Eric J MontgomeryRelated papers
Embracing Vodu: Anthropology, Activism, and Peace in Togo
This article focuses on the promises of Vodu and Gorovodu for multi-party democracy in contemporary Togo. While focusing on rituals of atonement and reconciliation, and social movements of Ewes from below, it also analyzes current political and economic trends on the national level from above. With comparisons to nearby Benin, the article measures the present role for Vodu in contemporary Togolese society and politics. The role of the anthropologist, coupled with activism and advocacy, and relationships between northerners and southerners are the focus. When marginal groups are included in ongoing power structures in places like Togo, it makes for a more tolerant, peaceful, and pluralistic society, which has been conspicuously absent throughout most of Togolese history. Cet article met l'accent sur les promesses de Vodu et Gorovodu pour la démocratie multipartite dans le Togo contemporain. Tout en se concentrant sur les rituels d'expiation et de réconciliation, et les mouvements sociaux d'Ewes d'en bas, il analyse également les tendances politiques et économiques actuelles au niveau national d'en haut. Avec des comparaisons avec le Bénin voisin, l'article mesure le rôle actuel de Vodu dans la société et la politique contemporaines togolaises. Le rôle de l'anthropologue, conjugué à l'activisme et au plaidoyer, et les relations entre les habitants du Nord et du Sud sont l'accent mis. Lorsque des groupes marginaux sont inclus dans les structures de pouvoir en cours dans des endroits comme le Togo, il fait pour une société plus tolérante, pacifique et pluraliste, qui a été manifestement absente pendant la majeure partie de l'histoire togolaise. In the context of recent government discourse and events of national importance in Togo, cross-ethnic and cross-regional possession trance, with its ethics of radical reciprocity, takes on a certain political irony. While government-controlled press accuses " southerners " of tribal hatred against the north, these very southerners honor northern cultures by hosting and worshipping northern spirits during Vodu rituals.
Anthropology, Activism, and the Problem of Countering Violent Extremism in Africa
Public Anthropologist, 2019
Anthropology has an ambivalent history of being involved in social justice activism, and much anthropological work circulates around issues of conflict resolution in cultures throughout the world. After unethically supporting the colonial mandate, in more recent years anthropologists involved themselves in the Civil Rights movement, Native American social justice issues, and most recently social movements for environmental justice and women's rights. And yet, regarding Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), there has been relatively little anthropological input, and rarely do our efforts affect policy decisions. This article examines issues of conflict management, technology, and cultural awareness in terms of the core themes of cultural and activist anthropology, and some of the ethical conundrums anthropologists create and must face. My argument is that anthropology is uniquely positioned to provide a critical counter-narrative to CVE's inherent problems and a conceptual anchor to diplomatic approaches for combatting violence and terrorism in Africa. Drawing on both anthropological literature and ethnographic research, I introduce the idea of a Culture and Peace Lab (CPL) to combat violence, with special attention to Togo in Western Africa, and Tanzania in Eastern Africa. The goal is to encourage ongoing dialogues, and spark new ones, about how to best deal with violent extremism. Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and the Role of Anthropology Violent extremism, often equated with terrorism, is defined by the FBI as "encouraging, condoning, justifying, or supporting the commission of a violent act to achieve political,
Chapter 0 Introduction to Shackled Sentiments E Montgomery.docx
Introduction: Spirits, Slaves, and Memories in the African Diaspora, 2019
The Introduction to "Shackled Sentiments" and an overview of the 9 chapters from West Africa, East Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. This intro crosses the Trans-Saharan, Indian Ocean, Trans-Atlantic, and Domestic Slave trades from Africa.
Gothic "Voodoo" in Africa and Haiti
E Tropic, 2019
This paper seeks to historicize and demystify “Voodoo” religion in Africa and Haiti while also drawing comparisons and contrasts to concepts and themes related to “the gothic”. What is assumed to be “supernatural” or “paranormal” in Western and Gothic circles has long been a part of everyday reality for many peoples of African descent and devotees of Vodun in Western Africa and Vodou in Haiti. Tropes that are essential to realms of the gothic (supernatural characters, mystery, the macabre, spirits, and paranormal entities) — are also central to the cosmology and liturgy of so-called “Voodoo”. As “the gothic” undergoes a resurgence in academic and popular cultures, so too does “Voodoo” religion. And yet, both terms continue to be conflated by popular culture, and by equating “voodoo” with “the gothic”, the true spirt of both concepts become confounded. A certain racialized Eurocentric hegemony devalues one of the world’s least understood religions (“Voodoo”) by equating it with equally distorted concepts of “the gothic”. As globalization transforms society, and the neo-liberal order creates more uncertainty, the continued distortion of both terms continues. Vodun does more than just speak to the unknown, it is an ancient organizing principle and way of life for millions of followers. Vodou/Vodun are not cognates of the “American Zombie gothic”, but rather, are a mode of survival and offer a way of seeing and being in an unpredictable world.
