A.H. Peter Castro

I am an applied cultural anthropologist with research interests in development planning and policy, environmental conflicts, natural resource management (especially community forestry), climate change, agriculture, rural social change, and the history of applied anthropology. Most of my fieldwork and applied experience is in East Africa - Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. I also worked briefly in Sudan (Darfur), Mali, Bangladesh, and Belize. As a consultant or research collaborator, I have served with the Near East Foundation, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, BASIS Greater Horn of Africa Collaborative Research Support Program, United Nations Development Programme, CARE, and other entities. My publications include Climate Change and Threatened Communities: Vulnerability, Capacity and Action (with Dan Taylor and David Brokensha, 2012), Negotiation and Mediation Techniques for Natural Resource Management: Case Studies and Lessons Learned (with Antonia Engel, 2007), Natural Resource Conflict Management Case Studies: An Analysis of Power, Participation and Protected Areas (with Erik Nielsen, 2003), and Facing Kirinyaga: A Social History of Forest Commons in Southern Mount Kenya (1995).

As the Robert D. McClure Professor of Teaching Excellence, I am responsible for overseeing the suite of undergraduate courses offered through the Dean’s Office of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. These include Max 123 (Critical Issues for the United States) and Max 132 (Global Community), both interdisciplinary team-taught courses. As of January 2022, I have been the main faculty advisor for nine students who earned their doctorates in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, including in Anthropology, Social Science, and International Relations. In addition, I have served on the doctoral committees of an additional 47 students in anthropology, sociology, forestry, environmental science, education, and other fields who have completed or successfully defended their dissertations at Syracuse University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Binghamton University. I also served on the MA/MS committees of 61 additional students who obtained their degrees. In 2011, I received an Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award from the Graduate School of Syracuse University. I also received one of the 2017 Syracuse University Martin Luther King, Junior, Unsung Heroes Awards. 

2021 Castro, A. Peter, “Climate Change and East Africa’s Past: Three Cautionary Tales,” pp. 201-222, in Susanna M. Hoffman, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, and Paulo Mendes (Eds.), Cooling Down: Local Responses to Global Climate Changes. New York: Berghahn, 2021, pp. 201-222.

2020 Castro, A. Peter, “Foreword: The Erosion of Academic Freedom,” in Neoliberalism and Academic Repression: The Fall of Academic Freedom in the Era of Trump, edited by Erik Juergensmeyer, Anthony J. Nocella II, and Mark Seis (eds.). Leiden & Boston: Brill, Studies in Critical Social Sciences, Volume 149. pp. xii-xiv.

2019 Castro, A. Peter "Constructing an Anthropology of Infrastructure" (Review Essay), Journal of International and Global Studies 10 (2): 103-109.

2018 A. Peter Castro, "Promoting Natural Resource Conflict Management in an Illiberal Setting: Experiences from Central Darfur, Sudan," World Development 109 (September): 163-171.

2018 A. Peter Castro and Miriam S. Chaiken, "David Warwick Brokensha." American Anthropologist 120 (2): 380-383.

 2018 A. Peter Castro, Review of Red Hangover: Legacies of Twentieth-Century Communism, by Kristen R. Ghodsee. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2017. Journal of International and Global Studies 9 (2): 146-148. Online at: http://www.lindenwood.edu/files/resources/146-148-castro.pdf

 2018 Miriam S. Chaiken and A. Peter Castro. “David Warwick Brokensha.” Anthropology News 59 (1): 27-28. doi: 10.1111/AN.722

 2018 Goshu Wolde Tefera and A. Peter Castro, "Flag Politics in Ethiopia and the Ethio-American Diaspora," Déjà Lu, Issue 6 (republishing of 2016 article).

