Charlie Piot, Ph.D. University of Virginia 1986, does research on the political economy and history of rural West Africa. His recent book, Remotely Global: Village Modernity in West Africa, attempts to retheorize a classic out-of-the-way place as within the modern and the global. He is currently engaged in research on two new projects. One tracks global discourses about female genital cutting (also known as FGM) from Western courtrooms and media into the capitals and villages of West Africa. The other explores the way in which human rights discourse, democratization, development, and charismatic Christianity are articulating with West African political cultures. Beyond Africa, he has research and teaching interests in African American studies, diaspora studies, pop culture, and the history of anthropology.