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Dr. Andrew S. Nelson

Associate Professor

University of North Texas

Department of Anthropology

(940) 369-7854

Email: Andrew.Nelson@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, University of Virginia, 2013
    Major: Anthropology
    Dissertation: Four Ana and One Modern House a Spatial Ethnography of Kathmandus Urbanizing Periphery
  • MA, University of Virginia, 2008
    Major: Anthropology
  • MA, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, 2004
    Major: Anthropology of Media
  • BA, Grinnell College, 2000
    Major: Anthropology

Professional Positions

  • Assistant Professor, University of North Texas. University of North Texas. (2015 - Present).
  • Lecturer, University of North Texas. University of North Texas. (2012 - 2015).
  • Instructor, University of Virginia. University of Virginia. (2010 - 2011).
  • Teaching Assistant, University of Virginia. University of Virginia. (2005 - 2010).
  • Grader, University of Virginia. University of Virginia. (2007 - 2008).
  • Classified Instructor, NA. NA. (2004 - 2005).
  • Teacher, NA. NA. (2003 - 2004).
  • Teacher, NA. NA. (2001 - 2002).

    • Academic - Post-Secondary

  • Instructor, University of Virginia. University of Virginia. (2006 - 2011).

Professional Memberships

  • American Nepal & Himalayan Studies Association. (2014 - Present).
  • Society for Applied Anthropology. (2014 - Present).
  • Studies in Nepali History and Society (SINHAS). (2013 - Present).
  • South Asia Institute, University of Texas-Austin. (2012 - Present).
  • American Anthropological Society. (2009 - Present).
  • Society for Urban, National, and Transnational/Global Anthropology (SUNTA). (2009 - Present).
  • The International Journal of the History of Sport. (2008 - 2010).

Development Activities

  • Faculty Fellowship, Overseas Faculty Development Seminar in India, Council of American Overseas Research Centers. India. (2025 - 2025).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • ANTH 1010 - Introduction to Anthropology, 6 courses.
  • ANTH 1150 - World Cultures Through Film, 21 courses.
  • ANTH 2300 - Culture and Society, 7 courses.
  • ANTH 2980 - Experimental Course, 1 course.
  • ANTH 3700 - Peoples and Cultures of South Asia, 10 courses.
  • ANTH 4011 - Anthropological Fieldmethods, 5 courses.
  • ANTH 4021 - Development of Anthropological Thought, 3 courses.
  • ANTH 4701 - Topics in Sociocultural Anthropology, 8 courses.
  • ANTH 4760 - Inequality, Social Justice and the City, 5 courses.
  • ANTH 4900 - Special Problems, 6 courses.
  • ANTH 4910 - Special Problems, 1 course.
  • ANTH 4920 - Internship in Anthropology, 3 courses.
  • ANTH 5010 - Anthropological Thought and Praxis I, 2 courses.
  • ANTH 5021 - Anthropological Thought and Praxis II, 9 courses.
  • ANTH 5031 - Ethnographic and Qualitative Methods, 6 courses.
  • ANTH 5300 - Migrants and Refugees, 8 courses.
  • ANTH 5700 - Topics in Sociocultural Anthropology, 5 courses.
  • ANTH 5760 - Advanced Studies in Urban Anthropology, 3 courses.
  • ANTH 5900 - Special Problems, 16 courses.
  • ANTH 5910 - Special Problems, 4 courses.
  • ANTH 5920 - Non Thesis Research 1, 2 courses.
  • ANTH 5930 - Non Thesis Research 2, 1 course.
  • ANTH 5950 - Applied Thesis, 48 courses.

Non-Credit Instruction

  • Workshop, Graduate Anthropology Student Association, 15 participants. (2019 - 2019).
  • Workshop, Graduate Anthropology Student Association, 25 participants. (2017 - 2017).
  • Seminar, 100 participants. (2016 - 2016).
  • Seminar, UNT CLEAR, 50 participants. (2016 - 2016).
  • Seminar, 10 participants. (2015 - 2015).
  • Seminar, UNT CLEAR, 100 participants. (2015 - 2015).
  • Seminar, UNT CLEAR, 30 participants. (2015 - 2015).

