Kai River Blevins
Program: Anthropology PhD
Year of Entry: Fall 2020
Advisor: Dr. Alex Dent
Kai is interested in the politics and ethics of transformation, drawing on work across various fields, especially linguistic anthropology, critical phenomenology, political theory, and feminist science and technology studies. Their dissertation explores the evolving relationship between psychedelics and American public culture, with an emphasis on gray markets, integration groups, and political advocacy in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In addition to their academic work, Kai is an indie film producer and writer.
Kai’s research focuses on psychedelics and the anthropology of consciousness, with a specific focus on neuroethics, scientific and therapeutic practice, U.S. law and policy, and identity. They are currently researching psychedelic-assisted therapy and the psychedelic decriminalization movement in the United States.
Research Interests: Critical Phenomenology, Embodiment, Language, U.S. Law & Politics, Consciousness, Sensory Anthropology, Ethics & Morality, Critical Theory, Drugs, Affect, Aesthetics
- MPhil in Anthropology, George Washington University, 2023
- Master of Legal Studies, Willamette University College of Law, 2018
- BA in Sociology and Political Science, University of Colorado-Denver, 2016
Journal Articles
Blevins, Kai River and Colleen Small. 2024. “Mycoremediation’s Material Imaginaries: Neoliberal Rationality in the Fungal Turn.” interconnections: journal of posthumanism 3(2):94–115.
Neitzke-Spruill, Logan, Caroline S. Beit, Jill Oliver Robinson, Kai River Blevins, Joel M. Reynolds, Nicholas G. Evans, and Amy Lynn McGuire. 2024. “A Transformative Trip? Experiences of Psychedelic Use.” Neuroethics 17:33.
Blevins, Kai River. 2023. “Psychedelics, Embodiment, and Intersubjectivity.” Journal of Psychedelic Studies 7(S1):40–47.
Chavez, Margeaux Alana, Kai River Blevins, Christopher Brown, Angela J. Giles, Monica M. Matthieu, Marete Wester, Jacquelyn Heuer, et al. 2022. “The Future of Veteran Community Engagement: Perspectives on Engaging Veterans and Other Stakeholders in Research Agenda Setting.” Journal of Veterans Studies 8(2):21–35.
Blevins, Kai River. 2018. “I’m on the Wrong Track Baby, I Was Made This Way: How Cisnormativity and Gender Essentialism Discipline the Transition Processes of Transgender Individuals.” Social Justice and Equity Law Journal 1(1):148–181.
Scholarly Commentaries & Essays
Peláez, María José, Kai River Blevins, and Joel C. Kuipers. "There are Ghosts in this Machine: AI Anonymization and the Identification of Self." In Press at Society for Linguistic Anthropology Blog.
Blevins, Kai River. 2025. “Power in the Pragmatic View.” American Journal of Bioethics. 25(4):90–92.
Blevins, Kai River. 2025. “Caring about Psychedelic Science: An Alternative Approach to Studying Hype.” Backchannels.
Blevins, Kai River. 2025. “Psychedelic Ethics Beside Institutions.” American Journal of Bioethics 25(1):65–67.
Blevins, Kai River and Andy Blevins. 2021. “Advocating for Minority Veterans in the United States: Principles for Equitable Public Policy.” Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health 7(s1):136–142.
“The Poetics of Internet Memes,” The Geek Anthropologist Blog, August 2020.
Barcelos, Chris, Anne Marie Champagne, Zander Keig, and Kai River Blevins. 2017. “Advancing Trans Studies: A Compendium of Resources,” Sociologists for Trans Justice Committee, American Sociological Association, July 2017.
Instructor & Course Creator, January 2025 – May 2025
George Washington University, Department of Anthropology
- ANTH 1000: Drugs and American Culture, Spring 2025
Graduate Teaching Assistant, January 2019 – May 2023
George Washington University, Department of Anthropology
- ANTH 2502: Anthropology of Science and Technology, Diana Pardo Pedraza, Spring 2023
- ANTH 1004: Language in Culture & Society, Alexander Dent, Fall 2022
- ANTH 1002: Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology, Sarah Wagner, Spring 2022
- ANTH 1004: Language in Culture & Society, Alexander Dent, Fall 2021
- ANTH 2501/WGSS 2121: The Anthropology of Gender, Ferhan Güloğlu, Spring 2020
- ANTH 1002: Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology, Hugh Gusterson, Spring 2019
Research Grants
- SRF Inspiration Award, Source Research Foundation, September 2023
- SRF Travel Award, Source Research Foundation, July 2022
- Lewis N. Cotlow Fund, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, May 2022
- Lewis N. Cotlow Fund, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, May 2021
Teaching Awards
- Dean’s Graduate Student Lectureship, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, George Washington University, April 2024
Institutional Scholarships
- Dean’s Dissertation Completion Fellowship, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, George Washington University, May 2025
- Tuition Fellowship, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, George Washington University, Aug 2020 – May 2025
- Dean’s Scholarship, College of Law, Willamette University, January 2017