Syncretism in Vodu and Orisha
Journal of Religion in Society, 2016
This article is a comparative and ethnographic analysis of syncretism as a theoretical tool for explaining " African-based " religions (Vodu and Orisha) in West Africa and the New World. Vodu and Orisha defy syncretism as a valid concept for explaining the creativity of ritual life because it fails to account for the historicity, the religious imagination, or the cultural context of these forms. This article discusses that despite many shortcomings and problems with syncretism as a concept, it continues to be employed across many disciplines, even as it conflates and mystifies the different aspects and elements of African religions. Syncretism approaches tend to mystify African symbols and explain away things that, from the inside, are fundamental to African systems. This article will explain and contextualize many of these flaws and deficiencies with the concept through fieldwork and archival research.
Visual Voodoo: Photo-Voice in Togo
This article is a photo-essay from a salah Gorovodu ceremony among Anlo-Ewes 5living in Southern Togo. It is a shared ethnographic project employing the photo- voice of three subjects and the anthropologist. The experiment was determined, produced and edited by three members of a local shrine and compiled during focus groups and feedback screenings in the summers of 2013–2014. Photo-voice and related shared approaches help cast more light on a historically misinterpreted 10religion, “Voodoo,” by employing local agency and empowering the subjects to participate in analysis centered on ritual, healing and identity.
Spirits, Slaves, and Memories in the African Diaspora.docx
Shackled Sentiments: Slaves, Spirits, and Memories in the African Diaspora", 2019
Book Chapter, from "Shackled Sentiments: Slaves, Spirits, and Memories in the African Diaspora". This chapter looks at "Mama Tchamba" (slave spirit worship) in Ghana, Togo, and Benin among the Ewes and Guin-Mina's with a focus on mimesis, morality, and personhood. With ethnographic stories from spirit-possession rituals and episodes of lineage and slave-ancestor divination
A comparison of the anthropomorphic Vodun power-figure (West African bocio/bo/vodu/tro) with its Kongo counterpart (Central African nkisi)
Direct release to Academia.edu, 2019
This paper compares anthropomorphic power-figures from the Vodun and Kongo cultural areas. Vodun is practised along the Guinea Coast of West Africa (especially in Benin and Togo) whereas the Kongo religion is native to the west coast of Central Africa (especially the two Republics of the Congo and northwest Angola). First, overlaps in belief and praxis between the Vodun and Kongo religions are highlighted. Second, similarities are identified in the design and significance of anthropomorphic Vodun power-figures, especially Fon bocio and Ewe bo/vodu/tro(n), and their Kongo counterparts – minkisi, and especially minkondi, which are better known in the West as “nail fetishes.” The disturbing appearance of the figurines, the ritual operation of features such as pegs/padlocks, nails/blades, bonds/sutures and magical/medicinal material (Kongo bilongo) are treated in detail. Activation and appeasement by sacrificial blood, alcoholic drink and coloured dyes are also considered. The analysis ends with a broad intercultural comparison which ranges from ancient Egyptian belief to the art of Polish surrealist Zdzisław Beksiński, encompassing en route the zār cult and the Polynesian tiki. Overall, the study finds that the Vodun bocio/bo/vodu/tro(n) has much in common with the Kongo nkisi nkondi, the two sharing notable similarities in purpose, construction and operation. One difference, however, is that large Kongo minkondi used to serve as archival repositories of a community’s oaths, treaties and petitions, a commemorative role seemingly not shared by Vodun power-figures.
Africanist Anthropology Has a Lot to Offer
Anthropology News, 2018
Explorations in Medical Anthropology
A student and instructor blog detailing a Ghanaian study abroad trip in Western Africa. Medical anthropology, human rights, sustainability, plant medicine, and anthropology of religion were brought together in a collective volunteer and ethnographic framework.
CURRICULUM VITAE _____________________________________________________________________________
Eric J. Montgomery, PhD [email protected] / [email protected]
Current Positions
Cultural Anthropologist, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Peace and Justice Advisor
Michigan State University, 2019-present
Faculty, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Wayne State University, 2014-present
Faculty, Anthropology Department, Wayne State University, 2003-present (intermittent)
Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Central Michigan University, 2016-present.
