Loring M. Danforth (born 1949) is an American professor of anthropology and an author working at Bates College. 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 Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1971 and a M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1974 and 1978. He completed a doctoral dissertation titled "The

anastenaria The Anastenaria ( el, Αναστενάρια, bg, Нестинарство, translit=Nestinarstvo), is a traditional barefoot fire-walking ritual with ecstatic dance performed in some villages in Northern Greece and Southern Bulgaria. The commun ...

: 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,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Saudi Arabia and nationalism. Danforth won a National Endowment for the Humanities 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