UC Davis experts: The Andes

Migration

Luis Guarnizo, an associate professor of human and community development, studies the processes and effects of U.S.-bound migration of people from Colombia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador. He has investigated the web of social networks and power structures that transcend national territorial jurisdictions. He also looks at how the countries of origin and destination try to incorporate these migrants as dual citizens and naturalized citizens, respectively. Guarnizo is co-editor of "Transnationalism From Below" (1998) and of a special issue on transnational communities of the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies (1999). Contact: Luis Guarnizo, Human and Community Development, (fluent in Spanish) (530) 752-9805, leguarnizo@ucdavis.edu.

Human smuggling

David Kyle, an assistant professor of sociology, studies human smuggling across the world. In December, he published "Transnational Peasants: Migrations, Networks and Ethnicity in Andean Ecuador." He also co-edited a book with Rey Koslowski titled "Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives," published in 2001. Building on his first book, "Global Human Smuggling" is the first scholarly book to examine the practice in various forms in multiple regions of the world, including Mexico-U.S. smuggling. Contact: David Kyle, Sociology, (fluent in Spanish) (530) 752-1582 (work), (530) 750-2882 (home), djkyle@ucdavis.edu.

POLITICS, ECONOMICS AND HISTORY

Migration and ethnicity in Ecuador

Sociologist David Kyle, who has tracked the economic lives of peasants in the Andean highlands of Ecuador for the past several years, can talk about the historical reasons why some of the villagers migrate throughout the world as undocumented workers while others have found a lucrative niche in the world market as handicraft merchants and musicians. Kyle is the author of "Transnational Peasants: Migrations, Networks and Ethnicity in Andean Ecuador" and co-editor of "Global Human Smuggling." Contact: David Kyle, Sociology, (fluent in Spanish) (530) 752-1582 (work), (530) 750-2882 (home), djkyle@ucdavis.edu.

Indigenous peoples, economic/political development

Native American studies professor Stefano Varese is an anthropologist with an extended research background in Mexico. His research interests focus on indigenous peoples, economic and political development, indigenous transnational migration to the U.S. and California, and critical theory of cultural pluralism in Mexico and Latin America. He lived and worked in Mexico and the state of Oaxaca during 14 years as a researcher for the National Institute of Anthropology and History and as director of the Regional Unit of Popular Cultures, a branch of the Ministry of Education. Varese has been consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Comisión Mexicana de Apoyo a los Refugiados in Southeastern Mexico during the Guatemalan civil war and the crisis of Maya political refugees. In the late 1990s, under the sponsorship of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, he co-authored with UC Berkeley's professor Alain de Janvry a study on the impact of 1992 agricultural reforms on peasants and indigenous peoples of Mexico. Varese directs the Indigenous Research Center of the Americas. Contact: Stefano Varese, (fluent in Spanish) Native American Studies, (530) 752-0357 and (530) 752-3237, svarese@ucdavis.edu.

Natives and natural resources

Suzana Sawyer, assistant professor of anthropology at UC Davis, examines struggles over resources in the Ecuadorian Amazon, focusing on conflicts over land and petroleum development among indigenous peoples, the state, and multinational oil companies. She explores how lowland peoples have challenged neoliberal economic policies to privatize their lands and increase petroleum production within territory claimed by the indigenous people. In a country such as Ecuador, struggles over resources represent occasions for redefining the terms of citizenship, nation and sovereignty in a globalizing world. Sawyer is writing a book titled, "Crude Chronicles: Indigenous Politics, Multinational Oil, and Neoliberalism in Ecuador." Contact: Suzana Sawyer (fluent in Spanish), Anthropology, (530) 752-2557, smsawyer@ucdavis.edu.

