Research areas
James Andrew Whitaker (Ph.D. Anthropology, Tulane University) is an Honorary Research Fellow in Social Anthropology at the University of St Andrews and a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the CNRS (USR 3456, LEEISA) in Cayenne, French Guiana. He has conducted fieldwork with Indigenous communities (primarily Makushi and Akawaio) in Guyana and archival research in the UK, US, and Guyana. His work centres around ethnohistory, historical ecology, and ontologies in Amazonia.
He is currently in the process of expanding his ethnographic work to West Africa (primarily Liberia) and will be conducting new fieldwork there during the summer of 2022.
He is working on a book and two edited volumes.
Selected publications
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Armas y brujería: Robo, intercambio y kanaima entre los Makushi
Whitaker, J. A., 2025, Sorcery in Amazonia: A Comparative Exploration of Magical Assault. Ibero - Amerikanisches InstitutResearch output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Open access
Sorcery in Amazonia: A Comparative Exploration of Magical Assault
Whitaker, J. A. (Editor), Lewy, M. (Editor) & Janik, T. (Editor), 2025, Berlin. (Biblioteca Antropológica Americana)Research output: Book/Report › Book
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The Shamanism of Eco-Tourism: History and Ontology among the Makushi in Guyana
Whitaker, J. A., 6 Feb 2025, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Cambridge Latin American Studies)Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Plant agency in the Guianas: attraction, assault, and animacy
Whitaker, J. A., Tamboli, V., Daly, L. & Lewy, M., 1 Dec 2024, In: Journal of Ethnobiology. 44, 4, p. 247-359Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Shamanic alliance in the touristic borderzone: strategic hospitality at Surama Eco-Lodge in Guyana
Whitaker, J. A., 19 Mar 2024, In: The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology . 29, 1, p. 38-49 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Climatic and ecological change in the Americas: a perspective from historical ecology
Whitaker, J. A. (Editor), Armstrong, C. G. (Editor) & Odonne, G. (Editor), 17 Aug 2023, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. 248 p. (New frontiers in historical ecology)Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Open access
Introduction
Whitaker, J. A., Armstrong, C. G. & Odonne, G., 17 Aug 2023, Climatic and ecological change in the Americas: a perspective from historical ecology. Whitaker, J. A., Armstrong, C. G. & Odonne, G. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 1-13 13 p. (New frontiers in historical ecology).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Open access
Owning climate change among the Makushi and Akawaio
Whitaker, J. A., 17 Aug 2023, Climatic and ecological change in the Americas: a perspective from historical ecology. Whitaker, J. A., Armstrong, C. G. & Odonne, G. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, p. 213-228 16 p. (New frontiers in historical ecology).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Sorcery and well-being: bodily transformation at Beckeranta
Whitaker, J. A., 14 Jan 2021, In: Anthropology & Medicine. 28, 1, p. 78-93 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Totemic outsiders: ontological transformation among the Makushi
Whitaker, J. A., 1 Sept 2021, In: Religion and Society. 12, 1, p. 70-85 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review