Emily Y. Horton

I'm currently doing fieldwork on the social and ecological dimensions of small-scale fisheries governance in a marine protected area in Northeastern Brazil (Maranhão).

My research draws from the natural and social sciences, as well as the visual arts (participatory photography), to understand how fisheries governance intersects with considerations of wellbeing, sustainability, and gender.

Research is being carried out with support from a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant and my Brazilian hosting university - Universidade Estadual do Maranhão/Graduate Program in Aquatic Resources and Fisheries.

​Budding Intellectual Influences and Interests: 
  • Political ecology, ethnoecology, aquatic ecology (marine and freshwater), small-scale fisheries, environmental justice and governance, wellbeing, conservation and sustainability, collaborative and interdisciplinary research, visual anthropology, feminist theory and gender, diverse and "alternative" economies, and the anthropology of food (food security and horticulture focus).
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​Of Note:
  • 2015. Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award for future dissertation research in Brazil. Offered via Bureau of Educational Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
  • 2015. Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship for Intensive Portuguese study in Florianópolis. Via U.S. Department of Education and UGA’s Latin American & Caribbean Studies Institute.
  • 2014. Tinker Foundation-UGA Graduate Field Research Award for pre-dissertation research in Brazil. Offered via UGA’s Latin American & Caribbean Studies Institute & Tinker Foundation, Inc.
  • 2014. Innovative & Interdisciplinary Research Grant for pre-dissertation work in Brazil. Offered via UGA Graduate School.
  • 2012 - 2015. Graduate teaching assistantships via UGA’s Anthropology Department & Franklin College of Arts & Sciences.

Contact Emily

​E-mail: eyhorton@uga.edu
Personal website: emilyyhorton.com

Current Research in Maranhão, Brazil

​This research is being supported by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and my hosting university - Universidade Estadual do Maranhão (UEMA). Here, I am pictured with my doctoral committee member Professor Raimunda Fortes (L) and graduate student Debora Sousa (R) from UEMA.
​My research centers on environmental governance and "zangaria" (pictured below), a type of small-scale fishing that plays an important role in many residents' well-being, particularly in terms of food security and livelihoods. As part of this, I'm studying the potential impacts of a seasonal zangaria fishing ban on local wellbeing.
​Fish and shrimp caught in zangaria provision food and income for local residents. In addition to being commercialized, these species are frequently gifted and redistributed via non-commodified exchange.
​Similar to global trends in fisheries, laboral roles can be highly gendered in the area I work, with women commonly preparing food. I'm interested in studying potential fishing-ban impacts upon residents' wellbeing and examining to what degree these impacts appear mediated by gender, particularly in terms of food security. Women also commonly cultivate plants used for subsistence, medicinal, and commercial purposes. Above, the liquid from urucu seeds (Bixa orellana) is being extracted for culinary use.
​One component of my research incorporates fish sampling, along with ethnoecological interviews, to understand how the fishing ban aligns with the temporal ecological patterns of species identified as important by local and governmental actors.