Fort Hare Institute of Social and Economic Research, East London, South Africa
Adam (PhD, ABD) has lived and worked in South Africa for the past four years (2011-2014). He is affiliated with Fort Hare’s Institute of Social and Economic Research (FHISER) in East London, South Africa. Adam’s academic work has examined the extent to which social and material changes of rural Xhosa homesteads hold pragmatic cultural meaning for residents. Adam shares an interest to critically examine some of the basis of understanding intellectual property and indigenous knowledge. Adam’s thesis examined the extent to which site settlement and architectural patterns ought to be considered as legitimate intellectual property of cultural heritage given historic entanglements of colonial history and change. His more recent work examines the value of examining settlement patterns as part of regional responses to sharing resources and protecting the commons under unique and contemporary styles of governance.
Adam has a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia (Okanagan) and a Masters’ Degree in Humanities and Leadership from New College of California (Santa Rosa). Adam currently resides on Salt Spring Island as a member of Eco-Reality Land-Cooperative and works as a research consultant.
