The Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference (DOPE) is organized and hosted entirely by an interdisciplinary group of graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky. Since its inception in 2010, this student-organized conference has become one of the largest, most highly regarded international forums for critical discussions at the intersection of ecology, political economy, and science studies. DOPE 2020 welcomes Dr. Alaka Wali, Dr. Diana Ojeda, Dr. Justin Dunnavant, Dr. Macarena Gómez-Barris, and Dr. Rebecca Elmhirst as our speakers, along with many professors, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The DOPE Conference offers a platform for both established and emerging scholars to present research and engage in political ecology scholarship. Registration is free for UK graduate and undergraduate students! Register here!

Ashley Stinnett, is an assistant professor in the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at Western Kentucky University. She received her Ph.D. from the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. Her areas of specialization are linguistic anthropology with a sub-specialty in applied visual ethnography and educational documentary filmmaking. Her research primarily concerns the sociocultural and linguistic processes in which locally centered, historical and traditional knowledge specific to food are realized and put into daily practice. Ashley researches language production in communities of practice in occupational settings and community driven efforts, specifically related to food production. Additionally, she partners with local community organizations utilizing applied anthropological approaches while synchronously incorporating visual anthropology methodologies in both the practice and the production of visual media materials. Her primary research focuses on language practices of heritage butchers in the Southwestern United States. Her most recent project utilizes linguistic and sensory ethnography in a focus on food fermentation.