Senior Researcher, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Lentz Science and Peace Fellowship, Wayne
State University, 2019-present.
Education
Wayne State University, Anthropology Ph.D., May 2006. Dissertation “Converting the Converter the
Transformative Power of Ewe Voodoo Rituals in Modernity” (Department of Anthropology).
Wayne State University, Anthropology, M.A., 2001.
University of Michigan, Anthropology and Sociology, B.A., 1997.
Teaching Experience
Michigan State University
ANP 439 “Human Rights: Anthropological Perspectives,” spring 2020
ANP 236 “Anthropology of Peace and Justice Studies,” spring semesters 2019, 2020.
ANP 321 “Social Movements,” fall semesters 2019 and 2020
Wayne State University
PCS 5100: The Physics and Anthropology of Climate Change, winter 2020
PCS 2000 “Peace and Conflict Studies,” fall and winter semesters 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
PCS 2010 “Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking,” winter semesters 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
PCS 2010 “Global Health Inequities,” fall semesters 2017, 2018, 2019.
PCS 5100 “African Medicine and Ritual,” spring semesters 2014, 2015, 2018.
PCS 2020 “Science, Technology, and War,” winter semesters 2017, 2019.
PCS 6100 “Graduate Peace and Security Studies,” fall semesters 2015, 2017.
Honors 1000 “The City: Detroit in Focus,” fall and winters semesters 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.
Honors 2000 “Citizenship,” fall and winter semesters 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.
ANT 375 “Anthropology of Africa,” fall semesters 2004, 2005, 2006.
ANT 250 “Cultural Anthropology,” fall and winters semesters 2002, 2003, 2005.
ANT 450 “Anthropology of Religion,” fall and winter 2003, 2004.
ANT 215 “Introduction to Archaeology,” winter semester 2003.
ANT 344 “Business Anthropology,” fall semesters 2004 and 2005.
ANT 421 “Forensic Anthropology,” winter semester 2003.
ANT 322 “Ethnography,”
Central Michigan University
ANT 3520 “Anthropology of Africa,” fall and winter semesters 2016-2020.
College for Creative Studies
ANT 6680 “Graduate Anthropology of Globalization,” fall semester 2012, 2013, 2014.
ANT 7000 “Graduate Urban Anthropology,” winter semester 2012, 2013, 2014.
Eastern Michigan University
ANT 4100 “Myth, Magic, Religion, and Science,” fall semester 2004, 2005.
Wayne County Community College
SOC 2000 ”Introduction to Sociology,” winter and spring semesters 2003, 2004, 2005.
GEO 3000 “Geography,” spring semester 2004.
Publications
Books
2019 Spirit Service in Global Vodu(n), (Book) Indiana University Press, Co-Editor and Contributor,
[Forthcoming]
2019 Shackled Sentiments: Spirits, Slaves, and Memory in the African Diaspora, Rowman and
Littlefield/Lexington Books, Editor and Contributor. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498585989/Shackled-Sentiments-Slaves-Spirits-and-Memories-in the African-Diaspora
2017 Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine in Southern Togo: Of Spirit, Slave, and Sea. With CN Vannier,
(Book) BRILL Publications: Religion in Africa series 2017: 46. http://www.brill.com/products/book/ethnography-vodu-shrine-southern-togo
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
2020 “Anthropology and Peace and Conflict”, with E. Drexler, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of
of Anthropology, Forthcoming.
2020 “Anthropology, Activism, and the Transformative Power of Vodu in Togolese Politics”, Journal of
Religion in Africa, (revise and resubmit).
2020 “1967 Detroit Rebellion: In the Museum”, Forthcoming in Museum Anthropology, Fall.
2019 “Missing Vodun: Questions of Yoruba Supremacy and Authenticity in the African
Diaspora”, Brazilian Journal of the Caribbean, Forthcoming.
2019 “Gothic ‘Voodoo’ in Africa and Haiti”, ETropic, Vol 18:1, 2019. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.25120/etropic.18.1.2019.
2019 “Anthropology, Activism, and the Problems of Countering Violent Extremism in Africa”, Public Anthropology, Online. http://publicanthropologist.cmi.no/2019/05/12/anthropology-activism-and-the-problem-of-countering-violent-extremism-in-africa/
2018 “They Died in Blood: Morality and Communitas in Ewe Ritual.” Journal of Ritual Studies, 32:1.