 2016 Goshu Wolde Tefera and A. Peter Castro, "Flag Politics in Ethiopia and the Ethio-American Diaspora." Journal of International and Global Studies 8 (1): 1-19. Online at: www.lindenwood.edu/files/resources/1-19-2.pdf

 2016 A. Peter Castro, Review of Things Fall Apart? The Political Ecology of Forest Governance in Southern Nigeria, by Pauline von Hellermann. New York: Berghahn Books, 2013. American Ethnologist 43 (2): 383-384.

2015  Castro, A. Peter and Brokensha, D.W., "Development: Social-Anthropological Aspects." In: James D. Wright (editor-in-chief), The International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, Vol. 6. Oxford: Elsevier. pp. 301-306.

2014  Castro, A. Peter, "Resource Conflict, Food, and Agriculture." In: Paul B. Thompson and David M. Kaplan (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. New York: Springer, pp. 1592-1599.

2014  Castro, A. Peter, "Project Assessment: Darfur Community Peace and Stability Fund, Project Title: Resources, Economic Security and Peace in Darfur (Final Report)." Syracuse: Near East Foundation, 23 pp.

2014  Castro, A. Peter, "Resources, Livelihood and Security in Darfur: Midterm Assessment Final Report." Syracuse: Near East Foundation, 23 pp.

2014  Castro, A. Peter, "Promoting Peacebuilding and Recovery in Central Darfur, Sudan: A Summary of Findings." Syracuse, Near East Foundation, 8 pp.

2013  Castro, A. Peter, "Training Manual: Techniques of Conflict Resolution,Training of Trainers Workshop, Sévaré, Mopti Region, Mali." Syracuse: Near East Foundation, Program to Support Food Security and the Resilience of Population to Social and Climate Crises in the Region of Mopti, Mali, 85 pp.

2012  A. Peter Castro, Dan Taylor, and David W. Brokensha (editors), Climate Change and Threatened Communities: Vulnerability, Capacity and Action. London: Practical Action Publishers, 224 pp.

2012  A. Peter Castro, Dan Taylor, and David W. Brokensha, “Introduction” pp. 1-14 in Climate Change and Threatened Communities: Vulnerability, Capacity and Action, edited by A. Peter Castro, Dan Taylor, and David W. Brokensha. London: Practical Action Publishers.

2012  A. Peter Castro, “Social Vulnerability, Climatic Variability, and Uncertainty in Rural Ethiopia: A Study of South Wollo and Oromiya Zones of Eastern Amhara Region,” pp. 29-40 in Climate Change and Threatened Communities: Vulnerability, Capacity and Action, edited by A. Peter Castro, Dan Taylor, and David W. Brokensha. London: Practical Action Publishers.

2012  Yassir Hassan Satti and A. Peter Castro, “Climate Change and the Future of Onion and Potato Production in West Darfur, Sudan: A Case Study of Zalingei Locality,” pp. 81-92 in Climate Change and Threatened Communities: Vulnerability, Capacity and Action, edited by A. Peter Castro, Dan Taylor, and David W. Brokensha. London: Practical Action Publishers.

2012  Dan Taylor, A. Peter Castro, and David W. Brokensha, “Conclusion,” pp. 197-200 in Climate Change and Threatened Communities: Vulnerability, Capacity and Action, edited by A. Peter Castro, Dan Taylor, and David W. Brokensha. London: Practical Action Publishers.

2012  A. Peter Castro, “Resources” pp. 201-205 in Climate Change and Threatened Communities: Vulnerability, Capacity and Action, edited by A. Peter Castro, Dan Taylor, and David W. Brokensha. London: Practical Action Publishers.

2011  A. Peter Castro, "Viewpoint," Natural Resource Forum 35 (4), p. 335.

2011  A. Peter Castro, Review of Introduction to International Development: Approaches, Actors, and Issues, edited by Paul A. Haslam, Jessica Schafer, and Pierre Beaudet. Ontario: Oxford University Press, 2009. Journal of International and Global Studies        2 (2), pp. 102-104.

2010   A. Peter Castro, “Collaborative Researchers or Cold Warriors? The Origins,  Activities, and Legacy of the Smithsonian's Institute of Social Anthropology,” Journal of International and Global Studies 2 (1): 56-82. 

