[Currents headergraphic]

November 16, 1998

New Faculty

[Photo of Hugh Raffles]

Hugh Raffles
Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Hugh Raffles brings a strong interest in history to his study of the political, economic, social, and cultural dimensions of the Amazon basin. His dissertation explores questions of place and how Westerners have come to view the Amazon, focusing on the day-to-day activities of Europeans from the first contact in the 16th century to today. His discussion includes a contemporary ethnography of the Amazon estuary, as well as a focused study of the work of botanist Henry W. Bates, whose 11 years of fieldwork in the Amazon fostered his significant contributions to the theory of evolution. Raffles earned his B.A. in sociology from the University of Warwick, England; his M.A. in area studies (Latin America) from the University of London; and his D.F.E.S. (doctorate in forestry and environmental studies) from Yale University.


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