Title: “Unfurling Western Notions of Nature and Amerindian Alternatives”
Speaker: Dr. Eglee Lopez Zent
When: February 15th / 12:20 – 1:10
Where: TBD
Dr. Zent’s passions reside at the intersections of anthropology, art, botany, and conservation biology. After studying Anthropology and Ecology at the Masters and Doctoral levels, Dr. Zent went on to lead ethnographic and ecological studies focusing on the ecosystems that make up the rainforests of Venezuelan Guyana. Dr. Zent has conducted over two decades of field research with the Jotï people, an Amerindian group that inhabits this territory. Through this work, Dr. Zent has explored such interdisciplinary fields as ethnoecology, ecocosmology, ethnocartography, ethnobotany, ethnomycology, ecogony, and behavioral ecology.
Her latest work, “Unfurling Western Notions of Nature and Amerindian Alternatives,” addresses many of these fields as she explores global and historical definitions of “nature.” In this investigation, Dr. Zent examines the variety of values that societies have given the term “nature.” Here, Dr. Zent focuses on a portion of the Western tradition as her study spans Ancient-Greece to the present day. Discussing Western, Amerindian, and global conceptions of “nature,” Dr. Zent goes on to explore pragmatic solutions to create improved environmental ethics.
Dr. Zent will be sharing her research on February 15th at 12:20 – 1:10.
Students and faculty are encouraged to attend to learn more about Dr. Zent’s unique approach to both the arts and the sciences.
BIO: Eglee L. Zent is a Venezuelan mother of two sons. She has en eclectic academic background (art, anthropology, botany, conservation biology). She conducted studies for her PhD at the Universities of California at Berkeley and Georgia finishing in 1999. She has carried out ethnoecological, ecocosmological and ethnocartographic research (including ethnobotany, ethnomycology, ecogony, behavioral ecology, self-demarcation of Indian territories) in the high Venezuelan Andes among Parameros as well as in the lowland Amazon among the Jodï, an Amerindian group. Her research embraces trans-disciplinarian epistemologies and approaches, drawing in material and ideological, quantitative and qualitative aspects. Since 2000 she has worked as a Researcher at IVIC, where she also teaches courses at the postgraduate level and mentors students. She has published about 60 papers and presented her scientific results at around 70 events.