Dr. Ida Fadzillah Leggett

Associate Professor

Dr. Ida Fadzillah Leggett
615-904-8275
Room 317, Andrew L. Todd Hall (TODD)
MTSU Box 10, Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Degree Information

  • PHD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2003)
  • MA, Northern Illinois University (1995)
  • BA, Bryn Mawr College (1990)

Areas of Expertise

  • Girl Cultures
  • Youth Studies
  • Anthropology of Education
  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Globalization

Publications

Books:

2021.   Field Stories: Experiences, Affect, and the Lessons of Anthropology in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by William H. Leggett and Ida Fadzillah Leggett (Lexington Press). 

Book Chapters:

2021.  “Children and the Experience of Mundane Violence: Unexpected Stories from the Field” in Field Stories: Experiences, Affect, and the Lessons of Anthropology in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by Wil...

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Books:

2021.   Field Stories: Experiences, Affect, and the Lessons of Anthropology in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by William H. Leggett and Ida Fadzillah Leggett (Lexington Press). 

Book Chapters:

2021.  “Children and the Experience of Mundane Violence: Unexpected Stories from the Field” in Field Stories: Experiences, Affect, and the Lessons of Anthropology in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by William H. Leggett and Ida Fadzillah Leggett (Lexington Press).  

2021.   “Conclusion: Finding Truths in Different Forms” in Field Stories: Experiences, Affect, and the Lessons of Anthropology in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by William H. Leggett and Ida Fadzillah Leggett (Lexington Press).  

2020.   “Girls’ Agency through Supermobility: The Power of Imagined Futures in Young Adult Fantasy Literature” in Childhood, Agency, and Fantasy: Walking in Other Worlds edited by Ingrid Castro and Jessica Clark (Lexington Press).

2008.   “Negotiating Dangerous Spaces: Encounters with Prostitution and AIDS in Northern Thailand,” in Ruminations on Violence ed. Derek Pardue (Waveland Press).  

2005.  “The Amway Connection: How Transnational Ideas of Beauty and Money Affect Northern Thai Girls’ Perceptions of their Future Options” in Youthscapes: Popular Cultures, National Ideologies, Global Markets ed. Sunaina Maira and Elizabeth Soep (University of Pennsylvania Press).  

2004.  “Going Beyond ‘The West’ and ‘The Rest:’ Conducting Non-western, Non-native Ethnography,” in Anthropologists in the Field: Case Studies in Participant Observation ed. Lynne Hume and Jane Mulcock (Columbia University Press).

Journal Articles:

2020.  “International Students’ Experiences with Changing Policy: A Qualitative Study from Middle Tennessee” by Phattra Marbang, Ashleigh E. McKinzie, Jackie Eller, and Ida F. Leggett in Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education vol. 9.2: 310-336.  

2013.  “Biological, Environmental, Economic, and Sociocultural Theories of Obesity” with Joy Oduor in McNair Research Review vol.10:75-81.  

2013.  “Homophobia and Discrimination in the Southeastern United States: An Examination of Sociocultural Literature on Gender and Sexuality” with Anne Uselton in McNair Research Review vol. 10:108-111.  

2012.   “‘Better Childhoods’ as Immigration Narrative (Not) Told Through Food,” in Global Studies of Childhood vol. 2 no. 3:190-200.  

2011.  “African Pentecostal Movements: Inspiring a Collective Ethic” with Chelsea Norman, in McNair Research Review vol. 9: 108- 121.  

2011.  “The Discourse of Health among Hispanic Women: A Literature Review”, with Felicia Brown, in McNair Research Review vol. 9: 17-21.

2007.   “Maintaining Japanese Identity in Murfreesboro, Tennessee:  The Redefinition of Southern Community” with Angela Stroupe, in McNair Research Review Vol. 5.

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Presentations

2021.  “Refugee Students and the Space of the School: Resettlement Identity Versus the ‘Paperwork Self’ in a Tennessee High School” to the American Anthropological Association (AAA) 2021 Meetings in Baltimore in November.

2020 .  “Becoming a Better Human: The Significance of Desire in Girls’ Concepts of Ideal Womanhood” at the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) virtually in July.

2018.  “Obstacle...

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2021.  “Refugee Students and the Space of the School: Resettlement Identity Versus the ‘Paperwork Self’ in a Tennessee High School” to the American Anthropological Association (AAA) 2021 Meetings in Baltimore in November.

2020 .  “Becoming a Better Human: The Significance of Desire in Girls’ Concepts of Ideal Womanhood” at the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) virtually in July.

2018.  “Obstacles to Accessing Higher Education for Immigrant and Refugee Adolescents in Middle Tennessee” (with James Chaney, Denise Bates, Laura Clark, and Claire Cook) at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) in April.

