Professor of Anthropology
I came to Purchase College in 1980 as a twenty-something, newly minted Ph.D. excited by the interdisciplinary possibilities the place had to offer me. My interests at the time sprawled over anthropology, folklore, dance, religion, Native American culture, European history, Biblical archeology, computer science, and mathematical models. They still do. I have published books and articles in all these fields and continue with a very active research agenda.
What is very important to me is that much of my research has been assisted by Purchase students, and I have, in turn, published much of their work either as a co-author or independently.
I have now been a professor at Purchase College for over a quarter century, and what keeps me coming back year after year is the enthusiasm and creativity of my students. They have produced plays, directed films, constructed photographic portfolios, and written research theses on topics as diverse as sustainable agriculture in rural Hawaii, art as a form of protest in the deaf community in the U.S., festival and community in Austria, and homeless children in urban Mexico.
Furthermore, many of these students keep in close touch with me after graduation, and I continue to be amazed at the widely divergent paths their professional lives take them on. Some have trained as doctors, lawyers, social workers, teachers and the like. Some have followed their passions as artists, journalists, or photographers. A few have even ended up as professional anthropologists. What they all take from Purchase is a strong sense of the importance of social activism in the world regardless of their chosen careers.
2007 Convocation
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