2010  A. Peter Castro, “Academic Freedom and Academic Responsibility: Some Personal Reflections,” in Academic Repression: Reflections from the Academic Industrial Complex, edited by Steven Best, Peter McLaren, and Anthony J. Nocella. Boston: AK Press, pp. 247-260.

2009  A. Peter Castro, “Communities and Natural Resource Conflicts in Africa: Reflections on Conflict Management Options for Peace-building in Darfur,” in Environment and Conflict in Africa: Reflections on Darfur, edited by Marcel Leroy. Addis Ababa: United Nations University for Peace, African Programme, pp. 341-354. 

2008  A. Peter Castro, Review of Nuer-American Passages: Globalizing Sudanese Migration by Dianna J. Shandy, American Anthropologist 110 (1), pp. 141-142.

2008  A. Peter Castro, “Forestry: Eastern Africa,” in John Middleton (Editor in Chief), New Encyclopedia of Africa, Volume 2. Detroit: Thomson & Gale, pp. 403-405.

2008  David W. Brokensha and A. Peter Castro, “Energy: Domestic,” in John Middleton (Editor in Chief), New Encyclopedia of Africa, Volume 2. Detroit: Thomson & Gale, pp. 263-266.

2007  A. Peter Castro and Antonia Engel (editors) Negotiation and Mediation Techniques for Natural Resource Management: Case Studies and Lessons Learned. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2007, 74 pages. Available online at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/a1081e/a1081e01.pdf

2007   A. Peter Castro and Antonia Engel, “Introduction: Building Local Capacity to Manage and Resolve Natural Resource Conflicts in Africa,” in Negotiation and Mediation Techniques for Natural Resource Management: Case Studies and Lessons Learned. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 1-11. 

2007  A. Peter Castro and Antonia Engel, “Conclusions: Findings and Lessons Learned,” in Negotiation and Mediation Techniques for Natural Resource Management: Case Studies and Lessons Learned. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 53-63. 

2006  Peter D. Little, M. Priscilla Stone, Tewodaj Mogues, A. Peter Castro, and Workneh Negatu, “Moving in Place: Drought and Poverty Dynamics in South Wollo, Ethiopia,” Journal of Development Studies 42 (2), pp. 200-225. Reprinted in: Christopher B. Barrett, Michael R. Carter, and Peter D. Little (eds.), Understanding and Reducing Persistent Poverty in Africa. New York: Routledge, 2008. pp. 34-59.

2005    A. Peter Castro, “Developing Local Capacity for Management of Natural Resource Conflicts in Africa: A Review of Key Issues, Approaches, and Outcomes.” Report            prepared for the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management-Collaborative Research Support Program, University of Georgia, 47 pp. Available online at: http://rmportal.net/library/content/frame/developing-local-capacity-for-management-of-natural-resource-conflicts-in-africa-a-review-of-key-issues-approaches-and-outcomes

2005   A. Peter Castro, Review of Somalia: Economy without State, by Peter D. Little. Oxford: James Currey, Indiana University Press, Hargeisa: Btec Books, 2003. American Ethnologist, 32 (1), February, pp. 1015-1016.

2003    A. Peter Castro and Erik Nielsen (editors) Natural Resource Conflict Management Case Studies: An Analysis of Power, Participation and Protected Areas. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 284 pp. Available online at: http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y4503E/Y4503E00.HTM

2003  A. Peter Castro and Erik Nielsen, “Overview,” in Natural Resource Conflict Management Case Studies: An Analysis of Power, Participation and Protected Areas, edited by A. Peter Castro and Erik Nielsen. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 1-17. 

2003  A. Peter Castro, Review of Indians, Markets and Rainforests, by Ricardo A. Godoy, American Anthropologist 105 (1), pp. 187-189.

