Mary Kate Kelly

Education:
Tulane University (PhD)
Tulane University (MA)
Concordia College, Moorhead (BA)

Scholarly Interests:

I am a linguistic anthropologist, and my research focuses on ancient Maya hieroglyphic writing. I am curious about how spoken and written languages interact, and how we can learn about past linguistic contexts through ancient writing. I believe language is a powerful tool of the human mind, and an essential aspect of our participation in the world around us. In my research and in the classroom, I use modern and historical linguistic contexts to illuminate the beauty and the challenges of being human.

Teaching Statement:

The goal of higher education is to foster inquisitiveness, to open our minds and challenge how we think about ourselves and the world we inhabit. My transdisciplinary research on language is the platform I use to give students tools to critically, but authentically, engage in society. In teaching I serve as a role model of a lifelong learner, an explorer of what unites and divides us, an expander of worldviews.

Relevant Publications and/or Presentations:

Kelly, Mary Kate, Olivia Navarro-Farr, David A. Freidel, Juan Carlos Pérez Calderón, and Griselda Pérez Robles. 2024. Waka’ Stela 44 and the Early Classic Kaan Hegemony. Ancient Mesoamerica 35(2):525-537. DOI: 10.1017/S0956536123000275.

Kelly, Mary Kate, David Freidel, and Olivia Navarro-Farr. 2024. Waka’ on the International Stage. In Keith Eppich, Damien Marken, and David Freidel (eds), El Perú-Waka’: New Archaeological Perspectives on the Kingdom of the Centipede, pp. 21-53. University Press of Florida.

Navarro-Farr, Olivia, Mary Kate Kelly, and David Freidel. 2024. Snake Queens and Political Consolidation: How Royal Women Helped Create Kaan: A View from Waka’. Ancient Mesoamerica 35(3):766-783. DOI: 10.1017/S0956536122000220.

Kelly, Mary Kate. 2020. Political Domination and Linguistic Preferences in Ancient Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: A Case Study of Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan. Contributions in New World Archaeology 13:93-112, DOI: 10.33547/cnwa.13.04.

Navarro-Farr, Olivia, Mary Kate Kelly, Michelle Rich, and Griselda Pérez. 2020. Expanding the Canon: Lady K’abel the Ix Kaloomte’ and the Political Narratives of Classic Maya Queens. Feminist Anthropology 1(1):38-55, DOI:10.1002/fea2.12007.