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Culture/Languages

Arjun Guneratne

Ethnicity and Nationalism/South Asia

Anthropology Department

Guneratne's research focuses on ethnicity and nationalism in South Asia, particularly in Nepal and Sri Lanka. He is also interested in globablization and the environment. His book on the formation of Tharu ethnic identity in Nepal is being published by Cornell University Press. He has also written articles in the Journal of Asian Studies and other publications. He serves as the secretary of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies.

Mahnaz Kousha

Iran/Middle East

Sociology Department

Kousha is a sociologist specializing in the intersection of gender, race, class and nationality. She is currently researching the changing status and image of women in Iran and the Middle East. Her new book, Nothing Can Stop This Tide:Iranian Women Speak, is being published by the Syracuse University Press. She also recently published articles on life satisfaction and happiness among Iranians. In addition, she has researched labor relations between African American household workers and their white female employers during the first half of the 20th century. Kousha has served on the board of directors of Critique: Journal for Critical Studies of Iran and the Middle East.

Jim Laine

Indian and East Asian Religions/Islam

Religious Studies Department

Laine is an expert on Islam and East Asian religions, including Hinduism. He is currently researching Hindu-Muslim relations in 17th century India. He has traveled extensively and worked in India and works with the study abroad program in India sponsored by the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. In addition, he serves as the college's dean of humanities.

David McCurdy

India/United States

Anthropology Department

McCurdy is a cognitive anthropologist who specializes in ethnographic methods and the culture of India and the U.S.

He has published articles on a variety of subjects including an American motorcycle group, family and kinship in India and the study of cultural change and deforestation in a Bhil tribal community in Central India. He was the first recipient of the American Anthropological Association Mayfield Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching of Anthropology. He is past president of the General Anthropology Division of the American Anthropological Association and is a current member of the association's commission on reorganization. He is the editor of Conformity and Conflict: Readings in Cultural Anthropology and co-editor of Issues in Cultural Anthropology and several other publications.

David Chioni Moore

Post-Colonialism/Ethnicity/African Diaspora

International Studies and Programming

Moore specializes in post-Colonial theory, 20th century non-Western literature, literature of the African diaspora and the history of criticism. He has researched the work of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes and is the editor of the forthcoming reissue of Hughes' rare book A Negro Looks at Soviet Central Asia. He is also the co-editor of the soon-to-be-released book Debating Black Athena. Moore's work also focuses on ethnicity, transnationality and hybridization. He has written several articles including "Feminism and Arab-Afroasiatic Humanism" and "Routes: Alex Haley's Roots and

the Rhetoric of Genealogy."

Ahmed I. Samatar

International Studies/Somalia/Africa/Islam

Dean of International Studies and Programming

Samatar is an expert on development issues, global political economy and Africa. He is currently researching and writing about Islam's responses to the emerging world order and the rise of Islamic consciousness. He is also leading a research project on the reconfiguration of the state in Africa and the nature of politics and economics in the continent. Samatar has written and edited several books including Socialist Somalia: Rhetoric and Reality, The Somali Challenge: From Catastrophe to Resurrection? as well as a book on African studies. He has also written numerous articles and appeared on national and international news programs discussing Africa and internationalism. He currently serves on the editorial board of the International Studies Review.

Dianna Shandy

Refugee Migration/Sub-Saharan Africa

Anthropology Department

Shandy specializes in sub-Saharan Africa and the transnational migration of refugees. She has researched the resettlement of the Nuer-speaking Sudanese refugees in the U. S. in the 1990s. In addtion, Shandy has conducted research in West and Southern Africa. She has also evaluated the effectiveness of a crime prevention project to identify challenges facing immigrant business owners in St. Paul.