Biography:

Javier F Marion was born in Sucre, Bolivia and raised in the greater Boston area. After living abroad in Bolivia and Argentina as well as in parts of the American West, he received a B.A. in Anthropology and a Ph.D. in History at the University of New Mexico. Javier has taught at Emmanuel College since the fall 0f 2003 where he developed courses that focus on Latin America, Native America, the American West, and environmental interpretations of the past. He also serves as coordinator for the Latin American Studies (LAS) minor. Apart from his academic endeavors, Javier enjoys music, hiking, fly fishing, and kayaking. He is committed to issues of environmental justice and is active in a variety of community-based, non-profit organizations dedicated to the restoration and protection of water sheds.

Research Focus

Javier’s research interests include the evolution of regional and national identities in Latin America and the American West. He is particularly interested in the ways that ethnic, social class, gender lines expand and contract during periods of social conflict. Some of his publications explored the concepts of political identity and historical agency as they evolved among indigenous communities and other rural groups in the Andean region of South America. Javier is currently writing a biography on Juana Asurdui, a guerrilla combatant during the wars of independence (1809-1825) in Argentina and Bolivia.