Chair and Professor
Phone: 403.440.8547
E-mail: mmulholland@mtroyal.ca

Ph.D. York University
M.A. Carleton University
B.A. (Hons) University of Calgary

Scholarly Interests
Much of my academic research has focused on the production, performance and contestation of race, gender, sexuality and class in various Latin America popular culture forms, such as salsa music and mariachi musical ensembles. I also have experience working as an applied anthropologist for both government and non-governmental agencies on policies pertaining to diversity, multiculturalism, anti-racism and newcomer integration. My current project examines perceptions of fear and violence in martial arts and self-defence classes with a particular focus on how science and pseudo-science influence these experiences and perceptions.

Teaching Statement
As an instructor in anthropology, my objective is to facilitate the ability of students to challenge their own worldview through the critical examination of their own beliefs and experiences. To achieve this, I have five fundamental goals in my teaching: 1) situate all course content within the anthropological perspective; 2) incorporate storytelling as a means to create connections between the lived experiences of ourselves and others; 3) center feminist, anti-colonial and antiracism content and pedagogy; 4) create a learning atmosphere based in the principles of universal design and; 5) engage in reflexive pedagogy. Here at Mount Royal, I teach Anth 1103 (Introduction to Cultural Anthropology), Anth 2251 (Gifts and Commodities), Anth 3233 (Anthropology of Religion), Anthropology 4401 (Anthological Theory), and Anth 4450 (Anthropology of the Body).

Relevant Publication and/or Presentation
Shultz, E. A., Lavenda, R. H., Dods, R. R., & Mulholland, M.-L. (2022, in production). Cultural Anthropology (Fifth Canadian Edition). Toronto: Oxford University Press. (https://learninglink.oup.com/access/schultz-lavenda-dods5ce)

Mulholland, Mary-Lee. "Jalisco is Mexico: Race and class in the Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi y la Charrería in Guadalajara, Mexico (1994–2003)." Journal of American Folklore 134.533 (2021): 292-318.

Mulholland, Mary-Lee. "A Beautiful Thing: Mariachi and Femininity in Jalisco, Mexico." Anthropologica (2013): 359-372.

Mulholland, Mary-Lee. "Honor and shame: Plagiarism and governing student morality." Journal of College and Character 21.2 (2020): 104-115.

Mulholland, Mary-Lee. "Welcoming the stranger in Alberta: newcomers, secularism and religiously affiliated settlement agencies." Canadian Ethnic Studies 49.1 (2017): 19-42.

Recent or Relevant Grant, Honour or Award
Distinguished Faculty Award, Mount Royal University (2017)

Teaching Excellence Award, Student Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU) (2019)

Outstanding Service Award, Faculty of Arts, Mount Royal University (2020)