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Florence E. Babb
Born
Florence Evelyn Babb

(1951-02-21) February 21, 1951 (age 73)
Goshen, New York
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Anthropologist, author, editor, academic, engaged scholar
Known forResearch on anthropology, gender, sexuality, race, and class in Latin America
TitleAnthony Harrington Distinguished Professor in Latin American Studies and Professor of Anthropology Emerita
Academic background
Alma materTufts University, University at Buffalo
ThesisWomen and marketing in Huaraz, Peru : the political economy of petty commerce (1981)
Academic work
DisciplineAnthropology, Gender studies, Race and ethnicity studies, Tourism studies
Sub-disciplineCultural, feminist, urban, and economic anthropology, Gender studies, Latin American studies
Institutions
Notable worksBetween Field and Cooking Pot, After Revolution: Mapping Gender and Cultural Politics in Neoliberal Nicaragua, The Tourism Encounter: Fashioning Latin American Nations and Histories, Women's Place in the Andes: Engaging Decolonial Feminist Anthropology
Websiteanthropology.unc.edu/people/florence-e-babb/

Florence Evelyn Babb (born February 21, 1951) is an American anthropologist, author, editor, academic, and engaged scholar. Babb is Anthony Harrington Distinguished Professor in Latin American Studies and Professor of Anthropology Emerita at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[1][2]

Biography

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Babb was born in Goshen, New York, February 21, 1951.[3] She studied at Tufts University where she earned a BA in Anthropology and French in 1973, and then at the State University of New York at Buffalo where she graduated with an M.A. (1976) and a Ph.D. (1981) in Anthropology.[4][5]

Babb was appointed the Anthony Harrington Distinguished Professor in Latin American Studies and Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2014–2024) and as of July 2024 holds the title of Professor of Anthropology Emerita. Before that, she was the Vada Allen Yeomans Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Florida (2005–2014), and she held a faculty position in Anthropology and Women’s Studies at the University of Iowa (1982-2004), where she served terms as Chair of the Department of Anthropology (2001–2003) and Women’s Studies (1994-1997, 1983-1985), among other administrative appointments. At Iowa, she was instrumental in the development of a graduate specialization in Feminist Anthropology as well as of one of the earliest PhD programs in Women’s Studies in the United States. Early in her career, she taught at Colgate University as a Visiting Instructor to Assistant Professor of Anthropology (1979–1982).[4][5]

Babb is known for her long-term ethnographic research in Peru, as well as in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Southern Mexico. Her most recent book is Women’s Place in the Andes: Engaging Decolonial Feminist Anthropology (2018) and since its publication, she has been working on a multi-sited ethnography of three regions in Peru, entitled Scaling Differences: Place, Race, and Gender in Andean Peru.[6] For over four decades, Babb has conducted fieldwork in the highland city of Huaraz, the rural Indigenous community of Vicos, and the capital city of Lima. Three of her books have been translated and published in Spanish for wider accessibility in Latin America.[7]

Babb has published numerous books, articles, and chapters on the topics of gender, sexuality, race and class in changing contexts in Latin America. Her books include Between Field and Cooking Pot: The Political Economy of Marketwomen in Peru,[8] After revolution: Mapping Gender and Cultural Politics in Neoliberal Nicaragua,[9] and The Tourism Encounter: Fashioning Latin American Nations and Histories.[10] She is a frequent guest lecturer and panelist at national and international conferences.[6]

Babb has received awards and fellowships from the Fulbright, Wenner-Gren, and Rockefeller Foundations among others. Her work was honored with the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award (Premio Legado y Trayectoria) from the Peru Section of the Latin American Studies Association.

Professional and political engagement

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Babb has played an active part in professional organizations, notably in the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the Latin American Studies Association (LASA). Her leadership roles in AAA over the years include President, Association for Feminist Anthropology (AFA); Co-Chair, Committee on World Anthropologies; Nominations Committee; Committee on Minority Issues in Anthropology; Section Assembly Convener; Executive Board Cultural Seat; and Chair, Association Operations Committee. As of 2024, she is completing a term on the Board of the AFA and has been elected to the position of AAA Secretary on the Executive Board, 2024-2027.[11][12][13]Babb is a past Associate Editor of the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology and a Participating Editor for Latin American Perspectives. She edited or co-edited special issues of the journals Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies (2022), Voices (2011), Latin American Perspectives (2008, 2002), and Critique of Anthropology (2005).

In 2008, Babb was one of 368 Latin American experts who signed an open letter addressed to Senator and then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, urging him to adopt a more collaborative approach toward Latin America. Babb and the other signatories emphasized the importance of supporting socially just and environmentally sustainable development models, rejecting the free-market policies that had dominated the region for decades.[14]

In 2021, Babb was among more than 400 academics and political scientists who signed an open letter urging the Nicaraguan government to cease its repression of political opponents and release political prisoners. The letter called for the release of opposition presidential candidates and civil society actors, advocating for free and fair elections in Nicaragua.[15]

In 2022, Babb was among more than 70 academics who signed a letter advocating for the freedom of Nicaraguan political prisoner Dora María Téllez. The letter, addressed to the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, demanded the cessation of Téllez’s prolonged isolation and the improvement of her prison conditions.[16]

Selected works

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Books

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  • Babb, Florence E. (1998). Between field and cooking pot: the political economy of marketwomen in Peru. Texas Press sourcebooks in anthropology (Revised ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-70870-9. OCLC 40452591.[17]
  • Babb, Florence E. (2001). After revolution: mapping gender and cultural politics in neoliberal Nicaragua. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-70899-0. OCLC 46419767.
  • Babb, Florence E. (2011). The tourism encounter: fashioning Latin American nations and histories. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-7560-1. OCLC 719383009.
  • Babb, Florence E. (2018). Women's place in the Andes : engaging decolonial feminist anthropology. Oakland: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-29816-3. OCLC 1022080647.[18]

