Scott Matter, PhD candidate, Anthropology
scott.matter [at] mail.mcgill.ca (Email)
Working Title of my PhD thesis: “Cultural politics, resource rights and neopatrimonial governance at Enoosupukia, Kenya”
My doctoral thesis is emerging as an ethnohistorical account of how the evolution of neopatrimonial assemblages in Kenya have intersected with local cultural politics in the (formerly) forested highlands of Narok District. I examine the shifting relationships between (Dorobo) hunters, (Maasai) pastoralists, (Kikuyu) farmers and state institutions at both District and national levels through the lens of land tenure transformation and livelihood diversification. Focusing on the predominantly Dorobo community at Enoosupukia, I further analyze the various strategies of neopatrimonial engagement employed as individuals and community leaders seek to shore-up insecure claims to rights in land.
Main supervisor: Dr. John Galaty
Previous education:
MA, McGill University, 2005
BA, Alberta, 2000
Fieldwork photos:
