Shaylih Muehlmann

Shaylih Muehlmann is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and holds the Canada Research Chair in Language, Culture, and the Environment. She joined UBC in 2010 after completing a PhD at the University of Toronto (2008) and a postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley (2008-2010). Her research focuses on environmental politics, linguistic anthropology, drug trafficking, and the US-Mexico borderlands. Muehlmann’s work bridges ethnography, policy analysis, and cultural critique, examining how social processes shape inequality and identity.

She has authored three books: Where the River Ends (2013), When I Wear My Alligator Boots (2014), and the forthcoming Call the Mothers (2024). Her articles address topics like narco-culture, environmental conflicts, and marginalized communities. Awards include the 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship, Royal Society of Canada membership (2016), and Best Undergraduate Teaching Award (2012).

Muehlmann’s research integrates fieldwork with critical theory, often focusing on Mexico’s water scarcity, drug war impacts, and indigenous rights. She has led projects funded by SSHRC and the Killam Foundation, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to social and environmental issues.