Areas of Expertise
Anthropology: linguistic, cultural, physical.
Linguistics: general; creolistics.
Caribbean languages, cultures.
Spanish language and linguistics.
Education
Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Florida, 1985.
Advanced Certificate in Latin American Studies, University of Florida, 1985.
M.A., Latin American Studies, University of Florida, 1980.
B.A., Spanish Language and Literature, College of William and Mary, 1968.
Biography
Kephart is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Florida, where he has been since 1989. Kephart came to linguistics and anthropology after teaching Spanish as a Peace Corps Volunteer on Carriacou, Grenada, 1971-74. From this experience Kephart developed a deep and abiding interest, some might say obsession, with the role of "non-standard" languages in education, and this is reflected in his doctoral research. As a four-field trained anthropologist, Kephart teaches and writes about a range of topics that includes language, human evolution, human biological and cultural diversity, and the uses of anthropology in helping to explain and solve human problems. As a scientific anthropologist, Kephart is dedicated to research that is empirically based and that has the potential to lead to nomothetic explanations of human nature.
Affiliations
American Anthropological Association
Society for Linguistic Anthropology
Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics
Society for Caribbean Linguistics
Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars.
Publications & Presentations
BOOKS
Broken English: The Creole Language of Carriacou. New York: Peter Lang Publishers, 2000.
Meeting Anthropology Phase to Phase. (co-author with B. Graber, R. Skelton, R. Rowlett, and S. Brown). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Publishers, 2000.
BOOK CHAPTERS
Creole English on Carriacou: A sketch and some implications. Contact Englishes of the Eastern Caribbean, edited by Aceto and Williams. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2003.
Latin America and the Caribbean. Race and Ethnicity: An Anthropological Focus on the United States and the World. Edited by Raymond Scupin. Prentice Hall. 2003.
