Dr. David Eaton

David Eaton is a sociocultural anthropologist with interests in medical anthropology, international public health, human ecologies, histories of life and population sciences, urban anthropology, and narrative and performance. His recent focus on regional and urban planning has included a comparative study of walkability, public space, and the quality of experience in cities in the US, Europe, and India.

Eaton's long-term field research has been mainly in francophone equatorial Africa (especially the two republics of Congo; also Cameroon and Rwanda), and in Kiswahili-speaking eastern Africa (Tanzania and Kenya). His independent ethnographic studies of response to HIV and AIDS there have been complemented with collaborations with non-governmental, national, and international health organizations. He is particularly fond of Congolese music.

Courses Taught:

ANTH 113 Human Cultural Diversity

ANTH 376W Africa: Continuity and Change (W)

ANTH 435 Medical Anthropology

ANTH 496 Proseminar in the History of Theory and Methods in Anthropology

ANTH 600 Core Seminar in Anthropology

Selected Publications

2017 "Ambiance kiri-kiri: bodily fulfillment, luxury, and excess in Congolese modes of beauty." Paper to be presented at the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association. Washington, DC.

2017 "Chico's South Campus neighborhood: character and potential." With Alexander Ryll. A report to the City Council in collaboration with the Institute for Sustainable Development, California State University, Chico.

2016 "Enoch's story: vulnerability, illness, and truth-telling in a Congolese quest for manhood." Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association. Minneapolis, Minnesota.

2016 "Making cycling irresistible." Presentation at the annual conference of the Institute for Sustainability, California State University, Chico.

2015 "A walk to the river: self-performance, faith, and revelation in Brazzaville." Paper presented at the annual meetings of the African Studies Association. San Diego, California.

2015 "Walkable cities: an anthropological perspective." Presentation at the annual conference of the Institute for Sustainability, California State University, Chico.

2014 "Ciutat, ciudad, cidade: futures of the past in Iberian capitals." Presentation in Anthropology Forum, CSU Chico.

2014 "Refugees, hustlers, and adventurers in some equatorial crossroads." Paper presented at the annual meetings of the African Studies Association. Indianapolis, Indiana.

2013 "New synergies of care in equatorial Africa." Paper presented at the Fifth Annual Conference of the European Council for African Studies. Lisbon, Portugal.

2011 "Good-enough ethnography: reflections on becoming a medical anthropologist." Kroeber Anthropological Society Journal, 100(1):87-94.

2010 "Notes from Bamako." Inside Chico State, February. California State University, Chico.

2009 "Kivu's troubles: a world away?" Inside Chico State, February. California State University, Chico.

2008 "Ambivalent inquiry: dilemmas of AIDS in the Republic of Congo." In Postcolonial Disorders, eds. Mary-Jo Good, Sandra Hyde, and Byron Good, pp. 238-259. Berkeley: University of California Press.

2007 "Understanding AIDS in public lives: Luambo Makiadi and Sony Labou Tansi." In Health Knowledge and Belief Systems in Africa, eds. Toyin Falola and Matthew Heaton. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.

2006 "Diagnosing the crisis in the Republic of Congo." Special issue on "Postsocialisms", Africa, 76(1):44-69.

2003 "Understanding AIDS in public lives." In HIV/AIDS in Africa: Beyond Epidemiology, Ezekiel Kalipeni, Susan Craddock, Joseph Oppong, Jayati Ghosh (eds). Blackwell.

2000 "A Brazzaville friendship," Ethnography 1(2): 239-256.

1994 "Making connections / stopping AIDS: a guide to youth activism," in Making Connections / Facing AIDS, eds. J. G. Biehl et al., pp. 17-45. Geneva: Lutheran World Federation and World Council of Churches. Editions in English, French, German, Chinese, and Indonesian.