Because my family has roots in Cuba, I have always been interested in the history and culture of the Caribbean region, particularly the various forms of "Afro-Caribbean" spirituality that emerged there during the colonial era, including Voudou, Shango, Kumina, Orisha, and Rastafari. My dissertation research focused on a faith-based Rastafari non-government organization (NGO) in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, whose leaders were part of a sustained guerrilla movement, the National United Freedom Fighters (NUFF), from 1972–1975. By comparing their NGO-based activism with the NUFF's armed struggle, I attempted to identify the structural factors that predispose populations to engage in different modes of political participation. I was only able to gain these insights by spending extended periods of time in the field, face-to-face with the people I meant to study.
This kind of research experience is essential to the field of cultural anthropology and, for that reason, I give all of my students multiple opportunities to conduct their own original fieldwork locally, abroad, or both. Students in my courses do not only learn about anthropology; they must actually go out and do it for themselves.
I am an ethnographer whose research focuses on Afro-Caribbean worldviews and faith-based political participation in the Anglophone Caribbean. I have been conducting fieldwork with grassroots, faith-based NGOs in Trinidad and Tobago since 2005. I am also interested in studying urban issues related to institutional racism, and I'm currently collaborating with a local community partner on an ethnographic study of the barriers to academic success facing students at Chester High School.
American Anthropological Association (AAA), Society for Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology (SLACA)
Widener University’s faculty are leaders in their fields and mentors who empower students to pursue professional success.
This dedication to excellence was showcased at the 2019 Faculty Awards Banquet on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Seven faculty members were honored for their commitment to teaching innovation, research, civic engagement and institutional leadership.
Faculty recognized at the annual Faculty Awards are featured in two articles from the Delaware County Daily Times. This article highlights Stephen Kauffman, Alexis Nagengast, Dana Olanoff, Angie Corbo, Wes Leckrone, Jim Vike, Michael Toneff, and Janice Krumm.
Associate Professor of Anthropology Brett Alvaré is quoted in this article about the Chester mayoral race.
Associate Professor Bretton Alvaré received Widener’s Faculty Award for Civic Engagement for his contributions to Widener’s civic engagement mission through his teaching and research.
Widener University professors in the Center for Education’s Community Engaged Teacher Education (CETE) program collaborated to write Chapter 4 Shared Power in Teacher Preparation: University, School, and Community in a recently published book, titled The Power of Community-Engaged Teacher Preparation.
The chapter was written by Professor Nadine McHenry, who coordinates the CETE program, as well as Director of the Widener Child Development Center Essence Allen-Presley, Associate Professor Bretton Alvaré, retired Stetser Elementary Principal Janet Baldwin, alumna Rev. Hilda Campbell, and alumna Taylor Borgstrom.
The book focuses on how and why community-engaged teacher preparation is a vital approach to address an educational system that his historically deficient, discriminatory, and inequitable.