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Elizabeth McAlister
Elizabeth
McAlister (BA in Anthropology, Vassar College; MA in African
American Studies and an MA in History, Yale University; and PhD in
American Studies, Yale) is Associate Professor of Religion. Her area of expertise is
Afro-Caribbean religious traditions, particularly Haitian Vodou. She
is also interested in issues of transnationalism, religion and the
social construction of race and ethnicity, as well as religion and
gender and sexuality. At Wesleyan she teaches on these themes, as
well as a course on "the millennium and end of times thought." She
has also produced three albums of Afro-Caribbean sacred music. She
loves music--playing it, hearing it, producing it and dancing to
it.
Contact
Information
Department of Religion
Wesleyan
University
Middletown, CT 06459-0029
Tel: (860)
685-2289
Fax: (860) 685-2821
Email: emcalister@wesleyan.edu
Links to sites of interest
Symposium: "Considering Syncretic Practices, Beliefs, and
Religions in the Caribbean," Brooklyn Museum
Elizabeth McAlister featured in
New York Times,
January 19th, 2003
Document View (requires ProQuest subscription)
Wesleyan Proxy Link (for off-campus Wesleyan users)
Courses
Anthropology
of Black Religions in the Americas
Religion in
U.S. America
Religion and
the Social Construction of Race
The End of
the World: The Millennium and the End Times in American Religious
Thought
Christianity and Globalization
Vodou in Haiti - Vodou in Hollywood
Mixed in America: Race, Religion and Memoir
Curriculum Vitae
- 1995 Ph.D. American Studies,
Yale University
- 1993 M. Phil. American Studies, Yale University
- 1992 M.A. History, Yale University
- 1990 M.A. African and
Afro-American Studies, Yale University
- 1985 B.A. summa cum laude, Anthropology, Vassar College
Scholarly Books Published
Rara! Vodou, Power, and Performance in Haiti and its
Diaspora.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Race, Nation and Religion in the Americas.
co-edited with Henry
Goldschmidt. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004, 249-255.
Scholarly Books in Progress
Transnational Pentecostalism: Spiritual Warfare at the
Crossroads. Prospectus for monograph reviewed by
University of California Press, manuscript in progress.
- Scholarly Articles Published
"Globalization and the Religious Production of Space."
Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 44, No. 3,
September 2005.
"Teaching September 11th," Bulletin
of the Council of Societies for the Study of Religion, Vol.
30, No. 4, November 2001. Click here
to view the full text as a .pdf file. You'll need Adobe Acrobat
Reader to view the file, and you can get that here.
"The Rite of Baptism in Haitian Vodou." In Colleen
McDannell, ed.,
Religions of the United States in Practice. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
2001: 354-363.
"Love, Sex, and Gender Embodied: the Spirits of Haitian
Vodou." In Nancy Martin and Joseph Runzo, eds., Love, Sex and
Gender in the World Religions. Oxford: Oneworld Press, 2000:
129-145. --[This essay also translated into French and reprinted
as "Amour, sexe et genre incarnés; les esprits du vaudou haitien"
in the French journal Africultures No. 58 (Jan. 2004).] "The Jew in the Haitian Imagination: Premodern Anti-Judaism
in the Postmodern Caribbean."
In Yvonne Chireau and Nathaniel Deutch, eds., Black Zion: African-American Religious Encounters
with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000:
203-227. Click here
to view the full text as a .pdf file. You'll need Adobe Acrobat
Reader to view the file, and you can get that here.
"The Madonna of 115th Street Revisited: Vodou and
Haitian Catholicism in the Age of Transnationalism" in R. Stephen
Warner, ed., Gatherings in Diaspora: Religious Communities
and the New Immigration. Philadelphia: Temple
University Press, 1998, 123-160. --[This essay was reprinted in a
collected volume titled African American Religious Thought:
An Anthology, edited by Cornel West and Eddie S. Glaude Jr.,
Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003, 942-977.]
"New York, Lavalas, and the Emergence of Rara." Journal
of Haitian Studies, Vol. 2, Number 2 (Autumn 1996):
131-139. "A Sorcerer's Bottle: The Visual Art of Magic in Haiti." In
Donald J. Cosentino (ed.) Sacred Arts of Haitian
Vodou. UCLA Fowler
Museum of Cultural History, 1995: 304-321.
--[This essay was translated into French and republished as "Une
bouteille de sorcier: L'Art visuel de la magie en Haiti" in
Vaudou, co-edited by the Abbaye de Daoulas et les Editions
Hoebeke in Brittany, France, 2003.] "Sacred Stories from the Haitian Diaspora: A Collective Biography
of Seven Vodou Priestesses in New York City." Journal of Caribbean
Studies, Vol. 9, Nos. 1 & 2 (Winter 1993): 10-27.
Magazine Articles, Essays
"The
Lucky Ones," a mother-daughter story of love and war by Lovely
Nicolas and Liza McAlister, published on Oxygen.com. Click here
to view the full text as a .pdf file. You'll need Adobe Acrobat
Reader to view the file, and you can get that here. "Haitians Make Some Noise in Brooklyn," on Rara in New York,
The Beat, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Summer 1991): 28-29.
