Northern Arizona University

Michael L. Vasquez, Ph.D.

Agricultural Fieldwork 1971

Professor

(B.A., University of California-Berkeley 1970; M.A., San Francisco State University 1980; M.S., Ph.D., University of California-Davis 1989)

Applied, indigenous agriculture, cultural ecology, globalization, agricultural development, community-based research; US Southwest, Central America

Dr. Miguel Vasquez is an applied anthropologist who has worked with Mayan, Latino, Native American, African American, and Southeast Asian refugee communities for more than 25 five years in the areas of globalization and its impacts, traditional ecological knowledge, community-based participatory research, and rapid qualitative assessment techniques.  He has provided consultation for the Hopi Tribe, the Havasupai Tribe, the National Park Service, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.   He has served on the Executive Committee of the Society for Applied Anthropology, the International Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, the Arizona Association of Chicanos in Higher Education, and the Board of Trustees of the Museum of Northern Arizona. Vasquez’s work at NAU has focused on community-based ethnography and applied anthropology with both local indigenous groups and minority communities across the country. 

Vasquez’s work in Arizona has emphasized reciprocity between the NAU, the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (HCPO), and diverse projects, to strengthen both local community cultural assets and the educational experience for both native and non-native students. The NAU-HCPO Memoran­dum of Agreement exists as an outgrowth of this work. Collaboration between villagers and NAU anthropologists began with the Bacavi Terrace Project, which involved physical restoration of 700 year old terrace gardens, as well as documentation and education of local youth in traditional ecological knowledge.   The project has given rise to several other Hopi agricultural projects and annual planting and harvesting with elderly Hopi farmers. As ties between the department and the HCPO have developed, so have other projects.   Together with other NAU faculty, the HCPO, the National Park Service, and the Hopi Foundation, Vasquez helped to develop a Ruins Preservation Training Workshop for unemployed Hopi youth, which has generated careers in cultural preservation and a new interest in the relevance of anthropology for the Hopi.   NAU students in collaboration with the HCPO, have transcribed tapes for tribal archives, developed a cultural curriculum with the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, conducted research in cultural affiliation, developed media materials on health and nutrition for the Hopi Health Center, and created the HCPO site, which won the national student award of the Society for Applied Anthropology.   Most recently, he has served as a consultant for the NEH-funded Hopi Foot prints Project to develop K-8 cultural curriculum with several reservation schools. 

Another focus of his work in the past few years has been as Trainer, Evaluator, or Project Analyst for different programs of the RARE (Rapid Assessment Response and Evaluation) Project, working with minority communities in 15 U.S. cities to reduce HIV/AIDS risk factors.   This work, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, has helped to significantly reduce the number of new HIV/AIDS in African American and Latino communities.

Miguel Vasquez (center) in field consultation – Santiago Atitlan Guatemala

       Pueblo Seminar Visit to Acoma, New Mexico - The Garcia's

Teaching:

Peoples of the World (Ant 301)

This course is an ethnographic exploration the global impacts of capitalism on humankind across cultures, and our prospects at the beginning of the 21st century.  In examining capitalist culture as it effects selected contemporary ethnic groups, from hunter/gatherers to post-industrial societies, we will investigate the components of culture, processes of stability and change, and human adaptation to local and global environments.  The course is designed to provide students with an opportunity to: explore the economic and environmental factors which influence the cultural development of diverse human societies; develop an awareness of the diversity of cultural responses to human needs; develop a more complete understanding of the concept of culture and culture change in the modern world; and gain a better understanding of ourselves and our future as human beings and participants in a global/multicultural society.  

Peoples of the Southwest (Ant 306)

This course is an ethnographic exploration of selected people and cultures of the Southwest.   It is designed to provide an understanding of the diverse communities and rich cultures of this area, examining social, cultural, historical, political, economic, and ecological factors, which have shaped these groups and their interactions.  In examining cultures of the region, from hunter/gatherers to post-industrial societies, we will utilize a cultural ecological approach to investigate processes of stability and change, human adaptations and maladaptations to local, regional, national and global environments, and current issues and problems.  Classroom activities will include lectures, guest speakers, discussion, audio-visuals, small group activities, and examinations.

Anthropology of Development (Ant 548)

This seminar is designed to familiarize graduate students with current anthropological perspectives on historical, theoretical, and methodological aspects of development.  During the first half of the class, we will focus on the cultural ecology and political economy of  underdevelopment; while the second part will focus on sustainable rural development in the US , Latin America, and Asia.   Classroom activities will include presentations by the professor, guest speakers, and students, discussion, audio-visuals, and small group activities. Out-of-class work will include extensive reading and writing assignments, a take-home midterm, and a term project.  This course will provide students an opportunity to: 

1.       Examine in some detail the historical and environmental factors, which have influenced the socio-economic development or underdevelopment of diverse human groups;
2.       Develop a systematic understanding of cultural adaptations in development;
3.       Gain a better understanding of ourselves as human beings and as members and participants in a culture (or cultures); and
4.       Develop a more complete understanding of the possibilities and constraints of sustainable development in the emerging world of the 21st century.

Ethnographic Research Methods (Ant 569)

This is a rigorous seminar designed to familiarize graduate students with issues involved in ethnographic inquiry, methods used in ethnographic research, and the process of doing ethnographic writing.  Course activities include presentations by students, the professor,             and guest speakers, as well as discussion, audio-visuals, and small group activities.  Out of class work includes extensive reading and writing assignments, diverse individual and group             ethnographic exercises, and an ethnography as term paper.  This course will help students:

1. Examine in some detail a diverse array of ethnographic tools;
2. Develop a practical understanding of ethnographic tool and methods;
3. Gain a better understanding of themselves as ethnographers, including their own and others’ strengths and weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies as researchers; and
4. Develop a more complete understanding of the possibilities and constraints of ethnographic research in the emerging world of the 21^st century.

Southwest Ethnology:   Pueblo (Ant 615)

Surveys Southwest Pueblo Indian cultures and their immediate historical antecedents.

 Community, Technology, and Values (MLS 602)

The purpose of this course is to consider big ideas as they are related to the possibility of good and sustainable societies. Some of the big ideas that will be considered are: globalization, capitalism, religion, environmental sustainability, democracy, and social justice. Students will be encouraged to reflect on what kinds of social arrangements are desirable and feasible.

Miguel Vasquez with graduate students at Chaco Canyon

Miguel Vasquez and Walter Vannette with graduate students at 2008 Society for Applied Anthropology conference in Memphis