Stephen R. Wooten is a sociocultural anthropologist whose research interests include: political ecology, food and culture, and local food systems. Dr. Wooten has been conducting ethnographic field research in Mali since 1992 and is currently involved in an international study of agroecological transitions around the world. His research publications include: “Colonial Administration and the Ethnography of the Family in the French Soudan” in Cahiers d’etudes africaines, “Antelope Headdresses and Champion Farmers: Negotiating Meaning and Identity through the Bamana Ciwara Complex” in African Arts and “Losing Ground: Gender Relations, Commercial Horticulture and Threats to Local Plant Diversity in Rural Mali” in an edited volume entitled: Women and Plants: Gender Relations in Biodiversity Management and Conservation, "The World Began With Farming: Creativity and Resilience in West African Savanna Agriculture" in Mande Studies, and "Cooking More than Food: The Social and Cultural Products of Women's Alimentary Agency in Rural Mali" in Anthropolgy of Food. His book The Art of Livelihood: Creating Expressive Agri-Culture in Rural Mali explores the creativity of rural Bamana farmers. His forthcoming book "Cooking Culture: Women's Culinary Agency and Everyday Creativity in Rural Mali" exmaines the power and significance of women's foodwork. Dr. Wooten has been at UO since 2001.