My latest in Wheaton's Alumni Magazine, the Faculty Voice column:
When I tell
people that I’m an anthropologist, an image of Indiana Jones, fedora-clad and
bullwhip in hand, is often the first picture that comes to mind. Though I’ve
never raided a lost ark or escaped a snake pit, I have seen the stunning Iguazú waterfalls depicted in the fourth
film of the series. And I’ve heard stories that rival Hollywood drama from
locals adept at debating energy politics.
As a cultural anthropologist, I research how
people live in the world today. The core lesson I’ve learned is the importance
of seeing through someone else’s eyes, not merely because we value diversity,
but because it’s there we find wisdom.
I study
renewable energy in Latin America, a topic I find more engrossing now than when
I began my research in 2007. Yet, had I not heeded the input of an ordinary
Paraguayan, I would have missed that path.
Confession: the
first time I visited Itaipú Dam (the Brazilian-Paraguayan hydroelectric plant
that I research), I was underwhelmed. Even though it’s the largest dam in the
entire world (capable of powering 33 percent of California’s annual energy
usage), Iguazú, the Argentine-Brazilian cataracts where water pounds rock so
powerfully that the mist rises like smoke, eclipsed my present view of Itaipú’s
concrete wall and placid reservoir.
Then, one
Paraguayan to my right murmured, “Paraguay used to have waterfalls like
Iguazú.” He took my look of surprise as an invitation to continue. “But they
were destroyed for that,” he added
with a meaningful nod at Itaipú Dam....
For the rest of the piece, see the interactive version of the Wheaton Alumni Magazine.
For the rest of the piece, see the interactive version of the Wheaton Alumni Magazine.
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