2017 “Visual Voodoo: Photo-Voice and Participatory Film-making in Togo.” Visual Anthropology, 30:4,
pp 287-309
2016 “Shamanism and Voodoo: The Life and Acts of Sofo Bisi.” Shaman, Volume 24: pp. 47-72..
2016 “Syncretism in Vodu and Orisha: An Anthropological Analysis.” Journal of Religion and Society,
Volume 18:1.
2016 “Sacred Slaves: Tchamba Vodu in Southern Togo,” Journal of Africana Religions, Volume 4:1, pp.
104-127, (with CN Vannier).
2015 “The Materia Medica of Vodu Practitioners in Southern Togo,” The Applied Anthropologist, Vol. 1:
31-39, (with CN Vannier).
2012 “Activist Anthropology: Occupy Wallstreet, Occupy the World” in Anthropology News, January.
Book Chapters
2020 “Crossing Currents: Gorovodu and Yewevodu in Contemporary Togo,” Global
Vodun and Spirit Service, (Chapter 10), Indiana University Press, Edited by Montgomery et al.
Forthcoming.
2020 “Global Vodun and Spirit Service: Introduction,” Indiana University Press, Forthcoming.
2019 “The Past in Present: Slavery, Personhood, and Mimesis in Ewe Gorovodu and Mama Tchamba” in
Shackled Sentiments: Spirits, Slaves, and Memory in the African Diaspora. (Chapter 4), Rowman and
Littlefield / Lexington Books, Edited by Eric J. Montgomery.
2019 “Human Trafficking as a Global and Public Health Problem,” in Textbook of Global Health (book
chapter), Edited by Izzeldin Abuelaish, Forthcoming, Oxford University Press.
2018 “Countering Violent Extremism and the Role of Anthropology in Africa,” in The Changing
Dynamics of Terrorism and Violent Extremism: An Analysis. HORN: International Institute for Strategic
Studies, (11/2018). www.Horninstitute.org.
Recent Magazine and Online Articles
2020 “Celebrity Humanitarianism and the Anthropological Gaze.” Sapiens, with Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri,
Submitted.
2019 “Website Targets Human Rights Activists,” The South End, Summer, pp. 6
2019 “The Very Modern Problem of Human Slavery,” Sapiens, June 27,
https://www.sapiens.org/culture/modern-problem-human-slavery/
2019 “Anthropology, Activism and the Problem of Countering Violent Extremism in Africa,” The Public
Anthropologist, Online, May 2019, http://publicanthropologist.cmi.no/2019/05/12/anthropology-activism-and-the-problem-of-countering-violent-extremism-in-africa/
2019 “African Traditional Religion Demystified!” on Afrikan Heritage Website.
February 3, 2019, http://www.afrikanheritage.com/african-traditional-religions-demystified/
2018 “Why Detroit 67’ Matters,” Belt Magazine. https://beltmag.com/detroit-67-rebellion-matters-now/
Ethnographic Films and Multi-Media Projects
2020 Of Land and Water: Sacred Justice in Vodun. Ethnographic Film, (In Process)
2020 Mami Wata: Sacred Feminine, Film, forthcoming, with director Indrani Pal-Chauduri and Professor
Nwando Achebe.
2020 Celebrity Humanitarianism and Social Justice, interview with Director Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri,
Kyyba Films, Detroit, MI. ‘Detroit Rising,’ VIDEOPODCAST, Forthcoming
2020 Human Trafficking and Survivor-led Solutions to Sex Trafficking, interview with Alice Jay and
Leslie King, Kyyba Films, Detroit, MI. ‘Detroit Rising,’ VIDEOPODCAST, Forthcoming
2018 The Cow Sacrifice, Tchamba Slave Spirit Vodu, Sakpata Shrine. (Short film)
Available on www.culturerealm.com.
2017 Socializing through Technology: Poke Mon Go in Downtown Detroit. Podcast.in Cultural
Anthropology, with David Leins, April 11. https://culanth.org/fieldsights/1097-socializing-through- technology-pokemon-go-in-downtown-detroit
2017 Guide to the Shrine: Sakpata. Culture Realm Films, May 25,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vynLEg3F-AI
2015 Afa Divination: Togo, West Africa. Culture Realm Films, May 25,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZpqdICyqUM
2015 Ethnography of a Shrine: Tchamba: Culture Realm Films, December 15, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue-qmr35RrY&t=14s
2013 African Herbsmen: Healing and Religion along the Bight of Benin,
(37 minutes/Film), Art Films Australia. http://www.amazon.com/African-Herbsmen-Healing-Religion-
2012 Radio interview on WDET-Detroit with Craig Fahle. Chasing the Spirit: Cool Documentary,
http://archives.wdet.org/shows/craig-fahle-show/episode/chasing-the-spirit-documentary-gorovodu/