2017.   “Foreign-born youths' post-secondary education: Ensuring health by addressing existing family challenges and family strengths” (with Denise Bates, Claire Cook, Laura Clark, and James Chaney) at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Meeting, in November.

2017.   “Foreign-born youths’ pursuit of higher education: The role of parental influence in overcoming challenges and maximizing existing supports” (with Denise Bates, Claire Cook, Laura Clark, and James Chaney) at the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Conference, in October.

2017.    “Determinants leading to the successful transition to college for high school ELL students with refugee or immigrant status” (with Denise Bates, Claire Cook, Laura Clark, and James Chaney) at the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2017 Meetings GA in November.

2016.    “Barriers to Higher Education for Immigrant and Refugee Students: A Qualitative Study” (with Laura Clark, Denise Bates, James Chaney, Claire Cook, and Collin Olson) at the International Organization for Social Sciences and Behavioral Research (IOSSBR) in March.

2016.    “English Language Learners’ Access to College: Examining Needs of Refugee and Immigrant Youth in Tennessee” (with Laura Clark, Denise Bates, James Chaney, Claire Cook, and Collin Olson) at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in April.

2016.    “The Cemetery Community and Stones River National Battlefield” at the Society for Applied Anthropology (SFAA) Meeting in March.

2014.     “Spaces of Learning: Libraries as Interpreted and Utilized by College Students” at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Meetings in November.  

2013.     “Anthropology as The Frame and The Focus” presented at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) meetings in November, in Chicago.  

2013.      “The Health of Children and Narratives of Success in Spanish-speaking Immigrant Families in Middle Tennessee” at the Southern Anthropology Society (SAS) Meetings in March.  

2011.      “Assessing Tennessee’s Immigrant Community’s Conceptions and Actual Usage of Nutritional Sources and Physical Activity” at the First Annual TBR Research Symposium, in March.  

2006.      “De-coding Emotions: History, Memory, and the Stories of my Malaysian Grandmother” paper presented at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Meetings in November.  

2006.      “The Creation of Gendered Selves: Tween Girls in Northern Thailand” at the Asian Studies/Southeastern Conference Meetings in January, in Atlanta.  

2005.       “Cosmetics in the Classroom: The Impact of Avon and Amway in a Rural Thai High School” at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) meetings in November.  

2005.        “Children and the Space of Absence: Alternative Experiences of Globalization” at the Southern Anthropological Society (SAS) in March.  

2003.        “Prostitution as Shame, Prostitution as Success” at the American Anthropological Association (AAA) meetings in November.  

2002.        “Prostitution: An Alternative Perspective on Why Thai Girls Enter the Sex Trade” paper presented at the American Anthropological Association(AAA) meetings in November, in New Orleans.  

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Research / Scholarly Activity

2015-2017.    Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) Diversity Research (with Denise Bates, Laura Clark, and Claire Cook) on “Examining Immigrant and Refugee Perceptions of Higher Education.” 

2014-2016.     National Park Service (NPS) Research (with William Leggett) on "Ethnographic Asessment of the Stones River National Battlefield."

2015.              MTSU Public Service Grant Research to develop worksho...

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2015-2017.    Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) Diversity Research (with Denise Bates, Laura Clark, and Claire Cook) on “Examining Immigrant and Refugee Perceptions of Higher Education.” 

2014-2016.     National Park Service (NPS) Research (with William Leggett) on "Ethnographic Asessment of the Stones River National Battlefield."

2015.              MTSU Public Service Grant Research to develop workshop for Tennessee ESL teachers to work more effectively with their students’ parents. 

2009.              TBR Diversity Grant Research (with William Leggett) on “Assessing Tennessee’s Immigrant Community’s Conceptions and Actual Usage of Nutritional Sources and Physical Activity.”

 

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In the Media

2016.   Invited Television Appearance on Nashville Public Television (NPT) Series “Next Door Neighbors” as expert on refugee experiences in Middle Tennessee.

Courses

Graduate:            Contemporary Social Issues: Gender, Race, and Class  

                           MALA Graduate Seminar instructor

Undergraduate:    Race, Class, and Gender

                           Cultural Images of Gender

&n...

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Graduate:            Contemporary Social Issues: Gender, Race, and Class  

                           MALA Graduate Seminar instructor

Undergraduate:    Race, Class, and Gender

                           Cultural Images of Gender

                           Women and Globalism

                           Globalization

                           Ethnology

                           Cultural Anthropology (also Honors course)

                           Practicing Anthropology (EXL course)

                           Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia

                           Peoples and Cultures of China and Japan

                           Medical Anthropology

                           Anthropology of Religion

                           Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion

Online:                 Sex Trafficking

                           Cultural Anthropology

                           Peoples and Cultures of Southeast Asia

                           Medical Anthropology

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