Dr. Aurelien Mauxion

B.A., M.A. University of Rennes; Ph.D., Northwestern University

Aurelien Mauxion’s teaching interests are fundamentally multidisciplinary. After graduating with Bachelors of Arts in Sociology and History, he completed a Master’s degrees in Geography (Human Geography), a Master’s degree in Sociology (Applied Sociology), and a PhD in Anthropology (Cultural Anthropology). His doctoral research explored political and economic changes in West Africa, specifically in the countries of Mali and Niger. More recently, his research explored how historically stigmatized linguistic minorities strove to maintain their cultural heritage and produce new forms of social identity (French creoles in the American Midwest and Bretons in France). 

At Columbia College, Aurelien Mauxion shares with students his comprehensive approach to the study of cultures and societies by teaching courses in Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography. His course General Anthropology (ANTH/SOCI 112), for example, explores the diversity of humankind both in the past and present by focusing on ancient civilizations, linguistic variations and evolution, and contemporary societies and cultures. Environment and Society (ANTH/SOCI 345) explores the interaction between social processes and the natural environment by focusing on various topics such as the globalization of environmental challenges, the privatization of natural resources, or environmental social movements.

Courses Taught at Columbia College

• SOCI 111 – General Sociology
• ANTH/SOCI 112 – General Anthropology
• ANTH/SOCI 212 – Cultures in the World
• GEOG 101 – Introduction to Geography
• SOCI/PSYC/ANTH 327 – Qualitative Research Methods
• ANTH/SOCI 341 – Religion and Society
• ANTH/SOCI 345 – Environment and Society
• ANTH/SOCI 412 – Slavery and Human Trafficking

Publications

Edited special issue
Launay, Robert and Aurelien Mauxion. 2018. “Eating French.” [Special Issue]. Food and Foodways. 26(2)

Peer-Reviewed Articles

• Mauxion, Aurelien. 2018. "Eating and Being French in Old Mines, Missouri." Food and Foodways. 26(2). Pp. 105-123
• Launay, Robert and Aurelien Mauxion. 2018. "Introduction: Eating French." Food and Foodways. 26(2). Pp. 87-91
• Mauxion, Aurelien. 2016. "Please Turn on your Cell Phones: Using Pictures to Explore the Concept of Culture in an Introductory Sociology Course." TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology. Washington DC: American Sociological Association (Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology website External link)
• Mauxion, Aurelien. 2012. "Moving to Stay: Iklan Spatial Strategies Towards Socioeconomic Emancipation in Northern Mali (1898-1960)." Journal of African History. 53(2). Pp. 195-213