Assistant Director, Institute of Native American Studies Academic Professional Instructor James Owen is Instructor of US History and Native American Studies and Assistant Director of UGA's Institute of Native American Studies. He advises INAS certificate students and the Native American Student Association (NASA). His interdisciplinary work engages indigenous language revitalization, ethnomusicology, ethnobotany, and ethnozoology, as well as American religious history. His research focuses on indigenous-language translations of Christian hymns and biblical narratives from the seventeenth through the early nineteenth century. His work demonstrates that knowledge shared in multi-ethnic mission communities shaped evangelical Christianity. He has held fellowships with the Newberry Library, the American Musicological Society, and the UGA Graduate School. James has worked as a research assistant for Claudio Saunt (Unworthy Republic, West of the Revolution and the Invasion of America interactive digital history map) and Rebecca Nagle (Cherokee Nation journalist,This Land podcast and forthcoming book). Dr. Owen's publications include Community & Place, Ethnicity, Indigeneity, and Globalization (textbook 2020) and the book chapter, "Come Holy Spirit, Lord God: The Holy Ghost in the Cherokee Mountains" in Seeking Home: Marginalization and Representation in Appalachian Literature and Song. Education Education: Ph.D. US & Caribbean History/ Native American Studies, University of Georgia. Dissertation title: “’To Kindle a Flame of Sacred Love’: German Hymnody Among Arawaks, Cherokees, and Jamaican Slaves, 1738-1838.” Advisor: Claudio Saunt. 2019. M.A. US History/ Cherokee Studies, Western Carolina University. Advisor: Andrew Denson. 2012. Apprenticeship in Publishing, University of Georgia Press, Acquisitions and Manuscript editorial staff assistant. May – July, 2019. Apprenticeship in Printmaking, 16th-20th century techniques & materials. Hand-Cranked Letter Press, Lark Books, Asheville, NC. Lance Willie. 2003-2006. Journeyman Mason, architectural ceramics, Kossler Architectural Ceramics, Asheville, NC. Heinz Kossler. 1998-2003. B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies: Art, Music, and Culture. Appalachian State University. 1996.