2003  A. Peter Castro, Reviews of Maintaining Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems, edited by Malcolm L. Hunter, and The Social Life of Trees, edited by Laura Rival, Human Ecology 31, (1), pp. 167-173.

2002  A. Peter Castro. "Vulnerability, Livelihoods and Trees Outside Forests,” in Proceedings: Expert Consultation on Enhancing the Contribution of Trees Outside Forests to Sustainable Livelihoods, edited by Syaka Sadio, Christoph Kleinn, and Tage Michaelsen. Rome, Italy, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 29-37.

2002    Alfonso Peter Castro, “Social Capital, Assets and Responses to Drought: Preliminary Observations from Interviews in Oromiya and South Wello Zones, Amhara Region, Ethiopia” Madison and Addis Ababa: BASIS Greater Horn of Africa Program and the  Institute for Development Research, Addis Ababa University, 29 pp. Available online at: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACQ893.pdf

2002   Edited “Section 8: Case Studies” in Community-Based Forest Resource Conflict Management: A Training Package, Volume 1, by Katherine Means, Cynthia Josayma, Erik Nielsen and Vitoon Viriyasakultorn. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 277-321 (also supplied editorial support for all of Volume 1 and for Volume 2, see 'Acknowledgements' (p. 3); reissued on the CD-Rom, People and Forests: FAO Participatory Forestry Publications. Rome, Italy: FAO, 2004. 

2001  A. Peter Castro and Adelle Tibbetts, "Sacred Landscapes of Kirinyaga: Indigenous and Early Islamic and Christian Influences," in Sacred Landscapes and Cultural Politics, edited by Philip Arnold and Ann Grodzins Gold. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, pp. 55-81. Reprinted in Religion and the Environment: Critical Concepts in Religious Studies, Vol. 3, edited by Roger Gottleib. London: Routledge, 2010.

2001  Alfonso Peter Castro and Erik Nielsen, “Indigenous People and Co-Management: Implications for Conflict Management,” Environmental Science and Policy 4 (4-5), pp. 229-239. Reprinted by the Vietnam Anthropology Review (in Vietnamese), No. 6 - 2011 and No.1 - 2012.

2000  Violet Matiru with Nancy Hart and Peter Castro (editors), Conflict and Natural Resource Management. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 20 pp. (in Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and French translations). Available online at:
http://www.fao.org/forestry/21572-0d9d4b43a56ac49880557f4ebaa3534e3.pdf

1999  Alfonso Peter Castro, Yared Amare, Yigremew Adal, and Degafa Tolossa, “Community Assessments: Kebele Profiles, Parts I, II, III and IV,” Madison: BASIS Greater Horn of Africa Program and the Institute for Development Research, Addis Ababa University, 175 pp. Available online at:
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACL393.pdf

1999 Alfonso Peter Castro, “Rapid Community Assessment Field Test, South Wello, Ethiopia.” Madison: BASIS Greater Horn of Africa Program and the Institute for Development Research, Addis Ababa University, 72 pp. Available online at:
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACL389.pdf

1998  Alfonso Peter Castro (editor), Special Section on "Historical Consciousness and Development Planning," World Development 26 (9), pp. 1695-1784.

1998  Alfonso Peter Castro "Editor's Introduction [to the Special Section on 'Historical Consciousness and Development Planning]" World Development 26 (9), pp. 1695-1696.

1998  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Sustainable Agriculture or Sustained Error? The Case of Cotton in Kirinyaga, Kenya," World Development 26 (9), pp. 1719-1731.

1998  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Integrating Conflict Management into Forestry Policy: An Applied Anthropologist's Perspective," in Integrating Conflict Management Considerations into National Policy Frameworks. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Community Forestry Unit, Forests, Trees and People Programme, pp. 195-208; Available online at: http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/X9610E/X9610E00.HTM

1997  Alfonso Peter Castro and Kreg Ettenger, "Indigenous Knowledge and Conflict Management: Exploring Local Perspectives and Mechanisms for Dealing with Community Forestry Disputes," in Volume 1: Compilation of Discussion Papers Made to the Electronic Conference on “Addressing Natural Resource Conflicts through Community Forestry.” Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 141-164; Available online at:
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/AC696E/AC696E09.htm

1997  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Social and Anti-Social Forestry: Lessons from Bangladesh," Development Anthropologist 15 (1-2), pp.1, 3-12.

