Loring M. Danforth (born 1949) is an American

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

and an author working at

Bates College Bates College () is a Private college, private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the Campus of Bates College, campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of th ...

. His research has focused on the interpretation of a wide variety of symbolic or expressive forms in a range of cultures.

Education and career

Danforth received a B.A. from Amherst College in 1971 and a M.A. and Ph.D. from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the n ...

in 1974 and 1978. He completed a doctoral dissertation titled "The anastenaria: a study in Greek ritual therapy." He has written many books and articles on

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

, Australia

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

. Danforth won a

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

Fellowship for College Teachers and Independent Scholars, and was a recipient of a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

. His books have been featured on the CHOICE lists. Danforth has taught at Bates College since 1978. He received the 2013 Kroepsch Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2016 he served as the co-curator for the contemporary Saudi art exhibit
Phantom Punch
at the Bates College Museum of Art. He is the husband of Maine politician Margaret Rotundo. They currently reside in Lewiston, Maine. They have two children: Nick and Ann.

Books

*''The Death Rituals of Rural Greece.'' Princeton University Press, 1982. *''Firewalking and Religious Healing: The Anastenaria of Greece and the American Firewalking Movement.'' Princeton University Press, 1989. *''The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World.'' Princeton University Press, 1992. *''Children of the Greek Civil War.'' University of Chicago Press, 2012. (with Riki Van Boeschoten) *''Crossing the Kingdom: Portraits of Saudi Arabia.'' University of California Press, 2016. *''Phantom Punch: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia.'' Bates College Museum of Art, 2017. (with Dan Mills).

References

Personal websiteBates College biographyCurriculum vitae
American anthropologists Anthropology educators American non-fiction writers Amherst College alumni Bates College faculty Princeton University alumni Living people 1949 births {{US-academic-scientist-stub