Directed Student Learning

  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (November 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (September 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2024).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2024).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2024).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Political Science. (2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Co-Chair, Anthropology. (2023).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology. (2019).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2025 - 2025).
  • Master's Comprehensive Exam Member or Grader, Geography and the Environment. (2024 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2024 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2023 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2023 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2023 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2021 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2021 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2021 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2020 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2019 - 2025).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2023 - 2024).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2023 - 2024).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Co-Chair, Anthropology. (2021 - 2024).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2021 - 2024).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2020 - 2024).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2020 - 2024).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2021 - 2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Geography and the Environment. (2021 - 2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2021 - 2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2021 - 2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2021 - 2023).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Sociology. (2020 - 2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Co-Chair, Anthropology. (2020 - 2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2018 - 2023).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Geography and the Environment. (2021 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2020 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2020 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2019 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2019 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2019 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2019 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2018 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2017 - 2022).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2020 - 2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2020 - 2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2018 - 2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2018 - 2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2017 - 2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Co-Chair, Anthropology. (2017 - 2021).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2020 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2019 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2019 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2019 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2018 - 2020).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Sociology. (2017 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Co-Chair, Anthropology. (2017 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2017 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2017 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2016 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Co-Chair, Anthropology. (2016 - 2020).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2018 - 2019).
  • Undergraduate Honors Thesis, Philosophy and Religion. (2018 - 2019).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Geography and the Environment. (2017 - 2019).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2016 - 2019).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2015 - 2019).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2014 - 2019).
  • Supervised Research, Honors College. (2018 - 2018).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2017 - 2018).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2017 - 2018).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Media Arts. (2017 - 2018).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2016 - 2018).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2016 - 2017).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2016 - 2017).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Geography and the Environment. (2015 - 2017).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Chair, Anthropology. (2015 - 2016).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Co-Chair, Anthropology. (2015 - 2016).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Member, Anthropology. (2014 - 2016).
  • Master's Thesis Committee Co-Chair, Anthropology. (2014 - 2015).

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Bibliography

  • Onta, P., Nelson, A.S., Linder, B., Maharjan, M.R. (2019). Some Recent Articles on Kathmandu: A Short Bibliography. Kathmandu, Martin Chautari. http://www.martinchautari.org.np/files/bibliography/Some-Recent-Articles-on-Kathmandu_A-Short-Bibliography_CBS-2016-3.pdf

    • Book

  • Nelson, A.S., Curran, R. (2022). Journey Without End: Migration from the Global South through the Americas. Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt University Press. https://www.vanderbiltuniversitypress.com/9780826504852/journey-without-end/
  • Nelson, A.S., Rödlach, A., Willems, R. (2018). The Crux of Refugee Resettlement: Rebuilding Social Networks. Lanham, Maryland, Lexington Books. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498588898/The-Crux-of-Refugee-Resettlement-Rebuilding-Social-Networks

    • Book Chapter

  • Nelson, A.S. (2024). The Mobility of Regional Labor Hierarchies: Nepali Employment and Entrepreneurialism in the ‘South Asian’ Gas Stations of North Texas. South Asia on the Move: Mobilities, Mobilization, Maneuver. Cambridge University Press.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2022). Seeking Samaj: Refugee Resettlement Beyond Self-Sufficiency and Dispersal. Loss, Transition and Resilience: Refugee Struggles to Retain Dignity and Self-Sufficiency in the United States. 138-152. Routledge.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2021). The Free Trade Zone and the Ethnic Restaurant: South Asian Emergent Space in a Chilean City of Labor Migrants. Emergent Spaces: Change and Innovation in Small Urban Spaces. 85-104. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2018). 'There Will Never Be a Foreclosure in Our Community': Networks of Dependence in the Secondary Relocation of Nepali-Bhutanese Refugees. The Crux of Refugee Resettlement: Rebuilding Social Networks. 215-235. Lanham, Maryland, Lexington Books.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2018). Between Here and There: The Accidental South Asian Diaspora of Quito, Ecuador. Porous Borders, Invisible Boundaries? Ethnographic Perspectives on the Vicissitudes of Contemporary Migration. 111-116. Society for Urban, National, Transnational and Global Anthropology. http://sunta.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Porous-Borders-Invisible-Boundaries.Nov_.2018.pdf
  • Nelson, A.S., Rödlach, A., Willems , R. (2018). Introduction. The Crux of Refugee Resettlement: Rebuilding Social Networks. xv-xxxiv. Lanham, Maryland, Lexington Books.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2011). “‘No Horn Please’: Sociality and Self-Governance in a Kathmandu Housing Colony.”. Urban Navigations: Politics, Space, and the City in South Asia. 213-238. New Delhi, India and Abingdon, UK, Routledge.

