معرفی
Tomas Matza is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, affiliated with the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Anthropology. His work bridges sociocultural, environmental, and medical/psychological anthropology with focuses on mental health, political economy, and global health.
- Ph.D. in Anthropology, Stanford University (2010)
- Research in Russia, El Salvador, and Hawai‘i on care ethics, neoliberalism, and biocultural stewardship
- Collaborator with Dr. Nicole Heller, Dr. Scott Fisher, and the Hawai‘i Land Trust
His research interrogates intersections of psychological subjectivity and capitalism in postsocialist contexts, critiques of global health metrics, and Indigenous-led conservation models. Recent projects include an environmental justice learning initiative with Dr. Nicole Fabricant (Towson University), connecting Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Appalachia activists. He advocates for cross-regional solidarity in addressing toxic exposure and community health.
Matza’s publications span 15+ years, centering on neoliberalism's affective dimensions, evidence-based intervention critiques, and Foucauldian governmentality analysis. Notable works include Shock Therapy (2018) on Russian psychotherapeutic care and Global Ambitions (2019) on El Salvador child well-being metrics. His Putting Foucault to Work (2013) retheorizes empirical critique through Foucault’s analytics.
An active member of the Pitt Faculty Union’s Communication Action Team, he emphasizes academic labor conditions as tied to student educational quality. As American Ethnological Society Councilor, he co-organized the 2024 Repair conference with Dr. Heath Cabot.
