Dr. Jara M. Carrington is a Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and is affiliated faculty with the Women's and Gender Studies Program at the University of North Texas. Jara is also a UNT alum; prior to earning her PhD in Anthropology at the University of New Mexico, she completed her undergraduate education and a M.A. in Applied Anthropology at UNT. Her teaching and research interests explore the multiple ways that intersecting hierarchies of sexuality, gender, race, and class shape both the structural conditions and lived experiences of citizenship and belonging in the United States--a relatively broad interest that takes many forms. For example, Jara's doctoral research with binational same sex couples sought to untangle the increasingly complex relationship amongst social justice oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs), their constituents, and U.S. law and policy in neoliberal times. Jara's most recent project is focused on collecting, archiving, and making public the histories of LGBTQ Latinx and Hispanic persons living in Texas.

Since returning to north Texas, Jara has developed collaborative research and teaching relationships with several Dallas-based NGOs, including the Perot Museum of Science and Nature, The Dallas Way, and Arttitude. She is co-author of a chapter called "Centering Intersectional Politics: Queer Migrations Activism 'After Marriage'" that was published in a ground-breaking series of edited volumes focused on future directions for queer activism in the United States. Jara also has a forthcoming article in Law & Policy titled "Rethinking NGOs: Neoliberalism, Non-State Actors, and the Politics of Recognition in the United States." This article draws on lessons from her doctoral research to critically analyze the shifting role of NGOs in a neoliberal context. Jara also served as a Contributing Editor for Cultural Anthropology, producing a podcast and a Teaching Tools blog post about queer anthropology.

In her spare time, Jara serves as a board member with Dallas-based NGO Arttitude, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and supporting platforms for LGBTQ+ people to represent their multiple and diverse identities, histories, and communities with the goal of inciting positive change and equality through the arts.

Education

2017, Ph.D. Anthropology, University of New Mexico

2007, M.A., Applied Anthropology, University of North Texas

2004, B.A., Psychology, University of North Texas

Faculty Mentor

Anthropology Student/Faculty Liaison

Undergraduate Anthropology Student Association (UASA)

Regularly Taught Courses

ANTH 2300 Culture and Society
ANTH 4210 Culture and Human Sexuality
ANTH 4300 Migrants and Refugees
ANTH 4550 Race, Ethnicity, and Identity
ANTH 4701 Sex, Gender, and Culture
WGST 4260 Introduction to LGBTQ Studies
ANTH 5050 Introduction to Practice and the Applied Thesis
ANTH 5031 Qualitative Methods