    • Book Review

  • Nelson, A.S. (2021). Book Review of Ends of Kinship: Connecting Himalayan Lives between Nepal and New York. Other. 80 (1) https://asianethnology.org/articles/2349
  • Nelson, A.S. (2018). Review of Caste and Kinship in a Modern Hindu Society: The Newar City of Lalitpur, Nepal. Himalaya. 38 (1) 216-217. https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol38/iss1/31/
  • Nelson, A.S. (2017). Review of Refugees of Shangri-La. Himalaya. 37 (1) 159-161. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol37/iss1/30/
  • Nelson, A.S. (2016). The Brave New World of Ethnicity in Nepal: A Review of Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nepal: Identities and Moblization after 1990, edited by Mahendra Lawoti and Susan Hangen..
  • Nelson, A.S. (2015). Review of Mediating the Global: Expatria's Forms and Consequences in Kathmandu by Heather Hindman.. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aman.12314

    • Critical Review

  • Nelson, A.S. (2023). Comment on Shneiderman et al., “House, Household, and Home: Revisiting Anthropological and Policy Frameworks through Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Experiences in Nepal". Other. 64 (5) 519-520.

    • Journal Article

  • Nelson, A.S. (2023). Going to 'Let-in America': The Transit Tactics in Nepali Labor Migration to/through Latin America. Studies in Nepali History and Society. 28 (1) 3-34.
  • Nelson, A.S., Stam , K. (2021). Bhutanese or Nepali? The Politics of Ethnonym Ambiguity. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 44 (4) 772-789. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00856401.2021.1951460
  • Nelson, A.S. (2020). From Romance to Tragedy: House Ownership and Relocation in the Resettlement Narratives of Nepali Bhutanese Refugees. Journal of Refugee Studies.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2019). Architectural Tradition and Modernity as Crypto-Colonial Ways of Seeing: a Comparison of Kathmandu's 1934 and 2015 Post-quake Reconstructions. History Compass. 17 (8) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/hic3.12587
  • Nelson, A.S. (2018). Dalal Middlemen and Peri-Urbanisation in Nepal. Economic and Political Weekly. 53 (12) 61-67. https://www.epw.in/journal/2018/12/special-articles/dalal-middlemen-and-peri-urbanisation-nepal.html
  • Nelson, A.S. (2017). Betrayed by the Neoliberal State, Neglected by the “Jangali” Company: The Anxiety of Autonomy in an Elite Housing Colony in Kathmandu, Nepal. City & Society. 29 (1) 35-58. Wiley-Blackwell. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ciso.12111
  • Nelson, A.S. (2017). Prestigious Houses or Provisional Homes? The ghar as a Symbol of Kathmandu Valley Peri-Urbanism. Himalaya. 37 (1) 57-71. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol37/iss1/11/
  • Nelson, A.S. (2015). Land and Ethnicity in a Time of Urbanization: The Case of Plot #7 in Western Kathmandu Valley. Studies in Nepali History and Society. 20 (2) 249-277.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2012). Khattam Kathmandu: The Question of Place in Samrat Upadhyay’s Fiction. Studies in Nepali History and Society. 17 (1) 3-23.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2009). From ‘Unmodern Sherpas’ to Madhesi Cricketers: Towards a History of Nepali Sport. The International Journal of the History of Sport. 28 (12) 1823-1839.

    • Magazine/Trade Publication

  • Nelson, A.S., Curran, R. (2025). Ferryman of Dreams. Other. https://www.thebeliever.net/ferryman-of-dreams/
  • Nelson, A.S. (2009). “The Rise of Interior Designing, or Why Kathmandu Architects Hate Vastu Shastra.”. Other.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2009). “The New Kathmandu of Housing.”. Other.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2009). “Re-thinking the Social Meaning of Nepali Architecture.”. Other.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2009). “Anthropology, the City, and Kathmandu.”. Other.