2012 Chasing the Spirit: Gorovodu in Southern Togo, [2012] (67 minutes), Art Films, Australia.
http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Spirit-Gorovodu-Southern
2011 [2002] Detroit Electronic Music Festival PBS, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, Producer (www.culturerealm.com)
Book and Film Reviews
2020 [Book Review] “Vodún. Secrecy and the Search for Divine Power”, African Studies Review,
In Press.
2020 [Book Review] “African Science: Witchcraft, Vodun and Healing in Southern Benin”, Journal of
Religion in Africa, In Press.
2019 [Book Review] “Religion and Faith in Africa: Confessions of an Animist”, Journal of Ecumenical
Studies, vol 54:1, In Press.
2018 [Book Review] “Working the System: A Political Ethnography of the New Angola”, American
Ethnologist, vol 45:4, Nov, 2018.
2017 [Book Review] “Beyond Religious Tolerance.” American Ethnologist, Volume 44:3
Book Reviews of my Works
2018 [Book Review by Tim Landry] of Ethnography of a Vodun Shrine in Southern
Togo, Journal of Religion in Africa, (December 10)
2018 [Book Review by Stephen Glazer] of Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine in Southern Togo, T and F
Online Religion, May 15, 2018
2018 [Book Review by Douglas J. Falen] of Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine in Southern Togo, American
Ethnologist, 45:2 (May 2018).
2017 [Book Review by EP Renne] of Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine in Southern Togo, CHOICE, Vol.
54 No. 12
2016 Chasing the Spirit (FILM REVIEW by Randy Baier); Comparative Studies in Society and History,
Cambridge: Volume 58: 3, (July 2016).
Current Research
My research integrates anthropology, African religions, peace and justice, conflict resolution, and globalization. Current films embody tropes of African Religions (Vodun and Orisha) and their intimate ties to social, economic, and environmental justice. My specialties include anthropology of religion, interfaith dialogue, peace and technology, collective memory and violence, and the study of sub-altern and marginalized groups, namely the Ewe Vodu worshippers of Ghana and Togo, and manifestations of African Religion in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States.
Honors, Grants, and Awards
2020 Paul Harris Rotary Fellow, Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Presented 1/2020 in Ann
Arbor, MI, USA.
2020 Ford Community Corps Grant, through CPCS at Wayne State University. Funding for Digital
Mapping and Climate Change project with Boys and Girls Club of SE Michigan.
2019-2020 Spirit of Detroit Award Recipient, City Council of Detroit, for Rotary Peace in the Streets
Conference, October 2019, Windsor, ONT, CAN and Detroit, MI, USA.
2019 Diversity and Inclusion Award Nominee, Office of the Provost, Wayne State University.
2019 NATO Grant, ““The Evolution of NATO’s Purpose and Missions”, Wayne State University
2019-2020 Lentz Science and Peace Research Award, University of Missouri-Saint Louis and Wayne
State University ($20,000)
2019 UPTF-faculty travel award ($1000), Wayne State Union of Part-time Faculty
2018 Harriet and Alvin Saperstein Senior Fellow in Science and Peace, Center for Peace and Conflict
Studies, Wayne State University ($7,500)
2018 Spirit of Detroit Award, 2018, Presented by City Council of Detroit.
2017 Union of Part-Time Faculty (UPTF) - Provost Travel Award, Wayne State University (5 times)
2017 Global Exchange Scholarship, US Dept. of State, Bogota, Colombia
2017 Faculty of the Month, Wayne State Student Senate (February)
2016 Phi Betta Kappa “Mentor of the Year” (nominated by students); Wayne State University
2016 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Grant (Flint Water Crisis) (Supervisor).
2015 Principal Investigator with Rotary Club in Liberia West Africa, Ebola prevention and Vitamin C
Therapy (ongoing).
2010-12 Presidents Distinguished Teaching Award Finalist, Wayne State University.
2003–04 Thomas Rumble Award Fellow, Field research Ghana, Togo; West Africa (twice)
2002-03 Aswad Award, Wayne State University, Anthropology Department (twice)
2002-03 Global Education Scholarship, Wayne State University, Presidents Office
1998 Co-Authored grant from UAW/AFL-CIO via Clean Water Action to study Senate Bill 778 and
House Bill 1462, African Growth and Opportunity Act.
