Home › Faculty-in-Residence Program › Participants
Diane M. Nelson
Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology
On those rare moments when Diane and Mark aren't debating the relative merits of Blue Devils and Tar Heels (not much of a contest there!!), they can usually be found playing music (Mark was in an industrial band in New York in a previous incarnation and Diane sang in the "nueva cancĂon" group in Guatemala), working out (basketball, martial arts -- Tae Kwon Do), or globetrotting.
Diane has been doing anthropological research in Guatemala and Mexico since 1985. Her work focuses on the causes and effects of the genocidal civil war in Guatemala, as well as on Mayan indigenous organizing, human rights, and peace treaty implementation. She is beginning fieldwork in Guatemala and Venezuela on a new project on globalizing health and justice.
Mark is a polyglot, fluent in French, Spanish, Japanese, and working on Korean and Mandarin. His work focuses on the pre-fascist period in Japan ('20s and '30s). His insights into this period are gleaned from popular culture (especially trash fiction) and inspired by his study of Japanese colonialism and philosophy.
In Fall 2004 Diane will be a second-semester junior at Duke (after teaching in Portland, Oregon, for a few years), and Mark will be in his second year at UNC (after stints at Berkeley and in Alberta, Canada, eh!). They are both big cinephiles and enjoy debating whether there is any escape from the matrix. They look forward to sharing this exciting year at Duke with you. Please come by and say hello!
106 Social Sciences
+1 919 684 2069
dmnelson@duke.edu
Residence: 114 Gilbert-Addoms (613-2319)