Geoffrey Ross Owens holds a Ph.D. in sociocultural anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. He currently serves as professor of anthropology at Wright State University, Dayton Ohio USA. His areas of research include Tanzania and Zanzibar in East Africa, Swahili language and culture, history and anthropology, Oral traditions and suburbanization, and exploring the nexus between semiotics and political economy. Currently, he is serving as associate and lead editor for Semiotics: The Yearbook of the Semiotic Society of America.