"Ton Ton Club," on music in Haiti since Duvalier, Mirabella
and New York Woman,
January 1990.
"Voodoo," New York Woman, March 1988.
Media
Presentations
Producing and Consulting, Africans in
America: America's Journey Through Slavery. 4-part
television series for WGBG/Boston. Compact disc published by
Rykodisk and WGBH, RCD 90444, 1998.
Producer and Editor,
Angels
in the Mirror: Vodou Music of Haiti. Book and
compact disc. Roslyn, NY: Ellipsis Arts, 1997.
Consultant and guest, "Songs of Resistance." Documentary for CBS
"Under Fire. " May 1997.
Producer and compiler, Rhythms of Rapture:
Sacred Musics of Haitian Vodou, Compact Disc published by
Smithsonian/Folkways, 1995. [Reviewed in the New York Times, Sunday
February 18, 1996, L.A. Times, November 11, 1995, Esquire January
1996].
Ethnographic field producer for television documentary on
cross-cultural spirituality:
"Mystic Lands," produced by The Duncan
Group for The Learning Channel, 1995-1996.
Liner Notes and song translations. Libete Pran Pou Pran
'l/Freedom Let's Grab It. Compact Disc by
Boukman Eksperyans published by
Island Mango, 1995.
Production and field research, "News From Haiti." Afro-Pop Worldwide, National
Public Radio, December, 1993.
Co-Producer, "The White Darkness," Radio essay on Vodou in New
York for "All Things Considered," National Public Radio, April
1988.
Selected Papers, Lectures and Conferences
"American Missionary Businessmen in the Age of Transnational
Evangelicalism," paper for American Anthropological Association, San
Jose, CA, November 16, 2006. "Vodou in Haiti: Myth and
Reality," Guest speaker for Haitian Student Club, Norwalk Community
College, October 30, 2006. "Sacred Music in the Caribbean," Guest
speaker for Music Department at Amherst College, Amherst, September
18, 2006. "Spiritual Warfare and the Evangelical Rewriting of
History in Haiti," a pre-circulated paper for discussion at the
University of Michigan Graduate Workshop in Anthropology and
History, September 15, 2006. "Mapping Spirit-Geographies in Black
Atlantic Worlds," paper presented to the "Atlantic Studies
Initiative" project, University of Michigan, September 15, 2006.
"What's Religion Got to do With It? Religion and Intersectionality
in Ethnic Studies." Invited conference on "Multiethnic
Alliances," University of California Santa Barbara, May 12-13, 2006.
"Readings on Saints and Angels", AAUW Book Author Luncheon,
Middletown, CT, May 6, 2006. Discussant for panel on Asian
Diasporas, freeman Forum, Wesleyan Unviersity, April 14, 2006.
"Mysticism in the Caribbean," invited lecture, Haitian Studies
Association, New York Unviesrity, March 11, 2006. "Vodou and
Hip-Hop 101", invited lecture, Caribbean Student's Association,
UMASS Dartmouth, February 6, 2006. "Religion and its Insiders and Outsiders" workshop in Ethnography
of Religion at Harvard University, December 7, 2005. "Luck and
Magic in the Caribbean: Ontologies of Divination."
Rutgers University symposium on "Luck, Chance, and Destiny:
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Divination," organized by T. J.
Jackson Lears at the Center for the Critical Analysis of
Contemporary Culture, March 4, 2005. "Moral Geography, Oral
Media" presentation at NYU Center for Religion and Media, January
21, 2005. Public interview onstage of Bernice Johnson Reagon at
Brooklyn Academy of Music, opening night of Robert Wilson and
Bernice Reagon collaboration of "The Temptation of Saint Anthony",
October 19, 2004. "Haitian Revolution or Pact with Satan?
Evangelical Media, Myth, and the Haitian Bicentennial", "Media,
Religion and Culture Conference," Louisville, Kentucky, September
3, 2004. Presenter, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, "Haiti:
Freedom and Creativity From the Mountains to the Sea," on the
National Mall, Washington, DC, June 23 to July 4, 2004.
"Caribbean Religions in New York," lecture at the Interfaith
Center for New York, June 21, 2004. Discussant on panel at
conference on "Women, Religion and the African Diaspora," Center
for the Study of Religion, Princeton University, April 23, 2004.
"Rara Festivals and the Haitian Bicentennial: Vodou and
Politics on Parade", public lecture sponsored by Black Studies
Program at Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, April 17,
2004. "Who Writes Haitian History?", lecture at the annual
Haitian Student Conference, Rutgers University, Newark, New
Jersey, April 3, 2004. "Religion and History, Religion and Race:
The Spanish Inquisition in Haiti," lecture for David Carrasco's
class on "Method and Theory in the Study of Religion," Harvard
University, March 16, 2004. "Winning the Land for Jesus:
The Contest for the National Body of Haiti," Plenary Address at
the Society for Pentecostal Studies Conference, Marquette
University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 13, 2004. "Mapping the Place of Religion in America: American Civil
Religion and its Moral Geography." A plenary speech for Northeast
American Studies Association annual conference, Harriet Beecher
Stowe Center, Hartford, CT, April 26, 2003.