Latin American history/natural disasters

UC Davis historian Chuck Walker teaches Latin American history, history of race in Latin America, the history of inter-American relations and history of the Andean region. He is also an expert on the history of catastrophes and natural disasters, such as earthquakes, in the region. He can talk about the historical politics of Latino natural disasters as well as the history of crime and violence in the region. Contact: Chuck Walker (fluent in Spanish), History, (530) 752-3865, cfwalker@ucdavis.edu.

Agriculture

Indigenous peoples and El Niño

Anthropologist Ben Orlove, a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, studies how people cope with El Niño events, such as traditional forms of forecasting among peasant and indigenous people in the Andes when planting crops; the use of forecasts in modern societies, and the influence of globalization on current responses to climate variability. In addition to his faculty appointment at UC Davis, he is an adjunct senior research scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate Prediction at Columbia University. Orlove has also studied trade and economic systems in the Andes. Contact: Ben Orlove (fluent in Spanish), Environmental Science and Policy, (530) 752-6756, bsorlove@ucdavis.edu.

Crop genetic resource conservation

Anthropologist Steve Brush works with farmers in adapting agriculture and designing programs to get them involved in conserving crop genetic resources. His research concerns agricultural ecology and the conservation of crop genetic resources. Brush has done field work on these topics in Peru (1970-1986), Turkey (1990-1994), and Mexico (since 1995). A professor in the UC Davis Department of Human and Community Development, Brush was previously a senior scientist at the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute in Rome, 1994-1995, where he designed a global program for on-farm conservation of crop genetic resources. He has been a consultant to the World Bank, the Office of Technology Assessment, the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and UNESCO. Contact: Steve Brush (fluent in Spanish), Human and Community Development, (530) 752-4368, sbbrush@ucdavis.edu.

Crop biodiversity and domestication

Paul Gepts is a professor of agronomy and a plant geneticist. His internationally known research and teaching program focuses on the evolution of crop plants and the effect of domestication on their genetic diversity. He has conducted field research in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Malawi. He has published extensively on the genetics of beans and cow peas, as well as on domestication and genetic diversity in general. He can discuss the origin of crops, crop biodiversity, use and ownership of crop varieties, gene flow between domesticated crops and their wild relatives, and gene flow in relation to transgenic crops. Gepts is fluent in French, Flemish (Dutch) and Spanish. Contact: Paul Gepts, Agronomy and Range Science, (530) 752-7743, plgepts@ucdavis.edu.

Andean root crops

Carlos Quiros, professor of vegetable crops, researches the genetics, breeding and evolution of celery , potato and Andean root crops. He is an expert in agricultural biotechnology well versed in explaining its benefits and risks. In the last year, he has traveled to nine Latin American countries — including seveval Andean countries — through the U.S. State Department’s Cultural Affairs Information Program, as a speaker. Quiros can talk about the basics of agricultural biotechnology — what is it, where are we going with it, current products and the second generation of transgenic crops. In his lab, he is working on the genetics and breeding of a new type of broccoli with specific compounds that would better protect people from cancer. Contact: Carlos Quiros (fluent in Spanish), Vegetable Crops, (530) 752-1734, cfquiros@ucdavis.edu.

Nutrition

Childhood malnutrition

Kenneth Brown's research program focuses on the causes, complications, treatment and prevention of childhood malnutrition in low-income countries. A physician as well as a nutrition expert, Dr. Brown directs the UC Davis Program in International Nutrition. He can talk about issues of child feeding (breast feeding and complementary feeding), relationships between infection and nutrition, and specific nutrient deficiencies. He is conducting research in those subjects in Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Bangladesh and Nepal. He currently chairs the International Zinc Consultative Group and is a former member of the Committee on International Nutrition of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and past president of the Society for International Nutrition Research. He has received the International Award for Modern Nutrition and the Kellogg International Nutrition Research Prize. Contact: Kenneth Brown (fluent in Spanish), Nutrition, (530) 752-1992, khbrown@ucdavis.edu.

Media contacts:

• Claudia Morain at the UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9841, cmmorain@ucdavis.edu
• Pat Bailey, News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu

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