflict studies, decolonial theory, post-Soviet Russia, Indigenous legal orders, Arctic politics, centre-periphery relations
Jody Simpson
Entered program: INDS Program, Spring 2019; ACNS Program, Fall, 2020
Primary interest: Social Capital in Alaska
Adviser: Amy Lovecraft
Hometown: Big Lake, Alaska
Education:
University od Alaska Anchorage
B.A. English Literature,1985
University of Alaska Southeast
Masters of Public Administration, 2016
Email: jesimpson@alaska.edu
Research interests: Social capital, economic and community development; subjective well-being; circumpolar issues; Alaskan policy issues.
My dissertation involves an exploratory study of Alaska's social capacity.
My research examines how Alaska might move beyond a needs-based approach to community development to a framework that also considers social capacity ̶ the collective strengths, skills, assets, leadership structure, and relationships of individuals, citizens’ associations, and institutions. Dwindling financial support for communities, due to changes in the state's financial and political environments, will require civic organizations, non-profit organizations, institutions, and local governments to adapt to better meet the needs of residents.
Much of the peer-reviewed data on Circumpolar social capital pertains predominantly to health, climate change, and environmental sustainability. Beyond a discussion of the social milieu in Kodiak, Alaska, and a pair of papers examining collective trauma in Cordova, Alaska, following the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, I was not able to locate asset-based assessments or analyses of associational life in Alaska. Through a bounded case study of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and social network analysis, my research will help fill that gap.
Kristine Swain
Entered Program: 2021
Primary Interest: History of Canadian-American military cooperation in Alaska through the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
Adviser: Dr. Philip Wight
Hometown: Eagle River, Alaska
Education:
University of Kansas
M.A. Soviet and East European Studies, 1992
United States Air Force Academy
B.S. Russian History, 1991
Email: kswain@alaska.edu
Research Interests: History of Canadian-American military relations in Alaska, US and Canadian Arctic security strategy and policy, environmental, economic, societal and political impact of military operations in Alaska, Cold War History, Russian and Soviet History
Alex Taitt
Entered program: 2021
Primary interest: Digital Heritage Preservation
Advisers: Brandon Boylan & Medeia Csoba DeHass
Hometown: Anchorage, AK | Dena’ina Ełnena
Education:
University of Alaska Anchorage
M.A. Anthropology, 2017
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
B.A. Anthropology, 2015
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
B.A. Computer Science, 2015
Email: antaitt@alaska.edu
Research interests: Digital heritage preservation, 3D cultural heritage preservation, 3D modeling of
Arctic and sub-Arctic cultural heritage, ethics and practice of 3D modeling, co-production
of knowledge with Indigenous communities, decolonizing museums, STEAM education
Forest Wagner
Entered program: 2019
Primary interest: Place Identity
Advisers: David Koester, Mary Ehrlander
Hometown: Fairbanks, AK
Education:
University of Alaska Southeast
B.L.A. Interdisciplinary Studies, 2005
University of Alaska Fairbanks
M.A. Arctic and Northern Studies, 2017
Email: fjwagner@alaska.edu
Research interests: Affective and narrative dimensions of climate change on the lived experience of high latitude peoples
Leanna Williams
Entered program: 2020
Primary interest: Northern History
Advisers: Brandon Boylan & Mary Ehrlander
Hometown: Fairbanks, Alaska
Education:
University of Alaska Fairbanks
M.A. Northern Studies/Northern History, 2019
Linfield College
B.A. Mass Communication, 2004
Email: lprax1@alaska.edu
Research Interests: Arctic & Polar Aviation History, Infrastructure Development, Soviet Aviation, Alaska History, Northern Identity and Literature, Museum Studies