Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell is a Lecturer in Anthropology and Curator of Globalization at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. His work bridges material culture studies, political ecology, and museum anthropology, with a focus on Papua New Guinea and Melanesia. Bell explores how objects, collections, and technologies like cell phones mediate cultural and environmental transformations.

He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oxford (2006), an M.Ph. (1998), and a B.A. from Brown University (1996). His research includes long-term fieldwork in the Purari Delta, examining resource extraction impacts and community heritage preservation. Ongoing projects include 'The Sweetness of the Stone-Age' and 'Political Ecologies of Cell Phones,' analyzing dispersed colonial collections and modern tech use.

Bell's publications span museum studies, Pacific ethnography, and material culture. His recent work interrogates cell phone materiality, repair practices, and their sociocultural implications. He collaborates with Indigenous communities to recover endangered languages and cultural knowledge through initiatives like the 'Recovering Voices' project.

• Key Projects: Melanesian Networks survey, Sugarcane Expedition collections analysis
• Courses Taught: Resources & Environment, Globalization, Anthropology of Art