    • Newsletter

  • Nelson, A.S., Nunez-Janes, M.E., Re Cruz, A. (2020). An Invitation to a Sentipensante Practice through Experiential Learning at the U.S.-Mexico Border. Other.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2013). “Teaching Nepal in the American Classroom.”. 1 South Asia News (University of Virginia's Center for South Asian Studies Newsletter).

    • Newspaper

  • Nelson, A.S., Curran, R. (2024). Soccer network imports Nepali Fervor to North Texas. Dallas Morning News.
  • Nelson, A.S., Curran, R. (2023). Denton should do more to protect renters. Dallas Morning News.
  • Nelson, A.S., Curran , R. (2020). She cooks the native dishes of global migrants who stream through Mexico. Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/02/23/she-cooks-the-native-dishes-of-the-global-immigrants-who-stream-through-mexico/
  • Nelson, A.S., Curran , R. (2020). The Border has shifted 2000 miles to the south. Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/02/23/the-border-crisis-continues-only-now-migrants-wait-2000-miles-south/
  • Nelson, A.S., Curran, R. (2019). An Arrival, but not an Ending. Dallas Morning News. https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-dallas-morning-news/20190623/283420603163767
  • Nelson, A.S., Curran , R. (2018). 12,000 Miles to America: 3-part commentary. Dallas Morning News. https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/11/04/worlds-longest-migration-route-ends-texas
  • Nelson, A.S. (2015). Classquake: What the Global Media missed in Nepal Earthquake Coverage. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/classquake-what-the-global-media-missed-in-nepal-earthquake-coverage-41063

    • Other

  • Nelson, A.S. (2013). “The Mobility of Permanence: The Process of Relocating to Kathmandu.”. Kathmandu, Nepal: Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility.

    • Research Report

  • Nelson, A.S., Williams, M., Marsh, F., Porayath, P. (2024). 2023 City of Denton Evictions Report.
  • Nelson, A.S., Williams, M., Thomas, A. (2023). 2022 City of Denton Evictions Report.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2021). Doubling Up in College as an Adaptation to Student Housing Insecurity (with students of ANTH 5031).
  • Nelson, A.S. (2020). House of Cards: College Student Housing Insecurity during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic (with ANTH 5031 students). UNT Dean of Students.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2019). A ‘Necessary Evil’ reflective of a ‘Broken Promise’: An Ethnography of Student Debt Discontent (With students of ANTH 5031). Washington, D.C., New America.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2017). (with ANTH 4011 students) Planning Town-Gown Relations: An Ethnographic Study of Denton’s University Neighborhood District.. City of Denton.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2017). (with ANTH 5031 students) Working with Affordable Housing: An Ethnography of Seekers/Recipients of Housing Assistance. Washington, D.C., National Housing Conference.
  • Nelson, A.S., Morrison, J. (2016). Dallas National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (HET4) Primary Data Formative Research Report. Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute.
  • Nelson, A.S. (2014). Dallas National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (MSM4) Primary Data Formative Research Report. Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute.

    • Webpage

  • Nelson, A.S. (2015). ‘We need an even bigger one’: Disasters of Inequality in Post-Quake Kathmandu Valley.. Aftershocked: Reflections on the 2015 Earthquakes in Nepal. Cultural Anthropology 'Hot Spots'. https://culanth.org/fieldsights/729-we-need-an-even-bigger-one-disasters-of-inequality-in-postquake-kathmandu-valley