1996  Alfonso Peter Castro, “Contracts, Cooperatives, and Coercion: The Kerugoya and Karatina Dried Vegetable Project, 1940-1947” African Rural and Urban Studies 3 (3), pp. 101-136 (issued in 1999).

1996  Alfonso Peter Castro, "The Political Economy of Farm Forestry in Colonial Kenya: The View from Kirinyaga," in Tropical Deforestation: The Human Dimension, edited by Leslie Sponsel, Thomas Headland, and Robert Bailey. New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 122-143.

1995  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Coffee, Tea, or Bureaucracy? Two Commodity Case Studies from Kirinyaga, Kenya, 1951 to 1983," in Research in Economic Anthropology 16, edited by Barry Isaac. Greenwich: JAI Press, pp. 349-395.

1995  Alfonso Peter Castro, Facing Kirinyaga: A Social History of Forest Commons in Southern Mount Kenya. London: Practical Action (Originally known as Intermediate Technology Publications, Studies in Indigenous Knowledge and Development Series, 166 pp. Reprinted in 2005.

1994  Alfonso Peter Castro and Kreg Ettenger, "Counterinsurgency and Socioeconomic Change: The Mau Mau War in Kirinyaga, Kenya,” Research in Economic Anthropology 15, edited by Barry Isaac. Greenwich: JAI Press, pp. 63-101.

1994  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Commentary: Eliminating Hunger in Africa," in Eliminating Hunger in Africa: Technical and Human Perspectives, edited by Daniel A. Griffith and James L. Newman. Syracuse: Syracuse University, Maxwell School, Africa Series, pp. 81-87.

1994  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Cousins and Gunmen: Crisis and Resilience in Somalia," The World and I  9 (3), pp. 268-279.

1994  Alfonso Peter Castro, "East Africa's Perilous Journey,"  The World and I  9 (1), pp. 68-75.

1993  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Kikuyu Agroforestry: An Historical Analysis," Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 46 (1), pp. 45-54. Reprinted in Agriculture and the Environment, edited by C. A. Edwards, M. K. Wali, D. J. Horn, and F. Miller. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1993, pp. 45-54.

1992  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Social Forestry: A Cross-Cultural Analysis," in Environmental Rehabilitation, Volume 1: Policy Issues, edited by Mohan K. Wali. The Hague, The Netherlands: SPB Academic Publishing, pp. 63-78.

1992  Alfonso Peter Castro, Karar Mahmudul Hassan, Ken MacDicken, and Robin Levingston "Final Report of the Mid-Term Evaluation of the Upazila Afforestation and Nursery Development Project," Report for the United Nations Development Programme, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 70 pp.

1991  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Indigenous Kikuyu Agroforestry: A Case Study of Kirinyaga, Kenya," Human Ecology 19 (1), pp. 1-18.

1991  Alfonso Peter Castro, "The Southern Mount Kenya Forest since Independence: A Social Analysis of Resource Competition," World Development 19 (12), pp. 1695-1704.

1991  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Njukiine Forest: Transformation of a Common Property Resource," Forest and Conservation History 35 (4), pp. 160-168.

1990  Peter Castro, "Sacred Groves and Social Change in Kirinyaga, Kenya," in Social Change and Applied Anthropology, edited by Miriam S. Chaiken and Anne K. Fleuret. Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 277-290.

1989  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Social Science Support for Community Forestry: An Introductory Guide," Report prepared for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, 87 pp.