"Transnational Popular Black Culture: Religion and Festival in
Haiti and Brooklyn." Talk sponsored by the Wood Lecture
Series, Dept. of Religion, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY,
February 6, 2003.
"Haiti's Musical Religious Culture and its Legacy in Louisiana."
Delivered at symposium entitled "Contact of Cultures: The Haitian
Factor in the Louisiana Purchase and Beyond," Louisiana State
University Dept. of Geography and Anthropology, Baton Rouge, LA,
January 31, 2003.
"Representations of Vodou/Voodoo." Panel Organizer for American
Anthropological Association, New Orleans, LA, November 21,
2002.
"Voodoo in Hollywood: Race, Religion, Film, and the Politics of
Demonization." Paper for American Anthropological Association annual
meetings, New Orleans, LA, November 21, 2002.
"Rara Festivals and Evangelical Revivals: Spectacle, Video, and
the Politics of Repression in Haiti." Invited talk at New York
University and Rutgers University co-sponsored closed conference on
"Hemispheric Religiosities: Media and Performance." New York
University, November 15, 2002.
"Reflections on Method and Theory in New Immigrant Religion
Research." Conference of the "Religious Incorporation among
Immigrants in New York" project, International Center for
Migration, Ethnicity and Citizenship, New School University, May 10,
2002
"Rara in Haiti and its Diaspora." Guest class in African
American Studies Department, Harvard University, May 1, 2002.
"Religion and Migration: Historical Comparisons." Public
lecture at Baruch College, sponsored by Anthropology Dept., New York,
NY, April 23, 2002.
"Vodou Spirits, Rara Queens and Small Men: Gender, Vulgarity and
Slavery in Afro-Creole Religion." Public lecture at Princeton
University, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion, April 24,
2002.
"Afro-Caribbean Religions in New York." Talk at a Public
Forum, The Interfaith Center of New York, February 5, 2002.
"Pentecostal Narratives and Transnational Migration."
Haitian Studies Association, St. Michael's College, Burlington, VT,
October 2001.
"The Shape of Haitian Immigrant Religions in New York." Public Lecture for the
International Center for Migration, Ethnicity and Citizenship at the New York School
University, March 8, 2001.
"Medieval Christianity and Caribbean Anti-Judaism." Lecture for Department of Romance
Languages, University of Florida at Gainesville, March 2, 2001.
"Religion and Migration." Working group at the Social Science Research Council
December 2000.
"Spiritual Warfare: Transnational Connections." Institute for the Advanced
Study of Religion faculty seminar at Yale, December, 2000.
"Pentecostalism and the Haitian Diaspora." Society for the Scientific Study of Religion,
Washington, DC July 2000. "African Ginen to American Zion: American Diffusions and the rise of Pentecostalism
in the Haitian Context." Conference of the Pew Program in American Religious History,
Yale University, May 2000.
"Sexualized Speech, Political Repression." American Anthropological Association
Conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 1999.
Panel Organizer: "Bodies and Spirits: Race, Religion
and Identity Formation in the Americas." American
Anthropological Association conference, (Society for Cultural
Anthropology Section), Philadelphia, PA, December 5, 1998.
"Jews, Jesus and Vodou: Roman Catholic Demonization of
Pagans in Haiti." American Anthropological Association
conference, Philadelphia, PA, December 5, 1998.
"Displaying Catholicisms in America." American Academy of
Religion Conference, Orlando, Florida, November, 1998.
"Roots, Rock, Rasin: Haiti and World Music." Guest
Lecture, New York University Performance Studies Department, October
15, 1998.
"Teaching African-based Religions in the U.S." American
Museum of Natural History, New York City, September 28, 1998.
Grants and Fellowships
- 2004-2005 Working Group Member, "Christianity and Old and New
Media," Center for Religion and Media, New York University
- 1999-2001 Faculty Research Fellow, Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion at Yale.
- 1999-2000 Pew Program Faculty Grant in Religion and American
History, Yale University.
1999 Faculty Fellow, Spring Term,
Center for the Humanities, Wesleyan
University.
- 1997-1998 Fellow, Program for Young Scholars in American
Religion, at The Center for the Study of Religion and American
Culture, Indiana University.
- 1996-1997 Visitor, Mellon Seminar on Transnational Approaches to
the Study of International Migration and Refugee Movements, Yale
University Center for Global Migration.
- 1995-96 Post-doctoral Fellow, Rutgers Center for Historical
Analysis, New Brunswick.
- 1994-95 Dissertation Fellow, New Ethnic and Immigrant
Congregations Project, University of Illinois at Chicago.
- 1993-1994 Dissertation Fellow, McNeil Award in Material Culture
Studies, Yale University.
- 1992-1993 Henry Hart Rice Advanced Research Fellow, Yale
University, for field research in Haiti.
Languages
Haitian Kreyol, fluent speaking and reading ability
French,
reading and speaking knowledge
Academic
Associations
- American Academy of
Religion
- American Anthropological
Association
- American
Studies Association
- Arts Council of the African Studies
Association
- Society for
Ethnomusicology
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