Presentations Given

    Invited Talk

  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), A People’s Historian, Corporate Takeover, and Worldly Winger: Stories for Ethnographic-Journalistic Collaborations in Sport Studies, Martin Chautari Research Institute, Kathmandu, Nepal, Nepal. (2025).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), Curran, R. (Presenter), Book launch for Journey without End, Vanderbilt University Press, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America. (2022).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), Nepali Migration To/Through the Other America, Martin Chautari, Virtual, Nepal. (2021).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Neither Here Nor There: The Accidental South Asian Diaspora of Quito, Ecuador, South Asia Institute, University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), South Asia Institute Seminars, From Newar Urbanism to Nepali Suburbanism: A Social History of Kathmandu's Sprawl, University of Texas-Austin, Austin, Texas, United States of America. (2013 - 2013).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Other), Martin Chautari, "Kathmanduko Nayabasti: Basāĩ-Sarāĩ, Planning, Pakki Ghar, ṭatha tol Samiti", Kathmandu, Nepal, Nepal. (2009 - 2009).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Other), Pitzer College, "Kathmandu's Three Stages of Urbanization", Kathmandu, Nepal, Nepal. (2009 - 2009).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Other), Tribhuvan University, Engineering Campus, "Four Ana, Two Children, and One Modern Ghar: An Ethnographic Approach to Kathmandu's Housing Boom", Lalitpur, Nepal, Nepal. (2009 - 2009).

    • Oral Presentation

  • Nelson, A.S. (Discussant), American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Response to Panel: The Effects of Recent Changes in National and International Governments and Policies on Refugee Experiences in Host Countries, Washington, D.C., United States of America. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), Seeking a Safe Haven: UNT Refugee Summit, Research Questions for the study of Nepali-Bhutanese Refugees, Denton, Texas, United States of America. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), 16th Annual Asian Pacific Heritage Month Celebration, Cultural Context of Bhutan, Asian American Association of City Employees, Dallas City Hall, Dallas, Texas, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), Hindman, H. (Presenter), South Asia Institute Educator Workshop on Bhutanese-Nepali Refugees, Language, Religion, Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Bhutan and Nepal, South Asia Institute, University of Texas-Austin, United States of America. (2013 - 2013).

    • Panel Presentation

  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Orienting and Supporting New Students in MA Programs: A Discussion of Best Practices and Good Ideas, Tampa, Florida, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Nunez-Janes, M. (Coordinator/Organizer), Re Cruz, A. (Panelist), Nelson, A.S. (Panelist), American Ethnological Society, Centering the Border at the Heart of Transformative Pedagogy, American Ethnological Society, Austin, United States of America. (2020 - 2020).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Global Nepali Health Conference, Confronting Gas Station Insecurity, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America. (2019 - 2019).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Imperial Legacies of 1919, What's "Post" about Nepal's Crypto-Colonialism: questions for the anthropology of Nepal's non-colonial condition, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, United States of America. (2019 - 2019).
  • Nelson , A.S. (Discussant), Society for Applied Anthropology, Doing Urban Ethnography in the Neoliberal Era, Portland, Oregon, United States of America. (2019 - 2019).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Co-Chair), South Asian Studies Conference, Capitalism in the Himalaya, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2018 - 2018).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Panelist), South Asian Studies Conference, Capitalism in the Himalaya, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2018 - 2018).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), Himalayan Studies, A Retrospective Look at One Decade of Nepali Bhutanese Refugee Resettlement, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), Himalayan Studies, Beyond the Gurkha Model: Rethinking Nepali Labor Migration, Diaspora and Cosmopolitanism, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), Himalayan Studies Conference, The Politics of Urban Space in Kathmandu, Austin, Texas, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), American Anthropological Association meeting, When is a Refugee No Longer a Refugee?, American Anthropological Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), South Asian Studies Conference, City Mandala, City Decay: The Use of Historical Narratives in Post-Quake Kathmandu, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, "The Ethics and Politics of Anthropologists Working in Detention Centers", Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Panelist), Himalayan Studies Conference, Nepali and Tibetan Experiences in the US Immigration System, Austin, Texas, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), Himalayan Studies Conference, Nepali and Tibetan Experiences in the US Immigration System, Austin, Texas, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Discussant), American Anthropological Association Meeting, The Refugee Experience: Adapting to Life in the United States, Denver, Colorado, United States of America. (2015 - 2015).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), Society for Applied Anthropology Conference, The Crux of Refugee Resettlement: Rebuilding Social Networks, Society for Applied Anthropology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America. (2015 - 2015).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), South Asian Studies Conference, Spaces of Kathmandu, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), Himalayan Studies Conference, Himalayan Studies in the North American Classroom, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), American Anthropological Association meeting, "Rethinking Post-Colonialism in Non-Colonial Places", Montréal, Canada, United States of America. (2011 - 2011).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), University of Virginia, "Remaking Democracy in Nepal: Insurgency, Peace Agreement, and Constituent Assembly", Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America. (2007 - 2007).

