In her current research on California, she examines key technologies that build our sense of self and of others. And she asks questions: What is politically significant about the flush toilet or the supermarket register? What are the environmental consequences of our desire for privacy and the global politics of our food culture? Is more and cheaper always better? If genetically modified crops are as beneficial as biotechnology corporations claim, why are they so bitterly opposed by small farmers in India and Africa, and what changes in the production, distribution and regulation of these seeds might contribute to reducing poverty and hunger?

Says Bray: “I find anthropology so exciting because it can reveal the political dimensions of mundane objects and practices.”

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