Maryann McCabe : Faculty & Staff : Department of Anthropology : University of Rochester

Professor McCabe received her Ph.D. and M.A. from New York University and her B.A. from The George Washington University. Before coming to the University of Rochester, she worked for the New York State Department of Social Services as Director of the Child Sexual Abuse Program. She has conducted fieldwork on child sexual abuse in New York City where her research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health. In partnership with Cornell University, she developed a multi-disciplinary training program for professionals who intervene in cases of child sexual abuse.

At the University of Rochester, Professor McCabe is part of the Urban Fellows faculty for students chosen to participate in the Urban Fellows Program. She also works with students as a member of the Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year (KEY) Review Board.

Curriculum Vitae

1969 B.A. The George Washington University, Anthropology 1974 M.A. New York University, Anthropology 1981

Ph.D. New York University, Anthropology
Thesis: “Decisions You Don’t Sleep With: State Intervention in the Lives of Sexually Abused Children and Their Families”

Courses

ANT 227: Local and Global Market Research

ANT 280: Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Transportation

PUBLICATIONS AND PAPERS

forthcoming “Gender Narratives: How Women Create Different Aspects of Identity in Different Shopping Venues”. In C. Wasson and M. Donovan (Eds.), Shopping Cultures.

2005 “Ignoring Cultural Heritage in Diabetes Treatment: A Form of Structural Violence.” Presented to the Association for Applied Anthropology Annual Meetings, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

2004 “Strengthening Pedagogy and Praxis in Cultural Anthropology and Service Learning: Insights from Postcolonialism.” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 10(3): 16-30.

2004 “Local and Translocal Meanings of Technology – When Does It Matter?” Presented to the Applied Consumer Research Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon.

1988 Child Sexual Abuse Curriculum for Social Workers, Module II. Denver: American Humane Association.

1987 Use of Anatomical Dolls to Interview Sexually Abused Children (Maryann McCabe and Patrick Tooman). New York: Cornell University.

1986 “Child Neglect: A Research View.” In M. McCabe et. al. (Eds.), Child Abuse and Neglect. New York: Goldner Press.

1985 “Dynamics of Child Sexual Abuse” and “Coordinated Intervention in Child Sexual Abuse Cases.” In M. McCabe and R. Cohen (Eds.), Sexual Abuse of Children. New York: Goldner Press.

1984 Sexual Abuse Trainer’s Manual (M. McCabe et. al.) New York: Cornell University.

RESEARCH

I am an applied anthropologist interested in market ethnography, material culture, community revitalization, social justice, and sustainability. Working at the juncture of anthropology and business as the founder and principal of a market research consultancy, I have been interested in how start-up and established enterprises bring products and services to the market. My interest is based on ‘brands as cultural beings’, the principle that developing and marketing products should not start with the worldview of corporate strategists but rather with the needs and values of consumers.

Because I am concerned about community and social justice, I work with students in partnership with local organizations to help residents in the process of revitalizing their neighborhoods. Most recently we engaged in research projects with the Rochester Public Market to enhance its positioning in the region and with Rochester Roots to launch a farmer’s market selling organic produce grown in one of the city’s poorer neighborhoods. My interest in sustainability relates to both agriculture and transportation in terms of human decision-making and its impact on society and the environment.

For information about scholar-practitioners in anthropology, contact:

National Association for the Practice of Anthropology (NAPA)
(NAPA is a Section of the American Anthropological Association)
Society for Applied Anthropology