    • Paper

  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, Rethinking the Applied-Public Distinction through Anthropological Collaborations with Journalists, University of North Texas, Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Americas Regional Nepali Health Conference, A Cross-Immigrant Alliance for Community Empowerment, United States of America. (2023).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Chautari Annual Conference, A Guthi and Chautari for Suburban North Texas? The Translation and Re-Imagining of Nepali Political Concepts in the Diaspora, Kathmandu, Nepal, Nepal. (2023).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), Himalayan Studies Conference, Housing Politics and the Nepali-speaking Diaspora of North Texas, United States, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Canada. (2022).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Presenter), Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, Doubling-Up in College: A Tactical Response to Student Housing Insecurity, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America. (2022).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Coordinator/Organizer), Global Migration toward North America via Latin America (virtual panel), Introduction, United States of America. (2020).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author), Virtual Congreso Internacional Antropólogos Iberoamericanos en Red, The Ethnic Restaurant and the Free Trade Zone: The Flexible Mobility of Nepali Migrants in Chile, Spain. (2020).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Errance as Political Possibility: The Emergent Urban Spaces of South America’s Accidental South Asian Diasporas, American Anthropological Association, San Jose, California, United States of America. (2018 - 2018).
  • Nelson, A. (Author & Presenter), Borderland and Migrations Mentoring Group Featured Lecture, South Asian Labor Migrants in Latin America: Transit Migration and the Un/Making of an Accidental Diaspora, University of North Texas, United States of America. (2018 - 2018).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Recovering Home? Rethinking the Materiality of ‘Successful Resettlement’, Washington, D.C., United States of America. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), After Suburbia: Extended Urbanization and Life on the Planet’s Periphery, New but not necessarily Neo: Rethinking the Liberalism of Kathmandu’s Peri-Urban Sprawl, York University, Global Surburbanisms Project, Toronto, Canada, Canada. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A. (Author & Presenter), Himalayan Studies Conference, Exceptional Urban Spaces of Transnational Labor and Mobility: La Mariscal, Quito and Zofri, Iquique, Chile, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A. (Author & Presenter), Himalayan Studies Conference, Nepal, Bhutanese, Nepali-Bhutanese or Bhutanese-Nepali? The Politics of Naming, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Workshop on Circuits of Labour, Migration and Debt: International Labour Migrants, their Families, and the Migration Industry in Nepal, Nepalis to el Norte and el Sur: The Shadow Migrations and Labor Schemes of Nepalis in the Americas, Oxford, England, United Kingdom. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Workshop on Frontier Urbanism: Tracking Transformations in Agrarian Urban Hinterlands of South Asia, "The Legacy of the Feudal State in Kathmandu Valley Peri-Urban Sprawl: Rethinking the ‘Failed Planning’ Narrative", York University’s Global Surburbanisms Project, New Delhi, India, India. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), American Anthropological Association meeting, Unbecoming Refugees: Place, Home, and the Question of Belonging for Nepali-Bhutanese in North Texas Suburbs, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), South Asian Studies Conference, ‘Build Back Better’ for Whom? The Social Politics of Rebuilding a ‘Traditional’ Town after Nepal’s Great Earthquake", Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting, Moving to ‘Where the Bus and Train Don’t Go’: Racial and Class Ideologies of Urban Space for Nepali-Bhutanese Refugees in North Texas, Vancouver, Canada, Canada. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Himalayan Studies Conference, The View from Above: The Privilege and Anxiety of Living In Kathmandu’s New Housing Colonies, Austin, Texas, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), American Anthropological Association Meeting, House Rituals and the Meaning of Home for Nepali-Bhutanese Refugees in North Texas, Denver, Colorado, United States of America. (2015 - 2015).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya, Between Social Evil and Necessity: Toward a Meaning of Middlemen in Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal, Nepal. (2015 - 2015).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Articulating Ethnicity: Language and the Boundaries of the Himalayas, Land and Ethnicity in a Time of Urbanization: Kirtipur Maharjans and Plot #7, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, United States of America. (2015 - 2015).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Society for Applied Anthropology Conference, Is Bhutani Ghar to Nepali Camp as Suburban House is to Urban Apartment? The Social Networks of Relocation for Nepali-Bhutanese Refugees in North Texas, Society for Applied Anthropology, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America. (2015 - 2015).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Himalayan Policy Research Conference, Nepalis to El Norte: Questions for Nepali Migration to the United States via Latin America, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), South Asian Studies Conference, American Apartments, Bihar Boxes, and a neo-Newari Renaissance: 21st Century Kathmandu Houses, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Himalayan Studies Conference, Nepali, Bhutanese, or American? Questions of Nationality and Citizenship amongst Elder Nepali-Bhutanese Refugees in Dallas, Texas, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), South Asian Studies Conference, The Birth (and Death?) of Kathmandu's Housing Industry, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2013 - 2013).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Conference on Migration in Nepal, "Migration as Process: Practices and Conceptions of Relocation from Kathmandu's Urban Periphery", Lalitpur, Nepal, United States of America. (2012 - 2012).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), American Anthropological Association meeting, "Towards a Post-Crypto-Colonialism: Notes on the Anthropology of Nepal's Non-Colonial Condition", Montréal, Canada, United States of America. (2011 - 2011).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), South Asian Studies Conference, "The Suspect Land Pimp: Three Perspectives on the Changing Significance of Land In Kathmandu's Urbanizing Periphery", Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America. (2011 - 2011).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), American Anthropological Association meeting, "Building the Traditional House the Modern Way: The Production of Architectural Aesthetics in Kathmandu's Urban Periphery", New Orleans, LA, United States of America. (2010 - 2010).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), American Anthropological Association meeting, "A Private Public? Self-Governance in a Kathmandu Housing Colony", Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America. (2009 - 2009).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), Fulbright South Asia Conference, "No Horn Please: The Desire for Security, Order, and Community in a Kathmandu Housing Colony", Kolkata, India, India. (2009 - 2009).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Author & Presenter), United States Educational Foundation (USEF), "Four Ana, Two Children, and One Modern Ghar: The Social Production of Kathmandu's Urban Periphery", Kathmandu, Nepal, Nepal. (2009 - 2009).

