معرفی
Mary K. Shenk is an Associate Professor of Anthropology, Demography, and Asian Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. She holds affiliations with the Population Research Institute and the Center for Human Ecology. Her research focuses on biocultural anthropology, human behavioral ecology, and anthropological demography, with emphases on marriage, parental investment, fertility, mortality, and social inequality. She has conducted fieldwork in South Asia, particularly Bangladesh and India, examining topics such as market integration's impact on wealth and health, and fertility decline.
Education:
- PhD in Anthropology, University of Washington, 2005
Research Interests: Shenk explores the evolutionary foundations of inequality, the psychological mechanisms of human reproduction, and the behavioral ecology of kinship systems. Her work integrates quantitative and qualitative methods, emphasizing fieldwork in socioecological contexts. Current projects include studying marital assortment and inequality in small-scale societies and the effects of market integration on social structures.
Advising & Research Group: Shenk mentors graduate students (e.g., Joon Hwang, Nafi Mohammad Ali) and leads a research group investigating topics such as intensive mothering, dowry systems in South Asia, and maternal health. She has received NSF funding for projects analyzing inequality in transitioning economies.
Labs/Teams: Her research group is based at Penn State, collaborating on cross-cultural studies and hosting undergraduate/graduate researchers.
