Hope Amason

Hope Amason is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Central Washington University. Her research focuses on political economy, globalization, museums, and tourism studies, with a regional emphasis on Appalachia and the US South. She teaches courses such as Museum Exhibit Design, Economic Anthropology, and Anthropology of Globalization.

Her work critically examines labor practices in tourism economies, cultural preservation in heritage sites, and the intersection of neoliberal policies with everyday life. Notable projects include studies on service workers in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the paradoxes of legal moonshine production. She has curated exhibits like 'Where There's Fire' at the Museum of Culture & Environment (2013–2014).

Amason's publications explore topics ranging from flexible worship practices in Appalachian tourist resorts to the performance of precarity in artisanal moonshine production. Her research often bridges economic anthropology, cultural studies, and museum curation.