August 10-25, 2018, Dr. Janni Pedersen, chair of the
cultural anthropology program, will return to Panama to continue the
collaborative research project on tourism and festivals. This year, she will be
joined by Ms. Sashur Henninger, associate faculty member, and they will be
working with Marino Jaén Espinosa of Panamatipico.com.
Dr. Kathryn Sorensen and Ms. Michelle Loose, faculty members in the College of Liberal
Arts, are co-investigators. Their focus this year is the Manito festival in
Ocú, a celebration of the agricultural heritage and peasant traditions of the
central provinces in Panama. Among the things the festival will feature are
musical performances, a mock traditional peasant wedding, and reenactment of a
sword duel.
Dr. Pedersen will be blogging from the field again. You
can follow the trip and the research project at: https://www.anthroaction.com/research-blog.
The research project is sponsored by Ashford University’s
University Fellows Program. Drs. Pedersen and Sorensen have presented results
from their previous years in Panama at academic conferences, and this field
trip will add depth and breadth to their data and conclusions.
For additional information about the Faculty Fellows
Program visit: https://bpiedu.sharepoint.com/sites/CETL/OfficeOfResearchAndCreativeScholarship.
Michelle Loose, Marino Jaén Espinosa, and Dr. Janni Pedersen in Santo Domingo, Panama |