Dr. Kristin Bashir
Associate Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies (Middle East North Africa)
Dr. Kristin Bashir is Associate Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies, Middle East North Africa (MENA) at the AFCLC. She holds a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the Institute for Middle East Studies at King's College London with teaching experience at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level in the fields of political science, international studies, theology and religious studies, and ethnicity and nationalism studies. Dr. Bashir's current research interests and teaching repertoire include religious and national identities of MENA region communities with attention to inter-faith relations, cultures, nationalisms, gender, belonging, and memory and peacekeeping.
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Dr. Scott Edmondson
Assistant Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies (Africa)
Dr. Scott M. Edmondson is Assistant Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies (Africa) at the AFCLC. He holds a Ph.D. in Culture and Performance from the University of California, Los Angeles, with over eight years of teaching experience in both university (UCLA, Univ. of Michigan) and military settings (USAJFKSWCS, Air University). A former Peace Corps Volunteer in Cote d’Ivoire and Fulbright-Hays Fellow in Ghana, Dr. Edmondson has conducted ethnographic field research in West Africa on popular media production and religious movements, and has worked as a sociocultural intelligence analyst for the 4MISG/US Army Special Operations Command and USAFRICOM. His teaching and research interests include: African religious, media, and security studies; globalization and postcolonial theory; historiography and ethnography; semiotics and narrative analysis; military cross-cultural competence; youth cultures, social media, and radicalization; and cultural property protection/heritage, identity, and conflict.
Dr. Patricia Fogarty
Assistant Professor of Cross-Cultural Relations
Dr. Patricia Fogarty is Assistant Professor of Cross-Cultural Relations at the AFCLC. Dr. Fogarty has worked at AFCLC since 2009, and finished her PhD in Anthropology in 2012. Her dissertation research revolved around the work of an internationally funded development agency in the Republic of Moldova (a former Soviet state). Through the topic of development, she explored Moldovans’ experiences of citizenship, national identity, and corruption. Research conducted since joining AFCLC has included documenting the intercultural experiences of Airmen of all ranks and AFSCs. Teaching and research interests include: general cross-cultural awareness and competence; ethnic and national identity; the effects of corruption on military operations; incorporating cultural property protection into professional military education, exercises, and wargames; civil-military organizational relationships in humanitarian and stability operations; and the use of museums and heritage sites for political ends.
Dr. Jessica Jordan
Assistant Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies (Asia)
Dr. Jessica Jordan is Assistant Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies (Asia) at the Air Force Culture and Language Center. Her Ph.D. is in modern Japanese history, and her research interests include the politics and history of Japan and the US in the tropical Western Pacific Islands (geo-cultural Micronesia), and the politics and systemic dilemmas of the US global military presence. In AY22 she is directing an AU Research Task Force on military basing in the Indo-Pacific, which is a two-term AWC/ACSC cross-listed elective focused on the most pressing challenges facing the US forward posture in this combatant command. Her publications include several contributions to peer-reviewed journals as well as open source articles, Japanese to English translations, and electronic volumes targeting public audiences. She is currently revising her dissertation for submission to an academic press.
Dr. Angelle Khachadoorian
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Dr. Angelle Khachadoorian is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Air Force Culture and Language Center (AFCLC). She holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico. Dr. Khachadoorian has taught a range of college and graduate level courses for more than eighteen years. She has been at Air University (AU) for seven years. Previously, she taught for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as teaching in several Air Force post-secondary educational settings. Dr. Khachadoorian's research interests include indigenous and tribal cultures, group and individual identity, community memory, culture change and cultural continuity and traditional leadership processes, especially in the ways that tribal groups intersect with nation-states.
Dr. Elizabeth Peifer
Assistant Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies (Europe)
Dr. Elizabeth L.B. Peifer is Assistant Professor of Regional and Cultural Studies (Europe) at the AFCLC. She holds a Ph.D. in European History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has twenty years of university teaching experience in World History and European Studies. Prior to joining the AFCLC, Dr. Peifer served as Director of Faculty Programs for the Associated Colleges of the South. Dr. Peifer specializes in the study of domestic violent extremism. Her teaching and research interests include: contemporary German society and culture; radicalism and extremism; cultural heritage protection in conflict; public memory and national narratives; and genocide studies.
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Dr. Susan Steen
Chair/Division Chief, Culture & Region Faculty, Associate Professor of Cross-Cultural Communication
Dr. Susan Steen is Associate Professor of Cross-Cultural Communication at the Air Force Culture and Language Center. She earned her Ph.D. in Communication from The University of Southern Mississippi in 2007 and held a variety of leadership positions in the field of international education prior to joining AFCLC in 2015. She has traveled widely throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia presenting on topics related to international education and intercultural competence. Dr. Steen’s scholarship involves intercultural, interpersonal, and organizational communication. She uses a communication perspective to examine ways individuals and groups can connect across cultural divides, build resilient communities, and enact inclusion and agility. Her research interests include Coordinated Management of Meaning Theory, Cosmopolitan Communication, Resilience, Moral Conflict, Moral Injury, and Intercultural Conflict. Most recently, her work has focused on the use of Cosmopolitan Communication in bridging conflict, strengthening resilience in individuals, communities and organizations; and promoting intercultural effectiveness. She serves on the international board of the CMM Institute, which is dedicated to advancing communication as a powerful force in creating community, positive relationships, healthy organizations, and mature civic processes.
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