Elizabeth Olson 
Associate Professor of Anthropology | Southern Utah University
Cedar City, UT, UNITED STATES
Specializing in medical and environmental anthropology, ethnobotany, and Indigenous medicinal plants
Biography
Dr. Elizabeth Olson is an associate professor of anthropology at Southern Utah University. She is currently engaged in research regarding the globalization of medicinal plant knowledge and the relationships between indigenous, professional, and lay uses of medicinal plant knowledge across various ethnomedical systems.
Dr. Olson's anthropological research has looked at traditional healing systems in Utah, the Bolivian Amazon, and Mexico. Leading her to focus on the intersections among health, environments, and economic markets. Her book, "Indigenous Knowledge and Development: Livelihoods, health experiences and medicinal plant knowledge in a Mexican Biosphere Reserve," addresses topics of governance and conservation, ecotourism, and traditional medicine in the context of community development and conservation in the Biosphere Reserve.
Dr. Olson earned a bachelor of arts in anthropology from the University of Utah and a master of arts in anthropology and Ph.D. in anthropology from Case Western Reserve University.
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Industry Expertise (3)
Writing and Editing
Alternative Medicine
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (18)
Rural Humanitarian Aid in Guatemala
Traditional Healing Systems
Sustainable Development
Public Health
Medicinal Plants
Medical Anthropology
Indigenous Medicinal Plants
Health-Environment-Plant Nexus
Global Conservation
Ethnobotany
Ethnobiology
Environmental Anthropology
Community Health
Anthropology Research Methods
Anthropology of Nutrition
Les Mills BodyPump and BodyFlow
Trade and Globalization
Triathlon and Ultramarathon Training
Education (3)
Case Western Reserve University: Ph.D., Anthropology
Case Western Reserve University: M.A., Anthropology
University of Utah: H.B.A., Anthropology
Accomplishments (4)
Community Engaged Scholar (professional)
Southern Utah University, 2018
Favorite Professor (professional)
Student Residential Program at University of California, 2009
Graduate Dean's Instructional Excellence Award (professional)
Case Western Reserve University, 2007
Lenore A. Kola Graduate Student Community Service Award (personal)
Case Western Reserve University, 2007
Affiliations (11)
- American Anthropological Association
- Anthropology and Environment Section of the American Anthropological Association
- Council on Undergraduate Research
- Culture & Agriculture Section of the American Anthropological Association
- Phi Kappa Phi
- Society of Ethnobiology
- Society for Medical Anthropology
- Cedar City Rotary Club
- Rotaract Student Club & Sustainability Club
- East Elementary Science Club
- Cedar City Hispanic Community Health Fair
Links (2)
Languages (2)
- Spanish
- French
Media Appearances (1)
Anthropology Professor Finishes Third in 50k
SUU University News online
2019-02-20
Running for awareness, running for fun, running for personal health motivated Southern Utah University’s anthropology professor, Liz Olson, to take on a new challenge as the only woman from SUU to compete in the 2018 Santa Virtual Ultramarathon.
Articles (3)
Introduction: Between Capitalism, the State, and the Grassroots: Mexico's Contribution to a Global Conservation Debate
Conservation & SocietyNora Haenn, Elizabeth Olson, Jose E. Martinez-Reyes and Leticia Durand
2014-08-08
This introduction situates Mexico in the research on conservation and society, illustrating some nuances and characteristics of the Mexican model of biodiversity conservation in relation to neoliberal economic development and state formation. The paper critiques the way neoliberalism has become a common framework to understand conservation's social practices. Drawing on the ethnographies collected in this special section, the paper considers the importance of state formation and disorganised neoliberalism as intertwined phenomena that explain conservation outcomes. This approach lends itself to the papers' ethnographic descriptions that demonstrate a particular Mexican form of conservation that sits alongside a globalised biodiversity conservation apparatus.
Anthropology and Traditional Ecological Knowledge: A Summary of Quantitative Approaches to Traditional Knowledge, Market Participation, and Conservation
Culture, Agriculture, Food and EnvironmentElizabeth Olson
2013-12-19
In this paper, I summarize some of the current trends in quantitative anthropological investigations of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and political–economic systems. I first provide an overview of the quantitative studies of TEK, focusing on the various research methods commonly employed in ethnoecology.
Notions of rationality and value production in ecotourism: examples from a Mexican biosphere reserve
Journal of Sustainable TourismElizabeth Olson
2011-09-23
In this paper, two unique ecotourism projects in the Sierra of Manantlán Biosphere Reserve in west central Mexico are analyzed in terms of the economic and ideological discourses they reflect. In this region, ecotourism is promoted as (1) a sustainable development platform that is purportedly (2) different from traditional tourism in terms of the socioeconomic and environmental impacts.
Courses (9)
ANTH 1010 Intro to Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology is concerned with the documentation and interpretation of diverse social and cultural settings. The course will introduce students to the key concepts of cultural anthropology through the discussion and analysis of fieldwork studies from around the world.
ANTH 3070 Medical Anthropology
This course introduces students to the theories and methods cultural anthropologists use to understand and study health, illness, health care, and health-seeking behavior from a cross-cultural perspective.
ANTH 3500 Ecological Anthropology
This course provides a survey of ecological and environmental anthropology. In particular, we are interested in how human relationships with environments over time, and in all parts of the globe, can impact our behavior, health, economics, and politics. To do this, we examine human-environmental relationships from anthropological perspectives and research on the interrelationships between humans and environments.
ANTH 3600 Cultures of Mexico
This variable topic course focuses on the anthropology of a different culture or geographical region. Anthropological topics will be covered to provide students with a deep appreciation of the archaeological, linguistic, social, and economic dynamics of a population or region. Repeatable with different topic up to 12 credits toward the major.
ANTH 3990 Anthropological Theory & Methods
This seminar provides an overview of the major theoretical schools in Cultural Anthropology and Archaeology and introduces students to fundamental research methods practiced within Anthropology. The course employs a historical perspective, moving from the 19th through 21st centuries. Theories from each era are matched with examples of appropriate methodologies, showing their interrelation.
ANTH 4700 Ethnobotany: Medicinal Herb Garden Practicum
Occasionally Anthropology faculty will offer courses on a special area of interest or a particularly timely topic under this course number. The class schedule and handouts in the department will provide further information on each Special Topic course.
ANTH 4700 Anthropology of Nutrition & Community
Occasionally Anthropology faculty will offer courses on a special area of interest or a particularly timely topic under this course number. The class schedule and handouts in the department will provide further information on each Special Topic course.
ANTH 4999 Senior Capstone
After selecting a faculty advisor, students have two options: 1) a practicum involving internship, service learning, and/or civic engagement experience(s) with cultural research and cultural problem analysis; or 2) a research project in which one defines a topic, conducts research, and prepares findings. Restricted to Senior Anthropology majors.
HIST 4830 Hispanic Heritage Week
HIST 4830 Hispanic Heritage Week