Articles

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  • Babb, F.E., 2022. ‘The real indigenous are higher up’: locating race and gender in Andean Peru. Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, 17(1), pp.12-33.
  • Babb, F.E., 2012. Theorizing gender, race, and cultural tourism in Latin America: A view from Peru and Mexico. Latin American Perspectives, 39(6), pp.36-50.
  • Babb, F.E., 2009. Neither in the closet nor on the balcony: Private lives and public activism in Nicaragua. Out in public: Reinventing lesbian/gay anthropology in a globalizing world, pp.240-255.
  • Wolseth, J. and Babb, F.E., 2008. Introduction: Youth and cultural politics in Latin America. Latin American Perspectives, 35(4), pp.3-14.
  • Babb, F.E., 2004. Recycled Sandalistas: From revolution to resorts in the new Nicaragua. American Anthropologist, 106(3), pp.541-555.
  • Babb, F.E., 2003. Out in Nicaragua: local and transnational desires after the revolution. Cultural Anthropology, 18(3), pp.304-328.
  • Babb, F.E., 2001. Nicaraguan narratives of development, nationhood, and the body. Journal of Latin American Anthropology, 6(1), pp.84-119.
  • Babb, F.E., 1999. “Managua Is Nicaragua” The Making of a Neoliberal City. City & Society, 11(1‐2), pp.27-48.
  • Babb, F.E., 1997. Negotiating spaces: Gender, economy, and cultural politics in Post‐Sandinista Nicaragua. Identities Global Studies in Culture and Power, 4(1), pp.45-70.
  • Babb, F.E., 1990. Women's work: engendering economic anthropology. Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development, pp.277-302.

Awards and honors

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  • 2021: The Institute for the Arts and Humanities Fellowship for her book Scaling Differences: Place, Race, and Gender in Andean Peru
  • 2020: The Association for Feminist Anthropology’s Senior Book Prize, Honorable Mention for her book Women’s Place in the Andes: Engaging Decolonial Feminist Anthropology
  • 2020: Latin American Studies Association's Peru section's Premio Legado y Trayectoria's - Lifetime Achievement Award
  • 2001: Elsa Chaney Prize, Gender Studies Section of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA)

References

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  1. ^ "Florence Babb". guide.americananthro.org. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "Florence E Babb". Department of Anthropology. January 12, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Harman, Inge Maria, ed. (1985). National Directory of Latin Americanists: Biographies of 4,915 Specialists. Vol. 1 (3 ed.). Library of Congress. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-8444-0491-2. OCLC 11519057.
  4. ^ a b https://anthropology.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1302/2024/08/Babb-CV-2024.pdf
  5. ^ a b "Dr. FLORENCE E. BABB". plaza.ufl.edu. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  6. ^ a b ""When Gender Meets Race in the Andes: Scaling Differences" -- Tulane Anthropology Colloquium Series". The Roger Thayer Stone Center For Latin American Studies. March 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "Florence Babb and Her Research Collaborators Celebrate Her New Book". UC Press Blog. Archived from the original on September 12, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Babb, Florence E. (November 1, 1998). Between Field and Cooking Pot: The Political Economy of Marketwomen in Peru. Texas Press Sourcebooks in Anthropology (Revised ed.). University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292708709.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ Babb, Florence E. (November 15, 2001). After Revolution: Mapping Gender and Cultural Politics in Neoliberal Nicaragua. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-70900-3.
  10. ^ Babb, Florence E. (August 30, 2010). "The Tourism Encounter: Fashioning Latin American Nations and Histories". www.sup.org. Stanford University Press. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  11. ^ "Board and Committees". Association for Feminist Anthropology.
  12. ^ Nuzman, Rachel (January 2014). "Twenty-Five Years of Feminist Anthropology: A History of the Association for Feminist Anthropology" (PDF). Association for Feminist Anthropology History.
  13. ^ McChesney, Lea S.; Singleton, Judith (2010). "INTRODUCTION: Assessing Anthropological Perspectives on Sexual Violence and Bodily Health" (PDF). The continued support from AFA presidents Florence Babb, Cheryl Rodriguez, and Dorothy Hodgson, as well as VOICES editors Sue Hyatt and Amy Harper, has been invaluable.
  14. ^ greg (October 31, 2008). "Over 360 Latin America Experts Call on Obama to Improve U.S.-Latin American Relations". Venezuelanalysis. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  15. ^ "More than 400 academics and political scientists from around the world demand that repression cease and release political prisoners". June 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "Más de 70 académicos firman carta demandando libertad para Dora María Téllez". October 9, 2022.
  17. ^ Radcliffe, Sarah A. (February 1991). "Florence E. Babb, Between Field and Cooking Pot: The Political Economy of Marketwomen in Peru, Texas Press Sourcebooks in Anthropology, No. 15 (Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1989), pp. xiii + 245, 11.95 pb". Journal of Latin American Studies. 23 (1): 259–261. doi:10.1017/S0022216X00013675. ISSN 1469-767X. S2CID 145643842.
  18. ^ Bourque, Susan C. (September 22, 2019). "Florence E. Babb, Women's Place in the Andes: Engaging Decolonial Feminist Anthropology". Anthropological Quarterly. 92 (4): 1297–1301. doi:10.1353/anq.2019.0073. S2CID 213751265.
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