Elizabeth Bird
Writer, Anthropologist
Photo by Graham Tobin
WRITER
Until recently, I mostly wrote for academic journals and books, with the occasional freelance piece in newspapers and magazines. Now I enjoy writing creative non-fiction and essays.
Links are below; I mark the newest in red.
2022
Essays
Under the Sun (Readers' Choice Award)
Named as Notable in Best American Essays, 2023
International Human Rights Arts Festival Winner
Tangled Locks
The Casual Cruelty of Schoolgirls
Biostories
Streetlight
2023
Dorothy Parker's Ashes
Heimat Review
Mutha Magazine
2024
The Central High Scarf Scandal
Witcraft
Summerset Review
Loch Raven Review
Tiny Fiction
Fiction writing is definitely not my strength. However, I've been experimenting with writing very short (50 - 500 word) stories, and two were recently published. I will keep trying!
10 by 10 Flash Fiction
50-word Stories
Op-eds
Below are a few pieces written as opeds for newspapers, dating from the early 1980s to 2023!
Des Moines Register, 1982
St. Petersburg Times, 2008
Des Moines Register, 1982
Tampa Tribune, 2012
Des Moines Register, 1984
Tampa Bay Times, 2023
ANTHROPOLOGIST
I have taught at the University of Iowa, University of Minnesota-Duluth, and University of South Florida, from where I retired as Professor Emerita. I taught classes in cultural anthropology, anthropology of media, folklore, research methods, ethics and other topics. My earlier research focused on the cultural role of media; in the last 10 years of my academic career, I researched the history and significance of a civil war massacre in Nigeria, where I traveled often. A list of my academic articles can be found here. My Nigerian research is documented on my website: asabamemorial.org.
Books:
Click on thumbnail for more information
Annual Book Award, Oral History Association, 2018
International Communication Association Best Book Award, 2004
Outstanding Book: Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in America, 1997
BIO
Born and raised in north-east England as one of four siblings, I graduated from Durham University with a degree in Anthropology. I went on to Leeds University for an M.A. in Folklife Studies, before receiving my Ph.D. from Strathclyde University. I moved to Iowa in 1980, where I added an M.A. in Journalism.
After living in Iowa City and then Duluth, MN, I found myself in Tampa, teaching at the University of South Florida. Happily retired, I still live in Tampa with my husband, also a retired USF professor.
Our two grown sons caught the academic bug, and are now college professors, one in Geology and one in Theatre.