'Renewing a Maya World Within a Neoliberal World' to be Topic of Global Issues Lecture Series Presentation

by Angela Best, student newswriter, (254) 710-1961

Dr. Garrett Cook, cultural anthropology and archaeology professor at Baylor University, will present a lecture titled "Renewing a Maya World within a Neoliberal World" at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, in Room 116 of the Draper Academic Building on the Baylor campus. The lecture is a part of the Global Issues Lecture Series, sponsored by the Center for International Education.

Cook's research focus is on Mayan cultural continuity with a special focus on how the Highland Maya religious traditionalists of Guatemala are responding to the challenges and opportunities posed for them by the 21st-century globalized economy.

In 2000, Cook published Renewing the Maya World, a monograph interpreting the Highland Maya religious tradition. Cook came to Baylor in 1990 to develop a field school in cultural anthropology in the Maya country of Central America.

Cook received his bachelor's and master's degrees in anthropology from the State University of New York at Albany. He also received his doctorate from the State University with his dissertation titled "Supernaturalism, Cosmos and Cosmogony in Quichean Expressive Culture."

For more information about the lecture, contact Dr. Lizbeth Souza-Fuertes at (254) 710-4531 or Lilly_Fuertes@baylor.edu.