Lecture to focus on missionary work in Peru

Staff writer

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Eastern New Mexico University is hosting the 17th annual Cynthia Irwin-Williams lectureship tonight, which will focus on the results of missionary work in Peru.

The lectureship, entitled “On Unintended Consequences: The Surprising Impact of Missionary Work Among the Awajún of Eastern Peru,” is sponsored by the ENMU Department of Anthropology and Applied Archaeology and Mu Alpha Nu.

Guest lecturer Dr. Michael F. Brown will discuss the “paradoxical effects of Christian conversion among the Jivaroan Awajún people of eastern Peru,” as well as “limits of ethnographic representation,” according to the ENMU Department of Anthropology.

Anthropology Department Chair Dr. Kathy Gore explained the campus’ anticipation surrounding Brown’s first visit and lecture at ENMU.

“It should be really neat,” Gore said. “This is a chance for our students and for the region to get to interact with a well-known anthropologist.”

Gore said the department brings in one speaker a year from around the country in honor of Dr. Cynthia Irwin-Williams, a former professor at Eastern New Mexico University who passed away with more than 30 years of professional experience under her belt.

Gore said Brown’s lecture will focus on his research he conducted in the Amazon Basin in the span of his career.

Brown is the president of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, as well as professor emeritus of Anthropology and Latin American Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Gore explained Brown’s research is intriguing because he recently followed up with the Jivaroan Awajún people after initially visiting them when he was a student earning his Ph.D. Gore said visiting a culture twice is unusual for most anthropologists.

“He’s seen how they (the Jivaroan Awajún people) have adapted to modern life,” Gore said.

Brown’s books will be available for purchase at the lecture.

The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. in Room 110 in the Art and Anthropology Building on the ENMU campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Information: 575-562-2206 or [email protected]