Amanda Minks

Amanda Minks is an Associate Professor in the Honors College at the University of Oklahoma, with academic affiliations in Anthropology and Ethnomusicology. She is based in Boren Hall and focuses on interdisciplinary teaching and research.

Education:

• Ph.D., Ethnomusicology, Columbia University
• M.A., Ethnomusicology, Wesleyan University
• B.A., Music, Goucher College

Research Interests: Indigenous Studies, Latin American Cultural Studies, Heritage and Collections, Music and Media, Language Socialization, and Inter-American Histories. Her work emphasizes ethnographic and sociolinguistic methods, particularly in studying Indigenous communities' cultural practices and historical representations.

Teaching: She designs courses in the Honors College, including Indigenous Identities, Culture, and Politics, Latin American Music and Politics, and Music and Medicine across Cultures. She integrates qualitative research methods to enhance students' critical thinking about cultural dynamics.

Research Projects:

• Author of two books: Voices of Play: Miskitu Children's Speech and Song (2013) and Indigenous Audibilities: Music, Heritage, and Collections (2024, forthcoming).
• Collaborator on the Indigenous Media Portal, a digital project to enhance access to Indigenous collections at OU.
• Co-author of a National Endowment for the Humanities policy paper on Native American music archiving (2016–2018).

Key Contributions: Explores how Indigenous children use multilingualism and media to navigate identity, and analyzes historical inter-American discourses on Indigenous music and folklore. Her work challenges colonial narratives through decolonial frameworks in anthropology and ethnomusicology.