christine finnan headshot

Christine Finnan

Emerita Professor of Anthropology

Education 

Ph.D. Stanford University. Education (Anthropology Minor). Dissertation: The Development of Occupational Identity Among Vietnamese Refugees

M.A. University of Texas, Austin. Anthropology (Folklore).

B.A. University of California, Berkeley. Folklore (Anthropology)

Research Interests

  • Schooling tribal children in India
  • School and classroom culture
  • Influences on teacher perceptions of students
  • Childhood in cross-cultural perspective
  • Cultural sustainability

Courses Taught 

Anthropology

  • ANTH 201: Cultural Anthropology
  • ANTH 205: Language and Culture
  • ANTH 319: Special Topics: Cultural and Social Context of Education
  • ANTH 319: Special Topics: Anthropology of Childhood
  • ANTH 319: Special Topics: Comparative Childhoods: India and US (study abroad)
  • ANTH 319: Special Topics: Schooling and Cultural and Linguistic Sustainability in Tribal India (study abroad)
  • ANTH 319: Special Topics: Cultural Sustainability and Social Justice in Schools
  • ANTH 491: Research Methods
  • HONS 282: Special Topics: Language and Culture
  • HONS 382: Hope and Humility (with Dr. Jen Wright)

Teacher Education

  • EDEE 327: Learner Development in the Context of Learning
  • EDEE 374: Introduction to Elementary Education: Balancing Students and Curriculum
  • EDEE 382: Application of Curriculum: Grades 2-6
  • EDEE 455: Elementary Grades Clinical Practice
  • EDEE 457: Early Childhood Clinical Practice
  • EDEE 695: Field Experience III in Elementary Education
  • EDEE 604: Teacher as Researcher in Early Childhood Education
  • EDEE 700: Thesis
  • MTLA 601: Class, Race and Gender
  • MTLA 602: Policies and Issues in Contemporary Education
  • MTLA 607: Teachers as Advocates for Children and Youth
  • MTLA 702: Research and Development Project
  • MTLA 706: Special Topics: Advocacy for Schooling Promoting Cultural and Linguistic Sustainability (study abroad)
  • SOCY 359: Special Topics: Cultural and Social Context of Education

Honors and Awards

  • Excel Teaching Award -- Honors College 2019
  • Fulbright Nehru Senior Research Scholar 2014
  • Nominatation for Distinguished Researcher Award, College of Charleston 2009
  • Nominatation for Distinguished Researcher Award, College of Charleston 2004
  • Inquiry Award (with Julie D. Swanson), Accelerated Schools SIG, American Educational Research Association, 2001
  • Inquiry Award (with Ed StJohn, Simeon Sloveck, Jane McCarthy), Accelerated Schools SIG, American Educational Research Association, 1996
  • Canfield Fellowship, Stanford University, 1977
  • Elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa, Univeristy of California, Berkeley 1973

Selected Publications

  • Finnan, C. (2018) In search of education’s promise: Indian tribal children leaving home for the hope of a better future. In R. Pramanik, U. Skoda, & L Guzy (Eds.) Vulnerability, marginalization and culture. New Delhi: Concept Publishing.
  • Finnan, C. (2016) Residential schooling brings opportunity to India's poorest children. Sapiens. October 12.
  • Finnan, C., Sahoo, S., Pramanik, R. (2016). Living in the present while imagining the future: How school and its promises shape conceptions of childhood for indigenous tribal students in India. Global Studies of Childhood. DOI: 10.1177/2043610616671070
  • Finnan, C. (2015). Getting on the mat: Teachers and students engaging in yoga together. Childhood Education 91:6, 463-468, DOI: 10.1080/00094056.2015.1114803.
  • Finnan, C. (2015). Not a waste of time: Scheduling non-academic learning into the school day. The Urban Review. 47:26–44 DOI 10.1007/s11256-014-0286-5.
  • Finnan, C. (2016). Formal schooling and Indian tribal children. In D. K. Behera (Ed.) Contemporary society: Tribal studies (volume X). New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
  • Finnan, C. (2013). Perceptions of Self and Other in the Elementary Classroom:From George Spindler’s “Roger Harker Story” to Today’s Classrooms. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 44(1), 94-103
  • Finnan, C., Webber, K.,& McPartland, C. (2011). We Are Family: Providing a Second Chance for Over-Age Students. Uhrmacher, B. & Bunn, K.,   Eds. Beyond the One Room School. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
  • Finnan, C. & Kombe, D. (2011). Accelerating Struggling Students Learning Through Identity Re-Development. Middle School Journal 43 (1), 4-12.
  • Finnan, C. (2010). A Focus on Upper Elementary Teacher Preparation: Developmentally Appropriate Practice and the Standards Shaping Our Programs. Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Education, 19 (1).