Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth is a cultural anthropologist and folklorist with interests at the intersections of craft, economy, and environment. He has researched musical and material craft traditions in global contexts through his work with the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Cultural History Program and the University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology and Appalachian Center, where he earned his PhD in 2019. His recent research interests have involved craft economies and production in global mountain forests, with a focus on Carpathia and Appalachia and collaborative methods. His upcoming book, Finding the Singing Spruce explores the connections between the meaning of craft work and forest environments in the craft of musical instruments in West Virginia. At OSU, he has worked in partnership with former coal communities in Appalachian Ohio thinking through intergenerational, environment, and economic succession in place-making.

Click here to view an interactive introduction to his work with musical instrument makers.