1993 United States Student Ambassador; People to People. (Moscow State University)
Recent Panels Organized and Chaired
2019 “Mass Shootings and the Quest for Fame,” with Parkland Survivor Samantha Fuentes
and Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri at Slought Museum, UPENN. (December 13).
https://slought.org/resources/mass_shootings_and_the_quest_for_fame
2019 “Max Mark Annual Peacemaker Awards”, Global and Community Peacemaker, Arab
American National Museum, Dearborn, MI, USA (Convener and Organizer)
2019 “Anthropology and Public Service Announcements for Change” [workshop] with Indrani Pal
Chaudhuri, Michigan State University International Center (October 24)
2019 “Peace in the Streets”, Rotary International, at Wayne State University and University of
Windsor, ON. October 25-26. (Convener and Organizer) www.rotarypeaceinthestreets.org
2019 “Peace in the Streets”, Featured Speaker , Human Sex Trafficking, Rotary International, at Wayne
State University (October 25, 2019) www.rotarypeaceinthestreets.org
2019 “Beyond Fear and Hate: Recent Ramifications of Anti-Semitism and Racial Hatred”, Temple
Beth El, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 4/14/2019.
2019 James Madison University, 9th Annual African and African American Diaspora Conference, “Bodies
in Motion.” February 21-22. (Keynote), https://talemitchell.wixsite.com/aaadconference
2018 Wayne State University Presidential Symposium, Detroit: Past, Present, and Future, October 15,
2018, (Panelist and Organizer)
2018 The International Conference on Terrorism and Violent Extremism in April 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Changing Dynamics of Terrorism and Violent Extremism: An Analysis. HORN: International
Institute for Strategic Studies (April 24-26)
2017 Vodu(n) Matters, Africa, Part I. 116th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological
Association, Washington D.C. (Chair).
2017 Vodou Matters, Haiti, Part II. 116th Annual Meetings of American Anthropological Association.
2016 Religion and NGO’s in Africa, 115th Annual Meetings of American Anthropological Association,
Minneapolis, Minnesota, Invited Session.
Fieldwork
Ongoing since 1997 I have conducted research into African and African Diaspora religions in Ghana,
Togo, and Benin in West Africa and more recently in Brazil, Haiti, and Cuba.
Current Peace and Justice Education, Wayne State University, Michigan State University
2020 “Digital Storytelling and Social Justice Research,” Ongoing for Book Project. UCAL Press.
2020 Digital Mapping and Carbon Footprints, Ford Community Foundation, BGCSM.
2019 Detroit, Michigan (Remembering 1967 Detroit Rebellion). Research at Detroit Historical
Museum, Walter Reuther Library, Charles Wright Museum of African History
2018-19 Arusha and Moshi, Tanzania. The Culture Technology and Peace Lab Project with Center for
Peace and Conflict Studies, Wayne State University. Bogota, Colombia, Somos Capazes.
2018-2020 Detroit, Michigan, “Understanding our Muslim Neighbors: Beyond Fear and Hate”, Center for
Peace and Conflict Studies: Ongoing Grants.
2014 Research trip to Ouidah, Benin, and Lome, Togo, West Africa (3 months)
2013 Intensive ethnographic research in southern Togo and Ghana, Western Africa; (3 months)
2013-2015 Participant-Observation of Indian Hindu Temples in Greater-Detroit: Hindu Temples.
2011 Two months of plant medicine research in Tepa, Cape Coast, Ghana (Medical Anthropology).
2006 Field research in Southeastern Ghana, and Southern Togo.
2003–05 Ethnographic field research in Southern Togo, Ghana and Benin, doctoral research (18 months).
2004 Fieldwork on AIDS (adherence, risk, stigma), inner city Detroit. NIH grant, HAART project.
2002 Cotonou, Benin, West Africa. Ewe and Fon religion. Also studied French and Ewe languages at
CE.BE.LA.E (Centre Les Langues Etrangeres, Cotonou, Benin).
