First Horto d’El Rey community workshop meeting on October 8
With much fanfare, I am pleased to announce that the first community workshop meeting on the Horto d'El Rey is finally happening on Thursday, October 8 at the G.R.E.S. Preto…
My keynote at the 6th National Seminar on Geography and Phenomenology
Although I've only been in Brazil for about two months, and am careful about over-generalizing based on my limited experience, it seems as if phenomenology, as a field of study,…
Community workshop meetings in Olinda
Work is proceeding on setting up the first of what will hopefully be a series of community workshop meetings in Olinda that will address what should become of the Horto…
UFPE mini-course: old places, significance, and a social science approach
This week I gave my first series of lectures in a special "mini course" at the Department of Urban Development (MDU) at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). The first…
Mini course at UFPE on the social sciences and heritage conservation
While I'm working on my research in Olinda, Brazil, I will be participating in a "mini course" in the Urban Development Program (MDU) at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE).…
Bringing phenomenology to the people (but don’t call it that)
The phenomenological approach is of particular relevance when dealing with the questions of significance for preservation. ... If a historical place is such a phenomenon, then the term ‘significant’…
Facilitating community workshops and community-based participatory research
The community workshop is a core method of my research with the Horto d'El Rey, which is part of the overall methodology of community-based participatory research. This post will cover…
Becoming brasileiro through pizza
So last night I made what I think was a significant milestone: I successfully ordered a pizza for pickup, in Portuguese, over the telephone. For anyone learning a foreign language,…
The IRB and participatory research
This evening I finally completed my "IRB" (Institutional Review Board) application which specifies how I will be protecting my human "subjects" from potential harm for my proposed research project. Ostensibly,…
Recife Antigo
This Sunday, my host professor and his family gave my family and I a wonderful tour of Recife Antigo. Technically, "Recife Antigo" is a manufactured name designed to market the…