    • Scholarly Meeting Contribution

  • Narahara, K. (Chair), Nelson, A.S. (Co-Chair), 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Applied Anthropologists and Archives: Experiences Through Collaborations, Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), Albuquerque, United States of America. (2026 - 2026).
  • Nelson, A.S. (Moderator), Chautari Annual Conference, Moderator for "The Living Mountain: Intersubjective Readings", Nepal. (2023).

    • Webinar

  • Nelson, M.A. (Coordinator/Organizer), Nelson, A. (Presenter), Personal Statement Writing Webinar, Personal Statement Writing Webinar, Padawan Society, Department of Anthropology, United States of America. (2022 - 2022).
  • Nelson, M.A. (Coordinator/Organizer), Henry, D. (Discussant), Nelson, A. (Discussant), Johnson, J. (Discussant), Brown, N. (Discussant), Nichols-Belo, A. (Discussant), Bollwerk, B. (Discussant), Fisher, G. (Discussant), Who Am I On Paper?, Who Am I On Paper?, Padawan Society, Department of Anthropology, United States of America. (2019 - 2019).

Media Contributions

    Internet

  • "Nepali Bhutanese Refugees," Sapiens. (November 7, 2019).

    • Magazine

  • "What Family Means for Different Families in Dallas-Ft. Worth," DFW Child. (November 2018).

    • Newspaper

  • "Bhutanese Refugee Crisis," Seattle Times. (October 24, 2016).

Contracts, Grants, Sponsored Research

    Grant - Research

  • Nelson, A.S., "Nepali Football Archive," sponsored by International Office, University of North Texas, $3000 Funded. (2025 - 2025).
  • Nelson, A.S., "Scholarly and Creativity Award," sponsored by College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, University of North Texas, $2360 Funded. (2020 - 2020).
  • Nelson , A.S., "Global Venture Fund," sponsored by UNT International Affairs, University of North Texas, $5000 Funded. (2019 - 2020).
  • Nelson, A.S., "CREATE Grant," sponsored by Office of Faculty Success, University of North Texas, $5000 Funded. (2019 - 2019).
  • Nelson, A.S., "CLASS Small Grant," University of North Texas, $1000 Funded. (2018 - 2018).
  • Nelson, A.S., "Conference Support Grant," sponsored by Office of Faculty Success, University of North Texas, $1000 Funded. (2017 - 2017).
  • Nelson, A.S., "Junior Faculty Summer Research Grant," University of North Texas, $5000 Funded. (2016 - 2016).