2000 Eight months of participant-observation at Freedom House, a refugee center in
Southwest Detroit. (MA Thesis)
Recent Lectures and Co-Curricular Activities
2019 Mass Shootings and the Quest for Fame. Part of “Kim Kardashian is Dead and Other Stories,”
Slought Museum of Social Justice UPENN (December). https://slought.org/resources/mass_shootings_and_the_quest_for_fame
2019 Video Podcast with Director and Photographer Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri, Kyyba Studies, Farmington
Hills, MI (October 27)
2019 Human Trafficking in Michigan: A Global Health Problem, October 25, Peace N’ the Streets,
Wayne State University/University of Windsor, ON
2019 Framing Mami Wata: African Sacred Feminine [lecture] with Director and Photographer Indrani
Pal-Chaudhuri, Wayne State University Humanities Center Colloquium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ9-F_rFEbk
2019 Beyond Fear and Hate: Antisemitism and Islamophobia, April 14, 2019, Temple Beth El,
Bloomfield Hills, MI (Conference Organizer and Moderator)
2019 White Nationalism and Violent Extremism, Keynote, Adult Learning Institute, Farmington Hills,
MI, (September 17, 2019)
2019 Keynote Lecture, James Madison University, “Cross-Currents of Vodu(n) and
Orisha: Spirits and Slaves in the African Diaspora.”
2018 The International Conference on Terrorism and Violent Extremism in April 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Paper:” CVE, Islamophobia, and Anthropology”. HORN: International Inst for Strategic Studies (April).
2018-20 Reviewer, ongoing role, with several journals in Anthropology: Religion and Society
(Berghann), American Ethnologist, and Visual Anthropology.
2018 Panelist and Organizer, Detroit: Past, Present, and Future Symposium. “The Kerner Commission”
Talk with Sen. Fred Harris. October 3, Wayne State University.
2018 Organizer, Convener, Presenter, of “Peace in the Streets Conference 2018”, Detroit, Michigan,
Rotary International and Wayne State University.
2018 Organizer, Convener, and Keynote Speaker at Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, Wayne State
University, Center for Peace and Conflict Studies.
2018 “Between the Pipeline and the Sea: Vodu in Togo” at Wayne State’s Humanities Center, 2-6-2017.
2018 Since 2013 I have delivered an Invited lecture at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, in a
Graduate Social Relationships Class (Dr. Shryock, Dr. Akin).
2017 Launch of Website: www.culturerealm.com (Co-Creator/Producer)
2017 Book talks, “Ethnography of a Vodu Shrine,” University of Michigan, Central Michigan University,
University of Michigan-Flint, Wayne State University (April/May 2017)
2017 Keynote Lecture, “The Palestine/Israel Debate”, Palestinian Students for Justice, 4/5/17
2017 Keynote Lecture, “Sex Trafficking from Sex Workers Perspective,” P.E.A.C.E. Journals. University
of Detroit Mercy and WSU. March 20, 2017.
https://www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/news/article_d324c2b6-0b22-11e7-ab3d-632021a97442.html
2017 Panel Organizer and Chair. International Peacemaker Awards honoring Nobel Laureate Jody
Williams, CPCS, April 2017, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
2016 Panelist on “Dakota Pipeline Series: Human Rights Symposium”. Central Michigan University,
Global Campus.
2016 Keynote Panelist on “Crash Course on Syrian Crisis,” Wayne State University.
https://www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/news/article_2ae23744-ab48-11e6-86cc-bff40d614328.html
2016 INVITED SESSION; American Anthropological Association, NGO’s and Religion in Africa.
“CVE in Tanzania: The Culture Technology and Peace Lab.” Minneapolis, Minnesota. November 2016.
2016-18 International Day of Peace and Global Peacemaker Awards, Event Organizer, Center for Peace
and Conflict Studies and African Students Association.
2016-18 “Ralph Bunche Institute” for Conflict Management, Wayne State University, Leader
2015 “Middle East Peace Initiative,” Dept. of State, CPCS, Wayne State University.
2015 “Between the Pipeline and the Sea: Globalization in Togo,” (Rockford University, Illinois:
Department of Social Sciences)
2013 Paper on “Ewe Syncretism and Mimesis” at American Anthropological Association Annual
Meetings. Chicago, Ill, (November)
2012 Film Screening of “African Herbsmen” at Wayne State University (Grosscup Archaeology
Museum)
2012 Premiere of film “Chasing the Spirit: Gorovodu in Southern Togo” at the Charles H. Wright
Museum of African American History. Detroit, Michigan, (February)
2012 International Premiere of “Chasing the Spirit: Gorovodu in Southern Togo,” at Cine 104, Paris,
France (March). Info also at www.ahuefa.org
2012 Lecture on African Plant Medicine. American Anthropological Association Annual Meetings, San
Francisco, California, USA.
