Tess B. Bird
Curriculum Vitae

Education
DPhil Anthropology; University of Oxford; 2018
MSc Medical Anthropology; University of Oxford; 2012 (with Distinction)
BA Women’s Studies; University of Connecticut; 2008 (magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa)

Professional Appointments
  • Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Writing for the Social Sciences, Shapiro Center for Writing, Wesleyan University, CT. ​

Current Affiliations
  • Research Affiliate, Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford (2020-2022)
  • Fellow, Unit for Biocultural Variation and Obesity, University of Oxford (2018-present)​

Publications
​​Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles in Anthropology ​Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles in Public Health and Science Studies Commentaries and Letters
  • Egilman D, Castleman B, Bird, T. (2021) Letter to the Editor Regarding Bolluck 2020. Critical Reviews in Toxicology. Ahead of publication: https://doi.org/10.1080/10408444.2020.1856773 
  • Bird T and Egilman D. (2019) A Letter from the Editors: An Introduction to the Journal of Scientific Practice and Integrity. The Journal of Scientific Practice and Integrity, 1(1). Online: https://doi.org/10.35122/jospi.2019.873868
  • Tran T, Steffen J, Clancy K, Bird T, and Egilman D. (2019) Talc, Asbestos, and Epidemiology: Corporate Influence and Scientific Incognizance. Epidemiology. 30(6): 783–788. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6784763/
  • Egilman D, Bird T, Mora F, Druar N. (2011) Gets AIDS and survive? The “perverse” effects of aid: addressing the social and environmental determinants of health, promoting sustainable primary care, and rethinking global health aid. Int J Occup Environ Health. Oct-Dec 2011;17(4):364-82. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22069935/​
Department Pedagogical Publications
Grants, Fellowships, and Awards
  • 2018-2020, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Writing for the Social Sciences, Wesleyan University
  • 2019, Sustainability & Environmental Justice Pedagogical Initiative Grant, Wesleyan University
  • 2014-2017, Philip Bagby Scholarship, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford
  • 2013-2016, Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology School Bursary, University of Oxford
  • 2017, Vice-Chancellors’ Fund, University of Oxford
  • 2017, Best Poster Award, 1st Place, 12th Annual International Ethnography Symposium, Manchester, U.K., 29 August-1 September
  • 2008, The Connecticut Poetry Circuit (University of Connecticut awardee)

Conference Participation
Panels Organized
  • 2019, Panel organizer: “Toxicity Beyond the Human: The Corporation, Uncertain Science, and Methodologies of Encounter,” 118th American Anthropology Association Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, 19-24 November.
  • 2017, Roundtable organizer: “Recovering Anthropology’s Voice: From Ethnographic Practice to Writing for the Public,” 116th American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, 28 November-3 December, Washington, DC.
Papers Presented
  • 2019, “Manipulating Uncertainty and Inventing Futures: Thinking About Corporate Documents from an Anthropological Lens.” In: Toxicity Beyond the Human: The Corporation, Uncertain Science, and Methodologies of Encounter (panel). 118th American Anthropology Association Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, 19-24 November.
  • 2019, "Utilizing Everyday Material Culture in Home-based Studies of Health and Wellbeing.” In: Evaluation in Health Care and Public Health: Anthropological Approaches (panel), Association of Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting 2019, Portland, OR, 19-23 March.
  • 2018, “Beyond the Fit Body: yoga as a connector in the everyday lives of middle class households in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.” In: Yoga Bodies and the Transformation of the Self (panel), Association of Social Anthropologists Annual Conference 2018, Oxford, UK, 18-21 September.
  • 2017, “Encouraging Providence: Negotiating Uncertainty and Wellbeing in the Home,” In: Silver Linings: The Creative Potential of Uncertain Times (panel/stream), 12th Annual International Ethnography Symposium, Manchester, UK, 29 August-1 September.
  • 2011, Get AIDS and Survive: Are we making things worse by ‘doing good’?” American Public Health Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC.
  • 2006, “Getting the [Creative] Word Out: Creating Connections with Creative Writers in Writing Centers at the University and High School Level,” Northeast Writing Center Association Annual Conference, Amherst, NH.

Talks
Invited
  • 2021. "Lock Down Food: Podcasting through the Pandemic." Oxford Unit for Biocultural Variation and Obesity, University of Oxford, UK, 13 May.
  • 2020, “The Visual Materiality of Corporate Science: Asbestos, Tobacco, Pharma, and Food,” Oxford Unit for Biocultural Variation and Obesity, University of Oxford, UK, 12 March.
  • 2019, “What’s in the Fridge? The Everyday Material Culture of Health and Wellbeing,” Oxford Unit for Biocultural Variation and Obesity, University of Oxford, UK, 16 May.
  • 2018, “Locating Everyday Uncertainty,” Copenhagen Centre for Health Research in the Humanities (CoRe), University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 11 December.
Institutional/Departmental
  • 2020, “Teaching Writing Online.” Shapiro Center for Writing, Wesleyan University (Spring 2020)
  • 2019, “From Anxiety to Creativity: Utilizing Uncertainty in the Classroom.” Center for Pedagogical Innovation, Wesleyan University (Spring 2019)
  • 2017, “The Uncertainty of Love: Intimacy, Care, and Wellbeing in the Urban American Home,” International Gender Studies Centre, Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, Spring 2017
Co-Convened Seminar Series
  • 2017-2018, Oxford Unit for Biocultural Variation and Obesity termly seminar series (Winter 2017; Spring 2017; Fall 2017; Winter 2018)
  • 2017, Oxford International Gender Studies Centre termly seminar series: “The Making and Unmaking of the Home in an Uncertain World” (Spring 2017)

Teaching     
Verto Education, First Year Study Abroad Programs 
  • Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Hawai’i (2020)
Wesleyan University (2018-2020)
  • Uncertainty and the Future (First Year Seminar, cross-listed: Science in Society, Writing) (Course Description)
  • Extreme Landscapes of the Anthropocene (cross-listed: Science in Society, College of the Environment, Writing) (Course Description)
  • Living within the BioLogical (First Year Seminar, cross-listed: Science in Society, Writing) (Course Description)
University of Oxford (2017-2018)
  • Nutritional Anthropology (graduate and undergraduate)
University of Georgia Study Abroad at University of Oxford (2016-2017)
  • Introduction to Anthropology
The Washington International Studies Council & The Oxford Study Abroad Programme (2016-2017)
  • Introduction to Anthropology
  • Medical Anthropology
  • Anthropology of Biology and Medicine
Brown University, Alpert Medical School (2013-2014)
  • Science and Power, Teaching Assistant
Peer Writing Tutor, University of Connecticut Writing Center (2004-2008)

Professional Development
  • 2018, Story Time: How to Write for the Public Workshop, American Anthropological Association, Vancouver, BC
  • 2017, Venture Idea Exploration Workshop (VIEW), Enterprising Oxford, Oxford University, UK (entrepreneurship training)
  • 2017, AnthropologyCon Games Workshop, American Anthropological Association, Washington, DC (using games in teaching and learning)

Professional Experience
  • ​2011-2020, Medical-Legal Researcher (Part-Time), Never Again Consulting, Attleboro, MA  
  • 2010-2011, Medical-Legal Researcher (Full-Time), Never Again Consulting, Attleboro, MA  
  • 2012-2013, Communications Associate & Event Organizer, Global Health through Education, Training, and Service, Attleboro, MA
  • 2013-2014, Social Medicine Course Developer/Editor, NextGenU.org, Vancouver, BC, Canada
  • 2008-present, Independent Writing Coach and Editor (corporate, academic, and ESL clients)