    • Grant - Teaching

  • Nuñez-Janes, M. (Co-Principal), Nelson, A.S. (Co-Principal), Re Cruz , A. (Co-Principal), "Career Connect Experiential Learning Grant," University of North Texas, $2700 Funded. (2018 - 2018).
  • Nelson, A.S., "Charn Fund," sponsored by UNT International Affairs, University of North Texas, $900 Funded. (2017 - 2017).

Service

University Service

  • Member, CLASS Graduate Council. (2023 - Present).
  • Chairperson, Graduate Admissions Committee. (February 2022 - Present).
  • Faculty Mentor, Mentor to Dr. Courtney Cecale. (2020 - 2022).
  • Committee Member, Merit Committee. (2020 - 2021).
  • Committee Member, Curriculum Committee Member. (2019 - 2021).
  • Committee Member, Scholarly and Creative Award selection committee. (2020).
  • Committee Member, Fulbright Selection Committee. (2018 - 2020).
  • Committee Member, Imperial Legacies of 1919 Conference Organization Committee. (2018 - 2019).
  • Committee Member, Graduate Admissions Committee. (2015 - 2019).
  • Committee Member, Assistant Professor Search Committee. (2018 - 2018).
  • Committee Member, McNair Fellowship Selection Committee. (2018 - 2018).
  • Member, Borderlands and Migration Mentoring Group. (2017 - 2018).
  • Committee Member, Curriculum Revisions Committee. (2017 - 2018).
  • Faculty Advisor, Graduate Anthropology Students Association. (2017 - 2018).
  • Member, Urban Network Mentoring Group. (2017 - 2018).
  • Committee Chair, Larry Lee Naylor Memorial Scholarship Award Committee. (2013 - 2018).
  • Committee Chair, 1 Year Lecturer Search Committee. (2017 - 2017).
  • Committee Member, Charn Grant Selection Committee. (2017 - 2017).
  • Committee Member, Visiting Assistant Professor Search Committee. (2017 - 2017).
  • Committee Member, Lecturer Search Committee. (2015 - 2015).
  • Faculty Advisor, Anthropology Students Association. (2014 - 2015).
  • Committee Member, Curriculum Committee. (2012 - 2015).

Public Service

  • Mentor, Frisco Independent School District. (2020 - 2022).
  • Other (Consultant), Nepali Bhutanese Community Group. (2015 - 2017).

Professional Service

  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Contemporary South Asia. (2023).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Human Organization. (2023).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Journal of Refugee Studies. (2023).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Anthropological Quarterly. (2022).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Journal of Refugee Studies. (2022).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, South Asia History & Culture. (2022).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, American Ethnologist. (2021).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Human Organization. (2021).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, World Development. (2021).
  • Reviewer, Book, Routledge. (2018 - 2021).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Economic Anthropology. (2020).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Economy and Society. (2020).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Studies in Nepali History and Society. (2020).
  • Reviewer, Book, Rowman & Littlefield. (2019).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, South Asia Journal. (2019).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Himalaya Journal. (2018).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Journal of Refugee Studies. (2018 - 2018).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Migration Letters. (2018 - 2018).
  • Reviewer, Book, Oxford University Press. (2018).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Modern Asian Studies. (2017 - 2018).
  • Committee Member, American Nepal Himalayan Studies Association, Best Graduate Paper Committee. (2014 - 2018).
  • Reviewer, Book, Palgrave Macmillan. (2017 - 2017).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Himalaya Journal. (2016 - 2016).
  • Reviewer, Book, Routledge Publications. (2016 - 2016).

Consulting

  • Government, Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute, United States of America. (2016 - 2016).
  • Government, Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas A&M Public Policy Research Institute, United States of America. (2014 - 2014).