2011 Film Screening of “Chasing the Spirit: Gorovodu in Southern Togo,” Wayne State University
https://www.thesouthend.wayne.edu/arts_and_entertainment/article_959d742d-e649-55a4-a370 68ccb80528de.html
2011 Poster Presentation on Service-Learning in Detroit. American Anthropological Association Annual
Meetings, Montreal, Canada
References
Professor Andrea Sankar, Chair of Anthropology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, (313)577-3506
[email protected] / [email protected]
Professor Nwando Achebe, Jack and Margaret Sweet Endowed Professor of History, Founding Editor-in-
Chief, Journal of West African, History, Michigan State University, [email protected]
Professor Elizabeth Drexler, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Direct of Peace and Justice Studies,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, (517)775-1807, [email protected]
Professor and Director Fred Pearson, Director of Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Wayne State
University, (313)577-3453, [email protected]
Professor Emeritus Alvin Saperstein, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
[email protected]
Professor David Akin, Managing Editor, Comparative Studies in Society and History, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (734) 477-5793, [email protected]
Professor Terry Rey, Chair, Department of Religion, Temple University, [email protected]
Professor Emeritus Judy Rosenthal, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan-Flint,
Flint, MI (810) 766-6616, [email protected]
Dr. Ken Harris, President of National Business League, (313) 971-6511,
[email protected]
Professor Thomas Killion, Professor of Archaeology and Anthropology, Co-Chair, Wayne State
University, Detroit, MI (313) 577-2935/ [email protected]
Professor Christian Vannier, Africana Studies, University of Michigan, Flint, MI, (248) 388-1716,
[email protected]
Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri, Filmmaker, Photographer, Activist, www.indrani.com, (917) 445-0820,
[email protected]
Professor Guerin Montilus, Professor of Anthropology, Wayne State University, (313) 577-2935,
[email protected]
15
Related papers
En los parques: espacio público y cultura rock durante el tránsito de la dictadura a la democracia en Buenos Aires
Estudios del Hábitat, 2018
Entwicklungen und Formen der deutschen Literatursprache nach 1945
Sprachgeschichte. Ein Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und ihrer Erforschung, 2. Aufl., hg. v. W. Besch/A. Betten/O. Reichmann/S. Sonderegger, 4. Teilbd., Berlin/New York (HSK 2.4), S. 3117-3159, 2004
Isolation and Interaction Cycles: Small Central Mediterranean Islands from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age
'Shima: The International Journal of Research into Island Cultures', v.4, n.2, 2010
The Hotel and Tourism Architecture of Aleksandar Dragomanović on the Adriatic and Reflections of the Dutch School of Architecture in Croatia
Annales. Series historia et sociologia, 2024
Integration of Eco-Feminism and Islamic Values: A Case Study of Pesantren Ath-Thaariq Garut, West Java
ESENSIA: Jurnal Ilmu-Ilmu Ushuluddin, 2020
Origens e perspectivas da minha compreensão do Design Estratégico
Métodos processos e práticas em design estratégico, 2021
Review of Literature on Working Capital Management and Future Research Agenda
Journal of Economic Surveys, 2018
Impact of Technological Advancements on Environmental Degradation: Evidence from ASEAN
Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal
Aging is an Inevitable Risk Factor for Insulin Resistance “Arabic Abstracts”
Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 2006
Translationese and Register Variation in English-To-Russian Professional Translation
New Perspectives on Corpus Translation Studies, 2021
Evaluation of Three Northern Quahog (=Hard Clam)<i>Mercenaria mercenaria</i>(Linnaeus) Strains Grown in Massachusetts and New Jersey for QPX-Resistance
Journal of Shellfish Research, 2011
Phosphorescent Organogels via “Metallophilic” Interactions for Reversible RGB−Color Switching
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2004
Gamma Radiation Effects on The Performance of The CdSe Thin Film for Photodetector Application
International Journal of Engineering and Applied Physics
Primer Vezikoüreteral Reflülü (VUR) ve Dx/HA ile Başarısız Enjeksiyon Tedavisi Sonrası Primer VUR lu Çocukların Üreterovezikal Bileşkesinde Sitokin Profillerinin ve Ultrayapısal Değişikliklerinin Karşılaştırılması
Cukurova Anestezi ve Cerrahi Bilimler Dergisi, 2020
Development and 3D Printing of an ABS Ergonomic Handle for Medical Use A case study
Materiale Plastice, 2018
Ostra niewydolność serca po embolizacji guza nerki. Opis przypadku
Kardiologia Inwazyjna, 2018