1989   Jean-Jacques Deschamps, Peg Clement, Dick Howes, Peter Castro, and Michael Caughlin "Impact Evaluation: Kenya Agricultural Sector Loan Project," Washington, D. C.: Development Alternatives, Inc. and the Institute for Development Anthropology, for the United States Agency for International Development, 91 pp. Available online at:
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDABC296.pdf

1988  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Southern Mount Kenya and Colonial Forest Conflicts," in World Deforestation in the Twentieth Century, edited by John F. Richards and Richard P. Tucker. Durham: Duke University Press, pp. 33-55, 266-271.

1988  A. H. P. Castro and D. Brokensha, "Institutions and Food Security: Implications for Forestry Development." Paper prepared for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Expert Consultation on Forestry and Food Production/Security, Bangalore (India), 14-20 Feb 1988, 39 pp.

1988  A. H. P. Castro and D. Brokensha, "Landholding Systems and Agrarian Change." Paper prepared for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Expert Consultation on Forestry and Food Production/Security, Bangalore (India), 14-20 Feb 1988, 35 pp.

1988  D. Brokensha and A. H. P. Castro, "Common Property Resources," Paper prepared for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Expert Consultation on Forestry and Food Production/Security, Bangalore (India), 14-20 Feb 1988, 31 pp.

1986  Editor of "Wood Energy Consumption and Resource Survey, Zambia: Technical Findings and Conclusions." Ndola (Zambia): Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Report No: FAO-FO--ZAM/82/E08,53 pp. (Based on the work of M. de Backer, P. Castro, M.  Chaganka, E.H. El Mazzoudi, M. Gane, D. Rodriguez-Bejarano).

1984  David Brokensha and A. H. Peter Castro, "Fuelwood, Agro-Forestry, and Natural Resource Management." Binghamton: Institute for Development Anthropology, for the United States Agency for International Development, 64 pp. Available online at:
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAQ619.pdf

1983  David Brokensha and Alfonso Peter Castro (editors), Wood Fuel Surveys. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 202 pp. (available in Spanish and French translations). Available online at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/Q1085E/Q1085E00.htm    

1983  David Brokensha and Alfonso Peter Castro, "Methods of Fact Finding" and "What Sort of Information," in Wood Fuel Surveys, edited by David Brokensha and Alfonso Peter Castro. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 75-114. Available online at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/Q1085E/q1085e07.htm#4.%20methods%20of%20fact%20finding

1983  David Brokensha, Bernard Riley, and Alfonso Peter Castro, "Fuelwood Use in Rural Kenya," Binghamton: Institute for Development Anthropology, for the United States Agency for International Development, 54 pp. Available online at:
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAR294.pdf

1983  Alfonso Peter Castro, "Household Energy Use and Tree Planting in Kirinyaga," Nairobi: University of Nairobi, Institute for Development Studies, Working Paper No. 397, 40 pp.

1981  Alfonso Peter Castro, N. Thomas Hakansson and David Brokensha, "Indicators of Rural Inequality," World Development 9 (5), pp. 401-427.

1980  Dennis Wood, David Brokensha, Matthew Gamser, Beth Jackson, Bernard Riley, Alfonso Peter Castro, and Doris Schraft, The Socio-Economic Context of Fuel Use in Small Rural Communities. Washington, D.C.: United States Agency for International Development, Evaluation Special Study No. 1, 293 pp. Available online at:
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAP158.pdf

"Peacemaking and Peacebuilding: Reflections on the Role of Institutions and Individuals in Reconciliation" at the International Conference on Wollo, Ethiopia: Provincial History, Popular Culture, Traditional Education and Local Institutions, sponsored by Wollo University and the Vibranium Resources Foundation, and held at Dessie, Ethiopia, on January 14, 2023, via zoom.

The conference dealt with the richness of Wollo province's culture and institutions. According to my invitation letter: "Wollo University believes that the conference will help scholars and other participants not just to understand Ethiopia's diverse province's and ethnic groups, but also to rethink how interactions between groups and regions have been previously studied and analyzed."