Megan Carney

Megan Carney is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Arizona, based in the Emil W. Haury Building. She specializes in sociocultural and critical medical feminist anthropology, focusing on migration, food insecurity, and social solidarity. Her research spans the U.S. Southwest and Italy, particularly Sicily. She directs the UA Center for Regional Food Studies and is affiliated with multiple interdisciplinary programs, including Africana Studies and Food Studies.

Dr. Carney’s work bridges academia and activism, including collaborations with migrant solidarity initiatives and youth storytelling labs. Her books The Unending Hunger (2015) and Island of Hope (2021) critically examine food security policies, migrant health, and neoliberalism’s impact on marginalized communities. She received the 2015 CHOICE Award and was a Fulbright Scholar (2021–22).

Her research interests include transnational migration, food systems, and abolitionist feminist futures. She co-directs the Future of Food and Social Justice Youth Storytelling Lab, emphasizing BIPOC, queer, and trans student leadership. Current projects explore U.S. emigration as an abolitionist practice and Mediterranean water insecurity.

Awards include the Udall Public Policy Fellowship (2019–20) and Public Voices Fellowship (2018–19). Her grants include the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s Engaged Research Grant for participatory migrant youth work. She teaches courses on medical anthropology, food justice, and migration studies.