Joyce N. Bennett

Joyce N. Bennett is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Bates College, specializing in sociocultural and sociolinguistic issues in Central and North America, with a focus on social justice and Indigenous communities. She holds a B.A. in American Studies and Music Performance from the University of Richmond, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Tulane University.

Her research centers on Maya women in Guatemala, particularly their efforts to protect traditional weaving through intellectual property rights and language revitalization. Bennett is an advocate of community-engaged learning and has collaborated with Indigenous groups in Guatemala and the U.S. She has received significant grants, including a Fulbright U.S. Scholars Award and a Wenner-Gren Foundation grant, and served as a Central American Visiting Scholar at Harvard University's David Rockefeller Center.

• Research Interests: Language revitalization, migration, gender studies, Indigenous rights, ethnography, decolonial methodologies.
• Recent Publications: Good Maya Women (2022), articles in Journal of Linguistic Anthropology and International Journal of Women’s Studies.
• Teaching: Courses include Indigenous Women’s Social Movements, Language Death and Revitalization, and Medical Anthropology.

Bennett’s work emphasizes mutual collaboration with communities, challenging Western frameworks of empowerment. She is a vocal advocate for anti-racist praxis in academia and public scholarship, as seen in her op-eds on Indigenous representation and Guatemalan politics.